# 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:** 38
**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 12, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/784 "2024-06-12T18:36:39Z")
String a few more of these together, and we might be cooking with gas: > **[Inflation gauge slows, adding to signs of price relief for consumers](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/inflation-report-may-2024-reveals-where-us-economy-looking-now-rcna156525)** > > The Consumer Price Index took a slight unexpected dip in May, renewing questions about how soon the Federal Reserve could start lowering interest rates. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/785 "2024-06-12T19:13:38Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > String a few more of these together, and we might be cooking with gas You know how this will be spun by the RW media: That damn Biden knows just exactly when to manipulate the economy so inflation will slow down just before the election. ---
**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 12, 2024, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/786 "2024-06-12T19:17:17Z")
The notion that a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is going to change the minds of folks that are already ignoring reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics amuses me. ---
**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 12, 2024, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/787 "2024-06-12T19:29:39Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > The notion that a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is going to change the minds of folks that are already ignoring reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics amuses me . Well, yeah … but if it keeps being couched broadly as “_inflation going down_” and is repeated and amplified with enough constancy, maybe it will stick with at least some voters. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/788 "2024-06-12T19:46:04Z")
Today’s mockery is tomorrow’s reality. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/789 "2024-06-12T21:37:14Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > String a few more of these together, and we might be cooking with gas: Induction. If Biden wins, we’ll be cooking with _induction_… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/790 "2024-06-12T21:39:02Z")
I, for one, cannot wait for the induction revolution! ---
**Author:** ![survinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@survinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/survinga)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2024, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/791 "2024-06-12T22:47:34Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > String a few more of these together, and we might be cooking with gas: > > [Inflation report for May 2024 reveals how the U.S. economy is looking now](https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/inflation-report-may-2024-reveals-where-us-economy-looking-now-rcna156525) This will help around the margins. It won’t change much by itself, for all the reasons that have been talked about in this thread, with chief among them (IMO) the partisan divide and the bullshit parade of disinformation that goes halfway around the world while the truth is putting its pants on. But as more and more real - actual - good news comes in about the economy, a few more folks move their views a little more to the positive. Maybe by October, it’ll be a more neutral approval number for Biden, although I have my doubts. I do think that Biden needs to be honest about his economic record when he talks to voters & groups of people around the country. He shouldn’t pretend something that we know isn’t true. But he’s a naturally empathetic guy, and I’m certain he will let people know he cares about the rise in prices that occurred chiefly in 2021 and 2022, and try to point out things that he’s doing or done that will help. He’s taken concrete steps on things like Insulin prices. He’s brought OPEC to their knees, as was mentioned above. And for fuck-sake, I hope he can point out in a meaningful way that the inflation rate has GREATLY eased. ---
**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 13, 2024, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/792 "2024-06-13T14:21:35Z")
**[Simon Rosenberg, 6/12/2024](https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/inflation-was-zero-in-may-another)**: > As I wrote a few months back in this post, **[The American Economy Is Strong. Period. Stop The [BS]](https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/the-economy-is-remarkably-strong?utm_source=publication-search)**, I think it is time that we stop saying that Americans are down on the economy or not feeling the recovery. If people believe things are better in their states, better for them and their families, if life satisfaction, income satisfaction, job satisfaction rates **[are higher today](https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/the-economy-is-remarkably-strong?utm_source=publication-search)**, then how you can say people are down on the economy? Let’s return to the chart I’ve been sharing here a lot lately: [![](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%2Fe81b833e-7269-48d0-9372-c09585ed291d_1057x598.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%2Fe81b833e-7269-48d0-9372-c09585ed291d_1057x598.png) > Are people in the battleground states down on the economy? No. They aren’t. They be down one measure of how we understand the economy, but if they feel this way - like things are good where I am, my own finances and prospects are good - then they are not down on the economy. This is what **[[Pennsylvania governor] Josh Shapiro is getting at in his comments](https://x.com/JoshShapiroPA/status/1800344046759735532)**, and something we talk about here a lot. There is a vast propaganda machine in America working really hard, every day, to convince the American people that things are worse then they appear - that red waves are coming; that crime is rising when it is falling; that gas prices are soaring when they are dropping; that all these elections wins we’ve had across the country since Dobbs means we are losing not winning; that the economy is terrible when it is booming; that immigrants are poisoning the blood of America when their hard work, grit and ingenuity is making the US economy the “envy of the world” … ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/793 "2024-06-13T21:07:52Z")
Wow, that graph is really something. ---
**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 13, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/795 "2024-06-13T23:56:23Z")
The point is it’s easier to fool people about how _America_ is doing than their own state, where they can see for themselves new employers, salaries rising, new infrastructure etc. Especially in red states…states governed by Republicans obviously can’t claim that they are completely falling apart. Instead they show up for ribbon cuttings (for infrastructure they voted against). But let me ask you: If it’s _not_ disinformation, why the discrepancy between people in every state thinking their state is flourishing but America as a whole is failing? ---
**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 14, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/797 "2024-06-14T01:15:51Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1002881/3): > > The future seems full of uncertainty given our current choices for president, two foreign wars that are consuming taxpayer dollars and a lack of social cohesiveness. If our economic situation was exactly what it was now but the aforementioned problems weren’t happening, I’m confident people would be feeling better about the economy. People always claim every time is especially bad. A lot fewer dollars are being spent on foreign wars than the last couple of decades. And, as I say, most people are happy to say the economy was good under Trump despite the catastrophic effects of the pandemic. > [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1002881/3): > > Where is the disinformation that you believe is blinding people? Have you and others cited anything that even supports its happening at a higher than normal extent? Any articles or YT videos or tweets that are particularly illustrative of this problem? Has Fox News grown in viewership since Biden took office? I’ve cited plenty in this thread. I need to go to bed now but I’ll repost it again for you tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2024, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/798 "2024-06-14T01:27:53Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > But let me ask you: If it’s _not_ disinformation, why the discrepancy between people in every state thinking their state is flourishing but America as a whole is failing? Possibly they are assigning different things to the “economy” in each case. For instance, the US has a large revenue deficit. All the states added up do not have nearly the same deficit (and many have a surplus). Or, take the trade deficit. It’s largely worse under Biden than previous years. But most people don’t much pay attention to state-level trade deficits and so it might not factor into people’s views when they think about how their state is doing. ---
**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 14, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/799 "2024-06-14T01:40:51Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Possibly they are assigning different things to the “economy” in each case. I think, in general, you really need to see the polling questions at a minimum. Earlier I linked a poll saying that only 16% of respondents viewed themselves as living comfortably, a majority were scraping by or worse and a majority felt that they were doing worse now than pre-Biden (vs 20% who felt they were doing better). So how do you reconcile that to people saying that their state’s economy is doing awesome? Maybe it’s possible but it seems hard to swallow. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/800 "2024-06-14T01:44:29Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I think, in general, you really need to see the polling questions at a minimum. One has to be very careful about this in general. Krugman’s piece above linked to a paper that compared people’s personal situations vs. the rest of the economy. But the personal graph was thresholded on “at least okay”, while the state/fed graphs were “good or excellent”. Those are not remotely in the same ballpark. But even when the wording is the _same_, people might have a different interpretation depending on the context. Not to mention push-polling effects like how simply negating the wording of something doesn’t give you the inverse of the result. ---
**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 14, 2024, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/801 "2024-06-14T11:35:33Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Earlier I linked a poll saying that only 16% of respondents viewed themselves as living comfortably, a majority were scraping by or worse and a majority felt that they were doing worse now than pre-Biden (vs 20% who felt they were doing better) I can’t find those but we’ve linked polls that said the opposite – that the majority of people thought they were doing as well or better under Biden. Your response was “no one gives a shit about your poll”. ---
**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 14, 2024, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/802 "2024-06-14T11:51:34Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > I can’t find those I literally [posted it as a response](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/736) to your post a few days ago. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/804 "2024-06-14T15:06:33Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1002881/4): > > And Republican propaganda has always been a problem too. Why is it suddenly having an outsized influence? You have not presented a case for this, unless I have missed something. I believe I posted a while back about the increasing separation of where people get their news, and the polarization of politics into distinct information “camps”. In the past most people got their information from large newspapers and TV networks, who (although slanted one way or another) generally reported facts. Now, most people get news from niche websites and their social media contacts. The “news” coming from the right-leaning sources are completely absent of facts, and consist of memes and outright fabrications. This is where the right wing public is getting their “news” about the economy of the country - from their friend charlie who posts memes reposted from foriegn sources and from info-wars or other sources who post outright lies. ---
**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 14, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/805 "2024-06-14T16:03:09Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1002881/4): > > When a large majority of Dem voters are unhappy with Biden’s candidacy … What’s the case for this? I dismiss this out of hand without some extraordinary and copious data. A handful of polls won’t cut it. ---
**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 14, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736/806 "2024-06-14T16:05:27Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1002881/4): > > And Republican propaganda has always been a problem too. Why is it suddenly having an outsized influence? Well that’s level 2. Level 1 is just an acknowledgement that when 49% of the public believes the polar opposite of reality – e.g. that America’s unemployment is at a 50-year _high_ – that the disinformation saying exactly that is likely a big part of where that misapprehension has come from. Then we can talk about what’s different now (which @ [Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic) has already described very well, but I don’t want to get deflected. We’re almost 800 posts in, still many here don’t want to acknowledge the role of disinformation in all this). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-cant-biden-get-more-traction-from-the-economy/1001736.md?page=39)