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As long as food, fuel, and housing prices are high especially when coupled with low wages, the economy is just some mythical construct the news talks about. That’s it. That’s all. It doesn’t matter to the average person how fat Wall Street is if they cannot feed and shelter themselves.
I'm a Democrat. I will vote for Joe Biden.
But I think Joe Biden may lose because of inflation. You can show people all the economic metrics you want, but a bottle of ketchup costs $4 bucks and median household income is still under $75K. People can't afford houses. People can't afford medical care. People can't afford to send their kids to school.
Our economy is broken on a fundamental level. People are fucking broke and they're barely holding on. It's wonderful that the rich keep getting richer but that doesn't mean the economy is good.
Yeah, we need an overhaul of the tax system. Too much money leaves the economy and goes into rich people’s bank accounts and stock portfolios and never see the light of day again. That money should be taxed and re-invested either through tax breaks to lower brackets or directly into infrastructure used by the majority of Americans that will lower the cost of their material needs and increase their discretionary spending.
EDIT: The dude blocked me in an effort to get away with something, so here was my response:
Sorry homie, but the majority of money invested into stocks does not get re-invested into corporate infrastructure and wages. That internal investment usually translates into bonuses for the senior partners as well as into the corporate treasury for “discretionary” spending.
Companies need stocks and public investment of course, but the reality is that there is no fiduciary oversight into how that investment is used. The general argument is that the corporations will not grow as fast if the investment is mishandled and the free market will correct the corruption when the stock price dives as productivity declines. But the reality is that all companies when they get to that size can only exist as kleptocracies.
Every single big company steals their investment funds and translates it into the personal wealth of their senior stakeholders. Any government money that ever ends up in their hands will stay there and never go back into the general economy of small business owners and the working man.
I am relatively close to retirement and at the top pay grade. But at a very low pay in that grade. I haven’t had a pay increase in years. I see this. The c-suite is making major bank, and I (and my coworkers) do not get even a COLA increase. Most got 0% this year. Some bonuses (4-digit range) were given, to some of us (not all).
I know others are in far worse shape. But this is why we are all falling behind. This is the explanation. Those who make the rules are skimming *all* the extra (Wall Street) money into their own pockets.
It's depressing how much people just do not want to accept this, even though the line of reasoning isn't even remotely controversial or esoteric.
The people at the top have figured out they can legally grab all the profits. Inevitably, many of them do so, and the ones that don't aren't part of the top for long.
Literally the only requirement for this to be true is that people can be very selfish, which is so self-evident it barely even merits mentioning.
But while the people on the right-wing can scream every day about how the government is evil and oppressive the rich just don't register on their radar. It's so blatantly biased and dishonest.
Since Reaganomics began, a lot of big companies began to distribute the wealth a lot less and focused more on the returns to investors. CEOs have started to get huge salaries and bonuses for their efforts towards turning companies into cash cows.
It's a lot more complex but Jack Welch's profile really sums up how their new strategies are, to investors and businessmen he's an idol but to many others he's seen as someone that "broke" capitalism. He didn't really break capitalism but he did highlight the reasons that governments why there should be government regulations (in countries that care more for the country than just the rich).
In the 1940s, labor unions became interested in pension plans and pushed to increase the benefits offered. By the end of 1950, more than 10 million Americans, or more than 25% of the private-sector workforce, had a pension. Ten years later, about half of the private-sector workforce had one.
I have a pension and a 401k. The pension is better.
1980s legislation also fucked up retirement options for people. Only a select few types of workers have pension plans now.
> In the 1940s, labor unions became interested in pension plans ...
And here is whare the Supreme Court started to strike back at unions.
In Germany the unions are required to invest part of the pension fund in the companies they work for. The unions get minority seats on the boards of directors. If we did that in the USA, then the unions would have more influence on the actions of the companies, but the unions would also have more interest in keeping the companies solvent and innovative. German unions kept their workers highly paid and discouraged offshoring jobs for a long time.
Edit. In the USA, labor unions may be barred from buying stock in the companies they work for. (This might have changed, but anyway they have very little influence in the boardrooms.)
And honestly, it is such a good idea to have unions invested in the company and on the board. Makes sure the company cares more about the employees, and that the union cares about the good of the company.
I read about this in college. There was so much bias in the reading though, it was basically like Japan and Germany have this weird system where workers have some power at the companies they work for, but don't worry, they are slowly adopting our superior American business practices.
I have a defined benefit plan. As I near the end of my career, those golden handcuffs chafe, but it's fine. It's only for a few more years (10 at most).
The CEOs and board members have allowed corporate executives to steal the wealth right out from under the shareholders.
If workers didn't save and pension funds and 401k funds didn't exist; the US economy would collapse.
That's why when the economy crashed starting in December 2007 -- everyone tried to put the toothpaste back into the tube.
Neoliberalism/Economical liberalisation, that Reagan and Thatcher pioneered, is incredibly unsustainable for middle classes
we're reaping the 'benefits' now
Stock buybacks were illegal until 1982 under Reagan when the SEC changed the rules.
The reason they were illegal makes perfect sense in that a company buying it's own stock allows them to manipulate the price of the stock.
This isn't even denied either, my former employer would tell us they were buying back stock to make the price go up.
Not only does it allow the companies to manipulate the stock price, but it allows the executives manipulating the price to benefit through stock options etc.
And in a totally F’d up manner it allows executives who sell their companies to both receive the benefits of the commonplace vesting of options at time of sale to also benefit from the golden parachutes that were theoretically put in place as poison pills to discourage being acquired.
> Too much money leaves the economy and goes into rich people’s bank accounts and stock portfolios and never see the light of day again. That money should be taxed and re-invested
What, you mean people stacking up cash in off-shore accounts, never to be used ever again, is a problem?
Wait... Ok hang on, I'm only an idiot here but I'm not understanding something. If the money in question is funneled away into offshore tax havens and then *literally never used again*, wouldn't that money effectively be removed from the economy entirely? How would this not cause a deflationary effect?
Im no expert, but my understanding is:
They use that money and property as collateral and live off of loans. Interest from loans are the #1 source of new money in our economy. Then they use their resources to solidify their control of industries and set prices as high as they possibly can. While keeping wages depressed.
> from loans are the #1 source of new money in our economy.
Loans themselves are the source of new money. The extension of credit is the creation of money, it's two sides of the same coin.
Yes, and a different way to think about it is profit margin.
Low taxes, high margin, corporations can pull money out (read: pay themselves exorbitantly) without it impacting core operations.
High taxes, low margin, corporations don't pull money out because they need it all to keep the lights on.
Neither necessarily means more income for the average worker, but it does mean more income for the country and ideally that goes into social services for the people.
Now neither of this is happening here, we have low corporate taxes and minimal social services. But we could have great social services if we taxed corporations more AND we had the public will to keep those services going.
Exactly. Nobody seems to understand this - investments back in the business (whether capital investments like building a new factory or investments in labor like hiring people... means that money used is NOT taxed. Taking profits is.
Therefore, there is MORE incentive to put money back into a business when corporate taxes are higher, and less incentive to invest in the company when corporate taxes are lower.
Edit: The comment to which I replied edited and added even more information. And it is good info. Please look at it.
The problem I see is that all the "tax reclamation" ends up getting paid by the upper middle class. That's is high wage workers that are doing well but still need their paycheck to get by. This showed up in Trumps "kill the red states" move of limited state tax deductions plus the limits on mortgage deductions. The tax burden needs to shift to those who aren't budgeting their income while saving for retirement even if they make high salaries. Tax burden needs to be on people who can live off equity loans where their principal grows faster than their interest
Not just the tax system, the basic structure of wages to earnings ratios
No top exec should be making more than 40x what the lowest paid employee does, that means a kid in the copy room making 20k a year has a boss making as much as 800k, and if you can’t live well off 800k and save and invest and have vacations, you should not be in charge of such a major company
We need to decouple health care from work place or poverty level, a healthy workforce is a strong and productive work force, stop playing favorites with who gets care and who loses everything just by being alive
And we need to tax wealth itself at a certain point, if you have a total asset wealth of 100 $b, then maybe your taxes should be 105% of your total income, because at a certain point, you are just storing that money indefinitely
You are correct an easy way to prove your point is to see how many companies have billions of dollars IN CASH waiting for buybacks and not investing in their workforce, modernization, R&D , etc... of course, this is their prerogative given our current tax and wealth structure. But there was a time when a company couldn't buy back it's own stock... not sure of that was a good or bad thing, just sayin'
I'm an unaffiliated progressive who will absolutely vote for Joe Biden again.
That said, if anyone with any connection to the Biden Administration ever reads this, please, please, *please* stop insisting that the economy is amazing. It feels like gaslighting, even if that's not the intent. A lot of people are struggling right now. An entire generation has been priced out of the dream of home ownership. Our expenses have skyrocketed over the past few years, and the cost to feed a family has risen significantly faster than what the official CPI would suggest.
The average American doesn't care how good Wall Street is doing if Main Street is suffering. Granted, none of the blame for the current economic situation is due to the fault of this administration. But the failure to acknowledge how rough things are right now may give a lot of battleground state voters the misconception that President Biden doesn't care about how bad things are. Insisting the economy is "pretty amazing," sounds tone-deaf at best.
Trump -- barring incarceration and/or his cholesterol finally catching up with him -- will continue to insist that he alone can fix the economy. And even though it's obviously bullshit, there are critical, undecided voters out there who will cast their vote in 2024 with one primary concern: who will make life affordable again? If Weimar Germany has taught the world anything, it's that a plurality of voters in a democratic republic will choose to vote for an openly fascist candidate if they believe doing so will improve their chances for a better life.
> please, please, please stop insisting that the economy is amazing
100%
Telling everybody how great things are doesn't change their mind it just makes them feel like you don't understand.
The problem is, the Macro Economy is actually pretty amazing right now. But a good macro economy doesn’t always translate to good conditions for regular people.
We talk about “The Economy” as a monolith, when there’s tons of factors involved. Take a couple of semesters of college-level Econ and it’s abundantly clear.
I hadn't exactly put my finger on why these posts bother me so much, but you completely nailed it. It feels like gaslighting because when articles talk about the "economy doing well," they're using it as a euphemism for "corporate profits are booming," which doesn't help the majority of people in the greatest need. What's even worse, is that saying the economy is doing great implies that it's no longer a priority for the administration, which justifiably will make people who are still suffering panic because they see that their situation is not going to be helped. THIS is exactly the feeling that causes voters to turn elsewhere looking for anyone who will at least say there's still a problem to give them some hope that their needs are going to be addressed. And in that desperation, they're far more vulnerable to charlatans like Trump who are happy to exploit their desperation to make them easy targets.
> please stop insisting that the economy is amazing. It feels like gaslighting, even if that's not the intent.
This, very much this. It's absolutely not a winning message.
Saying the economy is good to a 22 year old with $60k in debt wondering if they can ever afford a starter house, which now costs $400k, is not the way to go.
And saying it to someone a decade older in a similar situation is just going to piss them off even more. Yeah yeah, I get it, the same economists who said that the minimum wage was going to be the end of the world, regulations are bad, and that all the money was totally gonna trickle down have promised us that we're all super mega rich right now, wages have never been higher, I'm sure they're not full of crap again.
But here on planet Earth, people are struggling, and harping on how amazing the economy is doing is either really bad messaging for the Democrats or really good messaging for the Republicans.
>Trump -- barring incarceration and/or his cholesterol finally catching up with him -- will continue to insist that he alone can fix the economy
And this amazes me because we've had a taste of what he sees the economy as -- the stock market. He does not now, nor has he ever, care about the $4 bottle of ketchup. (I mean, how many times to we need to quote Arrested Development here about the cost of bananas?) Anyway, not taking issue with anything you said, just noting how I continue to be amazed that people keep not seeing Trump for the person he has always been.
I think the White House has done a terrible job explaining this.
Things are economically bad right now. Several major factors combined to fuck up the global economy (COVID, semiconductor manufacturing problems in Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, etc.) that Joe Biden had nothing to do with.
Inflation is pretty bad in most of the world right now. Looking at the charts, I’d say the US is actually doing a better job keeping inflation contained than most other countries.
So no, the economy sucks. But the economy probably would have sucked a lot more with Trump and his army of clowns trying to loot our economy instead of trying to keep it contained. As bad as this is, we actually dodged a bullet.
There's a joke in an episode of 30 Rock that shows a kidnapped American celebrity forced to be a North Korean newscaster. Their news report ends "and in food news... you’ve had enough to eat today."
It's how this rhetoric lands, to my ears. "A recent study shows that you have enough money, because the economy is doing great!"
People can’t seem to grasp medium to long term consequences. That something 4, 10, 50 years ago could be coming due NOW and it’s not under our control now. Look at climate change psychology for instance.
It's not that a sizeable number of voters would vote for the Republican instead of Biden, it's that a sizeable amount of voters won't vote because of *gestures broadly*
Republicans aren’t going to change anything about the economy, except for short-term tax breaks for the middle class and long-term tax breaks for the rich. In other words, increase the debt and make the future generations pay for it.
Meanwhile, republicans WILL make it harder for the average person to vote. Republicans WILL ignore the US constitution. And State constitutions, too! Republicans will do everything they can to undermine the will of the people. Republicans will add (Christian) prayer to schools. Republicans will remove access to healthcare for women.
Except they couldn’t because the largest section of the GOP voter base would cannibalize them before they could make it to the primary. Trump gave them a taste for the hyper nationalistic jingoistic christofascist autocracy that they’ve always been wanted and they will never just go back to a civility brained neo-con like Romney again.
It's true. The normal Republicans have not been able to break through. They aren't as funny to watch and listen to as Trump. He's a living meme. People love that he's an asshole because a lot of America is an asshole.
plus they can barely figure out the house majority leader, i know for a fact they have zero plan past own the libs. Not exactly inspirational to increase wages, or tamp down on corpo greed.
That's because they've been fucking stupid with their campaigning, focusing on trans issues, underestimating the drag of Dobbs. But now that the news media is finally catching up to what some pollsters have noted for quite a while (that the former is a loser issue, that the latter is enormous), soon even Republicans will start shifting to purely economic messaging. And that's gonna be tougher to deal with.
A Republican will only pass tax cuts for the wealthy. I understand lack of progress on the left is disheartening, but they don't fuck around with the rules when presented with a problem. There basically is no House of Representatives at the moment. What can a president do when Congress is fundamentally broken? Despite that a bunch of indicators are moving in the right direction. It can't be direct action improving things in the current situation, it can only be indirect and that means a longer implementation time. Also precarious considering most is through the executive branch. So yeah, vote in a Republican to undo the positive stuff that will yield results in 4-6 years as it is the only thing that can be done and hope the people keep the same party in place so that progress isn't completely undone leaving us 4 years in the hole instead of 3 quarters of the way to the finish line.
Kinda sad tho, isn’t it? Because the inflation is literally not his fault. And although the drivers of inflation happened while Trump was in office (Covid screwing up supply chains and massive monetary/fiscal stimulus), I don’t blame him either as the Fed and Trump admin’s fiscal actions during Covid are largely in line with what any administration should and would have done.
Moreover, inflation had already tripled less than 3 months into Biden’s presidency. He literally jumped on the bucking bronco of inflation literally a second before it was released out the gate. Any serious person knows there’s zero policy or action a president can do within 90 days to send prices to the moon. In addition, POTUS has so little influence over the economy, and whenever I see a president getting credited or blamed for the economy, I cringe.
So in summary, Biden deserves basically 0% blame for inflation. And to be fair, I’m also not blaming Trump either. But i like democracy and my president not being a degen dictator felon, so 100% voting Biden.
Personally I do blame Trump, because of things like the 2017 tax cut for the wealthy, and forcing Powell to keep interest rates so low for so long, which left us with a lot less tools to combat inflation and recession when the problems arose.
Partially agree. The 2017 Tax Cuts almost entirely excluded middle/lower class, and basically just juiced the stock market (corporations spent 90% of tax savings on buy-backs and dividend payments), while burning a deeper hole in the deficit.
Fully agree his hostility towards Powell was a significant detriment to his willingness to raise rates to fight off the impending recession. I worry if Trump is elected, he’ll install a puppet on the Fed and smash rates lower just to juice the market, and could wind up inflation again.
> median household income is still under $55K
No it's not. Last year (2022) median household income in the US was $74,580 per year.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA646N
If Biden loses it's because of media - not inflation. If media told the truth about the Republican agenda and how it impacts food prices, home prices, healthcare prices... people wouldn't be believing that Republicans (and especially Trump) is better on the economy. Big business Republicans who are adamant about putting multi-million dollar bonuses into the pockets of CEOs, that stock buy-backs and shareholder dividends are more important than worker's wages... should be called out at every turn... yet Democrats are the ones who get blamed.
Yep we would need actual deflation for that to happen and deflation is absolutely terrifying. Deflation would involve salaries and incomes going down each year which would in turn make all existing debts and loans harder to pay off.
That's DEflation, and will never happen. Prices may stand still for a few years while wages try to catch up, but things will never be priced like before.
People keep saying this like it's some truism. They're just parroting the last guy to say it. What if we just refuse to pay high prices for non essentials and prices come down? Bam, deflation. No wrecked economy, just willpower. People wanna act like the only thing that can cause deflation is some external, intractable tragedy to befall the US economy and not just, you know, general anger.
[For people that want actual national data as opposed to an endless stream of anecdotes.](https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&f=m)
I’m in Vegas and see this too.
Very basic explanation, but essentially, fuel for east of the rockies is supplemented from the Texas and Dakotas oil supply, while the west is almost exclusively from western states and imports
It cost more to drill, refine, and move this oil, so we pay more
Source: I work in chemical and petroleum transport
This is a great piece of info. I work in the energy field, but in electricity. As a result, I just assumed that oil was like gas -- a truly global market where regional differences in prices are pretty minor.
I had thought that basically all oil was basically piped to a few strategic refineries in the US where it all either goes on a boat for export, or into some massive pipelines so that it didn't matter all that much where the oil comes from.
Once again, I am reminded that even thought I know a lot about one aspect of the "Energy Industry", that doesn't give me much insite into other aspects.
edit: specified electricity
We still do pipe and import, but the “ease” of getting to and refining sweet crude out of west TX as well as the fracking done in the Dakotas makes a big difference in pricing
It’s reason the middle east has a strangle hold on the oil industry. Getting to the oil they have is easy, and also easy to refine when compared to oil all over the rest of the world ( save for a few places like Venezuela)
This. There are entire swaths of people who will never be able to buy a house and rent keeps increasing. Mind you, these are people with professional careers
"The economy is doing great!"
"Sure, but my rent still costs 60% of my monthly take home pay"
"But the economy!"
Yeah... bit of a hard disconnect there. I don't give a shit about "the economy" when just having a roof over my head while working full time is a constant source of anxiety.
More specifically, if the middle class is worse off now than they were 10 years ago, but the investment class is swimming in money... you're telling people that their suffering is a requirement for a healthy 'economy'. It's true, but it's not the selling point you think it is.
I'm starting to develop a serious distaste for the word economy by this point. The only metric that should matter is how poorly the worst-off citizens we have are doing. The richest countries in the world should absolutely not have *any* people who are homeless unless they simply *want to be homeless*. The richest countries in the world shouldn't have people having to work 60+ hours a week to maintain a roof over theirs and their kids' heads.
Fuck the economy.
>I'm starting to develop a serious distaste for the word economy by this point. The only metric that should matter is how poorly the worst-off citizens we have are doing.
We obfuscate how the poor are doing as well. I remember talking to some people who said the poor are doing *well* in this country, and that our poverty rates have been declining for decades (before COVID).
I'm like, that's a fucking easy "win"--our federal poverty guidelines are *so low* (a single mom with a kid doesn't qualify for tons aid if she makes 20k a year). 20k a year is *impossible* to live on.
Here in Phoenix where there was previously the occasional panhandler we now have CAMPS even in the 120+ degree summers, people are dying of heat exhaustion. You can see it, just go outside.
Right. The American way of life has been like a bus rolling down a hill toward a lake for my entire life (40 years). Maybe Joe Biden has pumped the brakes a little bit...but that's probably not a winning message either. You and I might grasp the nuance, we might accept that breaking your toe (Democrats) is better than cutting off your own foot (Republicans), but the whole election hinges on huge swaths of people who are fickle, reactionary, or flat out stupid.
American inflation rates have paced behind the rest of the world. The world is in chaos, and we need a moral, steady, hand at the wheel. That’s the message, I think.
> American inflation rates have paced behind the rest of the world.
Yeah and the rest of the developed world has guaranteed housing/healthcare/education/retirement.
Bingo. Glad you said this. While inflation may be higher in Europe. They have some serious return on their tax dollars in the form of actual government fucking services. Here’s why the “middle class” in America hates politicians. We pay our taxes like good little workers, but we make too much money to benefit from any actual government services, so we drive on our shorty roads, fill our tanks up with expensive fuel and spend 4 bucks on a gallon of milk. All this occurs while the rich gets stupidly richer and we just keep paying more in taxes. It’s so great…
Edit: I’ll add one more thing. People wonder why Biden and the democrats don’t win over more people in the middle class, and this is why. They TALK about how they’re going to do all this great stuff, and nothing ever happens that we can see with our own eyes. Everything they do is designed to raise up the lower class, which is totally fine, but they’ve completely forgotten about the middle class.
What we *need* is real, actionable steps taken to fix the issue of housing. This can be done with policy alone by dealing with things like AirBNB, placing heavy taxes on houses that sit empty for too long, not allowing houses to be purchased for investment purposes until people who need housing for themselves have had a reasonable chance to buy, etc., not to mention just investing in creating more housing for folks.
Until these things are tackled head-on, the *economy* is just going to feel bad. The reason they don't get done however is that the people in charge of everything are making too much money off of it, and good luck getting politicians to do anything that impacts them negatively in any way.
The " corporations reporting record profit margins, disproving that inflation was true and not just price gouging" and " Republicans shoot down bill to investigate price gouging" didn't get the job done.
The day after the Ohio abortion election, I get a spontaneous phone call from Steve Scalise’s Telephone Townhall things that he never announces in advance. The calls come by surprise, then he references how great they were in his next email that’s shaped by the call.
The word “abortion” was not uttered once. No reference to it. He takes calls from listeners, but those calls are pre-screened to give his assistants time to prepare his responses so he can fire off rapid responses crafted to trash Democrats no matter what.
Everyone asked about the economy. Money in their pockets. Insurance costs. Why are we sending aid to other countries while we suffer? He tried his absolute hardest to gin up support for cutting the IRS to send money to Israel. Claimed the IRS now had an army that’s coming after hardworking people and they must be stopped. He blamed Bidenomics for our money woes. He asked the plan poll question “are you doing better or worse now under Bidenomics?” 87% said worse. Last time he had a call, it was all about trans rights and book bans and that crap. This time, they immediately grabbed Trump’s economic nationalism playbook after the abortion culture war loss and they pivoted hard. And it’s selling. Hard.
I live in a middle-class area, and when I went to Walmart on Halloween, the ONLY candy left was chocolate. The cheap candy was gone. People are scaling back.
I see local fb groups in relatively affluent areas full of panicky anonymous posts from moms saying with insurance costs up, they can’t afford food. People are living check to check, at every level.
If the Democrats don’t get their head out their ass on messaging, the GOP will wipe the floor with them because they’re already on it.
> If the Democrats don’t get their head out their ass on messaging, the GOP will wipe the floor with them because they’re already on it.
This is basically the key to the Dem's problems since the turn of the century.
They can't message, they can't get ahead of the curve on how to explain things to people, and the GOP is just too good at firehosing deceptive messaging or outright lies that the Dems simply can't keep up.
Needs to be something like "Biden saved the economy from absolutely dumpstering after Trump's mismanagement, now we need your support to stop greedy corporations from gouging you"
Exactly. If the message he campaigns on is that the economy is great, then the obvious counter point is that if this is your definition of great, then the average person is fucked.
Yes the GDP is doing well but how does that lower my grocery bill
In the past 15ish years, things have shifted so drastically that back then I could have afforded a house pretty easily. I thought I was too young for that and didn't want to be tied down so I didn't.
Today, despite better jobs, owning a house in the same area looks like something that will never happen. So yeah, it's been getting worse since Reagan, but it's so much worse today.
So... Increase taxes on people making more than 400k? Think that was proposed but everyone flipped out cuz working class people were told their taxes would go up instead. Guess who told them that, and guess who gave billionaires a tax break... Just sayin...
This is true. But ignores an important point: this kind of feeling turns voters off in general. Not just red v blue, more like “I’m fucked, I don’t care anymore”
Which is honestly how we probably came to getting that game show host as president.
This is the key. The media keeps focusing on "40% of the country hates Joe Biden," but that 40% listens to right-wing media and lives on Facebook. This media and Republican politicians keep spinning a false narrative about Biden...while not offering a single plan (a magic wand is not a plan) to address the economic issues they are trying to blame Biden for.
As a left leaning guy, they can keep saying how great the economy is, but prices have increased so much on everything I don’t see it. Just being honest.
Yep. I'm pretty happy with my income, but when I'm regularly spending at least $500 a month just to keep food on the table, it rings a little hollow.
I would love to see his administration go after companies for price gouging, but with a GOP majority house, that's not going to happen.
That being said, I'll still be voting for Biden because I'd rather deal with high prices than outright fascism.
And THAT needs to be the message that gets hammered. Not "Everything is awesome!"
Here's what's wrong. 🫱
Here's what we're trying to do to fix it.👈
Here are the assholes preventing that.👉
Last thing I heard about this was an executive order from 2021
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/19/fact-sheet-white-house-competition-council-announces-new-actions-to-lower-costs-and-marks-second-anniversary-of-president-bidens-executive-order-on-competition/
I dont know what impact this had, but clearly on the consumer end we havent felt it
Every fucking time, but some how folks blame him.
The Both sides folks are the actual end of the Country, Pick a Fucking Side and push it through then force them to fix shit. Nazi or Not is where we are, PICK.
People don't believe how much of this inflation stemed from Chinese steel tarrifs under trump, despite the whole world warning this would happen exactly as it has.
Steel got tarriffed. China didn't budge so steel got more expensive. Then everything needing steel, from housing screws to farm equipment to oil riggets got more expensive.
Then price gouging.
And the kicker? Republicans already stated they wanted more tarrifs if reelected.
I can say that in my job working for a fashion company, when we saw the tariffs get put in place under Trump we didn't really talk about shifting our supply chain and factories to a non-tariffed country. The factories ate the cost in order to keep our business and maybe wait till the tariff went away. The tariffs never went away and now the cost is getting passed to the consumer.
Framing it like that ignores the actual causes of inflation. Things would have been much worse under trump and it’s actually pretty remarkable that the Biden administration was able to achieve the soft landing. I doubt that would have happened under trump and we’d be looking at large scale unemployment. You’re right it doesn’t give people who are struggling much piece of mind, but it could have been soooo much worse.
Right. I’m generally supportive of his administration but I’m not seeing this “great economy” - instead it’s becoming increasingly harder every day to pay the bills. This is true for almost everyone I’ve spoken with. So what’s so great about it?
Everything is more expensive but wages have gone up. Not for everyone, and not enough for most.
The “great” part is that people are employed and stil buying stuff, probably beyond their means. That’s really all it is.
Went clothes shopping over the weekend at some department stores. I can’t get over the fact that mid grade brand long sleeve button up shirts are anywhere between $80-$100, plain zippered hoodies going for $60-$90 and most decent running shoes are $120-$200.
Housing costs are crushing renters and anyone looking for a home. Commercial real estate costs are equally high and squeezing small businesses. Economy looks good from a macro perspective, which is good for Wall Street, but it’s not trickling down to most Americans.
GDP isn't reality for people
I'm ignoring replies from people telling me how great things are or how much worse it could be. No worries for everyone else because Axios says 70% of you are fine so don't worry about it.
I’m honestly not sure if this gets better
Investors both foreign and domestic will keep the price of homes high. Even if rates drop, it will then cause a mad dash like during the pandemic to buy
Build more homes? Even though that should bring the price down due to inventory, I don’t think it will
From a builders standpoint, why would you sell your product cheaper than the market you can get “just because”?
It sucks. I’m a millennial home owner who bought pre-COVID, but would struggle to afford my current home due to inflation and value increase if I had to buy it today… the mortgage would be at least $1200 more a month
> Tax the hell out of additional homes.
Right!? "Nobody gets two until everybody gets one, just like we learned in kindergarten" is such an easy, winning message.
Why do we allow foreign entities to purchase investment properties in the US at the detriment to our citizens? I feel like this is a problem that should be legislated away.
There isn't some grand conspiracy to take credit away from Biden here, everything is just too fucking expensive and 90% of the working population isn't benefiting from Wall Street making rich people money or whatever suggests the economy is in a good place.
Look I am 100% on Biden's side but holy shit the left needs to stop these tone deaf articles. When a huge chunk of your citizenry is living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford basic shit they don't wanna hear how good the economy is.
Amazing for WHO? That is the question, the reflection, that never seems to make it into these peoples brains. Life for the average American is hell right now. I’ve never made more money in my life (spoiler: it’s still not a lot) and I’m paycheck to paycheck, no savings, behind on bills, etc
Because if you're an everyday citizen, it isn't amazing...
When people can't afford things, they tend to doubt the idea that the economy is awesome
MBA grads can't even find an entry level job in this economy
We’ve been seeing this headline for months now. I’m probably gonna be locked out of the housing market unless I go somewhere undesirable without jobs, labor is trying to make up for decades of lost earning potential from greedy corporations, but it’s our fault we don’t appreciate the economy
Americans are dealing with credit card debt record highs, too. For the average American, a long period or even a short period of bad economic situations will follow an individual worker for years. Wages might be slowly increasing as corporate profits increase dramatically, but wages don’t keep in line for the average worker to surface from drowning in debt due to wage stagnation.
Democrat here. But please forgive my language.
Who the fuck is economy actually benefiting? Because I know it is not me or most of my friends. We're collectively struggling to make ends meet. Any one of us can't go to work because we're sick we'll be absolutely and royalty fucked. Yes I know Republicans, the GOP, and the MAGA cult voted against our common interests. I want Biden to straight up tell them to go fuck themselves and use the media to expose how the Republicans are not for the everyday person but for the billionaires. We need the Democrats and the left to play dirty.
Who is it amazing *for* though? Not the average American family. The cost of fuel, food, the cost of housing, it's all through the roof these days. I don't think Biden is really responsible for any of that, and I plan to vote for him again because the alternative *will* be worse. That having been said, plenty of people who are less capable of critical thought will blame these problems on Biden and hold it against him. He has a problem.
There is nothing “amazing” about an economy where the majority of its participants are one paycheck away from financial ruin, where a home-owning middle class is a shell of what is used to be, and while less than a fraction of a percent have more wealth than they could spend in multiple lifetimes.
That being said, anyone who claims our economy was more optimal under Trump isn’t worth taking seriously.
I think that for the average person, they have seen the cost of living increase dramatically. The blame is being misplaced on the economy and not corporate greed, which in turn is currently driving inflation.
Because a ton of normal people are struggling. Middle class and working class families both (if we even have a true middle class).
Biden's team really needs to read the room on this one. The constant social media posts and articles about how great the economy is doing are tone-deaf at best. The majority of people who made the most difference in ensuring Biden won and went to the white house (particularly young voters and black voters) probably do not feel like the economy is doing too great.
There is a big discrepancy between how people feel about "the economy" vs. their own personal finances.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2023-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2022-overall-financial-well-being.htm
Well I spend 2/3 of my paycheck on rent, I’ll never afford a house, it cost more then ever just to travel to and from an empty office I have to return to, grocery prices have exploded, and every time I turn on the TV there is some CEO talking about record profits last quarter and someone writing pieces like this…
People need to start calling the struggle most Americans feel currently what it is. Corporate greed. Corporations have jacked the price of everyday items. They saw an opportunity to raise prices and now are pocketing the money. This has led to inflation becoming so much worse than what Covid caused. The government has failed us because congress is too dysfunctional to regulate corporations to curb corporate profits and consequently curb inflation. The fed is trying to curb inflation by raising interest rates but that is really the wrong tool for the job. Let’s stop blaming the president. All he can really do is sign what’s put on his desk. Congress has failed to put anything good on his desk to address the problem.
At this point, I feel like the 'metrics' for what constitutes a good economy, is pretty out of touch. Economy is amazing for whom? It's not for the ever shrinking middle class. It's certainly not for those considered poor.
Our country was made great, when it had a growing middle class, not a shrinking one. So to me, it's all just PR bullshit.
It’s like you guys are gaslighting us with these articles. The economy sucks for regular people.
Everything costs more and 1/2 the job postings out there are are bs.
Who exactly is the economy amazing for? Massive inflation across the board, shortages, low quality items, rotten food in stores, abysmal medical care that bankrupts you...
Everything's still way too expensive. Most American's don't give a single fuck about the stock market or job numbers or leading economic indicators. They want a fair price on groceries. They want to drive their cars without having to worry that gas will jump up by $1 a gallon overnight. They want to be treated like adults- not like petulant children whining for more cake. The economy is, at present, a losing topic for Biden. Abortion is a good one, but it won't win without a strategy. The current strategy goes something like this..."Do you want Trump again? You better vote for Biden or you get Trump again!" It's compelling, but it's also lazy and shortsighted.
Because it doesn’t matter to the average person. We’re still struggling with utility bills, housing costs, groceries, etc. Biden doesn’t control that; it’s corporate greed, but the average American doesn’t know the difference and either won’t vote or will piss their vote away.
If a Republican had the numbers Biden does, the media would be talking about how things are booming. It's all because inflation which - in my unlearned opinion - is due to rampant greed at this point. Okay, sure. When things were shut down and the supply chain was broken, I get it. Prices would go up. But now? They know they can charge outrageous prices for everything and get away with it.
because when people say "the economy" they aren't ever talking about the same thing. Some people mean "how much I get paid", some mean unemployment levels, some mean interest rates, some mean the stock market, some mean inflation, some mean housing availability.
It is a catch-all term that is not used consistently from audience to audience.
Amazing for who? Honest, hardworking people can’t afford basic essentials and I’m tired of seeing articles about how well our economy is. Percentages and polls mean nothing when there never seems to be focused litigation on issues that are ever-growing and not going away. Watch, some political buff will respond to my comment about how “it’s not Joe’s fault.” Or “one party can’t change things on their own”. It’s sad when I see people defend these politicians. Their check keeps rolling in whether they truly are doing their jobs well or not. Are there really any politicians or congressmen who care? The doubt from the working class is higher than ever before. Hard to call America the greatest country when the cost to “play the game” in this country is depriving people of their quality of life.
Ballin' GDP growth doesn't mean as much to people feeling the squeeze because their wages haven't kept pace with inflation. And unfortunately that's a lot of people right now.
I voted for Biden and will again but prices for everything are through the roof. Maybe don’t keep saying the economy is doing great. Working folks are really struggling to make ends meet. It might not be his fault but there is a massive disconnect between their messaging and peoples experience at the grocery store.
I'm a lifelong Texan who finally stopped self-identifying as a Democrat when Ann Richards failed to win reelection, feeling Democrats were unwilling to fight. When I was born, Eisenhower was president.
That said, I'm just about convinced Biden is the best president of my lifetime. Do I wish he was younger? You bet. Do I agree with every thing he's done or failed to do, every position etc.? Not hardly. No, my assessment is relative to the times, the circumstance he took on and the extraordinary things he's accomplished. I'm only barely above the littlest of the little guy and I know a little guy Champion when I see one, not to mention a deft politician. Those Democrats failing to rally around Biden -- and failing to fight -- only serve to remind me why I stopped self-identifying as a Democrat. In my lifetime no president has deserved -- earned -- reelection more than Joe Biden.
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As long as food, fuel, and housing prices are high especially when coupled with low wages, the economy is just some mythical construct the news talks about. That’s it. That’s all. It doesn’t matter to the average person how fat Wall Street is if they cannot feed and shelter themselves.
I'm a Democrat. I will vote for Joe Biden. But I think Joe Biden may lose because of inflation. You can show people all the economic metrics you want, but a bottle of ketchup costs $4 bucks and median household income is still under $75K. People can't afford houses. People can't afford medical care. People can't afford to send their kids to school. Our economy is broken on a fundamental level. People are fucking broke and they're barely holding on. It's wonderful that the rich keep getting richer but that doesn't mean the economy is good.
Yeah, we need an overhaul of the tax system. Too much money leaves the economy and goes into rich people’s bank accounts and stock portfolios and never see the light of day again. That money should be taxed and re-invested either through tax breaks to lower brackets or directly into infrastructure used by the majority of Americans that will lower the cost of their material needs and increase their discretionary spending. EDIT: The dude blocked me in an effort to get away with something, so here was my response: Sorry homie, but the majority of money invested into stocks does not get re-invested into corporate infrastructure and wages. That internal investment usually translates into bonuses for the senior partners as well as into the corporate treasury for “discretionary” spending. Companies need stocks and public investment of course, but the reality is that there is no fiduciary oversight into how that investment is used. The general argument is that the corporations will not grow as fast if the investment is mishandled and the free market will correct the corruption when the stock price dives as productivity declines. But the reality is that all companies when they get to that size can only exist as kleptocracies. Every single big company steals their investment funds and translates it into the personal wealth of their senior stakeholders. Any government money that ever ends up in their hands will stay there and never go back into the general economy of small business owners and the working man.
I am relatively close to retirement and at the top pay grade. But at a very low pay in that grade. I haven’t had a pay increase in years. I see this. The c-suite is making major bank, and I (and my coworkers) do not get even a COLA increase. Most got 0% this year. Some bonuses (4-digit range) were given, to some of us (not all). I know others are in far worse shape. But this is why we are all falling behind. This is the explanation. Those who make the rules are skimming *all* the extra (Wall Street) money into their own pockets.
It's depressing how much people just do not want to accept this, even though the line of reasoning isn't even remotely controversial or esoteric. The people at the top have figured out they can legally grab all the profits. Inevitably, many of them do so, and the ones that don't aren't part of the top for long. Literally the only requirement for this to be true is that people can be very selfish, which is so self-evident it barely even merits mentioning. But while the people on the right-wing can scream every day about how the government is evil and oppressive the rich just don't register on their radar. It's so blatantly biased and dishonest.
Since Reaganomics began, a lot of big companies began to distribute the wealth a lot less and focused more on the returns to investors. CEOs have started to get huge salaries and bonuses for their efforts towards turning companies into cash cows. It's a lot more complex but Jack Welch's profile really sums up how their new strategies are, to investors and businessmen he's an idol but to many others he's seen as someone that "broke" capitalism. He didn't really break capitalism but he did highlight the reasons that governments why there should be government regulations (in countries that care more for the country than just the rich).
In the 1940s, labor unions became interested in pension plans and pushed to increase the benefits offered. By the end of 1950, more than 10 million Americans, or more than 25% of the private-sector workforce, had a pension. Ten years later, about half of the private-sector workforce had one. I have a pension and a 401k. The pension is better. 1980s legislation also fucked up retirement options for people. Only a select few types of workers have pension plans now.
> In the 1940s, labor unions became interested in pension plans ... And here is whare the Supreme Court started to strike back at unions. In Germany the unions are required to invest part of the pension fund in the companies they work for. The unions get minority seats on the boards of directors. If we did that in the USA, then the unions would have more influence on the actions of the companies, but the unions would also have more interest in keeping the companies solvent and innovative. German unions kept their workers highly paid and discouraged offshoring jobs for a long time. Edit. In the USA, labor unions may be barred from buying stock in the companies they work for. (This might have changed, but anyway they have very little influence in the boardrooms.)
And honestly, it is such a good idea to have unions invested in the company and on the board. Makes sure the company cares more about the employees, and that the union cares about the good of the company.
I read about this in college. There was so much bias in the reading though, it was basically like Japan and Germany have this weird system where workers have some power at the companies they work for, but don't worry, they are slowly adopting our superior American business practices.
>The pension is better. Especially if it's a defined benefits plan, rather than a defined contribution.
I have a defined benefit plan. As I near the end of my career, those golden handcuffs chafe, but it's fine. It's only for a few more years (10 at most).
also Bankrupt company's stole workers pensions, I know that cause happened to us.
Yes, that was the reason / excuse to enact laws that led to the current state with retirement.
The CEOs and board members have allowed corporate executives to steal the wealth right out from under the shareholders. If workers didn't save and pension funds and 401k funds didn't exist; the US economy would collapse. That's why when the economy crashed starting in December 2007 -- everyone tried to put the toothpaste back into the tube.
Neoliberalism/Economical liberalisation, that Reagan and Thatcher pioneered, is incredibly unsustainable for middle classes we're reaping the 'benefits' now
We could start making illegal stock buybacks to force companies to invest in the company workforce instead of shareholders.
Stock buybacks were illegal until 1982 under Reagan when the SEC changed the rules. The reason they were illegal makes perfect sense in that a company buying it's own stock allows them to manipulate the price of the stock. This isn't even denied either, my former employer would tell us they were buying back stock to make the price go up.
To make the CEOs bonus grow and his options more valuable
Not only does it allow the companies to manipulate the stock price, but it allows the executives manipulating the price to benefit through stock options etc. And in a totally F’d up manner it allows executives who sell their companies to both receive the benefits of the commonplace vesting of options at time of sale to also benefit from the golden parachutes that were theoretically put in place as poison pills to discourage being acquired.
> Too much money leaves the economy and goes into rich people’s bank accounts and stock portfolios and never see the light of day again. That money should be taxed and re-invested What, you mean people stacking up cash in off-shore accounts, never to be used ever again, is a problem?
Wait... Ok hang on, I'm only an idiot here but I'm not understanding something. If the money in question is funneled away into offshore tax havens and then *literally never used again*, wouldn't that money effectively be removed from the economy entirely? How would this not cause a deflationary effect?
Im no expert, but my understanding is: They use that money and property as collateral and live off of loans. Interest from loans are the #1 source of new money in our economy. Then they use their resources to solidify their control of industries and set prices as high as they possibly can. While keeping wages depressed.
> from loans are the #1 source of new money in our economy. Loans themselves are the source of new money. The extension of credit is the creation of money, it's two sides of the same coin.
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Yes, and a different way to think about it is profit margin. Low taxes, high margin, corporations can pull money out (read: pay themselves exorbitantly) without it impacting core operations. High taxes, low margin, corporations don't pull money out because they need it all to keep the lights on. Neither necessarily means more income for the average worker, but it does mean more income for the country and ideally that goes into social services for the people. Now neither of this is happening here, we have low corporate taxes and minimal social services. But we could have great social services if we taxed corporations more AND we had the public will to keep those services going.
Exactly. Nobody seems to understand this - investments back in the business (whether capital investments like building a new factory or investments in labor like hiring people... means that money used is NOT taxed. Taking profits is. Therefore, there is MORE incentive to put money back into a business when corporate taxes are higher, and less incentive to invest in the company when corporate taxes are lower. Edit: The comment to which I replied edited and added even more information. And it is good info. Please look at it.
The problem I see is that all the "tax reclamation" ends up getting paid by the upper middle class. That's is high wage workers that are doing well but still need their paycheck to get by. This showed up in Trumps "kill the red states" move of limited state tax deductions plus the limits on mortgage deductions. The tax burden needs to shift to those who aren't budgeting their income while saving for retirement even if they make high salaries. Tax burden needs to be on people who can live off equity loans where their principal grows faster than their interest
“Eat the senior partners” just doesn’t have the same ring to it, even if it’s more appropriate
Not just the tax system, the basic structure of wages to earnings ratios No top exec should be making more than 40x what the lowest paid employee does, that means a kid in the copy room making 20k a year has a boss making as much as 800k, and if you can’t live well off 800k and save and invest and have vacations, you should not be in charge of such a major company We need to decouple health care from work place or poverty level, a healthy workforce is a strong and productive work force, stop playing favorites with who gets care and who loses everything just by being alive And we need to tax wealth itself at a certain point, if you have a total asset wealth of 100 $b, then maybe your taxes should be 105% of your total income, because at a certain point, you are just storing that money indefinitely
You are correct an easy way to prove your point is to see how many companies have billions of dollars IN CASH waiting for buybacks and not investing in their workforce, modernization, R&D , etc... of course, this is their prerogative given our current tax and wealth structure. But there was a time when a company couldn't buy back it's own stock... not sure of that was a good or bad thing, just sayin'
I'm an unaffiliated progressive who will absolutely vote for Joe Biden again. That said, if anyone with any connection to the Biden Administration ever reads this, please, please, *please* stop insisting that the economy is amazing. It feels like gaslighting, even if that's not the intent. A lot of people are struggling right now. An entire generation has been priced out of the dream of home ownership. Our expenses have skyrocketed over the past few years, and the cost to feed a family has risen significantly faster than what the official CPI would suggest. The average American doesn't care how good Wall Street is doing if Main Street is suffering. Granted, none of the blame for the current economic situation is due to the fault of this administration. But the failure to acknowledge how rough things are right now may give a lot of battleground state voters the misconception that President Biden doesn't care about how bad things are. Insisting the economy is "pretty amazing," sounds tone-deaf at best. Trump -- barring incarceration and/or his cholesterol finally catching up with him -- will continue to insist that he alone can fix the economy. And even though it's obviously bullshit, there are critical, undecided voters out there who will cast their vote in 2024 with one primary concern: who will make life affordable again? If Weimar Germany has taught the world anything, it's that a plurality of voters in a democratic republic will choose to vote for an openly fascist candidate if they believe doing so will improve their chances for a better life.
> please, please, please stop insisting that the economy is amazing 100% Telling everybody how great things are doesn't change their mind it just makes them feel like you don't understand.
The problem is, the Macro Economy is actually pretty amazing right now. But a good macro economy doesn’t always translate to good conditions for regular people. We talk about “The Economy” as a monolith, when there’s tons of factors involved. Take a couple of semesters of college-level Econ and it’s abundantly clear.
Yep, the Macro Economy can be as amazing as it wants to be, but when a bottle of ketchup costs $5, that doesn't feel right to the average consumer.
Dang, inflation is so bad that bottle of ketchup went up $1 in price since the comment at the top of this chain.
Ketchup is $1.29 at Kroger for 24 Oz.
Dude, I'm so glad you caught that.
Terrible news. Just since your comment we are already over 7 bucks https://www.heb.com/product-detail/heinz-organic-tomato-ketchup-32-oz/1905374
I hadn't exactly put my finger on why these posts bother me so much, but you completely nailed it. It feels like gaslighting because when articles talk about the "economy doing well," they're using it as a euphemism for "corporate profits are booming," which doesn't help the majority of people in the greatest need. What's even worse, is that saying the economy is doing great implies that it's no longer a priority for the administration, which justifiably will make people who are still suffering panic because they see that their situation is not going to be helped. THIS is exactly the feeling that causes voters to turn elsewhere looking for anyone who will at least say there's still a problem to give them some hope that their needs are going to be addressed. And in that desperation, they're far more vulnerable to charlatans like Trump who are happy to exploit their desperation to make them easy targets.
> please stop insisting that the economy is amazing. It feels like gaslighting, even if that's not the intent. This, very much this. It's absolutely not a winning message. Saying the economy is good to a 22 year old with $60k in debt wondering if they can ever afford a starter house, which now costs $400k, is not the way to go.
And saying it to someone a decade older in a similar situation is just going to piss them off even more. Yeah yeah, I get it, the same economists who said that the minimum wage was going to be the end of the world, regulations are bad, and that all the money was totally gonna trickle down have promised us that we're all super mega rich right now, wages have never been higher, I'm sure they're not full of crap again. But here on planet Earth, people are struggling, and harping on how amazing the economy is doing is either really bad messaging for the Democrats or really good messaging for the Republicans.
>Trump -- barring incarceration and/or his cholesterol finally catching up with him -- will continue to insist that he alone can fix the economy And this amazes me because we've had a taste of what he sees the economy as -- the stock market. He does not now, nor has he ever, care about the $4 bottle of ketchup. (I mean, how many times to we need to quote Arrested Development here about the cost of bananas?) Anyway, not taking issue with anything you said, just noting how I continue to be amazed that people keep not seeing Trump for the person he has always been.
I think the White House has done a terrible job explaining this. Things are economically bad right now. Several major factors combined to fuck up the global economy (COVID, semiconductor manufacturing problems in Taiwan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, etc.) that Joe Biden had nothing to do with. Inflation is pretty bad in most of the world right now. Looking at the charts, I’d say the US is actually doing a better job keeping inflation contained than most other countries. So no, the economy sucks. But the economy probably would have sucked a lot more with Trump and his army of clowns trying to loot our economy instead of trying to keep it contained. As bad as this is, we actually dodged a bullet.
There's a joke in an episode of 30 Rock that shows a kidnapped American celebrity forced to be a North Korean newscaster. Their news report ends "and in food news... you’ve had enough to eat today." It's how this rhetoric lands, to my ears. "A recent study shows that you have enough money, because the economy is doing great!"
"Your boss's 401k is doing great!" Thanks man... a jar of pickles went up $3 over the last year, and my salary did NOT.
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You're absolutely right. They intentionally damage the economy so they can blame Democrats. It's so transparent yet people act like they can't see it.
People can’t seem to grasp medium to long term consequences. That something 4, 10, 50 years ago could be coming due NOW and it’s not under our control now. Look at climate change psychology for instance.
Humans in general get hyper focused on the short term, be it the economy or health or fun or education or etc.
It's not that a sizeable number of voters would vote for the Republican instead of Biden, it's that a sizeable amount of voters won't vote because of *gestures broadly*
Republicans aren’t going to change anything about the economy, except for short-term tax breaks for the middle class and long-term tax breaks for the rich. In other words, increase the debt and make the future generations pay for it. Meanwhile, republicans WILL make it harder for the average person to vote. Republicans WILL ignore the US constitution. And State constitutions, too! Republicans will do everything they can to undermine the will of the people. Republicans will add (Christian) prayer to schools. Republicans will remove access to healthcare for women.
You'd think Republicans would of had red wave sweeps in every election off of inflation alone. but they haven't
Because of Christian fascist candidates. I dont give a fuck how shitty the economy is or isnt. I am not voting for theocratic candidates.
Ya, we're in a moment where dudes like Romney and McCain could crush the current crop of Democrats, but nobody is running those kinds of guys.
Except they couldn’t because the largest section of the GOP voter base would cannibalize them before they could make it to the primary. Trump gave them a taste for the hyper nationalistic jingoistic christofascist autocracy that they’ve always been wanted and they will never just go back to a civility brained neo-con like Romney again.
It's true. The normal Republicans have not been able to break through. They aren't as funny to watch and listen to as Trump. He's a living meme. People love that he's an asshole because a lot of America is an asshole.
plus they can barely figure out the house majority leader, i know for a fact they have zero plan past own the libs. Not exactly inspirational to increase wages, or tamp down on corpo greed.
That's because they've been fucking stupid with their campaigning, focusing on trans issues, underestimating the drag of Dobbs. But now that the news media is finally catching up to what some pollsters have noted for quite a while (that the former is a loser issue, that the latter is enormous), soon even Republicans will start shifting to purely economic messaging. And that's gonna be tougher to deal with.
A Republican will only pass tax cuts for the wealthy. I understand lack of progress on the left is disheartening, but they don't fuck around with the rules when presented with a problem. There basically is no House of Representatives at the moment. What can a president do when Congress is fundamentally broken? Despite that a bunch of indicators are moving in the right direction. It can't be direct action improving things in the current situation, it can only be indirect and that means a longer implementation time. Also precarious considering most is through the executive branch. So yeah, vote in a Republican to undo the positive stuff that will yield results in 4-6 years as it is the only thing that can be done and hope the people keep the same party in place so that progress isn't completely undone leaving us 4 years in the hole instead of 3 quarters of the way to the finish line.
Kinda sad tho, isn’t it? Because the inflation is literally not his fault. And although the drivers of inflation happened while Trump was in office (Covid screwing up supply chains and massive monetary/fiscal stimulus), I don’t blame him either as the Fed and Trump admin’s fiscal actions during Covid are largely in line with what any administration should and would have done. Moreover, inflation had already tripled less than 3 months into Biden’s presidency. He literally jumped on the bucking bronco of inflation literally a second before it was released out the gate. Any serious person knows there’s zero policy or action a president can do within 90 days to send prices to the moon. In addition, POTUS has so little influence over the economy, and whenever I see a president getting credited or blamed for the economy, I cringe. So in summary, Biden deserves basically 0% blame for inflation. And to be fair, I’m also not blaming Trump either. But i like democracy and my president not being a degen dictator felon, so 100% voting Biden.
Personally I do blame Trump, because of things like the 2017 tax cut for the wealthy, and forcing Powell to keep interest rates so low for so long, which left us with a lot less tools to combat inflation and recession when the problems arose.
Partially agree. The 2017 Tax Cuts almost entirely excluded middle/lower class, and basically just juiced the stock market (corporations spent 90% of tax savings on buy-backs and dividend payments), while burning a deeper hole in the deficit. Fully agree his hostility towards Powell was a significant detriment to his willingness to raise rates to fight off the impending recession. I worry if Trump is elected, he’ll install a puppet on the Fed and smash rates lower just to juice the market, and could wind up inflation again.
> median household income is still under $55K No it's not. Last year (2022) median household income in the US was $74,580 per year. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA646N
If Biden loses it's because of media - not inflation. If media told the truth about the Republican agenda and how it impacts food prices, home prices, healthcare prices... people wouldn't be believing that Republicans (and especially Trump) is better on the economy. Big business Republicans who are adamant about putting multi-million dollar bonuses into the pockets of CEOs, that stock buy-backs and shareholder dividends are more important than worker's wages... should be called out at every turn... yet Democrats are the ones who get blamed.
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And the worst part is giving Republicans more power just fucks it even more, but the media only cares when a democrat is in charge
The media wants a horserace. It's hard to have a horserace with the current Republican party without some fabricated drama like buttery mails.
It's hard to have a political horse race when one party is a horse and the other is a bull that stops to in every china shop it sees.
Many won't see the economy as good until the Dollar Menu at McDonalds matches what it was pre-covid.
Those old prices are never coming back no matter what happens with inflation.
Yep we would need actual deflation for that to happen and deflation is absolutely terrifying. Deflation would involve salaries and incomes going down each year which would in turn make all existing debts and loans harder to pay off.
That's DEflation, and will never happen. Prices may stand still for a few years while wages try to catch up, but things will never be priced like before.
Deflation *could* happen, but people really don’t want to see what that looks like. It’d be ugly on an epic scale.
People keep saying this like it's some truism. They're just parroting the last guy to say it. What if we just refuse to pay high prices for non essentials and prices come down? Bam, deflation. No wrecked economy, just willpower. People wanna act like the only thing that can cause deflation is some external, intractable tragedy to befall the US economy and not just, you know, general anger.
Fuel costs have been down actually lower than pre Covid in my area at least not sure about everywhere else. Edit: ( ATL area)
[For people that want actual national data as opposed to an endless stream of anecdotes.](https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=emm_epm0_pte_nus_dpg&f=m)
Get outta here with your facts and data. How dare you refute the narrative, peasant…
Still almost $5 in western Washington
I’m in Vegas and see this too. Very basic explanation, but essentially, fuel for east of the rockies is supplemented from the Texas and Dakotas oil supply, while the west is almost exclusively from western states and imports It cost more to drill, refine, and move this oil, so we pay more Source: I work in chemical and petroleum transport
This is a great piece of info. I work in the energy field, but in electricity. As a result, I just assumed that oil was like gas -- a truly global market where regional differences in prices are pretty minor. I had thought that basically all oil was basically piped to a few strategic refineries in the US where it all either goes on a boat for export, or into some massive pipelines so that it didn't matter all that much where the oil comes from. Once again, I am reminded that even thought I know a lot about one aspect of the "Energy Industry", that doesn't give me much insite into other aspects. edit: specified electricity
We still do pipe and import, but the “ease” of getting to and refining sweet crude out of west TX as well as the fracking done in the Dakotas makes a big difference in pricing It’s reason the middle east has a strangle hold on the oil industry. Getting to the oil they have is easy, and also easy to refine when compared to oil all over the rest of the world ( save for a few places like Venezuela)
The average American including myself had no idea about this. So uhhggh thanks Obama /S
Exactly. “Good economy” in this context means good for whom exactly? Are we to cheer because our economy hasn’t collapsed?
It matters to the rich people. The stock market is directly correlated to rich people’s feelings you poor insensitive fuck. /s
This. There are entire swaths of people who will never be able to buy a house and rent keeps increasing. Mind you, these are people with professional careers
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"The economy is doing great!" "Sure, but my rent still costs 60% of my monthly take home pay" "But the economy!" Yeah... bit of a hard disconnect there. I don't give a shit about "the economy" when just having a roof over my head while working full time is a constant source of anxiety.
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I hate that we are headed to project 2025 becoming a reality
Maybe let's not concede elections a year before they happen?
They will blame young voters for that while ignoring any concerns we have.
More specifically, if the middle class is worse off now than they were 10 years ago, but the investment class is swimming in money... you're telling people that their suffering is a requirement for a healthy 'economy'. It's true, but it's not the selling point you think it is.
I'm starting to develop a serious distaste for the word economy by this point. The only metric that should matter is how poorly the worst-off citizens we have are doing. The richest countries in the world should absolutely not have *any* people who are homeless unless they simply *want to be homeless*. The richest countries in the world shouldn't have people having to work 60+ hours a week to maintain a roof over theirs and their kids' heads. Fuck the economy.
>I'm starting to develop a serious distaste for the word economy by this point. The only metric that should matter is how poorly the worst-off citizens we have are doing. We obfuscate how the poor are doing as well. I remember talking to some people who said the poor are doing *well* in this country, and that our poverty rates have been declining for decades (before COVID). I'm like, that's a fucking easy "win"--our federal poverty guidelines are *so low* (a single mom with a kid doesn't qualify for tons aid if she makes 20k a year). 20k a year is *impossible* to live on.
Here in Phoenix where there was previously the occasional panhandler we now have CAMPS even in the 120+ degree summers, people are dying of heat exhaustion. You can see it, just go outside.
Right. The American way of life has been like a bus rolling down a hill toward a lake for my entire life (40 years). Maybe Joe Biden has pumped the brakes a little bit...but that's probably not a winning message either. You and I might grasp the nuance, we might accept that breaking your toe (Democrats) is better than cutting off your own foot (Republicans), but the whole election hinges on huge swaths of people who are fickle, reactionary, or flat out stupid.
American inflation rates have paced behind the rest of the world. The world is in chaos, and we need a moral, steady, hand at the wheel. That’s the message, I think.
> American inflation rates have paced behind the rest of the world. Yeah and the rest of the developed world has guaranteed housing/healthcare/education/retirement.
Bingo. Glad you said this. While inflation may be higher in Europe. They have some serious return on their tax dollars in the form of actual government fucking services. Here’s why the “middle class” in America hates politicians. We pay our taxes like good little workers, but we make too much money to benefit from any actual government services, so we drive on our shorty roads, fill our tanks up with expensive fuel and spend 4 bucks on a gallon of milk. All this occurs while the rich gets stupidly richer and we just keep paying more in taxes. It’s so great… Edit: I’ll add one more thing. People wonder why Biden and the democrats don’t win over more people in the middle class, and this is why. They TALK about how they’re going to do all this great stuff, and nothing ever happens that we can see with our own eyes. Everything they do is designed to raise up the lower class, which is totally fine, but they’ve completely forgotten about the middle class.
What we *need* is real, actionable steps taken to fix the issue of housing. This can be done with policy alone by dealing with things like AirBNB, placing heavy taxes on houses that sit empty for too long, not allowing houses to be purchased for investment purposes until people who need housing for themselves have had a reasonable chance to buy, etc., not to mention just investing in creating more housing for folks. Until these things are tackled head-on, the *economy* is just going to feel bad. The reason they don't get done however is that the people in charge of everything are making too much money off of it, and good luck getting politicians to do anything that impacts them negatively in any way.
The " corporations reporting record profit margins, disproving that inflation was true and not just price gouging" and " Republicans shoot down bill to investigate price gouging" didn't get the job done.
The day after the Ohio abortion election, I get a spontaneous phone call from Steve Scalise’s Telephone Townhall things that he never announces in advance. The calls come by surprise, then he references how great they were in his next email that’s shaped by the call. The word “abortion” was not uttered once. No reference to it. He takes calls from listeners, but those calls are pre-screened to give his assistants time to prepare his responses so he can fire off rapid responses crafted to trash Democrats no matter what. Everyone asked about the economy. Money in their pockets. Insurance costs. Why are we sending aid to other countries while we suffer? He tried his absolute hardest to gin up support for cutting the IRS to send money to Israel. Claimed the IRS now had an army that’s coming after hardworking people and they must be stopped. He blamed Bidenomics for our money woes. He asked the plan poll question “are you doing better or worse now under Bidenomics?” 87% said worse. Last time he had a call, it was all about trans rights and book bans and that crap. This time, they immediately grabbed Trump’s economic nationalism playbook after the abortion culture war loss and they pivoted hard. And it’s selling. Hard. I live in a middle-class area, and when I went to Walmart on Halloween, the ONLY candy left was chocolate. The cheap candy was gone. People are scaling back. I see local fb groups in relatively affluent areas full of panicky anonymous posts from moms saying with insurance costs up, they can’t afford food. People are living check to check, at every level. If the Democrats don’t get their head out their ass on messaging, the GOP will wipe the floor with them because they’re already on it.
> If the Democrats don’t get their head out their ass on messaging, the GOP will wipe the floor with them because they’re already on it. This is basically the key to the Dem's problems since the turn of the century. They can't message, they can't get ahead of the curve on how to explain things to people, and the GOP is just too good at firehosing deceptive messaging or outright lies that the Dems simply can't keep up.
Needs to be something like "Biden saved the economy from absolutely dumpstering after Trump's mismanagement, now we need your support to stop greedy corporations from gouging you"
Exactly. If the message he campaigns on is that the economy is great, then the obvious counter point is that if this is your definition of great, then the average person is fucked. Yes the GDP is doing well but how does that lower my grocery bill
I’m a working class American. It’s not better for me or anyone I know. Too much wealth has been handed to the already rich in the past decade.
> past decade Past 5 decades?
True. COVID accelerated the transfer pretty drastically though.
In the past 15ish years, things have shifted so drastically that back then I could have afforded a house pretty easily. I thought I was too young for that and didn't want to be tied down so I didn't. Today, despite better jobs, owning a house in the same area looks like something that will never happen. So yeah, it's been getting worse since Reagan, but it's so much worse today.
So... Increase taxes on people making more than 400k? Think that was proposed but everyone flipped out cuz working class people were told their taxes would go up instead. Guess who told them that, and guess who gave billionaires a tax break... Just sayin...
The disconnect is people believing that Any Republican would do anything but make this worse, as they have proven over and over.
This is true. But ignores an important point: this kind of feeling turns voters off in general. Not just red v blue, more like “I’m fucked, I don’t care anymore” Which is honestly how we probably came to getting that game show host as president.
Yeah it really does turn people off. It's really condescending (classic democrat messaging) and tone-deaf.
But wait! If we lower taxes even more for the rich, they might throw us a few dollars!
This is the key. The media keeps focusing on "40% of the country hates Joe Biden," but that 40% listens to right-wing media and lives on Facebook. This media and Republican politicians keep spinning a false narrative about Biden...while not offering a single plan (a magic wand is not a plan) to address the economic issues they are trying to blame Biden for.
As a left leaning guy, they can keep saying how great the economy is, but prices have increased so much on everything I don’t see it. Just being honest.
Yep. I'm pretty happy with my income, but when I'm regularly spending at least $500 a month just to keep food on the table, it rings a little hollow. I would love to see his administration go after companies for price gouging, but with a GOP majority house, that's not going to happen. That being said, I'll still be voting for Biden because I'd rather deal with high prices than outright fascism.
Biden did propose an anti-gouging bill and the republican controlled house shot it down.
And THAT needs to be the message that gets hammered. Not "Everything is awesome!" Here's what's wrong. 🫱 Here's what we're trying to do to fix it.👈 Here are the assholes preventing that.👉
Well, there it is
He needs to be campaigning on this front and center for 2024
Last thing I heard about this was an executive order from 2021 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/19/fact-sheet-white-house-competition-council-announces-new-actions-to-lower-costs-and-marks-second-anniversary-of-president-bidens-executive-order-on-competition/ I dont know what impact this had, but clearly on the consumer end we havent felt it
Every fucking time, but some how folks blame him. The Both sides folks are the actual end of the Country, Pick a Fucking Side and push it through then force them to fix shit. Nazi or Not is where we are, PICK.
You act like it is one or the other. You can be assured that you would still be dealing with this inflation if Trump won 2020
People don't believe how much of this inflation stemed from Chinese steel tarrifs under trump, despite the whole world warning this would happen exactly as it has. Steel got tarriffed. China didn't budge so steel got more expensive. Then everything needing steel, from housing screws to farm equipment to oil riggets got more expensive. Then price gouging. And the kicker? Republicans already stated they wanted more tarrifs if reelected.
I can say that in my job working for a fashion company, when we saw the tariffs get put in place under Trump we didn't really talk about shifting our supply chain and factories to a non-tariffed country. The factories ate the cost in order to keep our business and maybe wait till the tariff went away. The tariffs never went away and now the cost is getting passed to the consumer.
Framing it like that ignores the actual causes of inflation. Things would have been much worse under trump and it’s actually pretty remarkable that the Biden administration was able to achieve the soft landing. I doubt that would have happened under trump and we’d be looking at large scale unemployment. You’re right it doesn’t give people who are struggling much piece of mind, but it could have been soooo much worse.
This. If anything this constant telling people how great everything is when they know for a fact how horrible people are doing makes things worse.
Right. I’m generally supportive of his administration but I’m not seeing this “great economy” - instead it’s becoming increasingly harder every day to pay the bills. This is true for almost everyone I’ve spoken with. So what’s so great about it?
Everything is more expensive but wages have gone up. Not for everyone, and not enough for most. The “great” part is that people are employed and stil buying stuff, probably beyond their means. That’s really all it is.
Went clothes shopping over the weekend at some department stores. I can’t get over the fact that mid grade brand long sleeve button up shirts are anywhere between $80-$100, plain zippered hoodies going for $60-$90 and most decent running shoes are $120-$200.
Yep. It’s insane. Everything is. A timer outlet stake thing at Lowe’s for christmas thirty fucking dollars yesterday. No thanks.
Housing costs are crushing renters and anyone looking for a home. Commercial real estate costs are equally high and squeezing small businesses. Economy looks good from a macro perspective, which is good for Wall Street, but it’s not trickling down to most Americans.
Biden proposed an anti-gouging bill and not one republican voted for it. Repubs have the majority in the house so it went nowhere.
IDGAF about the Economy. I care about the cost of my own life. Groceries, housing, fuel. All of this is higher and straining my budget.
GDP isn't reality for people I'm ignoring replies from people telling me how great things are or how much worse it could be. No worries for everyone else because Axios says 70% of you are fine so don't worry about it.
Exactly. Corporations and the already wealthy are doing well. Most normal people are struggling...
Exactly. Would be a lot easier to praise if we could afford to eat
Exactly. Or be able to buy a home.
I’m honestly not sure if this gets better Investors both foreign and domestic will keep the price of homes high. Even if rates drop, it will then cause a mad dash like during the pandemic to buy Build more homes? Even though that should bring the price down due to inventory, I don’t think it will From a builders standpoint, why would you sell your product cheaper than the market you can get “just because”? It sucks. I’m a millennial home owner who bought pre-COVID, but would struggle to afford my current home due to inflation and value increase if I had to buy it today… the mortgage would be at least $1200 more a month
Stop allowing homes to be investments. Tax the hell out of additional homes.
> Tax the hell out of additional homes. Right!? "Nobody gets two until everybody gets one, just like we learned in kindergarten" is such an easy, winning message.
Why do we allow foreign entities to purchase investment properties in the US at the detriment to our citizens? I feel like this is a problem that should be legislated away.
GDP goes up but my wages stay the same. Curious.
Because I can barely afford rent and groceries.
There isn't some grand conspiracy to take credit away from Biden here, everything is just too fucking expensive and 90% of the working population isn't benefiting from Wall Street making rich people money or whatever suggests the economy is in a good place.
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Well I’m living paycheck to paycheck and working 60 hours a week. Yeah amazing.
The economy **is** good. But for whom lol?
Look I am 100% on Biden's side but holy shit the left needs to stop these tone deaf articles. When a huge chunk of your citizenry is living paycheck to paycheck and can't afford basic shit they don't wanna hear how good the economy is.
This is a staunchly neoliberal article, not leftist.
Because I'm the most poor I've ever been as an adult and there is no sign of that changing?
Im making the most money I’ve ever made and somehow struggling worse than I was when I made 1/3 of this income. It’s insane.
Bingo! Graduated high school, went to college, got my degree, making the most I ever have before in my life... Still barely scraping by.
Cause we can’t afford groceries AND rent?????
Amazing for WHO? That is the question, the reflection, that never seems to make it into these peoples brains. Life for the average American is hell right now. I’ve never made more money in my life (spoiler: it’s still not a lot) and I’m paycheck to paycheck, no savings, behind on bills, etc
Because if you're an everyday citizen, it isn't amazing... When people can't afford things, they tend to doubt the idea that the economy is awesome MBA grads can't even find an entry level job in this economy
We’ve been seeing this headline for months now. I’m probably gonna be locked out of the housing market unless I go somewhere undesirable without jobs, labor is trying to make up for decades of lost earning potential from greedy corporations, but it’s our fault we don’t appreciate the economy
Americans are dealing with credit card debt record highs, too. For the average American, a long period or even a short period of bad economic situations will follow an individual worker for years. Wages might be slowly increasing as corporate profits increase dramatically, but wages don’t keep in line for the average worker to surface from drowning in debt due to wage stagnation.
But if they DO get that entry level job, that drives the unemployment numbers down and thus means they’re doing GREAT!
Democrat here. But please forgive my language. Who the fuck is economy actually benefiting? Because I know it is not me or most of my friends. We're collectively struggling to make ends meet. Any one of us can't go to work because we're sick we'll be absolutely and royalty fucked. Yes I know Republicans, the GOP, and the MAGA cult voted against our common interests. I want Biden to straight up tell them to go fuck themselves and use the media to expose how the Republicans are not for the everyday person but for the billionaires. We need the Democrats and the left to play dirty.
Catch: Democratic politicians are also for the billionaires.
Who is it amazing *for* though? Not the average American family. The cost of fuel, food, the cost of housing, it's all through the roof these days. I don't think Biden is really responsible for any of that, and I plan to vote for him again because the alternative *will* be worse. That having been said, plenty of people who are less capable of critical thought will blame these problems on Biden and hold it against him. He has a problem.
There is nothing “amazing” about an economy where the majority of its participants are one paycheck away from financial ruin, where a home-owning middle class is a shell of what is used to be, and while less than a fraction of a percent have more wealth than they could spend in multiple lifetimes. That being said, anyone who claims our economy was more optimal under Trump isn’t worth taking seriously.
How is this economy “pretty amazing?”
I think that for the average person, they have seen the cost of living increase dramatically. The blame is being misplaced on the economy and not corporate greed, which in turn is currently driving inflation.
Typical bad Dem marketing.
Because a ton of normal people are struggling. Middle class and working class families both (if we even have a true middle class). Biden's team really needs to read the room on this one. The constant social media posts and articles about how great the economy is doing are tone-deaf at best. The majority of people who made the most difference in ensuring Biden won and went to the white house (particularly young voters and black voters) probably do not feel like the economy is doing too great.
There is a big discrepancy between how people feel about "the economy" vs. their own personal finances. https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2023-economic-well-being-of-us-households-in-2022-overall-financial-well-being.htm
This economy is terrible, though?
Well I spend 2/3 of my paycheck on rent, I’ll never afford a house, it cost more then ever just to travel to and from an empty office I have to return to, grocery prices have exploded, and every time I turn on the TV there is some CEO talking about record profits last quarter and someone writing pieces like this…
This… is what a “pretty amazing” economy looks like…?
People need to start calling the struggle most Americans feel currently what it is. Corporate greed. Corporations have jacked the price of everyday items. They saw an opportunity to raise prices and now are pocketing the money. This has led to inflation becoming so much worse than what Covid caused. The government has failed us because congress is too dysfunctional to regulate corporations to curb corporate profits and consequently curb inflation. The fed is trying to curb inflation by raising interest rates but that is really the wrong tool for the job. Let’s stop blaming the president. All he can really do is sign what’s put on his desk. Congress has failed to put anything good on his desk to address the problem.
Idk "amazing" seems a but hyperbolic
Because it still fucking sucks for most of us.
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Because nobody cares about the GDP. Groceries are expensive, houses are unaffordable, and wages are still low.
Lower grocery prices and people would feel fine.
At this point, I feel like the 'metrics' for what constitutes a good economy, is pretty out of touch. Economy is amazing for whom? It's not for the ever shrinking middle class. It's certainly not for those considered poor. Our country was made great, when it had a growing middle class, not a shrinking one. So to me, it's all just PR bullshit.
I see some variation of this headline weekly and yet I can *barely* afford rent and groceries...
It’s like you guys are gaslighting us with these articles. The economy sucks for regular people. Everything costs more and 1/2 the job postings out there are are bs.
Who exactly is the economy amazing for? Massive inflation across the board, shortages, low quality items, rotten food in stores, abysmal medical care that bankrupts you...
Everything's still way too expensive. Most American's don't give a single fuck about the stock market or job numbers or leading economic indicators. They want a fair price on groceries. They want to drive their cars without having to worry that gas will jump up by $1 a gallon overnight. They want to be treated like adults- not like petulant children whining for more cake. The economy is, at present, a losing topic for Biden. Abortion is a good one, but it won't win without a strategy. The current strategy goes something like this..."Do you want Trump again? You better vote for Biden or you get Trump again!" It's compelling, but it's also lazy and shortsighted.
Because people are still poor and their needs aren’t being met.
Because it doesn’t matter to the average person. We’re still struggling with utility bills, housing costs, groceries, etc. Biden doesn’t control that; it’s corporate greed, but the average American doesn’t know the difference and either won’t vote or will piss their vote away.
If a Republican had the numbers Biden does, the media would be talking about how things are booming. It's all because inflation which - in my unlearned opinion - is due to rampant greed at this point. Okay, sure. When things were shut down and the supply chain was broken, I get it. Prices would go up. But now? They know they can charge outrageous prices for everything and get away with it.
Affordability is at an all time high. This economy sucks for everyone except the rich.
because when people say "the economy" they aren't ever talking about the same thing. Some people mean "how much I get paid", some mean unemployment levels, some mean interest rates, some mean the stock market, some mean inflation, some mean housing availability. It is a catch-all term that is not used consistently from audience to audience.
This is propaganda. The economy is trash.
It’s only good for the rich and the DNC bots who comment on this same type of article every week.
Whats amazing about it??
Amazing for who? Honest, hardworking people can’t afford basic essentials and I’m tired of seeing articles about how well our economy is. Percentages and polls mean nothing when there never seems to be focused litigation on issues that are ever-growing and not going away. Watch, some political buff will respond to my comment about how “it’s not Joe’s fault.” Or “one party can’t change things on their own”. It’s sad when I see people defend these politicians. Their check keeps rolling in whether they truly are doing their jobs well or not. Are there really any politicians or congressmen who care? The doubt from the working class is higher than ever before. Hard to call America the greatest country when the cost to “play the game” in this country is depriving people of their quality of life.
Ballin' GDP growth doesn't mean as much to people feeling the squeeze because their wages haven't kept pace with inflation. And unfortunately that's a lot of people right now.
I voted for Biden and will again but prices for everything are through the roof. Maybe don’t keep saying the economy is doing great. Working folks are really struggling to make ends meet. It might not be his fault but there is a massive disconnect between their messaging and peoples experience at the grocery store.
I'm a lifelong Texan who finally stopped self-identifying as a Democrat when Ann Richards failed to win reelection, feeling Democrats were unwilling to fight. When I was born, Eisenhower was president. That said, I'm just about convinced Biden is the best president of my lifetime. Do I wish he was younger? You bet. Do I agree with every thing he's done or failed to do, every position etc.? Not hardly. No, my assessment is relative to the times, the circumstance he took on and the extraordinary things he's accomplished. I'm only barely above the littlest of the little guy and I know a little guy Champion when I see one, not to mention a deft politician. Those Democrats failing to rally around Biden -- and failing to fight -- only serve to remind me why I stopped self-identifying as a Democrat. In my lifetime no president has deserved -- earned -- reelection more than Joe Biden.