Why a Good Economy Feels Like a Bad One

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There’s something weird happening with the economy. On a personal level, most Americans say they’re doing pretty well right now. And according to the data, that’s true. Wages have gone up faster than inflation. Unemployment is low, the stock market is generally up so far this ...

The U.S. economy is doing better than many had anticipated. Some 80 percent of jobs lost during the pandemic have been regained, and people are making, and spending, more.

But Americans seem to feel terrible about the financial outlook.

Why the gap between reality ...

Should we be celebrating a Biden boom? Lamenting inflation and its consequences? Both?

We know how to talk about booms, like the ’90s. We know how to talk about busts, like after the financial crisis. We know how to talk about stagnation. What we don’t know how to talk a ...

The American economy, by many measures, is doing better than it has done in years. But for many Americans, that is not how it feels. Their feelings point to an enduring mystery: Why do Americans feel so bad when the economy is so good?

Jeanna Smialek, who covers the Fede ...