I was in New York on Wednesday.

I should’ve known better. Manhattan was pretty much unnavigable on account of the various remembrances happening throughout the city. 

It took me nearly an hour to Uber 30 blocks from Hudson Yards to Central Park. I ended up five minutes late for a client meeting, and if you’ve ever worked with me, you know I’m obsessively early for things. My blood pressure was through the roof.

I gave up years ago trying to figure out the NY subway system. To me, it’s like the staircases at Hogwarts, for those who appreciate a good Harry Potter reference. Also, I’m claustrophobic.

Later, I headed back down to 31st for a late lunch meeting (see: early drinks). When I got there, I walked into a sea of uniformed firefighters, many hugging, some crying. The restaurant was across the street from the Ladder 24 fire station and just doors from St. Francis of Assisi. If you’re steeped in 9/11 lore, you’ll recognize those names. Father Mychal Judge was a friar at St. Francis, a chaplain for the FDNY, and one of the first heroes to die at Ground Zero. Several members of Ladder 24 perished that day. 

Naturally a commemorative luncheon would be held there. I took a moment to soak in the scene, then looked elsewhere for a meeting spot.

On the way home that night, I wondered how many passengers on the plane internalized the significance of flying out of New York that day. Maybe people who were freaked out by the idea avoided air travel altogether. Or maybe most people have moved on by now. I hope not. 

I make a point, every 9/11 like clockwork, to read “The Falling Man” on Esquire, peruse stories about Welles Crowther (“Man in the Red Bandana”), and watch the video of President Bush throwing the most perfect strike in history at Yankee Stadium. I’ve been to the 9/11 Memorial & Museum twice, as well as the smaller but somehow more solemn Flight 93 National Memorial, which happens to be 20 minutes from our cabin. Locals say they felt the ground shake. 

I don’t know why I do it all. Maybe the acts of heroism remind me of America at its best. Or maybe it’s important to remember how it felt. 

It may take until my deathbed before I can evaluate whether 9/11 or the pandemic was the most profound event of my lifetime. God willing, I’ll only need to decide between those two.

For now, I’ll simply try to remember how stupid it was traveling to Manhattan this week. On September 11th, New York should belong to New Yorkers.

Here’s what we’re seeing:

Consumer confidence improved a little over the past two weeks. Our Economic Sentiment Index rebounded slightly after a short dip last time. All five indicators climbed modestly, with the 6-month outlook for the U.S. economy gaining the most. With all the semi-positive economic news lately, the index remains over three points higher than it did this time last year. Time will tell if and how the election changes things before the holidays.

Buoyant consumer confidence is at odds with many families’ economic realities. The percentage of U.S. adults who report living paycheck to paycheck is up two points since this time two years ago, as the net of rising inflation and rising wages remains in the red. Gen X adults report the steepest increase in paycheck-to-paycheck living, while Gen Zs and young Millennials report otherwise. There’s a lot of useful insight in this study, but what caught my eye the most was the bifurcation in financial wellness since the pandemic began. While the number of Americans who say they’re worse off than they were in 2020 has climbed, so too has the number who say they’re better off.  

While most Americans are still overwhelmingly fed up with politics, the events of the last couple of months have given people glimmers of hope. In the latest freebies from our Election Mindset Tracker, we found that the vast majority of U.S. adults still characterize their feelings about politics as being exhausted, stressed, sad, or angry. Still, for the first time in months, feelings of hope, excitement, pride, and intrigue are on the rise. We also found that Tim Walz was a slightly better draw for Harris voters than JD Vance was for Trump voters – but neither provided a net lift for either ticket. Finally, we saw that U.S. adults posted less about politics on TikTok and Snapchat in August compared to July. 

The vast majority of adults – and a non-trivial amount of young people – believe cell phones should be restricted in K-12 schools. In our 3 Things to Know this week, we found that kids having unlimited use of their phones at school is wildly unpopular. Even among Gen Z, the largest percentage believe usage should be limited to designated times. We didn’t survey teenagers, but I bet they disagree. We also saw a noticeable spike in support for labor unions in August and a bunch of people got a head start on their Halloween shopping. 

Expect the NFL freight train to keep rolling this season. It’s hard to believe the NFL still has room to grow, but the ceiling appears to be nowhere in sight. Americans, on average, say they plan to watch even more games than they did last year. Meanwhile, participation in fantasy football leagues is up a whopping 20%+ over this time last year (with most of the gains coming from daily fantasy players). Meanwhile, brands like Popeyes and Applebee’s, who made new (but safe) bets on the league this year, should see big upside. 

One more thing: Our data was highlighted in a great Business Insider feature on the explosion of antenna TV viewing, particularly among young and tech-savvy consumers. You can check it out here, with the forewarning it’s behind a paywall. If you aren’t a subscriber (think about it), reach out and I can tell you about it. 

More awesomeness from the InsightStore™:

The most popular questions this week:

How many of your past relationships do you regret?

Do you generally feel supported by your family in your endeavors?

At what point in the year do you typically experience the best emotional well-being?

Do you like or dislike NFL games being held on Friday nights?

Do you personally believe the ability to change one’s mind is a sign of intelligence?

Answer Key: Zero; 100%; June, July, December; Love it; No, definitely not. Wait, actually yes.

Hoping you’re well.

JD