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The US Economy is Booming: Why do we all feel so miserable?
The post pandemic recovery is taking a toll on people, and the lag time to adjust to the new economy is longer than expected
Based on 2023 and 2024 data, American should be celebrating the incredible resilience of their economy. Inflation is rapidly slowing, incomes are increasing particularly among poorer people, jobs are abundant, and Wall Street just hit new records.
The US economy grew at an annualized pace of 4.9% the final three months of 2023 according to the Bureau of Economic Analyses, (BEA) this is more than twice analyst expectations at the end of October 2023. This growth is supported by robust wage growth for low-income Americans which is why spending continues to be strong. For 2023 as a whole GDP growth was an impressive 2.5%. This is remarkable considering that most bankers, supported by President Trump expected America to in recession by now. To prove them wrong, the U.S. Economy added over 350,000 Jobs in January exceeding expectations. Finally, Wall Street has been on fire for most of 2023 closing the year with S&P 500 index of leading American stocks at a record high of 5000 points.
In terms of inflation, the personal consumption expenditure price index reached 2.6% in November 2023 compared with a year earlier, and down from 7% in mid-2022. The disinflation has been…
