That’s part of it, but we have to lay significant blame that every grievance is viral nowadays, and the left has this annoying tendency to capitulate when someone is Speaking Their Truth.
When someone complains that milk costs them 30 bucks a week and they’re suffering, it’s considered unseemly to pick that apart for consistency with wage growth and WTF are you doing with all that milk anyway.
True, it’s not catchy. But I do think part of Biden’s job is to remind everyone what we as a country have clawed out of, and what an apocalyptic mess he inherited from the Trump era. When he entered office, literally thousands of Americans were dying every day of Covid. Unemployment was high. People were hunkered down in their homes and apartments, unable to get out and enjoy life as they’d previously done. Rioters had sacked the capital. Then, compare that with where we are today. Somewhere, there’s a speech writer that can help him craft a message around what he inherited and how much better we are as a country than we were in January 2021.
It is considered unseemly because it is. We have a generation of young people who are graduating with a ton of debt, struggling with finding jobs, soaring rents and food prices, and costs that make buying a house or having children seem completely unattainable. Telling them well actually the economy is good all things considered is not going get you a positive reaction. Now I think Biden has done a great job given the circumstances, but a lot of people don’t care about politics. They see their struggles and blame the person in charge. They don’t need Fox News to tell them to do that. It is a reality problem and not a communication problem.
Biden needs a plan to deal with these issues and communicate that effectively. Talk about restrictions on corporations from buying houses or putting limits on rent increases.
So, on the student debt, Biden can compare his plans to forgive the debt of millions to Republicans, who basically say, “screw you…maybe you’ll pay it off in 30 years.”
On being unable to find jobs, we currently have the hottest job market we’ve had in about a generation. I would like to compare this job market to what we have seen since about the year 2000.
On housing, that is definitely a weak spot, and Biden needs to be ready to talk to it if it comes up. Home prices are much higher, and mortgage are a bit higher than they were pre-pandemic.
One thing I haven’t seen in this thread - which is a good thing - is a case that the economy actually stinks right now. There are people with anecdotes (sorry, @Jophiel, I’m gonna use that word again), and there are surveys where people say the economy stinks. But in terms of actual macroeconomics, as well as surveys about people’s own finances, Biden should have some strong talking points. Where he has “unfinished business” is in costs of housing, mortgage cost, student debt, healthcare costs, and the like.
For what it’s worth (nothing!) I think Biden has done a commendable job navigating the economy through some dangerous waters after the pandemic issues. My comments about the economy aren’t a slight on what he’s done just the reality of making voters change their perceptions.
Wage growth is great but it’s not going to show in most people’s checks as a major influence. If you’re making 1.4% more in real wages, you’re not likely to be impacted by it. You might not even notice it. Lower bracket earners might have seen (on average) a greater increase but any new money is swallowed up by the bills you’re trying to keep up with so, again, it’s good but it’s probably not changing your overall outlook because you’re still struggling.
And, of course, it’s some people who saw wage increases but it’s everyone who saw higher prices for food, housing, energy, etc. During the last couple of years, food prices increased 10-15% and that may have slowed but it hasn’t come down. Each trip to the store is a reminder of what’s happened and reason to feel downbeat regardless of other factors.
The term I’ve heard this year is “vibecession”. I think it’s describing a situation where even though we’re not in a recession - far from it actually - people are talking as if we are in a recession. Changing those perceptions is impossible for the MAGA right, and it’s a gradual thing for the rest of us.
No I think it’s more like when someone complains that peanut butter is now 50% more, so thanks, Biden, it’s unseemly to point out that they are posting incorrect bullshit, and that peanut butter has gone up 50% in FIFTEEN YEARS. But their peanut butter exaggeration “fact” is now out there and being passed around in internet sites.
It seems like you didn’t click on the link I posted that showed that this has been going on far longer than just 4 years. More like over 50 years at this point. And it shows no sign of slowing down and certainly not reversing itself.
We are screwed no matter who is President, since neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have the desire to do what is necessary to reduce or eliminate inequality. I grew up believing in the American Dream since the perception back in the 90’s was that our economy was doing great and you can achieve anything if you work hard enough.
That was a lie, and we Millennials and now Gen Z have realized that over time. Certainly didn’t help my generation as we entered the workforce right around the time of the Great Recession, and have faced other economic downturns since. We still have not become nearly as successful as previous generations due to the factors working against us from the very start, but older generations tend to just blame us for our own misfortune and have little to no sympathy.
A lot of these macro indicators, such as average wages kept up with inflation, seem to ignore where the starting point was for people. If a family was already paycheck to paycheck, keeping pace with costs doesn’t feel like any success. Many are still struggling and the world overall feels worse. It’s all sorts of things. Non economic things like people generally being assholes more in general (driving for instance really has gotten worse). Corporate decisions like Target locking up half their inventory making me not want to shop there because of the hassle of needing half a dozen cases unlocked just to get some basic toiletries. A feeling like everyone is out for a grift and politicians, corporations, and the media are more corrupt than ever and there’s no will to fix any of it.
So people keep their heads down, do the best they can in the situation they are in, and either don’t hear or disregard these macroeconomic indicators, because all they can handle is their own situations.
Right. Different version of the same thing.
When the MAGAs talk about vaccine injuries, nobody has any trouble calling it out as the bullshit it is. But when anybody talks about their economic anxiety, the highest priority is validating every individual’s feelings, even if they contradict documented fact.
The Left can’t have it both ways. They can’t be all “lived experience” for various identity groups and situations and then turn around and invalidate that for other groups and other situations.
Elections aren’t won or lost based on vaccine injuries but the economy is the top issue in basically every election. You don’t sway voters by telling them “Nah, these charts say you’re not hurting so hush up”.
Except that most people that are well-off or envisioning themselves to eventually be well-off (even if they are not currently) tend to be Republicans. So I can see them saying, “I’m not well off because of Biden; I’m well off despite Biden. Let’s Go Brandon.”
It is interesting.
The idea that the economy is the fundamental issue for most voters remains true, but it turns out that people have a poor idea of what’s going on overall and rely on the media to tell them. And, just as with so many other things, you have RW media telling them the sky is falling every day, and LW media not wanting to appear pro-democrat so just going 50:50 on “good jobs report” and “inflation remains a big problem”.
More specifically, I’d highlight these factors:
Let’s face it, the logic for many is simply:
“I hate Biden, therefore the economy is bad.”
It’s hard to sway them from this and convince them the economy is OK, because their logic is backwards.
Okay. How do you (ethically) sway a voter who falsely believes that because their individual circumstances aren’t ideal, that Biden is mismanaging the entire economy?
I’m not suggesting everything is just fine for everyone. Even in the best economy, there will always be people who aren’t doing well for one reason or another, and they deserve both help and compassion. But it’s wrong to look at these anecdotes and suggest everyone is miserable and the entire economy is in flames. This is straightforwardly Republican propaganda, and liberals/progressives shouldn’t be carrying water for it.
Dunno, glad it’s not my job. But it IS a job someone needs to do if Biden hopes to win.
Do you believe “The Left” is invalidating experience of “other groups”? Which other group would that be?
Can you think of a reason that other group might be misrepresenting their circumstances?
I don’t see how this is really a successful talking point. Just because the American economy is doing better than Europe or Japan or Australia or somewhere else doesn’t matter to day to day living in America. Sure, the strength of the dollar is nice if a vacation is planned or someone is importing from Amazon.jp or something but it doesn’t change the cost of the week’s food bill. It has the same feeling of being told “Eat your vegetables, there are children starving in Africa” or wherever parents say these days.
And yet the other side talks a lot about how America is falling behind and is no longer respected…
Anyway, my point wasn’t “Americans should feel good about the economy, because they should measure it relative to other countries” it was “Americans should feel good about the economy because it’s doing objectively great, and talking points to the contrary are quickly shot down by reading any international news”. It’s much easier to claim than CNN, MSNBC et al, and the Democrats are lying about the economy (though still preposterous), than the entire world is lying about the economy, complete with investing in the US companies / stock market, just to pretend.