because the consumer isn’t really getting crushed by inflation right now. The only people getting crushed are those who were already either in poverty or on the brink of poverty, who now have to pay more for groceries at the store but don’t make more money. There are a substantial number of these people, but they don’t fly planes.

The average consumer makes more money now than they did before covid. They also pay more for groceries at the store. It’s just that they blame the government for inflation and they credit themselves for wage increases, so the narrative is that they’re being crushed by the government. Airfare has *not* inflated significantly since covid, so more people are more able to afford it than they were before.

The economy is doing exceptionally well as a whole right now. Essentially every other country would prefer ours over theirs. However, there are always winners and losers, even when the economy is good. The winners are buying up premium products like crazy, and the losers are stuck in a bind of high inflation and low paying jobs. People doing well are going to be a lot quieter than people struggling. But the idea that the economy *as a whole* is struggling is complete nonsense.