Advances in economic sentiment accelerated this week, with the Consumer Comfort Index posting its strongest year-to-date growth in 35 years of weekly data. Each of its component measures built on already impressive 2021 gains. This week’s advance, in particular, is led by Americans’ ratings of their personal finances, now nearly […] Read more »
Why Biden is making more progress on economic than social issues
The magnitude of the economic proposals that President Joe Biden may pass through Congress this year is drawing legitimate comparisons to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society. But Biden simultaneously faces the prospect that almost all of his legislative initiatives revolving around social, cultural and […] Read more »
Our National Dissonance: Surging optimism is the flip side of paranoia and distrust of the system
… Vaccine proximity. Per the CDC, we are at 53% of Americans with at least one dose. Our Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index tracker, which went to field about a week ago, comes to a similar conclusion – finding that more than half know someone else who has gotten the shot. … […] Read more »
Politico-Harvard poll: Few expect major help from Biden’s stimulus package
More Americans are optimistic about life soon returning to normal, but they’re skeptical of just how much they’ll benefit from Democrats’ expansive Covid relief package. About one-third of Americans, including less than half of Democrats, believe the recent stimulus — one of the largest economic rescue plans in American history […] Read more »
The GOP Is Voting Against Its Base
With their opposition to President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, Republicans are doubling down on a core bet they’ve made for his presidency: that the GOP can maintain support among its key constituencies while fighting programs that would provide those voters with tangible economic assistance. Last month, every House and Senate […] Read more »
Consumer Comfort Index Rises to New Pandemic High
A week after anticipating a strong monthly jobs report, the Consumer Comfort Index surged to a new pandemic high, lifted by Americans’ improved assessments of their personal finances, the buying climate and the national economy alike. The CCI is up 3.3. points since mid-March, including 1.9 points just this week […] Read more »