Vibecession

Quick meaning: Vibecession is a noun meaning (neologism) A general state of societal pessimism about the economy, independently of whether a recession is currently happening.

Meaning

(neologism) A general state of societal pessimism about the economy, independently of whether a recession is currently happening.

Example Sentences

"I think people have gotten angrier," she said. "I think we're actually in a worse vibecession now."

The concept of a vibecession may feel like a cop-out. But it’s a good starting point for understanding where we’re really at.

Americans are gloomy about the state of the economy. Since the covid-19 pandemic began, consumer sentiment has been in the doldrums, hitting its lowest level ever in June 2022. Such negativity has prompted claims that the country is suffering a "vibecession"—although the market appears healthy, good vibes are lacking.

So, this is my favorite theory: The vibecession prevented the real recession. In medicine, weaker versions of a virus, like the flu, inoculate people against the real thing. By analogy, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his melancholy minions essentially administered an injection of mostly safe gloom into the economic bloodstream, which seems to have triggered just the right level of macroeconomic immune response to reduce inflation without causing a downturn.

Word Forms

• vibecessions

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