'America's Not OK': Surveys, Wellbeing Steep Decline, Rising Costs, Job Insecurity, Economy, Social Media [View all]

- ‘America’s Not OK’: Surveys Show US Wellbeing in Steep Decline Under Trump,' Common Dreams, April 10, 2026. By Brad Reed.

“Americans are drowning under rising costs, flat wages, high unemployment, and historic layoffs—it’s no wonder they’re concerned about how they’re going to make ends meet.”
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Two recently released surveys revealed a significant drop in Americans’ self-reported wellbeing as the Trump administration launches illegal and deadly military conflicts and plunges the global economy into chaos. On Friday, the University of Michigan issued its monthly Survey of Consumers, which showed that consumer sentiment in the US hit an all-time low after dropping by 11% since March, amid President Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran.

The drop in consumer sentiment was almost universal, the survey found, as “demographic groups across age, income, and political party all posted setbacks in sentiment, as did every component of the index, reflecting the widespread nature of this month’s fall.” As for the reasons for the decline, the survey found “many consumers blame the Iran conflict for unfavorable changes to the economy,” such as a major spike in gas prices, which the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday increased by more than 20% in the month since the war began.

Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, noted that the latest consumer sentiment data showed Americans are even more sour on the economy now than they were in the summer of 2022, when the economy was dealing with the highest inflation it had seen in decades. Kendall Witmer, rapid response director of the Democratic National Committee, seized on the consumer sentiment report and accused Trump of having “tanked the economy for working families.”

“Americans are drowning under rising costs, flat wages, high unemployment, and historic layoffs,” Witmer added. “It’s no wonder they’re concerned about how they’re going to make ends meet and Trump and [Vice President] JD Vance can’t be bothered to make life more affordable for them.” The record low in consumer sentiment comes just weeks after Gallup released its annual World Happiness Report, which showed that the US had fallen out of its rankings of the 20 happiest countries in the world.

.. Social media’s impact on mental health has come into focus in recent weeks with juries in multiple states finding Big Tech companies liable for creating products that harm children...

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https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-happiness-consumer-sentiment