Some say the economy is booming and things are looking up. Inflation is down, unemployment is at its lowest level in decades and we continue to dodge the recessions experts keep predicting. But Americans still have a poor view of the economy. What’s up with that?
Here’s Five Fast Facts on Americans’ View of the Economy:
- 🧮 Good Numbers - The government has just reported that prices didn’t rise at all from September to October. That means inflation is… well, deflating. We’ve also slowed our spending, but it’s still enough to increase economic growth.
- 😡 Bad Feelings - A recent poll shows that 75% of those surveyed feel the economy is poor. Two-thirds say expenses have increased and a quarter said their income has increased.
- 🤕 Lasting Damage - Experts point to inflation and the lasting damage. Stuff is still more expensive than three years ago and the prices are still rising. It was at 3.7% in September, but that’s considerably less than summer 2022 when it was close to 9%.
- 💸 Wage Lost - Another problem: our paychecks aren’t getting bigger. Median weekly earnings, when adjusted for inflation, have risen at just a 0.2% rate compared to the final three months of 2019. No wonder people are striking.
- 🤪 Bizarro World - Here’s where it gets really crazy. The Economist has a computer model that predicts how we feel about the economy, based on data like gas prices and unemployment. It’s been accurate for 40 years. But since the pandemic, our attitudes are much worse than predicted. Their final verdict? Our opinions about the economy have “diverged from reality.”
🔥Bottom line: It seems that no matter how good the “experts” say things are, we’re still reeling from the big losses that happened during Covid and the lockdowns. Some of this, for sure, is just perception but for many it's a reality. Times are tough!
How do you feel about the economy?
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