The economy is no longer a measure of prosperity for regular people (if it ever was)
It just indicates the rate at which mega-rich people are able to become richer.
In the 1980s, I was listening to a news broadcast that contained 3 stories of note:
national economy is doing fine
Saskatchewan provincial economy is doing great
Saskatoon gets its first food bank
From that, I concluded that there are two economies that are either completely separate or only very loosely connected: the lived economy of the vast majority of the workforce and the financial economy of trading in stocks, commodities, and financial instruments.
Over the next few years, it became obvious to me that reporters, journalists, politicians, pundits, think tanks, and business groups care only for the economy of the financial sector. I've seen nothing since to make me change my mind.