# 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:** 30
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/624 "2024-06-02T17:20:39Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I chose not to go any further on this lovely morning on the golf course. But just striking that he would avoid any criticism of Trump, and would go right to the price of groceries. “Grocery prices are proof that Biden’s economy has created a dystopian hellscape in America” is a relentless talking point on right wing platforms. It’s easy to see why. They have nothing else to hammer re: the economy that resonates with low-info voters. “Jesus Christ, have you seen the price of corn flakes?” My brother is a leading indicator of what’s percolating in the crazy right bubbles. When I see him going off on some topic over and over on FB (“What the fuck is your sudden problem with electric cars?” I might think, using another example), I know that the current bogeyman is emerging and gaining traction. He is or has been outraged over tuition forgiveness, puberty blockers, illegal immigration, “senile Joe gutting the second amendment,” CRT, et.al., all wedge issues that have zero impact on him directly. Literally zero. Russian troll farms and evil righties know how easy it is to rile up this cohort with bad info. So they do. ETA: Don’t know what we do about closed info systems where we’re not welcome. I guess the good guys need to be as relentless in challenging the bullshit, for purposes of convincing the fence sitters. IMO, the far right guys are a lost cause, and our only strategy can be to outnumber them. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/625 "2024-06-02T17:56:10Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I believe that this question is based on the flawed premise that “misinformation” (which you still haven’t really defined for these purposes) is the sole cause of these perceptions. No, that’s not a premise, it’s an obvious inference that I am asking you whether you can acknowledge. When people believe a fact that is the _polar opposite_ of reality, and much of the most popular media is spreading exactly those false facts, doesn’t it seem likely to you that they got those false beliefs from that media? > [@Jophiel](#): > > Similar answers apply to unemployment: as you hear of people looking for jobs, you assume things are dire. Right, but with unemployment at a record low, we would expect the net effect of millions of personal anecdotes to be positive, right? Plus, ask people about jobs under Trump (you don’t even have to say “excluding the pandemic” as the media has given him a mulligan on that). Most people on both sides of the spectrum will say unemployment was low. Even though it was higher then than it is now. If people are just going by what they see in their everyday lives, how do you explain that? ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/626 "2024-06-02T17:57:54Z")
Stop trivializing people’s lived experience! 😉 ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/627 "2024-06-02T18:00:07Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > No, that’s not a premise, it’s an obvious inference that I am asking you whether you can acknowledge. No, it’s not. I’ve linked to a column making the same points. You’re seemingly just hung up on starting from this point. > [@Mijin](#): > > When people believe a fact that is the _polar opposite_ of reality, and much of the most popular media is spreading exactly those false facts, doesn’t it seem likely to you that they got those false beliefs from that media? You’ve yet to define “false facts” (misinformation) and are now casting it over “most of the popular media”. What does that mean? Are you saying that CNN, NYT, WaPo, etc are all reporting that unemployment is at an all time high? Can you link to examples of popular media reporting false figures about unemployment and that we’re in a recession since you keep insisting that this is where people get this information? > [@Mijin](#): > > Right, but with unemployment at a record low, we would expect the net effect of millions of personal anecdotes to be positive, right? No, for reasons previously mentioned, most notably that people tend to give negative anecdotes rather than positive ones for various psychological/social reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/628 "2024-06-02T18:05:19Z")
OK, I’m going to join the list of people who are done with shit. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/629 "2024-06-02T18:17:41Z")
So I’m guessing you can’t link to examples of popular media reporting false figures about unemployment and that we’re in a recession since you keep insisting that this is where people get this information? Or define what you actually mean by “misinformation” so we can discuss it directly instead of relying on it as a vague nebulous term for things you’re sure are the cause. Cool, cool. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/630 "2024-06-02T18:50:30Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > When people believe a fact that is the _polar opposite_ of reality, and much of the most **popular media** is spreading exactly those false facts “Popular media” is probably too imprecise a term for what you’re trying to convey. I trust you don’t mean “_old line pre-Internet sources like network television news, CNN, Fox, major newspapers, etc_.” You were meaning more “_21st century media, online-only news, podcasts, YouTube, Twitter, SOCIAL media, etc._”, right? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/631 "2024-06-02T18:53:54Z")
> Biden sez “6.5 million jobs in a year, most evah!” NYT: “Yo, data has only been tallied by government since 1939!” However, this is flat out wrong, as the community notes state. This data, especially population data, has been collected by the government since 1800, and there are plenty of learned estimates in the literature re: job growth by year. To say there is no data prior to 1939 is disingenuous at best, a lie at worse. In addition, the US economy prior to 1939 was not large enough to generate 6.5 million new jobs. Of the 65.7 million working aged population of that year, the country’s businesses and governments employed 52 million souls. For 6.5 million to join the workforce, the number of available jobs would have to increase by 12.5%, and workforce participation to jump from 79.1% to 89%, a figure we haven’t seen since around 1904. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if this data was collected prior to 1939 or not. It’s a flatout lie to support a false implication. > **[1940 Census of Population: The Labor Force (Sample Statistics)](https://www.census.gov/library/publications/1943/dec/population-labor-force-sample.html)** > > A series based on tabulations of samples of the 1940 census returns and covers general, occupational and industrial characteristics of the labor force. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/632 "2024-06-02T18:56:01Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > You were meaning more “_21st century media, online-only news, podcasts, YouTube, Twitter, SOCIAL media, etc._”, right? (brought me out of retirement) Yes, new media mostly but of course I would include FOX too. They were (are?) the number one cable news show. It’s weird that they are often excluded from MSM. And Sinclair, which runs a lot of local news. Of course the argument will often be that viewership is in the single digit percent or whatever. But that’s _at any one time_, plus then you have word of mouth, so their reach and social influence is much, much more than that. But yes, the combination of cable and online nonsense factories. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/633 "2024-06-02T19:05:03Z")
Here’s a NYT economics reporter telling an actual economist that the data doesn’t matter, especially for the youth who have had bad vibes since 2019: > For another cite, at 11 minutes in, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman notes that he constantly gets questioned by NYT editors whenever he mentions how good the Biden economy is: > **[Krugman: Trump-MAGA Are in Deep Denial About Biden’s Good Economy](https://newrepublic.com/article/178730/krugman-podcast-trump-denial-economy)** > > Columnist Paul Krugman on the good economic news—and why it’s creating such cognitive dissonance for Trump and MAGA Republicans. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/634 "2024-06-02T19:16:44Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Yes, new media mostly but of course I would include FOX too. They were (are?) the number one cable news show. It’s weird that they are often excluded from MSM. > And Sinclair, which runs a lot of local news. Point taken re: Fox News. They don’t _usually_ fabricate information counter to publicly-released official data, but of course their game is usually spin and selective emphasis. I forgot about the local-level broadcast outlets owned by Sinclair. They could well be amplifying bad info, especially if there is a grain of truth at the local level (e.g. “_Paducah-area unemployment outpaces national average for 8th straight month_!”). I went and looked at what One America News was saying about unemployment right now. I don’t have ad-blockers and I didn’t want to dig around on their site and get a bunch of spam mail and such … but it’s easy to use Google search as a buffer between my cache and “pushy” websites. If you search “One America News, tag, unemployment”, recent articles like the one below are readily turned up. > **[Report: U.S. Jobless Claims Increase To Highest Level Since August](https://www.oann.com/newsroom/report-u-s-jobless-claims-increase-to-highest-level-since-august/)** > > Unemployment benefit claims have climbed to its highest level since August 2023, initial filings show.  ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/635 "2024-06-02T19:21:06Z")
Here’s how Fox News plays the game. EDIT: Same approach as with “crime!” - make a local news piece look like something that’s happening nationwide and affecting _everyone._ > **[AMERICAN VALUES: Rural town fights for survival after factory closure leaves...](https://www.foxnews.com/video/6351426367112)** > > Locals in Noel, Missouri, are struggling to find a path forward after Tyson Foods shut down a chicken processing plant that employed over 600 residents of the small town. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/636 "2024-06-02T19:22:13Z")
Got to love that an article on how high unemployment is features a picture of a ‘Help Wanted’ sign! ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/637 "2024-06-02T19:27:50Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Got to love that an article on how high unemployment is features a picture of a ‘Help Wanted’ sign ! 😏 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/638 "2024-06-02T20:17:18Z")
I mean… NYT, June 2023: > **[What All the Single Ladies (and Men) Say About the Economy](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/09/business/economy/wedding-engagement-rings-economy.html)** > > A major jeweler claims the pandemic may have prevented people from meeting their future fiancés, cutting demand for engagement rings. Inflation and anxiety among shoppers haven’t helped. “A major jeweler claims the pandemic may have prevented people from meeting their future fiancés, cutting demand for engagement rings. Inflation and anxiety among shoppers haven’t helped.” > [@](#): > > "Signet Jewelers, owner of the chains Kay Jewelers and Zales, lowered its forecasts for sales this year, blaming a drop in engagements that stemmed from Covid > > Aftershocks from the coronavirus pandemic continue to rumble across the U.S. economy, and Signet Jewelers shared a surprising one this week: The company is selling fewer engagement rings this year because, it says, singles who were stuck at home during lockdowns failed to meet their would-be fiancés in 2020. > > “As we predicted, there were fewer engagements in the quarter resulting from Covid’s disruption of dating three years ago,” Virginia C. Drosos, the chief executive at Signet, which owns Kay Jewelers and Zales, told investors on Thursday. Shares of Signet, the largest jewelry retailer in the United States, tumbled after the company cut its forecasts for sales and profit for the rest of the year. > > In a way, the engagement ring has become a sparkly microcosm of the American economy. The bridal jewelry business is being buffeted by the delayed effects of the pandemic, rapid inflation that is squeezing consumers and a growing sense of nervousness among shoppers. > > Some of the volatility is owed purely to the pandemic. Weddings were canceled in droves during 2020 lockdowns, but bounced back starting in late 2021 and throughout 2022, and were expected to level off over the coming years as more typical patterns returned. Wedding-related activity does appear to show some early signs of slowing in 2023, but it is unclear whether that’s the result of a 2020 dating dry spell, per Signet, or simply a return to the longstanding shift toward later and fewer marriages. > > What is clear? Wedding trends are also tied to broader, and potentially longer-lasting, economic forces. Signet may be selling less because fewer people are getting down on one knee, but also because ring shoppers are becoming more cautious and spending less amid rapid inflation and rising uncertainty about the direction of the economy. Both the volume and value of jewelry sold by Signet last quarter declined." However… [https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&categories=underlying#eyJhcHBpZCI6MTksInN0ZXBzIjpbMSwyLDMsM10sImRhdGEiOltbImNhdGVnb3JpZXMiLCJTdXJ2ZXkiXSxbIk5JUEFfVGFibGVfTGlzdCIsIjIwMTgiXSxbIkZpcnN0X1llYXIiLCIyMDE5Il0sWyJMYXN0X1llYXIiLCIyMDIzIl0sWyJTY2FsZSIsIi02Il0sWyJTZXJpZXMiLCJRIl1dfQ==](https://apps.bea.gov/iTable/?reqid=19&step=2&isuri=1&categories=underlying#eyJhcHBpZCI6MTksInN0ZXBzIjpbMSwyLDMsM10sImRhdGEiOltbImNhdGVnb3JpZXMiLCJTdXJ2ZXkiXSxbIk5JUEFfVGFibGVfTGlzdCIsIjIwMTgiXSxbIkZpcnN0X1llYXIiLCIyMDE5Il0sWyJMYXN0X1llYXIiLCIyMDIzIl0sWyJTY2FsZSIsIi02Il0sWyJTZXJpZXMiLCJRIl1dfQ==) From the Bureau of Economic Analysis table linked above, we find _inflation-adjusted_ jewelry sales to have had the following run since Q1 2019 (row 64 for those who want to follow along, in millions of dollars): 2019 Q1: 58,404 Q2: 57,761 Q3: 60,274 Q4: 59,968 2020 Q1: 46,336 Q2: 68,889 Q3: 70,114 Q4: 72,877 2021 Q1: 72,877 Q2: 75,523 Q3: 76,967 Q4: 82,304 2022 Q1: 81,971 Q2: 81,237 Q3: 78,489 Q4: 74,518 2023 Q1: 73,154 Q2: 72,060 Q3: 72,903 Q4: 75,466 (For those asking, “Chained Dollars” is a measure of inflation which takes into account modifications in consumer behavior in response to changes in prices.) I mean, the story is pretty obvious. In 2019, demand was about $46b in today’s dollars. COVID reduced demand in the first half (especially Q1) of 2020, but the quantity of jewelry purchases _skyrocketed_ from their 2019 levels, representing a $82 billion dollar market by December 2021. By Q1 of 2023, the latest data available for the article, jewelry sales were down from their Q4 2021 highs, but still much higher than anything pre-pandemic. This isn’t difficult: COVID depressed sales, then they not only rebounded, they hit record levels in 2021 - pent up demand was some of it, COVID savings was some of it, and, of course, new couples being formed, as always. However, the market cooled a bit _because the conditions required for the peak had passed_, and yet nowhere… nowhere… does the NYT even hint that this obvious piece of corporate propaganda by Signet _might not_ be supported by market data and, perhaps, Signet is just spinning a bunch of shit to explain why they missed the biggest three-year boom in their industry’s history. But, no, the NYT accepts Signet’s framing and cannot be assed-bothered to do the sort of research it takes to make a Sunday afternoon post on some random message board to see if the company is just covering their asses, or honestly reporting on actual trends. And it’s not that they are out-and-out lying, their framing however, is set to fulfill an agenda, and that agenda is to sell newspapers via the same sort of negative tone and ignorance of the data which gets people arguing (engagement) on Facebook… and the SDMB. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/639 "2024-06-02T22:19:13Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > For another cite, at 11 minutes in, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman notes that he constantly gets questioned by NYT editors whenever he mentions how good the Biden economy is Starting to think it’s a fair cop to treat the NYT as a right-of-center news source. At least under its current leadership. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/640 "2024-06-03T10:46:32Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Point taken re: Fox News. They don’t _usually_ fabricate information counter to publicly-released official data, but of course their game is usually spin and selective emphasis. I see why you say “spin and selective emphasis” but I think that really flatters them though. For example, one of the most frequent recurring pieces on FOX right now is the “migrant crime wave”. Even though crime, particularly violent crime, is exceedingly low right now, and falling, and migrants commit crime at a lower rate than those born in America. So even if there are no specific facts in such segments that are outright false (and that’s a big \*if\*; I probably made Mr Politifact choke on his coffee), the premise is a lie, and bringing this recurrent segment in the first place is intentionally misleading. On the economy, FOX has been talking about how disastrous the economy is since Biden took office. Only in recent months, after having to report on month after month of amazing job reports have hosts like Maria Bartiromo started to admit the truth but say it must be because [businesses believe Trump will win the election](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/fox-maria-bartiromo-economy-biden-trump-b2524078.html). But there are plenty of hosts still talking about how bad the economy is, not just inflation but in general. Here are a couple recent examples: > **[Larry Kudlow: Biden's economy has gone from bad to worse | Fox Business Video](https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6351761763112/)** > > FOX Business host Larry Kudlow gives his take on the latest GDP report on ‘Kudlow.’ > **[The Biden economy isn't working: Kevin Hassett | Fox Business Video](https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6353836716112/)** > > Former Council of Economic Advisers Chair Kevin Hassett discusses the debate over former President Trump's tax cuts and President Biden's economic policy on 'The Bottom Line.' ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/641 "2024-06-03T11:03:34Z")
Actually, I’m overcomplicating this. $787 million says FOX simply lies. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/642 "2024-06-03T13:30:52Z")
I think we may be talking about different voters here. Of course anyone who watches Fox News is going to think the economy is crashing even if it is raining money from the sky. I fully expect Republicans to have a very negative view of the economy. If Biden was hovering around 50% approval, with all Republicans thinking things were terrible, and Democrats thinking things were good, then I think he would be doing just fine and have a very good chance of winning. Biden is not at 50% though He is more like 35% approval. So when I interpret the question of Biden not getting more traction, I think it is a question of why he isn’t getting more traction with Democrats and traditional pro-Democrat demographics. If Biden gets 70% of the youth or minorities that is an absolute disaster for him and he will lose in November. If you listen to these groups of people at all, you can tell that they absolutely do not think the economy is good for them. Some for very valid reasons and some less so. Social media is an amplifier particularly on negativity (things are even worse than you thought), but I don’t think it is the main driver here ---
**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:** [June 3, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/643 "2024-06-03T15:48:35Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I see why you say “spin and selective emphasis” but I think that really flatters them though. I agree with your overall post. My point was fairly narrow – that Fox News won’t fabricate an official release from, say, a federal agency. Example: If the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics comes with a report that says “_U.S. unemployment was at 3.7% in May_”, Fox wouldn’t report that “_according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. unemployment was at 10% in May_”. Otherwise, your entire post is right on about how tiny seeds of truth can yield sprawling lies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736.md?page=31)