Why are Americans so gloomy about their great economy?
economist.com
Inflation, partisanship and the pandemic have made them glummer than the numbers suggest they should feel
I think the author just looked up statistics to reach a conclusion convenient to them.
Just ask the actual people. (Why didn't they do interviews?) There are so many details lost in their cherrypicked numbers. Prices, wages, housings, they are very bad according to what I read online, contrary to what the author argues citing average growths. Maybe they have no grasp of reality anymore?
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I am not sure I agree with their interpretation of the numbers. Inflation is not back to 2% and is unlikely to return there. Interest rates are high on loans. Stock market is not that up... just more recovering and the next 10 year return estimates are more like 6% not like the 10 or 12% people saw in the prior decade. Gas I do not use so I do not care. Geopolitics is concerning. Climate change is concerning. Internal politics is concerning. Both news and politics truth does not seem to matter... sensationalism seems more important then constructivism.
Hard to find positives. Maybe macro employment numbers are good. Not sure about working conditions or if incomes have matched inflation. Probably not universally. We may have avoided a recession I guess that may be positive. Money Market, CD, and Bond interest rates are up which is nice for some.
I don't own a car and don't use gas either. But my food, clothes, toiletries, mail, and lots of other things I need all probably required gas in order to get to me. If you live in a city, especially a US city, chances are high that you rely on gasoline a great deal just to get food, even if it's only indirectly.
Sure I agree that inflation is linked to the cost of carbon fuels. We need to eliminate 80% of that but it will be painful and difficult.