Millions of Americans Are Economically Invisible: Nir Kaissar

Many people are puzzled about the disconnect between how well the US economy is doing and how badly Americans feel about it.

Unemployment is low, inflation has been largely tamed and the economy appears to be growing robustly. Yet consumers have the blues. According to a widely followed sentiment survey, they are nearly as pessimistic today as they were during the 2008 financial crisis and the great stagflation of the early 1980s.

I had always assumed this disconnect would prove temporary. But I’m starting to wonder if it has become structural. One disturbing possibility is that broad ...