politics @lemmy.world return2ozma @lemmy.world 10mo ago

Voters don't like Biden's economy — but why?

abcnews.go.com Voters don't like Biden's economy — but why?

Voters aren't happy with Biden's handling of the economy, but can't really explain why.

20 comments

- This is funny and would in another context be spot on, but IMO it's more about Republican policy than Democrat/Biden. Ironically the MAGA crowd has a base in occupy Wall Street, which was hijacked by propagandists for the 1%. And of course Trump gave massive tax cuts to the 1% and not everybody else.
  The majority of the MAGA crowd is hurting themselves by voting Republican.
The “economy” they keep touting doesn’t really affect the average American. We’re broke because of how well the “economy” is doing for the capitalist class. I’m pretty disgusted with America. I don’t want trump to win which is the only reason I’ll vote for Biden.
PERHAPS BECAUSE ""THE ECONOMY""" DOESN'T REPRESENT THE COST OF THINGS ANYMORE
Because people can't afford food and shelter. You know, little details like being able to live.
40 years of playing catch the trickle down.
- Absolutely, but then why do the majority now consider Trump's presidency a success? When he gave massive tax cuts to the 1%, while increasing deficits at a period where those tax cuts should have been used to stabilize budgets?
  That's a very clear example of Republican policy of supporting the rich at the cost of everybody else.
  Biden is 100% the lesser evil in that regard, and he is actually working on reversing that trend. Are Americans really that dense?
  
  .
I love how out of touch the media is these days. Saying we can't explain why...uhh yea...yea we can. You just don't listen to anyone but your handlers.
- This article, for once, actually listens to real people and understands the problem:
  
  Therein lies a disconnect between most economic indicators that economists consider — things like GDP, the unemployment rate, job growth and inflation — which are all looking up, and how voters feel. When voters measure economic well-being, they're much more likely to use more personal metrics, such as how easily their family can meet their basic needs.
  
  That's interesting, as the title and then the first few sentences say they can't explain why people are mad at the economy.
People are freaking out, getting dinner for mom, dad, and 2 kids from freaking McDonalds and having it be $30. For MCDONALDS.

No, that's not an overstatement. $50 if you do Grubhub.
- Mcdonald's has been systematically raising prices until they see resistance from customers. They've been bragging about it during earnings, and their EPS growth has been phenomenal. In my local area there are fast-food places that used to be more expensive than McDonald's, but are now cheaper, and have better quality.
The general economic metrics are positive, but skewed. The pandemic disrupted huge portions of the economy, and some fared better than others. Prices are up across the board, but wages aren't up to match.

Before the Pandemic, I remember getting 1-3% raises and getting told "we do this to match the cost of living". Now the increase year-over-year to the cost of living is much higher, yet the raises (if they are there at all) are the same magnitude as before. Some people are much better off, though: the increased spending in the economy isn't coming from thin air. There is a portion of the population who is doing much better, but it doesn't extend to everyone.

Then, you have the mess of the Housing market here. Prices have skyrocketed across the board, as well as interest rates, at least in part due to the pandemic - the government had to print a lot of money to get through it, and the corrsponding rise interest rates came so fast it even caught some banks by surprise. People who were lucky enough to buy in at the right time are doing much better.

Now, the economy being in the state it is now is better than the alternative. Democrats need to make the case that their policies have the best chance of improving everyone's situation, and that it would be best to have all the levers of government to do that. So it's not just the Presidential election that is critical, but all the downballot races as well.
- yes this. I used to work at a university where the raises were like 1 or 2 percent below inflation. Half the years I worked there was no raise because it was low inflation times. Going into the public sector I generally got about inflation but when infaltion went haywire the raises stayed the same.
Regular people haven't been compensated for the massive inflation that has been present for every year under Biden. Last year was better at 3.4%, but it's still the higher than every other year since 2007. You have to look back to the 80s to find a worse 3 year period for inflation.
Too many losers who don't own stocks.

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