For those of us who regularly follow the “wonksphere” on social media, it’s been hard to ignore the pushback against the doom and gloom that economic sentiment surveys have consistently reported. Commentators like Stancil and Sahm have bitterly complained about the disconnect between the public’s negative perceptions relative to the hard economic data, which is ostensibly pretty good. In this, they have been carrying water for policymakers like Lael Brainard, who have attempted to burnish the Administration’s economic achievements to push back against the negative perception of the economy. The most obvious of those achievements is the decline in inflation – see, we told you it was transitory!
Read more →