Inflation has reached its lowest point in two and a half years. The unemployment rate has stayed below four percent for the longest stretch since the 1960s. And the U.S. economy has repeatedly defied predictions of a coming recession. Yet according to a raft of polls and surveys, most Americans hold a glum view of the economy. Retired Ripon College economist Paul Schoofs says many factors lie behind the disconnect, including politics. Schoofs says despite the steady cooling of inflation, many goods and services are still far pricier than they were just three years ago. But he says that doesn’t answer why polls show many people feel the economy today is as bad as the Great Recession of 2008. Inflation is slowing. But most prices are high and still rising. Schoofs says most Americans are looking for deflation. They want prices to be be back where they were before the pandemic.
