Economic narratives stick around once they gain traction. For the past decade, a particular story has dominated American discourse: blue-collar workers abandoned by coastal elites, then mobilizing in a populist countermovement. Sounds compelling, right? The problem is the actual numbers tell a different story. When you dig into the data, the narrative starts to crumble. It's one of those cases where the popular tale and reality diverge sharply. This matters because false economic stories drive real decisions—policy shifts, investment flows, market sentiment. The disconnect between perception and data is something worth paying attention to, especially in crypto markets where narratives can pump prices just as easily as fundamentals.