🌰 the economy and the itchy scab

Today at the grocery store a man said¹ to me:

• “They say the economy is getting better but everything is still so expensive! I don’t know what the White House is seeing. They must have someone else shopping for them.”
• “I’m helping get groceries for my dad but I don’t have the money. I should ask him to pay me back but I feel bad– he’s my dad! He’s old. I want to help him out.”

As a wound heals, it forms a scab. An itchy, painful scab is still a problem. It may not be at risk of infection, but it’s still a wound. Maybe it hurts regularly– or even restricts your movement.

When journalists say “By the numbers, the economy is doing well, but people don’t feel like it.” They need to tack on one more sentence to clarify why. To show that they understand the pain. It’s not a mystery, it’s a scab.

1. The wording is not exact, but these are the exact sentiments expressed over the course of our brief milk-aisle conversation. ↩

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Every post on this blog is a work in progress. Phrasing may be less than ideal, ideas may not yet be fully thought through. Thank you for watching me grow.