Americans remain deeply pessimistic about the economy: A large percentage mistakenly think we’re in a recession or will be hit by one this year. As the recovery progresses, there’s less and less justification for the drumbeat of negative hot takes and gloomy economic speculation from the media. (New York Times headlines such as “Unemployment Is Low. Inflation Is Falling. But What Comes Next?” are practically a self-parody.) The economic evidence paints a very different picture.