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The real reason Americans hate the economy so much

Did decades of low inflation make the public far more unforgiving when it finally did surge?

Americans’ doom and despair about the economy is mounting.

In fact, by one measure, the public is more depressed than they’ve ever been in the postwar era. The University of Michigan has been surveying American consumers’ sentiment since all the way back in 1952 — and their result from last month was the lowest level they’ve ever found.

A CNN survey this week found deepening doubts about the core of the American dream. Asked whether most people can get ahead if they’re willing to work hard, 47 percent of respondents agreed. A decade ago, in 2016, 67 percent agreed. And the swing toward pessimism was relatively similar regardless of age, race, or gender.

President Donald Trump’s approval ratings on the economy also hit new all-time lows in recent weeks, in polls from both CNBC (which showed him at 39 percent) and CNN (which showed him all the way down at 30 percent).

All this is occurring while several key topline economic stats — such as GDP growth and jobs numbers — continue to look decent or outright good, and while the stock market remains near all-time highs.

Yet the American people are furious, for the same basic reason they’ve been furious most of this decade: high prices and the cost of living. In an open-ended question in CNN’s survey, 76 percent of respondents offered some variation on affordability as the biggest economic problem facing their family.

For that particular problem, there’s no end in sight — indeed, recent economic news suggests it’s getting........

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