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📈Stocks Are Soaring While Americans Are Miserable 😭
The U.S. is experiencing one of the most striking disconnects in financial history. Consumer sentiment just hit its lowest in 70 years, 10% below the June 2022 inflation peak, while the S&P 500 notched its eighth consecutive weekly gain and the Dow hit back-to-back record closes.
The S&P 500’s cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio stands at 40.8, only seen once before in 145 years, during the dot-com bubble of 2000.
Economists offer 3 explanations. First, stocks may be dangerously disconnected from economic reality and headed for a sharp correction.
Second, markets may be looking past current pain toward a future where the Iran war ends, inflation eases, and growth rebounds, essentially pricing in an optimistic scenario.
Third, AI may be the common thread driving both trends at once: where companies use AI to slash labor costs and widen profit margins is fantastic for shareholders, but deeply unsettling for workers.
May 30, 2026 106
