# Why can't Biden get more traction from the economy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 18, 2024, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736 "2024-05-18T13:12:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/298 "2024-05-21T15:22:05Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > A lot of the posts in the thread seem to be not aware that, “We know your life sucks but everyone else is doing better economically so that’s why you should vote for Biden.” is not a winning strategy.. However the stats show this is not the case. It’s more like “My life is OK, but I’ve been told repeatedly that the economy sucks and it’s Biden’s fault. Therefore I will ignore my own circumstances and conclude that the economy sucks and it’s Biden’s fault.” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/299 "2024-05-21T15:24:14Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > When the minimum wage is eliminated and they’re all making $4 an hour, they’ll certainly notice it. And you know what? They’ll blame the Democrats for not fixing that. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/300 "2024-05-21T15:25:52Z")
> [@survinga](#): > > Where did I say “you’re just faking it” anywhere in relation to people talking about their bills? Not a specific quote from you but rather the tone of the thread. To wit: > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s more like “My life is OK, but I’ve been told repeatedly that the economy sucks and it’s Biden’s fault. Therefore I will ignore my own circumstances and conclude that the economy sucks and it’s Biden’s fault.” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/301 "2024-05-21T15:28:04Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > It’s reassuring that the “information _from their own lives_” in no way includes the readily available information that conservatives want to eliminate the minimum wage. This really is the point. Perhaps things are tough for some people. I’m sure that’s true. But Trump getting elected will make it worse for those same people (and everyone else). I think Biden’s been great, but if a voter doesn’t agree with me, at least they should realize he’s better than Trump. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/302 "2024-05-21T15:28:17Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And you know what? They’ll blame the Democrats for not fixing that. Side-bar comment: There’s actually something like 17% of America that blames Joe Biden for the ending of abortion rights, the end of Roe-v-Wade. I kid you not. Amazing. OK, back to the topic, there is a risk that if the minimum wage is eliminated, even though it would undoubtedly be done by Republicans, somehow Democrats will get blamed…It’s the way things are in today’s political universe. ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/303 "2024-05-21T15:30:33Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I think Biden’s been great, but if a voter doesn’t agree with me, at least they should realize he’s better than Trump. This is probably the most important point made. Biden needs to get re-elected by reminding people that he’s better than Trump. He can do it a myriad of ways, including talking about his record, being empathetic with people that have not done well in his economy, and by reminding people what a mess Trump’s presidency was. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/304 "2024-05-21T15:30:48Z")
> [@survinga](#): > > Side-bar comment: There’s actually something like 17% of America that blames Joe Biden for the ending of abortion rights, the end of Roe-v-Wade. I kid you not. Amazing. Hey! I was saving that for my next point about just how stupid people have gotten! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/306 "2024-05-21T15:41:18Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Not a specific quote from you but rather the tone of the thread. To wit: My quote does not say or imply they are “faking it” It implies that they have been hoodwinked, lied to repeatedly and have believed the lies. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/307 "2024-05-21T15:47:12Z")
Right because, again, no one could possibly read their own credit card statement. You only know what FOX News told you! To be fair, it might not have been FOX. It might have been Vox Media or the Economic Policy Institute or some other arm of the right-wing disinformation mill. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/308 "2024-05-21T16:03:52Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Right because, again, no one could possibly read their own credit card statement. As an actual poor (less than 15k a year). Credit card statement? They won’t approve me for a real credit card. According to Credit Karma my credit score is **- -** out of 850. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/309 "2024-05-21T16:09:15Z")
Ok, but there ARE voters who have credit cards and, according to the supplied Vox article and other sources, middle class voters are feeling the pressure of interest rates and offloading more of their spending onto cards. You seem to be in a pretty poor financial situation which is unfortunate but you also seem to reply to each example of middle class economic unhappiness with “Pfft, lemme tell you MY woes” as though that’ll move the needle. It won’t. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/310 "2024-05-21T16:14:09Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > It won’t. Of course it won’t. It should be very clear by now that the middle class cares as much about the poors as conservatives do. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/311 "2024-05-21T16:15:28Z")
Well then I guess you can stop worrying about trying to convince people that Biden’s economy is successful. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/312 "2024-05-21T16:28:14Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Well then I guess you can stop worrying about trying to convince people that Biden’s economy is successful… Brandolini’s law: > The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an [order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it. It’s still well worth doing - but it’s going to take a lot of work. Also this: > Reasoning will never make a Man correct an ill Opinion, which by Reasoning he never acquired. - Jonathan Swift, 1721 ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/313 "2024-05-21T16:30:33Z")
That was pithy. Election’s in the bag now! ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/314 "2024-05-21T16:33:43Z")
FWIW, Biden’s campaign is doing the opposite of what some in here have been saying. **[No one’s resting on their macroeconomic laurels](https://x.com/POTUS/status/1790804543107645610)**. [![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5ec2c1a6-dd75-4b87-b643-a9c1100ca5da_1176x472.png) ](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F5ec2c1a6-dd75-4b87-b643-a9c1100ca5da_1176x472.png) ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/315 "2024-05-21T16:36:44Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > FWIW, Biden’s campaign is doing the opposite of what some in here have been saying That’s good. But I’d love to see a campaign not based on tweets. How about a press conference? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/316 "2024-05-21T16:45:08Z")
The news has been **so bad** for **so long** for **so many** that Joe Average has his head locked in. Working people got crushed, since the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/317 "2024-05-21T16:45:41Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > How about a press conference? [Statement from President Joe Biden on the April Consumer Price Index | The White House](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/15/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-april-consumer-price-index/#:~:text=Fighting%20inflation%20and%20lowering%20costs,lowest%20level%20in%20three%20years). > Fighting inflation and lowering costs is my top economic priority. I know many families are struggling, and that even though we’ve made progress we have a lot more to do. Inflation has fallen more than 60% from its peak, and core inflation fell to its lowest level in three years. Prices are still too high—so my agenda will give families breathing room by building two million new homes to lower housing costs, taking on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug prices, and calling on grocery chains making record profits to lower grocery prices for consumers. > **[President Biden Visits Nevada As Silver State Inflation Skyrockets to Over 20...](https://thenevadaglobe.com/articles/president-biden-visits-nevada-as-silver-state-inflation-skyrockets-to-over-20-percent/)** > > Today, President Joe Biden returned to Nevada to speak to his Administration's efforts related to the ongoing "affordable housing crisis" as Nevadan's ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2024, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/318 "2024-05-21T16:53:44Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > That was pithy. Election’s in the bag now! No, I think I was explaining why it is very difficult to change people’s minds. This goes a long way to explaning why the election is NOT in the bag. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736.md?page=15)