The Fed people insist the economy is strong. They upped their GDP growth projections at their last meeting. Joe Biden thinks the economy is strong. He keeps bragging about the marvelous achievements of “Bidenomics.” Mainstream economists keep telling us the economy is strong.
But the average American isn’t buying any of it. (Perhaps price inflation makes it too expensive?)
We’re kicking off Labor Day weekend. That means you’re going to hear a lot of rhetoric about how the government needs to do more for workers. But as Friday Gold Wrap host Mike Maharrey explains, we don’t really need better government policies for workers. We need better money for everybody. He also talks about tanking consumer confidence in this bubble economy.
President Biden might be optimistic about the economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell might be optimistic about the economy. But the average American?
Not so much.
A lot of the economic data this month looks strong. But when you dig a little deeper, you find that this “strength” is an illusion.
Following is a breakdown of several of these data points with some help from our friends at Passant Gardant.
Joe Biden might be confident in the US economy. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell might be confident about the US economy. But the average American? Not so much.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell for the second straight month in February, dropping from a downwardly revised 106.0 in January to 102.9.
The powers that be keep telling you that the economy is fine and inflation has likely peaked. But you’re not buying the story.
Consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in November as worries about inflation and the trajectory of the economy persist.
On the surface, some of the economic data that came out this week seemed to indicate that the economy is in better shape than the bears believe. In his podcast, Peter Schiff dug into consumer confidence and labor market data. He concluded that the strong economy narrative is greatly exaggerated. In fact, the data reveals a dysfunctional economy.
The White House is desperately trying to convince everybody there isn’t a recession, but the average American doesn’t seem to be buying the narrative.
Consumer confidence plunged to the lowest level since February 2021 in July, according to the latest survey by the Conference Board.
Consumer confidence hit a 10-year low earlier this year and continues to sag as inflation squeezes wallets.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for May slipped to 106.4. That was down from 108.6 in April.
Joe Biden is telling us the economy is back on track. And the Federal Reserve insists it can slow down the inflation freight train. But the average American isn’t quite so sanguine.
Consumer sentiment plunged to the second-lowest level in a decade in January, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
