The word is new to me. I'm not sure it tells me anything, except that the lived reality for most of us is separate from the 'numbers'.

a voter's checking account feels depleted,

Feels depleted, or is depleted?

Is it possible to have strong employment numbers and yet have that employment number not reflect limited job mobility? Strong employment numbers and have lagging wage growth?

A "Fragility Premium"

I think this is the biggest factor affecting 'consumer confidence'.

I grew up in the 50s. While we lived under the shadow of nuclear annihilation (duck and cover exercises) there was a belief in the economic promise of the United States. Everyone believed they were part of the economic engine that drove the country. We believed in the stability of our domestic government. We had the sense that even disease was under control as we looked at polio in the rear view mirror. Science, the military, the government were dependable and predictable. We didn't question election integrity.

What a different world we live in now. People have faith in their neighbors, maybe, and their local communities. Not even in their school boards anymore. The rich are building bunkers, not against nuclear bombs but to defend against threats of undefined origin. Everybody wants a gun. Dual citizenship is a growing movement as people wonder if they should have an exit strategy.

Maybe the vibe people are feeling is more real than the economic numbers suggest. It's true the numbers don't hint of a depression, or recession. It's true such events would hit the middle and lower classes more than the wealthy. But those are distant threats. People look around today, and very little that they see gives them hope that there is stability not only in the distant future, but even in the near future.

Anyway, that's the way it looks to humble me who know little about economic theory.