If people feel that they're doing badly, well, when it comes to the economy, the customer is always right. But here's the kicker: When asked, most Americans don't say that they're doing badly... Some surveys also ask an in-between question: What's the state of your local economy? And respondents are typically much more positive about the economy in their state than they are about the nation's as a whole.
In fact, it's doing quite well, better than almost all its global peers. So much, you may say, for official statistics: If people feel that they're doing badly, well, when it comes to the economy, the customer is always right.
I needed to say something about two new surveys that appear to make the paradox of poor economic perceptions even starker.
Over the course of 2023, however, as inflation fell rapidly while the economy defied predictions of recession, there seemed to be ever fewer economic commentators insisting that things really were bad, and more acknowledging that something strange was happening – a vibecession.
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