This isn’t actually a difficult question to answer: food prices are so ridiculously high, as high as they were during Covid, that feeding your family is a challenge even if you make decent money.
a lot of people misunderstand the "vibecession" debate. the question isn't "is the economy good?" the question is "what explains the unprecedented disconnect between consumer sentiment and economic performance?"
Like I’m glad the economy is doing well but why does it cost $300/wk to feed a family of 4 when I’m buying store brand stuff at Hannaford? It’s not like I’m shopping at Whole Foods.
“Why wasn’t public opinion of the US economy so untethered from reality 4 years ago?” Because 4 years ago most people could still afford groceries even when the economy was bad. Now you’re telling us it’s good but we’re still bankrupting ourselves just to eat.
