XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism, talk.politics.guns
XPost: or.politics, sci.physics

Thanks To tRUMP, The Mood of the American Consumer is Souring
Tariff threats, market turbulence causing jitters early in Trump’s second
term

By
Rachel Wolfe
and
Joe Pinsker
Updated Feb. 7, 2025 1:25 pm ET

The Trump bump in consumer confidence is already over.

Tariff threats, stock market swings and rapidly reversing executive
orders are causing Americans across the political spectrum to feel
considerably more pessimistic about the economy than they did before
President Trump took office.

Consumer sentiment fell about 5% in the University of Michigan’s
preliminary February survey of consumers to its lowest reading since July
2024. Expectations of inflation in the year ahead jumped from 3.3% in
January to 4.3%, the second month in a row of large increases and highest reading since November 2023.

“It’s very rare to see a full percentage point jump in inflation
expectations,” said Joanne Hsu, who oversees the survey. Republicans have
come off a postelection surge in confidence, she said, and Democrats and Independents also seem to believe that economic conditions have
deteriorated since last month.
Morning Consult’s recent index of consumer confidence, too, fell between
Jan. 25 and Feb. 3, driven primarily by concern over the country’s
economic future.
“I don’t like the turbulence. I don’t like the chaos in the market,” said
Paul Bisson, a 58-year-old, who writes proposals for a flight safety
company and co-owns a dog daycare in San Antonio. Bisson voted for Trump,
but feels “his policies have led to that chaos.”
Bisson is hoping to retire in the not-too-distant future, and is worried
that won’t be possible if Trump follows through with his tariff threats
rather than just using them as a negotiating tactic.
“That will make the economy worse, and that’s not what we signed up for,” Bisson said. “We’ve already cut back. There’s no more cutting back to
do.”
Immediately after Trump’s November victory, consumer confidence surged, a
move largely driven by new optimism among Republicans. The sentiment
stayed elevated throughout the run-up to the inauguration.
Trump won the election largely by campaigning on a pledge to improve the economy and bring down inflation. Economists warned that his tariff plans
could have the opposite effect. The president himself has cautioned that tariffs could cause some pain but would ultimately lead to more jobs and
a stronger economy.
Trump has paused his plans to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and
Mexico. But consumers are clearly worried about their potential effects.
Fears over inflation surged after Trump’s Dec. 16 press conference in
which he threatened 10% tariffs on China and 25% tariffs on Mexico and
Canada, according to the University of Michigan. And they rose again on
Jan. 21, when the president said he would follow through on his promises
by the first of the month.
Expectations of inflation in the year ahead jumped a full percentage
point in the Michigan survey.
“It appears that consumers are paying attention to the news,” Hsu said. American consumers believe that they would have to cover almost half the
cost of a hypothetical 20% tariff, on average, according to a survey commissioned by academic economists from mid-December to early January.
“This idea that ‘Foreigners pay for our tariffs’ is not really supported
by this survey,” said Michael Weber, an economist at the University of
Chicago and one of the survey’s organizers.
Republicans surveyed estimated consumers would be on the hook for 41% of
such a tariff’s costs. They viewed the policy significantly more
favorably than Democrats, who expected consumers would eat 68% of the
costs.
John Schinkel, who voted for Trump, is on board with the president’s
economic agenda, but said he was “a little nervous” on the eve of the
tariffs’ planned rollout.
The 53-year-old real-estate investor’s concern was that the tariffs might backfire economically and jeopardize Trump’s other plans.
Relieved that some tariffs were put on hold, Schinkel said he remains
confident that Trump will reduce prices and interest rates, just not immediately.
“I don’t blame Trump for the price of eggs right now,” he said. “No
matter who’s in the White House, I’d give that person a year to get their policies established before I start blaming prices on consumer things
like that.”
Expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months rose to
42.9% in the latest weekly survey by the American Association of
Individual Investors, the highest level since November 2023 and well
above the historical average.
Sanjay Dayal with his sons in Switzerland last year.
Sanjay Dayal, the founder of an electric vehicle charging company, is
already pulling back from his investments in individual companies. He’s
putting his money into gold and real estate instead, which he sees as
more stable bets in a precarious economic environment.
“It feels like we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” says
Dayal, who is 56 and wrote down his maltipoo Heidi’s name as his pick for president in the last election.
In Durham, N.C., Nicholas Schuch is looking into converting half his
savings into a foreign currency.
The 38-year-old geneticist wants to go with a country whose monetary
policy he trusts more. “I was thinking Switzerland, potentially,” he
said.
Schuch, who voted for Kamala Harris, said he is worried that Trump might
damage America’s reputation as a trading partner, tamper with the Federal Reserve and disrupt grant funding in his industry.
“I just expect things will be chaotic, and that that is what life is
now,” Schuch said.
Erica Atisso and her husband Etienne Atisso.
Erica Atisso, meanwhile, spent the week wondering whether the three pairs
of jeans she ordered from Chinese company Shein for $48 a month ago would
ever arrive, believing they could be held up by a temporary suspension in imports from China. (They showed up Friday.)
The West Lafayette, Ind., childcare-center owner also experienced a
weekslong delay in receiving the daycare’s federal food program funding
for December due to what she believes was confusion around Trump’s order
and quick reversal of a pause on federal assistance.
“There’s just no way to plan for the future,” said the 45-year-old, who
voted for Harris. She’s concerned that the country is on the cusp of an economic downturn that will cause her clients to lose their jobs and, in
turn, not be able to afford child care.
“You don’t know if you will be financially stable, or whether the rug is
about to be pulled out from under you.”

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

XPost: alt.checkmate, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.atheism
XPost: talk.politics.guns, sci.physics

Thanks To tRUMP, The Mood of the American Consumer is Souring
Tariff threats, market turbulence causing jitters early in Trump’s

second

term

By
Rachel Wolfe
and
Joe Pinsker
Updated Feb. 7, 2025 1:25 pm ET

The Trump bump in consumer confidence is already over.

Tariff threats, stock market swings and rapidly reversing executive
orders are causing Americans across the political spectrum to feel >considerably more pessimistic about the economy than they did before >President Trump took office.

Consumer sentiment fell about 5% in the University of Michigan’s
preliminary February survey of consumers to its lowest reading since

July

2024. Expectations of inflation in the year ahead jumped from 3.3% in
January to 4.3%, the second month in a row of large increases and

highest

reading since November 2023.

“It’s very rare to see a full percentage point jump in inflation >expectations,” said Joanne Hsu, who oversees the survey. Republicans

have

come off a postelection surge in confidence, she said, and Democrats and >Independents also seem to believe that economic conditions have
deteriorated since last month.
Morning Consult’s recent index of consumer confidence, too, fell between
Jan. 25 and Feb. 3, driven primarily by concern over the country’s
economic future.
“I don’t like the turbulence. I don’t like the chaos in the market,”

said

Paul Bisson, a 58-year-old, who writes proposals for a flight safety
company and co-owns a dog daycare in San Antonio. Bisson voted for

Trump,

but feels “his policies have led to that chaos.”
Bisson is hoping to retire in the not-too-distant future, and is worried
that won’t be possible if Trump follows through with his tariff threats >rather than just using them as a negotiating tactic.
“That will make the economy worse, and that’s not what we signed up

for,”

Bisson said. “We’ve already cut back. There’s no more cutting back to
do.”
Immediately after Trump’s November victory, consumer confidence surged,

a

move largely driven by new optimism among Republicans. The sentiment
stayed elevated throughout the run-up to the inauguration.
Trump won the election largely by campaigning on a pledge to improve the >economy and bring down inflation. Economists warned that his tariff

plans

could have the opposite effect. The president himself has cautioned that >tariffs could cause some pain but would ultimately lead to more jobs and
a stronger economy.
Trump has paused his plans to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and >Mexico. But consumers are clearly worried about their potential effects. >Fears over inflation surged after Trump’s Dec. 16 press conference in
which he threatened 10% tariffs on China and 25% tariffs on Mexico and >Canada, according to the University of Michigan. And they rose again on
Jan. 21, when the president said he would follow through on his promises
by the first of the month.
Expectations of inflation in the year ahead jumped a full percentage
point in the Michigan survey.
“It appears that consumers are paying attention to the news,” Hsu said. >American consumers believe that they would have to cover almost half the
cost of a hypothetical 20% tariff, on average, according to a survey >commissioned by academic economists from mid-December to early January.
“This idea that ‘Foreigners pay for our tariffs’ is not really supported
by this survey,” said Michael Weber, an economist at the University of >Chicago and one of the survey’s organizers.
Republicans surveyed estimated consumers would be on the hook for 41% of
such a tariff’s costs. They viewed the policy significantly more
favorably than Democrats, who expected consumers would eat 68% of the
costs.
John Schinkel, who voted for Trump, is on board with the president’s
economic agenda, but said he was “a little nervous” on the eve of the >tariffs’ planned rollout.
The 53-year-old real-estate investor’s concern was that the tariffs

might

backfire economically and jeopardize Trump’s other plans.
Relieved that some tariffs were put on hold, Schinkel said he remains >confident that Trump will reduce prices and interest rates, just not >immediately.
“I don’t blame Trump for the price of eggs right now,” he said. “No
matter who’s in the White House, I’d give that person a year to get

their

policies established before I start blaming prices on consumer things
like that.”
Expectations that stock prices will fall over the next six months rose

to

42.9% in the latest weekly survey by the American Association of
Individual Investors, the highest level since November 2023 and well
above the historical average.
Sanjay Dayal with his sons in Switzerland last year.
Sanjay Dayal, the founder of an electric vehicle charging company, is
already pulling back from his investments in individual companies. He’s >putting his money into gold and real estate instead, which he sees as
more stable bets in a precarious economic environment.
“It feels like we don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” says
Dayal, who is 56 and wrote down his maltipoo Heidi’s name as his pick

for

president in the last election.
In Durham, N.C., Nicholas Schuch is looking into converting half his
savings into a foreign currency.
The 38-year-old geneticist wants to go with a country whose monetary
policy he trusts more. “I was thinking Switzerland, potentially,” he
said.
Schuch, who voted for Kamala Harris, said he is worried that Trump might >damage America’s reputation as a trading partner, tamper with the

Federal

Reserve and disrupt grant funding in his industry.
“I just expect things will be chaotic, and that that is what life is
now,” Schuch said.
Erica Atisso and her husband Etienne Atisso.
Erica Atisso, meanwhile, spent the week wondering whether the three

pairs

of jeans she ordered from Chinese company Shein for $48 a month ago

would

ever arrive, believing they could be held up by a temporary suspension

in

imports from China. (They showed up Friday.)
The West Lafayette, Ind., childcare-center owner also experienced a
weekslong delay in receiving the daycare’s federal food program funding
for December due to what she believes was confusion around Trump’s order
and quick reversal of a pause on federal assistance.
“There’s just no way to plan for the future,” said the 45-year-old, who
voted for Harris. She’s concerned that the country is on the cusp of an >economic downturn that will cause her clients to lose their jobs and, in >turn, not be able to afford child care.
“You don’t know if you will be financially stable, or whether the rug is >about to be pulled out from under you.”

We are fucking doomed.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)