, Columnist
Are Americans Really as Happy as Pollsters Say?
Most people are better off than they were a year ago, but record levels of optimism seem a bit irrational.
She seems happy.
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Since 1976, the pollsters at Gallup have been asking Americans on a not-exactly-regular basis whether they’re financially better off than they were a year ago. Last month, 59% of the 1,014 people they asked said yes, the highest such percentage on record.
This makes sense. Economic growth is plodding along at the same just-over-2% pace it averaged over the past decade, but after 10-plus recession-free years the unemployment rate is the lowest it’s been since the 1960s. Preliminary indications are that median household income rose at a healthy pace in 2019. Most Americans are better off than they were a year ago.