A Pot to Be Pissed In

“As it turns out, the big economic story of 2023 is not a recession, as many had predicted — it’s the disconnect between consumer sentiment and behavior.” American consumers are expressing gloom about the economy, but they’re spending like these are the best of times. What gives? Betsey Stevenson has an interesting theory in Bloomberg (Gift Article): Anger Is What’s Driving the US Economy. “Why is the gap between attitudes and action so large? Much of the economic anger expressed in the polls may be less about current economic conditions and more about the economy the US has built over the past 40 years: one of high and rising inequality, with greater economic fragility due to higher income volatility and a reduced safety net. A deep-seated anger about how the economy is ‘rigged’ has been simmering since long before the pandemic.”