Happy economies are all alike; each unhappy economy is unhappy in its own way.
After the 2008 financial crisis, economic problems were all about lack of demand. The housing bubble has burst; Consumers are not spending enough to fill the gap; Mr Obama's stimulus package, designed to boost demand, was too small and short-lived.
But 2021 is different, and many of our problems now seem to be related to a lack of supply. Goods cannot be delivered to consumers due to poor port logistics; A shortage of semiconductor chips has hampered car production; Many employers report that they are having difficulty finding employees.
While supply chain disruptions are clearly here to stay, most of them are likely to be temporary. And something bigger and lasting may be happening in the Labour market. America's long-suffering working class may have reached a turning point after years of working too much for too little pay.
On supply chain issues: It's important to recognize that more goods are being delivered to Americans than ever before. The problem is that despite the increase in deliveries, the logistics system is still unable to cope with the extraordinary demand.
In the early days of the pandemic, people bought goods to compensate for the loss of many services. People who can't eat out have restructured their kitchens. Those who can't go to the gym buy home exercise equipment.
As a result, purchases of everything from appliances to consumer electronics have skyrocketed. Real spending on durable goods was more than 30 per cent above pre-pandemic levels earlier this year and remains high even now.
But things will improve. As pandemic subsidies are reduced and life returns to normal, consumers will buy more services rather than goods, easing pressure on ports, trucking and railways.
By contrast, the job market looks like it's actually shrinking. Total employment is still 5 million below its pre-pandemic peak. Employment in leisure tourism is still down more than 9%. Everything we're seeing points to a very tight labor shortage in the labor market.
On the one hand, workers are quitting their jobs at an unprecedented rate, a sign of their confidence in finding new jobs. Employers, on the other hand, are not just complaining about Labour shortages; they are also trying to attract employees by raising wages. Over the past six months, leisure travel workers have seen their salaries rise by 18% annually, and they are now well above pre-pandemic levels.
The emergence of a seller's market for Labour has also emboldened union members, who are more willing to strike to defend their rights when they get contracts they see as bad value.
But why are we still going through this so-called "great resignation" period? So many employees either quit or demand higher pay and better working conditions to stay? Until recently, conservatives blamed the rise in unemployment benefits, which they claimed made workers less willing to take jobs. But states that eliminated benefits early also saw no job gains compared to states that did not, and those benefits fully ended last month, without appearing to have much of an impact on the national employment picture.
What seems to be happening now is that the pandemic has caused many American workers to rethink the meaning of life and ask themselves whether it is worth spending as much time as it used to at annoying jobs.
The United States is a rich country that treats many of its workers abysmally. Labor wages are often so low that, adjusted for inflation, the average male worker earned in 2019 almost what the average worker earned 40 years ago. Long hours: The United States is the "no vacation nation," offering far less vacation time than other developed countries. Work is also precarious, with many low-wage workers - particularly non-white workers - working variable hours, which can have a serious impact on their family life.
It is not just employers who are hard on workers. Quite a few Americans seem to despise the people who serve them. According to a recent survey, 62 percent of restaurant workers say they have been manhandled by customers.
Given these realities, it's no surprise that many employees either quit or don't want to return to their old jobs. The harder question is why this is happening now. Two years ago, many Americans hated their jobs, too, but they didn't follow their gut the way they do now. What has changed?
Well, it's just speculation, but it seems likely that the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended the lives of many Americans is causing some of them to rethink their life choices. Not everyone can afford to quit an unsavory job, but a significant number of workers seem ready to take the risk of something different -- opting for early retirement despite financial losses, moving across industries to find a less unsavory job, and so on.
Making these new choices by more self-conscious workers makes life harder for consumers and business owners, but let's be clear: overall, it's a good thing. American workers are holding out for a better contract, and if they can get one, it is in the interests of the nation as a whole.