Americans are Losing Confidence in the Economy

                                                           

August 17, 2021   Today's Top Stories From the Breitbart News Desk In The Sun Also Rises, the Scottish war veteran Mike Campbell is asked how he went bankrupt. "Two ways," Mike says. "Gradually and then suddenly." The deterioration of the U.S. economy seems to have entered phase two. Last Friday, we learned that the University of Michigan's gauge of consumer sentiment had plummeted in early August, falling below the pandemic low of April 2020. Tuesday brought the news that retail sales dropped 1.1 percent in July, a far steeper decline than the 0.2 pullback expected. Homebuilder confidence also plunged unexpectedly, dragged down by a dimmer assessment of current selling conditions as well as a steep drop-off in what the builders call "foot traffic." Taken together, these are signals that consumers are pulling back. It's likely that the catalysts are inflation and infection. Higher prices can spur panic buying at times, but they can also convince consumers to tighten the purse strings to save up for coming expenses or try to wait out high prices. With President Biden and Chairman Powell constantly assuring us that inflation is "transitory," the latter may be happening now. That would be a shame because while inflation may slowdown (a proposition that looks increasingly unlikely) it's not going to go in reverse absent economic catastrophe. The higher prices are here to stay. The only open question is how quickly they go up in the future. The Delta variant-driven return of Covid to the headlines is also encouraging people to shelter in place and pull back on spending. Airlines are reporting rising cancellations. TSA data on passenger check-throughs shows the growth has stalled and may be starting to reverse. Debit card data from Bank of America shows a negative correlation between infection and consumer spending: as infections climb, spending falls. A survey of the people of Wisconsin by the University of Marquette Law School provides a glimpse at some extremely grim minds in the Midwest. Fifty-one percent of registered voters in Wisconsin say economic conditions have gotten worse over the past year. So, they feel the economy is worse off in the summer of 2021 than it was in that annus horribilis when the pandemic struck. Grimmer: 43 percent said that they expected economic conditions to deteriorate even more over the coming year. Imagine what's going to happen to consumer sentiment in the second half of August as the mess in Afghanistan unfolds. – Alex Marlow & John Carney Breitbart News Network     TOP STORY   Poll: Wisconsin Majority Says Economy is Worse Than a Year Ago and Many Say It Will Get Even Worse The Biden administration's hopes to benefit from a rebounding economy have been thrown into doubt by a poll indicating that views of economic conditions have turned for the worse in Wisconsin, a key battleground state in the midterm elections next year. A poll of Wisconsin registered voters found that just 23 percent say the economy has improved over the past year, with 51 percent saying the economy is worse than it was a year ago. Twenty-two percent say it is the same. Only 30 percent expect the economy to improve over the coming year. Forty-three percent say it will worsen. Twenty-five percent expect no change. [Click here for more]   IN OTHER STORIES... Vulnerable Illinois Democrat Rep. Lauren Underwood: 'The Economy Is Doing Great' During a recent town hall, vulnerable Democrat Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL) claimed that "the economy is doing great" despite the ongoing price surge over food, appliances, cars, and gasoline making it hard for struggling families. Underwood was caught saying that "the economy is doing great, jobs are up" by Illinois Rising Action. The group is "committed to holding liberal groups and their special interest networks accountable and... [Click here for more]   Bidenflation: Inflation and Shortages Plunge Homebuilder Confidence to Lowest Level in 13 Months Inflation took a bigger than expected bite out of homebuilder confidence in August. U.S. homebuilder confidence fell in August to its lowest reading since July 2020, according to a report released on... [Click here for more]   Retail Sales Crash as Inflation and Delta Variant Fear Ravage America Retail sales declined by more than expected in July as consumer confidence crashed amid rising coronavirus infections and rapid inflation. Sales fell 1.1 percent in July, worse than the 0.2 percent decline expected, data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed Tuesday. A month earlier, sales climbed... [Click here for more] FOLLOW   Did you receive this email from a friend? Sign up to receive Breitbart Business Digest. ©2021 Breitbart News 149 S. Barrington Ave. #401 Los Angeles CA 90049 USA Want to change how you receive these emails? You can *update your preferences or *unsubscribe from this list. Subscription Information This email was sent to  Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog *the blog owner has deleted the hyperlink intentionally