Even if that's the case, that's a problem. First, it's bad for society to write people off. Are people going to be willing to contribute if they aren't sure whether they might be the next write off? Second, a small number of disenfranchised people can still cause a lot of problems if they get despirate.

I mean, this is true. And these days these people don't even need to be real. Kick off a few hundred thousand bots along with a visible ad campaign corresponding with how bad things are and you can get the people in the "not great, not terrible" camp thinking the end of the world is here.

Alternative theory: the metrics don’t describe our full economic experience.

That's literally the point of the article.

Yes.

The metrics are likely comparing 2020 item and 2024 item and assuming it’s the same thing but the manufacturer cleverly gutted the 2024 item of all quality parts and just kept the name

While also cleverly raising the price 50-200% during covid and then cleverly never lowering it back to normal once the supply chains started working