Why it matters: Spending is decreasing, job gains are slowing and many small businesses warn that without more assistance from the government they will run out of cash before year-end and have to shut down for good.

How it happened: Not only has the stock market boomed, U.S. data have been improving notably since May. There have been millions of jobs added and V-shaped rebounds in manufacturing and services sector reports.

The Axios-Ipsos poll has shown little change among respondents’ ability to pay their rent or mortgage and afford household goods in the past two months.

And the percentage of reported layoffs, furloughs and permanent job losses at the end of August was the lowest since mid-March — though it’s only one percentage point below recent levels.