"On a recent hour-long phone call with The Post, echoing similar conversations between economists across social media and among policymakers, Stevenson and Wolfers gently cut each other off several times as they contrasted their views of economic discontent, eager to avoid being mischaracterized.
After Wolfers reiterated that average Americans were not acting like they were concerned with the economy, Stevenson said, “What makes me feel unsatisfied with that as a full answer — and I know it’s squishy — is when I talk to real people —” Wolfers interjected, 'And this is a terrible answer. I’ll explain to you why it’s horrible and why journalists need to not do this.'
Stevenson forged ahead: 'What I found walking around Michigan, in casual conversations — watching people standing in lines together, commiserating over the economy — I feel like people seem to genuinely have real concerns.”
She cited skyrocketing housing prices, high interest rates and ongoing affordability challenges. “Trying to figure out how people feel — it’s true we can look at their behavior, but that doesn’t necessarily tell us everything,” Stevenson said. “Justin should keep making his arguments, and we should be open to many different people’s arguments, because a disconnect like this could be very important for the country.”
Wolfers said this was unsatisfying, because it’s impossible to draw meaningful conclusions about something as large as the economy from casual conversations with strangers in one place. But even as he expressed frustration with his wife’s arguments, he acknowledged that they had again at least forced him to reconsider how to frame his assumptions.
“We have similar values, and so it’s easy to overstate where the values differ,” Wolfers said. “The disagreement between us is sometimes painful. But it’s always productive.”
~ Jeff Stein
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/12/27/biden-economy-vibes-couple/
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