Why a Good Economy Feels Like a Bad One
Senior editor Gilad Edelman explains how the economy is playing tricks on your mind.
January 4, 2024
29 min
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Episode 53 · January 4, 2024
Why a Good Economy Feels Like a Bad One
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29:18This episodeWhy a Good Economy Feels Like a Bad One
Summary
The illusion persists, despite all evidence. Americans are pessimistic about the economic future. They feel worse off than their parent’s generation. Poll after poll shows that at best, only twenty percent of Americans say the economy is doing better than it was a year ago.
More than twenty percent of Americans are doing better than they were a year ago, by many measures. Unemployment is lower, wages are growing, inflation is declining. This is true for Americans across ages and classes. These are tangible improvements in household income that should be cheering people up. They are not. Why? What trick is our minds playing on us that we can’t feel hopeful?
Gilad Edelman, a senior editor at The Atlantic who covers the economy, answers the mystery.
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