US consumer sentiment worsened in May

[Bluetus]

3. Thanks for this compilation

I caution against people on the left drinking our own bathwater. While there is nervousness in the economy,, these Conference Board sources don't indicate an expectation of meltdown. Indeed, I think the public remains far too placid in light of the wreckage that is ACTUALLY going on.

The deficits that Trump is running practically guarantee very high structural inflation for years to come unless we can do a Mamdani-type change.

The Conference board is an extremely pro-business source. Here are some other data points:
https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/consumer-confidence

The UofM Consumer Confidence index is very well respected. It ran in the 60s through most of Biden's term and is now 44, which is where it was at the depth of COVID.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/1669/general-mood-country.aspx
The Gallup right/wrong direction poll is extremely important, IMHO because it explains MAGA and puts the rest of the data sources into an important perspective. When the number is over 50, that means the majority think we are on the "right track", whatever that means to them.

The last time the country thought we were on the "right track" was around 2002 when we were responding to the 9-11 attack. There has not been a single day in the past 20 years when the majority of Americans thought we were on the "right track", and today only 20% think we are on the right track. That would be the richest billionaires and the stupidest MAGA people. The other 80% know we are in trouble. Of course, some of that 80% think we are off track with borders, some think we are off track with abortions, but most, IMHO, have come to accept that our system is rigged against the working people.

This is why MAGA is a thing, and also why Mamdani is a thing. And it is why Trump continues to weild power. While the numbers under Trump are the worst in history, he is able to convince enough people that "Biden did it" or ""gas prices are coming down", or "new health care plan in 2 weeks".

In other words, there is a HUUUUUUGE gap between the Gallup results and the Conference Board results. And that gap means most Americans know we are screwed and they have just decided to accept that. And they are not interested any any politician who wants to tamper a little around the margins. The only way to break out of this cycle is with a truly revolutionary message and leader. Mamdani has done exactly that. Platner is laying out the right message in his state. If a national candidate will emulate those two, (and we can keep the DNC corporatists from sinking the ship), we can win with a real populist agenda.

And understand, Trump has been the populist of our generation. He is likely to be succeeded by another RW person trying to tap the populist sentiment. We must meet that head on with "Populism for the average American" versus "Populism for the billionaires and tech bros." This is all just another variation of Reagan's trickle down. It is all prosperity theology. In one variation, the prosperity goes to the top and is supposed to trickle down. In the other variation, the prosperity goes straight to the people who are doing the hard work.