Americans Feel Worse About The Economy Than During Covid, The Great Recession Or 9/11

EconomyDown

U.S. consumer sentiment has fallen to levels lower than during the Covid plandemic, the 2008 Great Recession and the 9/11 inside job, according to data from the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment.

Consumer sentiment dropped to 44.8 in May, down 10% from April and 13.2% from one year ago, marking the lowest level on record.

“Consumer sentiment fell for the third straight month as supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continue to boost gasoline prices,” Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said. “Sentiment is now just below the previous historical trough seen in June 2022.”

Cost of living is chipping away at Americans’ personal finances.

“The cost of living continues to be a first-order concern, with 57% of consumers spontaneously mentioning that high prices were eroding their personal finances, up from 50% last month,” Hsu said.

Alex Jones Live recently reported that almost half of Americans are anxious about their personal finances and that a recently poll showed 76% of Americans see the cost of living as their biggest economic problem.

The hardest hit by the increased strain on the economy are those with less financial headroom.

“Lower-income consumers and those without college degrees posted particularly strong sentiment declines; these groups are more sensitive to increases in the cost of gas and other essentials,” Hsu said.

Importantly, the impact has political implications for the Republican Party which is currently in power.

“Independents and Republicans saw decreases in sentiment, with both groups reaching their lowest readings of the current presidential administration,” Hsu said. “Meanwhile, sentiment of Democrats was little changed from last month.”

Americans are not viewing the downturn in the economy as a “short-term pain” but rather, a more bleak future outlook.

“Year-ahead inflation expectations inched up from 4.7% last month to 4.8% this month. The current reading substantially exceeds the 3.4% reading seen in February 2026 prior to the start of the Iran conflict, along with all 2024 readings. Long-run inflation expectations climbed from 3.5% in April to 3.9% in May, notably higher than the 2.8% to 3.2% range seen in 2024,” Hsu said.

Fuel prices continue to climb following the Iran war which led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The impact of rising transportation costs affects all other product categories.

“Many are warning about the ripple effect of higher fuel costs. Walmart’s CFO, John David Rainey, said this week that the retailer is starting to see impacts on input, packaging, and transportation costs,” Yahoo Finance said.

While current events such as the Iran war continues to increase costs and mass legal immigration continues to reduce the supply of jobs for Americans, the future likely holds another devastating impact to Americans’ finances – the mass human replacement with AI technologies.


User Registration

By clicking “Register” above, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.