It was what I knew about macro economics from my schooling and experience that stopped me in my tracks when economist Daraius Irani of Towson University displayed a chart in a recent presentation on the state of the U.S. economy. Dr. Irani showed us the historical trend of the so-called economic policy uncertainty index, which he said now was at record highs, surpassing where it stood after 9/11, in the 2009 recession, and even during the COVID 19 Pandemic.

After that revelation, I started connecting the dots. Digging deeper, it became clear that not only is uncertainty off the rails, but consumer confidence is at record low levels. Yet, despite the great uncertainty and low confidence, stock market indexes have been breaking records.