Never mind the macro stats for the U.S. economy — Americans are hot, and very much still bothered by high prices, with recent reports about GDP growth, stock gains and a strong labor market apparently providing cold comfort. At least so far.
Instead, most describe the economy as "uncertain," along with calling it bad, and "struggling" but not improved.
So, there's plenty of lagging skepticism hanging over the public mind after the turmoil of recent years and months of chatter about a potential recession. Almost no one is calling things "stable."
And that's the case despite relatively good feelings about the job market and job security.
It's not just whether one has a job, but what your wages can buy you. Most of those working say their pay is not keeping pace with rising prices.
(The fact that most report paying higher electric bills and being forced indoors because of the heat waves may not be helping the mood either.)
And even if the rate of inflation is slowing, those price hikes have clearly left their mark.
Prices are the No. 1 reason people give when asked why they call the economy bad and the top reason given when they describe their personal financial situation as bad.
Interest rates, they report, are also a net-negative on their collective finances. Most, particularly younger people, report it's harder to buy a home than for past generations.
It all adds up to most feeling they're staying in place financially but not getting ahead, and many feeling that they're falling behind and concerned about affording things now and retirement in the longer term.
As is often the case in these kinds of economic evaluations, what people see at the cashier, or on their bills on the kitchen table, has outsized impact over more abstract economic reports.
Here's that comparison: Americans rate the job market stronger than the overall economy.
But many still think the prices they pay are going up. That may comport with macro data saying inflation is slowing, but price increases are still felt by consumers.
The politics
There's plenty of skepticism about help from political leaders on either side of the aisle. It isn't good news for the president.
Most tie both the U.S. economy and their own personal finances (whether bad or good) at least in part to President Biden's policies — an important measure of both macro and micro connection — and also to that very immediate measure of prices.
Most don't think the Biden administration is lowering inflation — another key metric to watch in coming months — and even fewer think congressional Republicans are taking actions that do so, with many not sure what they've done. As they campaigned to win the House majority last year, most voters expected them to prioritize dealing with inflation.