Have you wondered if political leanings have become the dominate factor in everyday life? The answer is yes
Bottom Line: Empirically we have the best overall US economy since the late 90's and there literally isn't a meaningful economic statistic that isn't at least the best it's been in 11 years. Despite that about half of the country still has a negative outlook on 2018. In fact, the last year that both a majority of all people regardless of political leanings felt optimistic about the year ahead was 2006. Oddly enough, even during the Great Recession solid majorities of Democrats and those who lean left generally were optimistic about the year ahead, doubtless attributed to the political composition of the country (65% of Democrats were optimistic about 2009 in January of 2009). But now, in an outstanding economy with the best opportunities in decades for the average American - only 42% of those who lean left politically are optimistic about 2018 generally. Contrast that with 88% of those who lean right.
What this shows is that political persuasion has become so pervasive in the average person's life that it colors our outlooks, often well above and beyond, reality. It's instructive as it helps explain why so many in the media produce stories talking about aspects of our economy and life that seem to be devoid of reality. It can also help explain some of what you may encounter with friends and family as well. To a certain extent we have allowed political preferences to color our everyday life and that's probably not a good thing regardless of one's leanings.