The metrics Yellen is looking at are all vastly better, yes.
Now I agree it’s occurred on the back of an enormous increase in public indebtedness, which is a very long lit fuse on a large pile of economic dynamite that will blow us up a couple of decades from now, but yes, employment, confidence, financial stability, inflation expectations, are all far far better than they were in the depths of the financial crisis.
But increasing public indebtedness is also the explicit policy of the incoming administration. I don’t find a lot of people in US political life willing to say we should reduce government spending and increase taxes.
I’m not sure it will be a couple of decades. First of all, she’s absolutely LYING about the unemployment. They spinning it one way or another but the middle class has been gutted. I still say the unemployment is a lie. Just because they find 4.8% or whatever recently out of work, month after month after month, etc. When those people are out of work for 2 years, they won’t be remembered.
It was actually 2009 (Spring) when the Dow hit 62xx. Gas was much, much cheaper as nobody was buying it apparently. It was about 1/3 less retail in my area.
Now, admittedly, for some folks, YMMV. Some folks have had relatively-stable employment the past few years. Especially fedgov employees.
Guess we’ll see how long this thing is gonna last. The stock market has a lot of folks feeling good.
And yes, I do think it’s all been built on the back of public indebtedness as you mentioned.