The indicators are fine, the vibes are bad

A fair amount of US economic hard data — like consumer spending, a 3% rise in core GDP last quarter, and this latest jobs report — have suggested the economy is holding up despite broad uncertainty

But

Last week delivered the lowest reading on the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index since 2011

I usually think in terms of animal spirits, which should mean bad vibes cause bad indicators. But that connection seems weak these days.

Does political tribalism and attention-capture news mean we just always think things are bad and COVID rewired our spending response behavior?

A perma-vibecession soundtracked by ringing registers?

via The Daily Upside