Inflation, interest rates, and GDP growth might be valuable historical economic statistics, but they don\u2019t capture the voice of the American consumer in real time. This was the motivation for the Suffolk University Sawyer Business School\/USA TODAY national survey of adults on kitchen table issues.<\/p>\n
We opened the survey by asking respondents to summarize in a word the state of the economy today. A total of 22% used words like \u201cexcellent,\u201d \u201cgood,\u201d \u201cgrowing,\u201d \u201cimproving,\u201d \u201cgetting better,\u201d \u201cfair,\u201d \u201caverage,\u201d and \u201cfine.\u201d That\u2019s more than 1 in 5 feeling pretty good about the economy.<\/p>\n
However, nearly 3 in 4 (72%) used words like \u201chorrible,\u201d \u201cterrible,\u201d awful,\u201d \u201cbad,\u201d \u201cpoor,\u201d \u201cweak,\u201d \u201csad,\u201d \u201cdismal,\u201d \u201ccrashing,\u201d \u201cstruggling,\u201d \u201cdisastrous,\u201d \u201cshambles,\u201d \u201cchaotic,\u201d \u201cmessy,\u201d \u201cconfusing,\u201d \u201cunequal,\u201d \u201cexpensive,\u201d \u201cinflation,\u201d \u201cunstable,\u201d \u201cvolatile,\u201d \u201cunpredictable,\u201d \u201canxiety,\u201d \u201cworried,\u201d and \u201cscary.\u201d Those are their words, not ours, and they come from a wide range of demographics, including people at all income levels.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n From food costs to holiday spending: Americans say they're being pummeled by the economy in dire new poll https:\/\/t.co\/kEAhkK2YCy<\/a> via @Yahoo<\/a><\/p>\n — Marlene T. Diaz (@academicknight) September 15, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n