> Clearly "millions of people" noticing a phenomena isn't a reliable indicator of it actually happening, which is why we have statistics agencies rather than going off vibes.
And you don't think there might be some fundamental differences between crime rates and grocery prices?
Like, perhaps, the fact that every household has to buy groceries all the time, and is likely to get some kind of a feel for how the prices are fluctuating, while to most people, crime rates are primarily observable by what the media reports, not by any objective criteria? And even then, they're unlikely to be particularly connected to those numbers, since they have very little direct impact on how most families live their lives, so it's easy to have an incorrect impression and just let that persist despite years of actual evidence to the contrary (that they never have to directly interact with)?
And you don't think there might be some fundamental differences between crime rates and grocery prices?
Like, perhaps, the fact that every household has to buy groceries all the time, and is likely to get some kind of a feel for how the prices are fluctuating, while to most people, crime rates are primarily observable by what the media reports, not by any objective criteria? And even then, they're unlikely to be particularly connected to those numbers, since they have very little direct impact on how most families live their lives, so it's easy to have an incorrect impression and just let that persist despite years of actual evidence to the contrary (that they never have to directly interact with)?