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Mark Abraham

@markabraham.bsky.social
2.2K followers 2.4K following 726 posts

Collecting and sharing data on community-level health and well-being. Personal account: Posts here do not represent the views of my employer. #NHV resident.

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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 29/09/2026
Unfortunately, we're going in the wrong direction on several fronts: —Proposed fed transport bill would *reduce* transit funding —Cities & states allow sprawling development —Congress eliminated funding supports for electric car purchases —Trump admin worsened fuel efficiency standards Read more ⏬
urban.org
Rising Gas Prices Are Punishing Household Finances. Policymakers Should Invest in Transit to Reduce Household Costs.
Amid months of rising gas prices, a typical driver now spends $65 more on fuel each month today than they did a year ago.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
DataHaven @ctdata @datahaven.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
News coverage of DataHaven’s recent report on SNAP cuts: ctmirror.org/2026/09/25/s... #connecticut
ctmirror.org
SNAP enrollment is down in CT since last year — but where?
In Connecticut, about 55,000 fewer people are enrolled in SNAP, including nearly 18,000 fewer residents under 18 receiving benefits.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Since #NHV decommissioned its Route 34 highway, these are a few of the new buildings around it built (green), starting construction soon (yellow, w/ new @yalesph.bsky.social home at center), red (proposed). Millions of square feet = massive new sources of revenue and jobs for the city. #Connecticut
planscurrent image
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
CBO says Iran war has cost $44 billion as of 9/1. Higher gas and diesel prices have resulted in $100 billion in extra costs to U.S. families. $144 billion could have funded 200 miles of fully protected, grade-separated bike lanes at $750K/mile within each of the 1,000 largest U.S. cities and towns.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
USNews rankings of some women’s colleges plummeted to a historic low point after the news and media website added a new “earnings by major” factor to its college rankings. (The factor is probably not adjusted by gender or hours worked) @usnews.com @wellesley.edu
Image from Instagram
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
Map showing Lower Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
ARTnews.com @artnews.com.web.brid.gy · 27/08/2026
artnews.com
As New York Prices Artists Out, New Haven Is Drawing Them In
Is New Haven one possible cure for a metastasized New York real estate market?
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
No words to describe how horrifying this is www.springfieldnewssun.com/tncms/asset/...
A 20-year-old Wright State student took his own life on Interstate 70 out of anguish over a required
ICE ankle monitor, according to local community advocates.
Pierre Damas Bel was a new student at Wright State University. He was fitted with an ankle monitor in July.
Pastor Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church wrote on social media that Bel threw himself in front of a semi "after being teased by fellow students at Wright State about his ankle monitor."
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Duncan Meisel @duncanwrites.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
I got purged, so did my neighbor - incidentally in the most Democratic leaning precincts in the state. Who could have guessed.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
"This is the tick century, yes, but the century is young." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/m...
nytimes.com
The Summer the Ticks Took Over
A scientific and civilizational horror story.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
As recently as the Clinton era, the bottom 80% of U.S. households by income had higher consumer spending than the top 20%
WaPo chart from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/20/ai-is-increasing-inequality-economists-hedge-fund-leaders-warn/
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Hindu Kush Himalaya glaciers losing ice at double the rate since 2000 www.icimod.org/press-releas...
Text from report
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
More than a million kids have lost food aid bc of Trump cuts. One NJ mom has been skipping meals and eating *ice* — that way her kids can have a little more. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
nbcnews.com
‘Mom, are we OK?’ Children worry their families can’t afford food after Trump’s SNAP cuts
The Trump administration’s “big, beautiful bill” slashed spending on food stamps. Now, more than 1 million fewer children receive benefits.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Transportation Alternatives @transalt.org · 18/08/2026
When Citi Bike is way less expensive, way more people ride. We're fighting for 45-minute rides to be just $3, so you don't have to break the bank to get around by bike.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Favorites of #Toronto area: Shaw fest cool views of skyline bakerrae cycling all the Toronto islands other city parks Toronto Zoo PATH Taking streetcars and never a car Old distillery Leslieville, little Ethiopia, other neighborhoods endless numbers of unique retail stores Niagara power tunnel
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Also this type of slide can be found at nearly every conference and webinar these days, since too many people are relying on AI for their slides.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Timothy McBride @mcbridetd.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Federal statistical agencies, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau, are facing deep staffing cuts and minimal hiring, raising alarms about their long-term ability to deliver objective datasets that drive policymaking and the economy. www.govexec.com/workforce/20...
govexec.com
Staffing cuts are leaving federal statistical agencies stretched thin
The Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau have been hard hit by staffing cuts, and experts say replacing lost expertise won't happen overnight.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
no new infrastructure www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...
chart from NY Times
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
From 2010 to 2024 (ACS data), the number of homeowners who are over age 65 increased by 23% in the City of New Haven (from 3,500 to 4,600), while the number of homeowners who are age 25-44 fell by 19% (from 5,000 to 4,100). The number age 45-64 stayed the same at 6,700.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Dr. Céline Gounder @celinegounder.com · 17/07/2026
Same smoky air, two different risks. Healthy adult? Low-stakes today. Asthma, heart/lung disease, pregnant, older, or a kid? That air can send you to the ER within hours. Check AirNow; clean indoor air (MERV-13/HEPA). Read & subscribe: celinegounder.com
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 17/07/2026
Climate change does not cause wildfires, but hot and dry conditions make them much more likely to spread. In Canada, 9 of the 10 worst wildfire years were both dryer and hotter than normal. And these fires are burning in areas that were historically not managed or suppressed.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Also arrived today: appropriately titled preprint book by @resnikoff.bsky.social with strategies for revitalizing cities
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Hot off the press @princetonupress.bsky.social - “the other housing crisis” brings much needed attention to the issue of housing deterioration
Book cover
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
It's moving into CT. Even with a brand-new HEPA running, PM2.5 ug/m3 in my office gradually rose through the day from 19 to 33, according to my monitor. It's typically ~2. Opening the office door, 2nd floor indoor hallway reading is 105 ug/m3 now. Outside, it's up from 60 this AM to >120 now. #ctwx
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
"Wildfire smoke PM2.5 was five times more toxic than general PM2.5. The total all-cause mortality burden associated with wildfire PM2.5 was 24,054 deaths/year in contiguous US. The exposure-response curve increased monotonically,with no evidence of a “safe” threshold" www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Wildfire smoke PM2.5 and mortality rate in the contiguous United States: A causal modeling study
Chronic exposure to wildfire smoke PM2.5 significantly increases all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
US forces blew up a school in Iran, killing over 150, and now isn’t doing the usual post-strike review. Some combination of conscious of guilt, contemptuous of responsibility and the accountability that goes with it, and indifference to the human, moral, and strategic costs of such an awful error.
cnn.com
Exclusive: US military hasn’t conducted standard review of intelligence tied to strike on school in Iran, sources say | CNN Politics
The investigation into a US strike that hit a school in Iran has sat for months with a military command while leaders have held off on ordering a critical, standard intelligence review to help determi...
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
10 months ago
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
3.6 roentgen, not great, not terrible
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Michael Nabert @sustainablesong.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Extreme wildfire risk for Western Canada has increased by up to six times in the last decade alone as a result of fossil fuel driven climate warming. Full peer reviewed study by University of Victoria researchers at this link. 2/ link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
Attributing extreme fire risk in Western Canada to human emissions - Climatic Change
Canada is expected to see an increase in fire risk under future climate projections. Large fires, such as that near Fort McMurray, Alberta in 2016, can be devastating to the communities affected. Unde...
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Stay Indoors. #Duluth
AirNow map of Duluth
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
"China now makes 75 percent of all E.V.s sold anywhere on earth. The United States makes around 5 percent." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/15/m...
nytimes.com
The American E.V. Has Been Crushed. Will It Take the U.S. Auto Industry With It?
The largest U.S. automakers have backed away from electric vehicles, even as global sales are booming. The decision may make them obsolete.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
It is genuinely heartbreaking to see all of the people losing SNAP benefits. In West Virginia, 14,000 SNAP participants have lost their benefits. In Arizona, it’s 500,000. That’s not a typo. Half a million people in AZ no longer have nutrition assistance. Republicans strike again.
westvirginiawatch.com
14K West Virginians have lost food assistance because of Big Beautiful Bill changes • West Virginia Watch
With some exceptions, recipients of SNAP have been required to do at least 80 hours per month of work, training or volunteering.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
“In #Connecticut, the housing inventory is limited. According to DataHaven @datahaven.bsky.social , there are 27 active listings per 10,000 homes in the state. The national average is 76.” www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/c...
nbcconnecticut.com
Conn. delegation angry at Trump's canceled federal housing bill signing
Connecticut’s delegation expressed anger and frustration after President Trump canceled the signing of a bipartisan federal housing bill on Wednesday. “Holding housing hostage for this voter suppressi...
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Senator Chris Van Hollen @vanhollen.senate.gov · 18/06/2026
The deal between the United States & Iran underscores what we already knew: The Iran war was a huge blunder from the start & we are worse off as a result. But one thing worse than this deal is not ending this stupid war.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Landmark new study in @science.org: "Remote work explains 1/3 of the deterioration in #mentalhealth over the last 15 years... People who lived w/ spouse and kids saw their MH hold fairly steady; those who lived alone experienced a 20% decrease in mental well-being." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | We Liked Remote Work. Then We Looked at the Data.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Also, the JCPOA was an actual painstakingly negotiated, detailed, actual international agreement, signed by 🇬🇧, 🇩🇪, 🇫🇷, 🇷🇺, & 🇨🇳alongside 🇺🇸, & 🇮🇷. We don’t even know if this is real, & this administration has exactly zero credibility to make agreements right now, even if they exist.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 12/06/2026
🎂 U.S. President Donald Trump is approaching his 80th birthday, making him one of the oldest national leaders in the world. Only 16 national leaders are older than Trump, according to our analysis of 186 UN member states. 🌎
Bee swarm chart plotting the ages of 186 United Nations member states nations' leaders. 

Text reads:
Donald Trump is among the world's 20 oldest national leaders
Country leader's age
Youngest, Balen Shah, 36, Nepal.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, 48, Ukraine
Mark Carney, 61, Canada
Median age: 63
Xi Jinping, 72, China
Vladimir Putin, 73, Russia 
Donald Trump, 80, United States
Oldest, Paul Biya, 93, Cameroon
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Warren Wells, AICP @warrenjwells.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
E-bikes are just ridiculously efficient. We've been riding for 3 months and have put a little over 600 miles on it. The bike has a range of ~120 miles and battery capacity of 1.2kWh. So, we've used about 6kWh of electricity. In CA a kWh costs $0.35, so that is a total cost of...$2.10
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Molly White @molly.wiki · 09/06/2026
Striking graphic in this latest Reuters piece, which finds that while President Trump and his family have profited by at least $2.3 billion since he retook the presidency, their more than a million investors have suffered $2.3 billion in net losses. www.reuters.com/investigatio...
How the Trump family earns from crypto
Trump crypto gains and investor losses from Nov. 2024 to April 2026

ALT5 Sigma

American Bitcoin

World Liberty Financial

$TRUMP meme coin

Trump gains

+$1.1 bln

Trump gains

+$616 mln

Trump gains

Trump gains

+$538 m

+$19 mln

-$674 mln

Investor losses

Investor losses

-$711 mln

Investor losses

-$675 mln

Investor losses

-$216 mln

How the Trump family earns

How the Trump family earns

How the Trump family earns

How the Trump family earns

At the time of the deal that created this Nasdaq-listed joint venture, partner Hut 8 Inc. bought World Liberty tokens. Eric Trump also got a stake in American Bitcoin, at no cost.

A company controlled by Donald Trump’s revocable trust is entitled to 75% of net revenue from token sales by World Liberty Financial.

Donald Trump licensed his name and image to a company called Celebration Cards LLC, which raised enormous sums selling the digital token.

The Nasdaq-listed company, recently renamed AI Financial Corp., raised money from investors to buy World Liberty Financial tokens.

Card graphic showing the crypto ventures of the Trump family, how they earned and how much they gained compared to investor losses from Nov. 2024 to April 2026.

Sources: Blockchain records, company statements and interviews
Prinz Magtulis | REUTERS
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
What’s the biggest cause, rising income inequality (wealthy families taking up relatively more space), or zoning and lack of production? “If every group of young people has its driving cause, this one’s might be boiled down to six words: The rent is too damn high.” www.nytimes.com/2026/06/07/n...
nytimes.com
They Have Yet to Sign a Lease. But They’re Furious Over $3,100 Rents.
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DataHaven @ctdata @datahaven.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
DataHaven Youth Action Council is entirely youth-designed and youth-led, allowing high school students from throughout #Connecticut the autonomy to decide the curriculum, their research focuses, and which events they host and participate in. Congrats to DHYAC on last week’s symposium!
DHYACDHYAC photoDHYAC photoDHYAC photo
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
“Elon Musk is worth four times as much as the combined income of Connecticut's 3.6 million people.” www.nhregister.com/connecticut/...
nhregister.com
Who makes more, Connecticut’s top-paid CEO or an entire town?
The combined income of the 17 of the highest-paid CEOs in Connecticut is more than the total income earned in nearly every census tract in the state.
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Has anyone else noticed a rapid uptick in “little libraries” lately? For many years we’ve had about 8 of them within a 5 minute walk of our house in #NHV, but with neighbors adding new ones, there are now almost 20 within the same area (generally fewer books per library now, perhaps as a result).
Little library
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Mark Abraham @markabraham.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Failing grades soar as professors see greater AI usage, dwindling math skills in UC Berkeley “[In some cases] we caught them (cheating)… in other cases, it’s students who are leaning a little too hard on LLMs …, and then at exam time just really aren’t ready.” www.dailycal.org/news/campus/...
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Elizabeth Wrigley-Field @wrigleyfield.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
This study of four cohorts of French schoolchildren shows that the gender gap in math (girls falling behind) begins essentially immediately as soon as kids start school. They use the natural variation in kids' ages at school start to show that it's school entry, not age, that triggers the change.
nature.com
Rapid emergence of a maths gender gap in first grade - Nature
Boys and girls exhibit very similar maths scores upon school entry, but a gender gap in favour of boys becomes highly significant after 4 months of schooling, which increases with years of schooling,&...
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MetJam @metjam.co.uk · 27/05/2026
Oxford, the longest running continuous weather station in UK history, with temperature observations stretching back to 1815, has preliminarily broken its maximum temperature record for May yesterday by OVER 3ºC with a temperature of 33.7ºC. Unprecedented in its 211-year history.
Spaghetti chart showing Oxford Radcliffe Observatory daily maximum temperatures for every day of the year from 1815 to 2026. 211 years of historical data are shown as very faint grey lines tracing a seasonal cycle from around 5°C in winter to a summer peak of roughly 25–30°C in July and August. A blue smoothed 30-day mean line highlights the average annual temperature cycle. The 2026 line is shown in bold red, running from January through to late May before spiking sharply upward to reach 33.7°C on 26 May, well above the entire historical grey envelope for that time of year. A single dashed red reference line marks the previous May record of 30.6°C set on 29 May 1944. The 2026 reading exceeds this by 3.1°C and, in statistical terms, is the 6th most anomalous maximum temperature in Oxford's 211-year record, ranking as the most anomalous May maximum ever observed and coming within 0.6°C of the all-time June record of 34.3°C set in 1976.
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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.
nature.com
Exclusive: NSF puts new research grants to top universities on hold
US science funder once again restricts awards to Harvard University and other research institutions.
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The Trace @thetrace.org · 27/05/2026
Skill games have been the driver of armed robberies and shootings in Pennsylvania, critics say. The games test players’ memory, reflexes, and strategy for a cash reward, with scant security precautions. Efforts to bring the games under stricter oversight are now playing out on two fronts.
thetrace.org
They Look Like Slot Machines. They Pay Out in Cash. And Critics Say They Are Getting Workers Killed.
Clerks have been robbed and shot while handling payouts for the games, which are not subject to the security standards required of gambling operations.
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Reposted by Mark Abraham
Arin Dube @arindube.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Apropos of some debate on Piketty-Saez-Zucman versus Auten-Splinter brewing again on the other site, let me post my lecture notes that does a deep dive into this, looking at both pre- and post-tax income inequality. Link: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/4k5gj...
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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
We have *never* before seen consumer sentiment this low.
Line chart titled "Consumer Sentiment just fell to a (new) all-time low" showing the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index from 1952 to May 2026. The index plummeted to 44.8 in May 2026, the lowest reading in the survey's 74-year history, falling sharply from 74.0 in December 2024. This marks three consecutive months of decline and drops below all previous crisis lows, including the June 2022 inflation surge low of 50.0 and the April 2020 pandemic low of 71.8, signaling an unprecedented collapse in consumer confidence.
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