3/01/2025: You could’ve made millions

And here I thought it was bad before.

I last wrote about this emerging nightmare in 2021, feeling we had reached new depths of depravity in my lifetime. The crisis was very real.

Today, it’s unimaginably worse. I wish I could just fall asleep and wake up when it’s over.

But no.

The Dick Epidemic has reached unprecedented heights. It’s hands-down the pejorative du jour, everywhere you turn. For someone desperate to escape it, it’s completely inescapable.

According to Google, the frequency of the word “dick” appearing in English-language books increased by over 20X between 2000 and 2022, the most recent year data is available. I’m 1 million percent certain it has doubled again since then.

That’s just for books – literally the one form of media where you’d expect the most thoughtful and civilized prose. In movies and television, not to mention social media, it’s far, far more common. You probably don’t even notice it. Why would you?

But I do notice it, every single time. It cuts like a knife.

Dick was uttered as an insult no fewer than three times during last week’s episode of White Lotus and twice in Mythic Quest. Even the main character in Severance referred to himself, self-deprecatingly, as a dick. The dude can’t remember his own last name, but mine rolled right off his tongue.

At the airport last week, I went up to the American Airlines desk (in the V.I.P. line, mind you) to change my flight. The agent, a woman in her 50s, looked at my I.D., then turned her back to me to hide a laugh. After composing herself, she owned up to it – “I’m sorry, it’s, uh, your last name.” Yeah lady, I get it. Too bad tipping isn’t customary at the airline counter. I would’ve enjoyed not tipping her.

Don’t get me wrong, things like that happened to me thousands of times. Typically, though, it’s a kid at the coffee shop or a faceless person on phone support who cracks. I assume they’re probably stoned anyway. This was a gray-haired mom, possibly grandmom, in a suit, serving higher-end business travelers. And she couldn’t help herself.

Why I’m in the generation of Dicks who came along at the worst possible time in history is beyond me. Hopefully for my poor kids, it’ll soon fade, replaced by something new, like Chip or Larry or some other random old guy’s nickname that turns into a euphemism for phalluses.

For now, we suffer through our curse.

Here’s what we’re seeing:

Consumer confidence is continuing to slide. I hope you traded on our Economic Sentiment Index data two weeks ago, you could’ve made millions. When the laggards at the University of Michigan and the Conference Board came out with their numbers several days later, they tanked the market. Our latest public release shows that the situation isn’t improving. Attitudes toward the job market and the longer-term U.S. economy are falling especially harshly – and that’s before hundreds of thousands of federal workers start looking for new gigs. Buckle up.

A graph showing the growth of the stock market

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Even as cutting government spending is all the rage, Americans still want to see more public investment in infrastructure. In our 3 Things to Know this week, we asked people where they would most like to see the federal government boost or cut spending. Increased infrastructure dollars saw the highest support, followed by public education. Green energy, environmental protection, and defense saw the biggest calls for spending reductions. Ironically, we also looked at the rising levels of “eco-anxiety” in the U.S., as people worry more and more about weather events. Finally, we learned that local TV news is still the go-to source for news on weather emergencies, although weather apps are gaining fast.

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Delta could take the biggest hit from ballooning air travel concerns. In news that should surprise absolutely nobody, consumers’ reluctance to fly has skyrocketed over the past month. Among upcoming travelers, those who primarily fly Delta express the highest levels of concern, while Southwest flyers seem to be shaking it off. We also asked people what they believe is most to blame for the recent rash of accidents and near-accidents, finding notable differences along party lines – although shortages of air traffic controllers (and/or skilled ones) are the overwhelming answers.

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As eating out is slowing nationally, local and independent restaurants are still holding their own. We’re tracking dining habits closely right now, as they’re one of the most reliable bellwethers of a shifting economy. Indeed, consumers are finding ways to trade off and trade down across the restaurant category, particularly over the past three weeks. As a share of restaurant spending, people are increasingly reporting that local and independent establishments are the ones they frequent most. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re dining there more – but that they’re choosing national chains less. Menu options and ingredients are driving the trend, suggesting diners are being more selective of when and where they eat out.

A graph of a restaurant

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The new NBA All-Star Game received mixed reviews from a mixed set of fans. In a study that was originally published in the Sports Business Journal this week, we showcased the polarized reactions to the NBA’s newest all-star format. Putting aside the fact that ratings were abysmal, the people who did tune in were far from united in how they felt about it. The good news for the NBA is that growth segments like Gen Zs, younger Millennials, and women seemed to like it. The bad news is that men, particularly older men, very much did not. Considering how everyone raved about the new format the NHL rolled out this year, the NBA might want to go back to the drawing board in 2026.