The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey, a national record of American consumer’s feelings on the health of the economy, is finally recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and catching up with the reality of declining inflation and low unemployment. There is only one problem: This should have happened months ago.
Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, has steadily declined since late 2022 and is currently at 3.1% — the lowest it’s been since March 2021. Unemployment, despite the predictions of many prominent economists, has remained relatively low since 2021. 2023 consumer spending was robust in the face of rising interest rates, staving off a nationwide recession. Gross domestic product, the measure of all goods and services an economy produces in a given year, rose by 3.1% during 2023. Based on all indicators of actual economic…
