As we look more closely at the ‘perception vs. reality’ aspect of an economy, two things come to mind:
My pithy version, that needs to be prettied up for constant reinforcement by Biden and his administration:
Followed by the constant drumbeat of what steps the administration is taking to improve the lives of those struggling the most;
The left cannot … must not cede all available ground to the FUD mongers. They need to talk about improvements and gains in tangible ways, while being mindful of the places that still need buttressing. I like the Biden’s Numbers page.
“You can’t reason a person out of a belief that they didn’t use reason to hold in the first place.”
– [Paraphrasing] Jonathan Swift
While that’s a bit at odds with my points above, I do believe both things can be paradoxically true. Some people will be buoyed by a clear-eyed understanding of the trends that should give hope. Others will find succor in the compassionate message that reminds us all that the White House understands your struggles, cares deeply about them, and has a plan that you should have confidence in for helping those who need.
Like so many things political, these days, IMHO, whatever % the true MAGA faithful represents must utterly be written off. That’s where the quote above matters the most.
That leaves some 70% of the country who may be willing to listen – equal parts mommy and daddy on the delivery side would be my prescription.
And the Stygian message of Donald Trump is probably best met with the cheery optimism/happy warrior delivery of a Reagan, a Clinton, an Obama, or – if memory serves – the Joe Biden of yore. I don’t see enough of that from him on a regular basis. If he can get out there, I think he needs to be out there more, hammering on his triumphs and his plans for the dream to never die.
Instead of the 65% number, here’s some numbers from Pew:
About three-in-ten Americans (28%) currently rate national economic conditions as excellent or good, while a similar share (31%) say they are poor and about four-in-ten (41%) view them as “only fair.”
[…]
Today, 44% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say the nation’s economy is excellent or good. This compares with 13% of Republicans and GOP leaners.
[…]
Among Democrats under 30, a quarter view the economy positively. This share rises to 34% among those ages 30 to 49, 56% among those 50 to 64, and 70% among those 65 and older.
There are also significant differences by race and ethnicity. White Democrats are more likely than Black, Hispanic and Asian Democrats to say the economy is excellent or good.
So you have an economy where you can’t even get a majority of your own party to say it’s going well. This isn’t the fault of FOX News Brainwashing. You have an economy which is losing younger voters and minority voters. The primary reasons people are down on the economy are inflation, cost of living and low wages. So you need to find a way to tackle that messaging and it’s not by telling people that they’re too stupid to realize how wrong they are. Telling someone in a low wage job that “real wages are actually up as a percentage!” just reinforces to them that they’re on the losing end of the economy.
And, again, these things aren’t mutually exclusive. When I was talking to other people about the economy, the vibe was that people were doing “okay” but no one felt that they were doing as well as they should be. I’d sum it up as “We were struggling to get by on $60k a year some years ago. Now we’re making $120k a year but it doesn’t feel at all like we’re doing twice as well. More like 20% better. We’re paying bills but still can’t afford to go on vacation or think about moving somewhere better.” That’s your class of people who say they’re doing “okay” or “well” but feel that the economy is doing poorly. Doesn’t have to be those numbers, of course. Go from $15/hr to $21/hr but it feels like $18/hr and you have the same impact (well, worse since they’re still struggling on their wages).
You did?
“The Biden administration isn’t trying to understand why people are struggling and because it is acting indifferently in this regard, it not communicating a plan for change that speaks to what people need. That’s the “politics” here.” Not very specific at all, it seems. What would you have Biden change that would speak to what people actually need?
Beats me, glad I’m not on Biden’s reelection campaign. Obviously the current messaging isn’t working though. I don’t need to be able to perform a triple-axle myself to see when a figure skater has fallen on their ass.
I’m talking in messaging, not actual economic performance. Shouting top line economic percentages at people doesn’t work outside of internet arguments or else they’d still be trying to sell “Bidenomics”.
Right. And I’m shrugging because I don’t have a pithy silver bullet answer and am not breaking my brain to come up with one because I’m not on Biden’s re-election campaign. At a glance, I’d say he needs to be speaking to people about inflation, cost of living (inc food prices) and wages since those are the biggest things dragging down people’s perception of the economy. Unfortunately, those are also things largely out of his hands – Biden can’t executive order lower grocery bills – but he’s still going to have to find a way to make people optimistic about them because inflation and the economy are the top issues for this election. And “economy” perceptions are driven on the individual level.
Biden is getting “trounced” on the economy because we’ve never had a system of delivering misinformation directly to the public like we currently have. We’ve never had people walled off in information bubbles like we have now.
This is the cause of the disconnect between reality and people’s “feelings” People’s feelins are being deliberately massaged and directed by propaganda coming directly in a pipeline into their homes, bypassing reality.
And THAT is the really worrying thing that is happening here.
Biden can’t even get a majority of Democrats to say that the economy is going well. He’s not losing young Democrats on the economy because of Fox News Brainwashing.
Bullshit. Democrats have to address the inflated concerns of the voters that are influenced by the right-wing media conglomerate. They are trapped because they will be accused of ignoring problems, both real and imaginary, if they support the Biden administration.
I have no idea what this means in regards to my statement. Biden is losing Democratic voters who aren’t watching Fox News or reading MAGA Facebook pages or whatever. You think this is because of the right-wing media anyway?
I mean, okay fine. I strongly disagree with that and think it’s willful ignorance (“No, it’s the KIDS who are wrong…”) but it still boils down to poor messaging on the Biden campaign’s part to address the things voters THINK is wrong with the economy even if you’re super-certain that everything is actually fine. If the Great Brainwashing Media Complex is telling people that they can’t afford groceries or rent and you’re saying “Well, look at these top line economic numbers!” then you’re doing it wrong. You still need to be talking about groceries and rent.
I’d also suggest that telling people that they’re too stupid to know what their own bank accounts and budgets actually look like is a losing argument but some people seem to be committed to that one.
They are telling pollsters that their own economic situation is actually quite good, and acting like it (spending, vacationing, etc.), it’s just that the economy is bad for others. Same with crime stats – most people say their own area has not seen a rise in crime, but they say crime is a problem elsewhere.
False information is being pumped out 24/7. By numerous, multiple sources.
The “mainstream” media is cautious, and wants to be seen as balanced. So they try to find middle ground. Which is constantly being pulled over by the bullshit and lies.
The Overton Window of media is therefore being skewed now like it never was before.
Things are different now because of the way the public consumes information - where bullshit is given the same respect as fact.
To slightly redirect the thread, how should Biden reach the voters? Tv and newspaper interviews are the old standbys, but what new methods could he use?
As said before, multiple things can be true at once. I can get a raise, go on a weekend trip AND still feel as though my salary isn’t going as far as it should be. And recognize that part of the reason for that is because food costs more, rent has gone up and my insurance rates are getting increased. I don’t need MAGA Brainwashing to think that my extra $4k a year isn’t getting me what I expect $4k to get and look at reasons why.