Two-Thirds of Americans SLASHING THIS!

Close-up of a typewriter with a sheet of paper displaying the words 'LATEST NEWS' — MARKET RALLY MASKS PAIN

While Wall Street celebrates record highs, two out of every three Americans are quietly doing something that should unsettle anyone who thinks a rising stock market means a thriving economy.

Story Snapshot

Two-thirds of Americans told the Conference Board they are cutting back on spending due to rising prices, even as major stock indexes hit new highs.
Gas and food costs are outpacing paycheck growth, eroding real purchasing power for most households.
The conflict in the Middle East has driven a surge in crude oil prices, accelerating pain at the pump and rippling through everyday costs.
The gap between Wall Street performance and Main Street behavior exposes a fundamental flaw in how economic health gets reported to the public.

The Number That Should Stop You Cold

The Conference Board, one of the most respected economic research organizations in the country, dropped a finding that deserves far more attention than it received.

Two-thirds of consumers surveyed said they are cutting back on spending because of rising prices. ^[4] That is not a fringe result from an obscure poll.

That is a supermajority of American households tightening their belts while financial headlines trumpet market records. Something does not add up, and the explanation matters enormously.

The specific behaviors behind that two-thirds figure are telling. Consumers reported buying fewer items, trading down to cheaper brands, and delaying purchases they would otherwise make. ^[3]

These are not abstract pessimistic feelings. These are behavioral changes with direct consequences for businesses, employment, and the broader economy.

When two-thirds of the country pulls back simultaneously, the ripple effects reach every sector from retail to restaurants to regional trucking companies.

Gas Prices Are the Match That Lit This Fire

The Middle East conflict drove Brent crude oil prices higher, and American drivers felt it immediately. ^[5] Gasoline is not just a line item in a household budget. It is a tax on everything else.

Higher fuel costs raise the prices of groceries, manufactured goods, and services because transportation costs are passed on throughout the supply chain.

A separate survey found that 44% of Americans are now driving less because of high gas prices, and 42% have cut household expenses directly as a result. ^[8] That is a broad-based behavioral shift, not a statistical blip.

The timing is critical. Inflation was already eroding the purchasing power of paychecks before the latest fuel spike. ^[5] When wages grow slower than prices, every dollar earned buys less.

Workers who received raises in the past two years may feel nominally better off while actually falling behind in real terms. That quiet erosion of purchasing power is exactly why the stock market rally feels completely disconnected from lived experience for most American families.

U.S. consumer confidence slipped in May as war-driven inflation weighed on Americans: Two-thirds of Americans say they are cutting back on spending as gas prices and food costs stay elevated https://t.co/V99GPaDDao

— Quartz (@qz) May 26, 2026

Why the Stock Market Number Is Misleading Most People

Stock market gains concentrate at the top of the wealth distribution. The households most likely to own significant equity portfolios are not the same households cutting back on groceries and skipping fill-ups.

Market strength driven by technology earnings and large-cap performance does not translate into relief at the checkout line for the median American worker. ^[6]

Treating a record Dow Jones Industrial Average as evidence of broad economic health is like pointing to the penthouse while ignoring the rest of the building.

There is also an important distinction between what surveys measure and what spending data measures. The Conference Board’s findings capture what people say they are doing and plan to do, which is a leading indicator of where measured retail sales and gross domestic product are headed. ^[4]

Dismissing sentiment surveys because they do not perfectly match current spending data misses the point. Sentiment leads behavior, and behavior drives the economy. When this many people report pulling back, the downstream numbers will eventually confirm it.

The assertion that a strong stock market signals a healthy economy for ordinary Americans has always required a significant leap of faith. The evidence here supports skepticism.

Inflation that outpaces wages, fuel prices driven by foreign conflict, and a supermajority of households cutting spending represent a real and measurable squeeze on working Americans. ^[5] ^[3]

Policies that prioritize asset price inflation over stable consumer prices and energy independence consistently produce exactly this outcome: a headline number that looks great and a kitchen table reality that does not.

The survey results are not surprising. They are the predictable consequence of getting the priorities wrong.