AMERICANS: HAPPY DAYS NOT HERE, AGAIN!

Cheer up, it’s Gloom Time. With Omicron fear spreading and with the COVID War still raging, just 21 percent of Americans say they are better off financially than they were a year ago, according to a Momentive survey conducted for The New York Times.
A year ago, the same survey found 26 percent reporting improvement.
Despite the economy having added and kept hundreds of thousands of jobs in the past 12 months, consumer confidence is at its lowest point since Momentive began the survey in 2016.
About 90 percent of respondents said they were at least “somewhat concerned” about inflation; 60 percent said they were “very concerned,” although most acknowledged that inflation has not yet made a significant impact on their lives.
“Pretty much the only group of people who say they’re better off now than they were a year ago are people who’ve gotten a pay raise that matches or beats inflation,” Momentive researcher Laura Wronski said to the NYT.
Only 17 percent of the 5,365 adults surveyed said they have received raises that keep pace with inflation; most of the rest either received raises that lag inflation or have gotten no raise at all. About 8 percent reported taking a pay cut.
TREND FORECAST OPPORTUNITIES: As we have noted, the U.S. Consumer Price Index shot up 6.8 percent in November, a 40-year high, while average hourly earnings rose 4.8 percent, thus it costs more to live … and is difficult to advance into an up-graded lifestyle. 
As Dragflation sets in, and economic conditions deteriorate, the “unhappy” levels will accelerate. We note this to also emphasize trend opportunities: There is a major media vacuum of selling upbeat sounds and styles that elevate the human mind, body and spirit. Those that identify and market them will reap great financial and emotional rewards.