Consumers Keep Saying They Hate This Booming Economy
\n\nThe gap between household economic sentiment and economic fundamentals has become a chasm.
\n\nWednesday brought another round of economic reports showing the American economy is booming. Consumers are spending more, they have larger financial cushions than we thought, businesses adding more workers than expected, and growth running stronger than previously estimated.
\n\nTuesday’s consumer confidence report sounded as if it had been dispatched from a different country or perhaps a different era. The Conference Board’s confidence index fell to its lowest level since 2014.
\n\nThe gloom and the boom have arrived together.
\n\nLet’s start at home. Personal consumption expenditures jumped 0.9 percent in August. That amounted to an additional $190.8 billion in spending. Of course, inflation accounted for some of the increase, including higher spending on gasoline. But even after adjusting for prices, however, consumption rose 0.6 percent. Real spending had increased just 0.1 percent in July.
\n\nPurchases increased across goods and services. Discretionary purchases such as motor vehicles, recreational goods, restaurants, and accommodations contributed to the advance. Americans were opening their wallets across a substantial stretch of the consumer economy.
\n\nAnd this isn’t just one good month. If we annualize the past…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/economy/
