The happiness crash that started in 2020 didn't spare any particular group. University of Chicago economist Sam Peltzman analyzed self-reported happiness data and found the decline cut 10 to 15 percentage points across every demographic he examined — every age group, every income level, every ideology, every gender. Rich and poor fell equally, according to Derek Thompson at derekthompson.org . Peltzman's 2026 paper uses the phrase "regime change in national sentiment" for what happened after COVID, adding that the U.S. "was a reasonably happy country for a long time. It is not happy now." University of Michigan consumer sentiment sank to levels not seen in 70 years of surveys, below the Great Recession and the stagflation of the 1970s. The Federal Reserve's worker satisfaction measure hit its worst since tracking began in 2014. The World Happiness Report ranked the U.S. at its lowest position ever. Thompson's top explanation is economic compression.…