Americans Feel Bad About the Economy

Wall Street Journal: “Bad feelings don’t always translate into bad news for the economy. Consumer and business surveys are what economists consider ‘soft’ data, driven to an extent not by what people are experiencing but what they say.”

“Still, when it comes to the economy, feelings matter. A family feeling skittish about the future might put off a vacation; a company might delay an expansion. If enough people decide to hold back, those choices can ripple through the economy. Those feelings can also work as an early-warning system, reflecting facts people are seeing on the ground that aren’t yet showing in other economic data.”