Vibes vs. data

The author argues that negative economic narratives, which he calls "vibes," distort Americans' reading of real economic data, even though the economy is in good shape by the measures he cites. He points to a Financial Times finding that U.S. consumer sentiment has diverged from economic indicators since 2020, unlike in other countries. He illustrates the problem with a Twitter thread by "deusexmoniker," which he says reads low unemployment, food stamp use and job projections as signs of weakness. He also notes that a Quinnipiac poll found 60% of Americans rated their own finances good or excellent while 71% rated the economy poorly.