Americans spend more on Internet access and health care today than they did in 2007, which causes consumers to cut back on the finer things of life, like clothes, movie tickets, live entertainment and other discretionary spending. The Wall Street Journal reports health insurance costs Americans 42.1% more today than in 2007. Americans also drop more dough on Internet access (81.3% more) and cellphones (49.1%) than they did seven years ago. WSJ writes: “The data – drawn from 14,000 households that either keep diaries on their spending for two weeks or agree to quarterly interviews – helps explain why so many retailers are turning in persistently lackluster results, and why the household-products business has shown virtually no growth for years. It also helps illuminate why the consumer-led U.S. economy has been so slow to rebound from the financial crisis.” Some of these price increases are the consumers decision: More Americans are choosing to budget more money to keeping smartphones over a dumb flip phone. The cost of other items, like health care, is due to a government driving prices skyward. More…