Better Days Ahead (For Me, at Least)

THE OPTIMIST’S CREED

They’ll likely change their minds if they read the awful things economists are saying these days. For now, though, a majority of Americans are upbeat about their own financial prospects. That’s evident from the chart here, which uses data from a survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. As is often the case, people are cheerier about their own circumstances than about the world at large. Asked how they think “economic conditions in the country as a whole” will be a year from now, 33 percent said “better” and 23 percent said “worse,” while 37 percent said “the same.”