Well, yes, but you listed it as something they should have done for you. They did one of the exact things you said they should have done, and they did it in a big way. It felt worth pointing out.
Yes, Biden inherited the issues which led to the worst inflation in many years. But the rate of inflation in 2020 was 1.4%. In 2021 it was 7%. Even though it was down to 2.9% in 2024, people did not forget the incredible price increases in the first year of Biden’s administration.
If Biden had done something stupid, like recklessly and illegally impose tariffs on imported goods, then I could see being upset with him about inflation. But the inflation was worldwide, it was due to the pandemic, and the US had one of the lowest post-pandemic inflation rates in the world. Yet apparently the great unwashed and uneducated think there is a button on the Resolute Desk labeled “Keep inflation down” and Biden simply forgot to press it.
While this is true, and I heard this talking point mentioned regularly, it’s meaningless to an American who sees their own personal budget being squeezed by inflation. “It could be worse, you could live in England” is a meaningless – if not outright condescending – message.
Pretty much. As has been pointed out many times over the decades: the U.S. President receives too much credit for a strong economy, and too much blame for a weak economy.
And, up until 2020, Americans had gone decades without experiencing any sort of serious price inflation, and had enjoyed historically-low interest rates for over a decade. When all of that changed – and “stubbornly” didn’t go back to normal right away – many of them freaked out about it.
Finally, as has been also noted many times: the Trump campaign regularly exaggerated and lied about what was happening with inflation in 2024, and also made meaningless promises that Trump would instantly fix it all once he was in office. And, alas, a lot of people bought into it.
The subtext is that the actual thing they wanted was for Biden to pass something that helps middle-aged single white men exclusively. If it also helps others he doesn’t feel pandered to enough.
That seems an uncharitable view.
It does remind me of what I would consider to be a classic uninformed/under-informed American voter behavior, to wit:
- Voter: I want Politician to do A, B, C, D, and E.
- Politician does A and B over great opposition from the other party, tries to do C but the other party blocks them, and Politician never said they would try to do D or E.
- Voter: Politician sucks! They didn’t do anything I wanted! I’m not voting for them/their party!
The problem is that Democratic voters want their politician to do A, B, C, D, and E and get pissed that they don’t get every single one and sit out the next election. Republican voters care about only one thing: fucking over people that they don’t like.
Yep, and trump lied- said he’d end inflation with the stroke of a pen.
True, but there was near 14% inflation in the 1980s.
Don’t forget the biggest factor with inflation, that most people think of it as the increased price, not the rate of price increase (y, instead of m). So Democratic politicians and media are telling people inflation is under control (and it’s getting there), but they can see with their own eyes that prices are still high, therefore inflation!
Mix in a few commodities, like gasoline, where the price does move up and down to really confuse things. People get upset that the $12 burger in 2018 is $18 in 2022. If inflation went down, why is the burger still $18?
And for the Democrats you’re dealing with factions in the party that may have mutually exclusive ideas of which A-E should be done, and even for the items they all agree on, they have different ideas of the priority.
I said no such thing. And I stand by my comment that while infrastructure is indeed something that helps everyone, it often comes too late to be politically useful. Sure, it’ll be nice when the part of the local interstate is rebuilt with better engineering for a couple exits, but that started sometime in 2024, won’t be done until 2027, and I doubt the average motorist will pay much attention to the sign at the work zone that mentions the Inflation Reduction Act. Much like the nice enough bus shelter down the street that has a little plaque saying it was paid for by the 2009 money. Similarly with the CHIPS Act or the expansion of broadband. All good things when completed, hard or impossible to run on before completion, and still probably not noticed by the general public. Not because they’re dumb but because they have no reason to notice. I only know that bus shelter is there because of the 2009 act because I saw the sign walking by it one day. If I only ever drove by it, for all I know the funding could have come from the city or the state.
And as we all know, the best way to convince someone that what they’re experiencing right now isn’t actually that bad is to point back 40 years to something they hadn’t experienced that was somewhat worse.
We can all read your post.
Read but not understand, apparently.
Absolutely, which is why I noted that it’s been decades since the U.S. has experienced (relatively) high inflation.
As a teenager, I lived through that period in the early 1980s, and still distinctly recall the havoc that high inflation, and high interest rates, played on my family’s finances. Most Americans who are under ~55 years old (and certainly all of those under 50) had no real memory of that era, and thus, had never experienced anything like that level of inflation up until the last five years.
Which is why I said “True”. But for those shopping back then- 4 decades ago! That was true high inflation. You are correct, it was many decades ago before we had higher inflation.
I think someone’s putting out feelers. Granted, I live in Kentucky, but this was addressed to “all Americans” in the header I cropped out.
In a perfect world my pick would be Jeff Jackson the AG of North Carolina. He’s also a white guy. Young(42), good looking, articulate, charismatic, a war veteran, a former prosecutor, has a photogenic young family and maybe best of all knows how to communicate effectively using social media.
Of course his main negative issue is a lack of name recognition across the country. He was a one term congressman who was gerrymandered out of a job. He did win statewide office for State AG. If I had to guess I would say he’s positioning himself for a run at governor. An effective DNC would figure out how to shine a spotlight on future leaders like him. Instead he’s mostly unknown outside his state.
While he was in Congress I watched every one of the videos he released about the inner workings of the process. They were brilliantly done. He continues to use social media to highlight what he is doing for the state but it’s much more limited in scope due to his current job.
Looks Okay, now if he could get into the Governors seats, he’d be great.
I do blame the voters. I blame the 36% who decided they couldn’t be bothered to vote. I blame the howl-at-the-moon stupid ones who thought the Mango Mussolini did such a good job the first time that they felt he needed another shot at flushing the country down the thundermug. Especially after the debate where he should have been led off in a straightjacket. Forget about being allowed to vote…these people shouldn’t be allowed to breed.
Is there anyone else that you feel shouldn’t be allowed to vote or breed?