WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence declined slightly this month as gas prices stayed high and inflation remained elevated, a sharp contrast to soaring stock prices hover near record levels.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index slipped 0.7 points to 93.1 in May, the first decline after three months of gains. The measure hasn’t fallen as much this year as other gauges of consumer attitudes, but it has been stuck at a low level since the pandemic. Before COVID-19, it regularly reached 130.
A separate gauge of consumer sentiment released last week by the University of Michigan fell to a record low this month. Soaring gas and food costs have worsened inflation that is outpacing the average growth in paychecks, reducing most Americans’ purchasing power. Americans have soured on President Trump’s economic policies, polls show, potentially creating problems for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.
For the wealthy, maybe. The rest of us work for a living, and most of us are working longer and harder for less pay, if not multiple jobs. Biden had the power to change that but chose not to.
The Republicans in 2024 got elected on the message of affordability. Democrats insisted that they couldn’t win if they actually showed they cared about people’s cost of living. Your cognitive dissonance is astounding, and yes, it is certainly a problem that the cost of living crisis continues to get worse no matter who we elect.