The bizarre myth of the bad economy
Some useful numbers in this piece. It has been a real puzzle for many why people think that the economy is doing so much worse than it actually is. With a 4.5 percent unemployment rate, and growth in everything from personal income to the stock market, it is very hard to see how people see things as getting worse. Donald Lambro has a nice discussion in his column:
Seventy percent of Americans now say the economy is getting worse, a belief contradicted by a growing workforce, increased wages and household wealth, and a stock-market rally that has boosted worker-retirement investments. . . . .
Kevin Hassett and I have a discussion on this general issue here.
Kevin Hassett and I have a discussion on this general issue here.
Labels: Economics
posted by John Lott at 9:14 AM
4 Comments:
Inflation?
There's a lot not being said here. Check out the following article for "the rest of the story": http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201671.html
One more item of interest is the amount of money Americans donate to charity is higher than it has ever been, according to the Associated Press today. The AP goes on to admit this is a sign of a strong economy.
Not a myth. This is rather a carefully constructed broad lie. Stock market reports always loudly report retreats, but ignore advances. The very low unemployment rate is reported as huge numbers of people who can not find a job. The public perception as shown in surveys is a result of purposeful and biased reporting by the media, and then the survey result is itself loudly broadcast as "proof" of a bad economy. No myth, just a useful construct.
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