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The Year of America’s Cranky Consumer

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“American households are nearing the end of the year feeling a lot more dour about the economy than they did at the beginning, even as they keep spending,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“High prices, a fragile job market and anxiety about President Trump’s tariffs have helped drag consumer sentiment, as measured by the University of Michigan, down near historic lows this year. The latest numbers were slightly improved from a previous reading freighted by government shutdown disruptions, but barely.”

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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