"I'm OK; the economy is not. Why are voters so disconnected from reality? Per an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal in April 2024, "It's you, not the data." https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/whats-wrong-with-the-economy-its-you-not-the-data-cfa911e6IIn " The Wall Street Journal’s latest poll of swing states, 74% of respondents said inflation has moved in the wrong direction in" the past year. This assessment, which holds across all seven states, is startling, sobering, and simply untrue." Data is the proof. Why is there such a disconnect? Per a May 2024 PEW poll, much has to do with political party affiliation.
What is key politically for the Biden re-election campaign is that more voters get with daily experience and feel it on their own. There is not much Biden can do about it but just to hammer on the message, "The data is good; grocery prices are coming down; gas is close to pre-COVID, and the trend on inflation is going in the right direction. For many wages and security of your employment situation is good."
Data Updated: June 13, 2024 Core inflation is at its lowest level since April 2021, grocery prices have fallen for four months in a row, and gas prices are below $3.50 per gallon on average nationally. Wages are rising faster than prices, and unemployment has remained at or below 4% for the longest stretch in 50 years, crows the White House per economic figures released this week. Inflation is still nagging, but general comments are it is cooling down enough to once again predict the Fed may reduce interest rates in September. Predictions are always risky. Best example: per last year, at this time, we should now be in a recession, and we are not; in spite of the BS spin in the media, the GOP favors that the gullible swallow.
Instead, we are leading the world in growth per the World Bank. "Strong demand and higher inflation readings in the U.S. have delayed expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts, and the U.S. economy is defying predictions of a downturn for the second year in a row, according to the report. The World Bank is now forecasting 2.5% U.S. growth for 2024 - matching the 2023 pace - and up sharply from the January forecast of 1.6%."https://www.reuters.com/markets/global-market-data/world-bank-says-global-growth-stabilizing-well-below-pre-pandemic-levels-2024-06-11/
The PEW report found that views of the economy are based on party affiliation: " When asked for their expectations of the country’s economic conditions a year from now, 43% of Americans say they expect it to be about the same as it currently is. About a quarter (24%) expect the economy to be better a year from now, and nearly a third (32%) expect conditions to worsen......And when asked about their expectations of their own family’s financial situation a year from now, 49% of adults say they expect it to be about the same. Roughly a third (34%) say they expect their financial situation will be better a year from now, and 16% expect their situation to worsen." https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/05/23/views-of-the-nations-economy-may-2024/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/12/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-may-consumer-price-index
https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/whats-wrong-with-the-economy-its-you-not-the-data-cfa911e6IIn
If you listen to the predictors a year ago, we should be in a recession now; instead, per the World Bank, we are leading the world in growth. If you listen to the whiners about grocery prices and gas at the pump prices, both are now lower even than a few months ago. June 12, 2024 If it is inflation, the Fed yesterday kept the rate high this week but noted its improvement over the past four months, and once again, the experts are predicting the rates could see a cut in September. That you expect prices to go back to pre-COVID while enjoying the increase in your wages. That is just daydreaming. Get a grip on yourself and enjoy the prices dropping
Biden does not get credit for the improvement in the Consumer Price Index, but he has let the Federal Reserve do what it does: make decisions on the data, not by opinion polls. What Trump wants to do? Make the Federal Reserve political and sensitive to swings in public mood. That is a disaster for all of us, a business killer who cannot stand the wild, unjustified swings in interest rates since they depend on stability for making business decisions. Neither Trump nor Biden has the ability to set consumer prices; that only happens in communist command economies. However, Trump proposes an across-the-board 10% duty on all imports, which would just be passed on to consumers. That is a departure from GOP low tariff policies they have supported forever. Biden looks at selective duty increases to protect targeted industries, just as he did on Chinese EV cars.
https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/whats-wrong-with-the-economy-its-you-not-the-data-cfa911e6IIn
https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2024/05/warning-to-consumers-buyer-beware-if.html
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/06/12/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-the-may-consumer-price-index
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