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 Why Consumer Sentiment Fell To A Seven-Month Low
https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-consumer-sentiment-fell-seven-month-low?utm_source=MI+Subscriptions&utm_campaign=8d1aafc464-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_03_01_07_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-fb69bb184c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

By Daniel Lacalle
> The US consumer has been adding debt to maintain consumption, and credit card debt has reached new record levels. This is not a strong economy. 
 I keep looking at gas prices.  The Ukraine/Russia war and the Israel/Hamas (and likely soon to be Israel/Hezbollah/Iran) wars along with Houthis shooting at ships in the Red Sea should make oil/gas prices skyrocket.  Instead they are dropping.  That says consumption is dropping like a rock.  Sadly, I expect bad times are coming.  The only questions are "how bad?" and "do we have a slow slide or a precipitous plummet?" 
 It's a good question. I saw some spending data, recently, showing that travel is way down. That might also be related to concerns about planes falling apart or catching on fire midair. 
 I'll admit that I am trying to avoid flying.  I hate security and I don't trust the safety of the planes or the pilots. 
 We already avoided it because of TSA and how unpleasant it is to fly with an energetic little kid. Actual safety concerns are just the icing on the cake.