Why Are Americans So Pessimistic?

Stephen Moore on Oct 6, 2026

In nearly every way, Americans have more material wealth, better health, better housing and more of just about everything than ever before. Not just the rich, but nearly everyone.

Americans' standard of living is roughly 50% higher, after inflation, than it was 50 years ago.

The median family income is now close to $90,000. That's an income level higher than that of 90% of families living in the rest of the world.

These ARE the good old days.

Yet over the past 30 years, nearly every poll has shown that a plurality of Americans think things are "headed in the wrong direction" versus "the right direction." The latest polling is no different. Americans are glum.

Karlyn Bowman, an expert on polling at the American Enterprise Institute, has examined these trends.

She finds that there have only been two times in recent decades when voters said the country was headed in the right direction. One of these times was in the mid-1980s during the Reagan economic boom. The other was in the mid-1990s when Bill Clinton was president and the federal budget was balanced for the first time in 30 years.

So why are we not appreciating the overall progress of the country economically and financially?

It could be social trends, not economic trends. I've noted that the decline in marriage, parenthood and religion has made people more depressed. A record 30 million American males between the ages of 20 and 40 are unmarried. Many of them are not happy with the direction of their own lives.

Bowman surmises that pessimism has grown with the size of government. People believe that the trends of government spending may not be sustainable.

Patriotism and love of country have fallen, so people don't feel blessed to be in this country like they used to. One of the other few times when people briefly felt a rush of optimism and patriotism was after the 9/11 attacks.

There is also a more recent unhealthy development. That is the complete polarization of our society. President Donald Trump will never get an approval rating higher than 50% because half the country hates him. Republicans felt the same way -- and for good reason -- when Joe Biden was president.

But it's weird that the richer and wealthier we get, the more people complain.

Money isn't everything and, it can't buy love or happiness.

But it sure beats being poor. And poverty rates just hit their lowest level on record. Isn't that a sign we're on the right track?

Stephen Moore is a former Trump senior economic adviser and the cofounder of Unleash Prosperity, which advocates for education freedom for all children.