I love it when the question is asked “what happened to the consumer” and the like. Personally the extra $450-$500 for gasoline per month caused us to reevaluate our purchases (not make any except for gasoline). the real pisser is that all of our dear politicians are clueless as to our financial status and probably do not care.
More significantly is what is happening with lines of credit.
Total amount to spend is not just income but income + increased credit - interest payments.
With folks deciding to pay down credit cards and HELOCs, this represents probably a 20% hit per person on consumer cash + credit expenditures.
Either inflation raises income, or deflation drops prices, but as we have seen current pricing is not at an equilibrium point.