Opinion: What’s convincing voters that the economy is worse than it ever was?

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-05-28/joe-biden-jonah-goldberg-voters-vibes-facts

by Randomlynumbered

25 comments

  1. Voters’ perception that the economy is worse than ever is influenced by several key factors despite positive economic indicators. Here are the main reasons:

    1. **Inflation Impact**: Although inflation has decreased significantly from its peak of around 9% in mid-2022 to about 3%, the lasting impact on prices has been profound. Many Americans are still feeling the pinch, particularly with essential items like food and gas, which have seen substantial price increases since the pandemic. The perception that wages haven’t kept up with these rising costs exacerbates the feeling of economic hardship​.
    2. **Media Influence**: Negative news coverage significantly shapes public perception. Economic news has been increasingly negative and often disconnected from the actual economic fundamentals. This skewed representation affects how people view the national economy compared to their local or personal financial situations.
    3. **Partisanship and Political Sentiment**: Economic perceptions are heavily influenced by political affiliations. Partisanship drives divergent views on the economy, with shifts in sentiment often correlating with changes in political leadership. For instance, Republican sentiment about the economy improved when Trump took office and declined when Biden became president, while the opposite trend was observed among Democrats​​.
    4. **Consumer Sentiment and Personal Finances**: Many Americans base their economic outlook on their personal financial experiences, which vary widely. High-profile economic concerns such as housing affordability, interest rates, and the resumption of student loan payments also contribute to the overall negative sentiment. Despite low unemployment and strong job creation, the perceived unaffordability of major purchases like homes and cars remains a significant concern​​.

    These factors combined create a scenario where, despite objective measures of economic health showing improvement, public perception remains predominantly negative, driven by inflation’s lingering effects, media portrayal, partisan views, and personal financial challenges.

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  2. Well, the economy IS really bad for some folks, so their lives is what is convincing them. And, to add to it they are able to reach many many people through social media to express how bad it is for them.

    AND, there are a lot of Russian operatives helping to try and push how bad the economy is to try and get Trump elected.

  4. Probably that prices are up over 20% since 2020 while most people’s wages are not.

  6. Widespread introduction of the $6 8oz cup of drip coffee.

  7. The problem is this “great” economy isn’t reaching the lower 90% very well or at all, and greedflation is really hammering away at middle class all the way down. The constant message of how bad everything is by Fox isn’t helping.

  8. Wallets, costs, housing, and fuel. Do you think folks are blind?

  9. Simple: housing. Landlords are squeezing every drop of discretionary income out of the consumer and the other industries which provide essentials (insurance, utilities, groceries, gas, healthcare, education) aren’t far behind.

    And for millions of people, there’s no escape because buying a house is a pipe dream.

  10. There is no such thing as ‘the economy’. You have yours and I have mine. Only governments and Wall Street worry about macro economics. Working hard for peanuts just to exist and seeing today’s massive disparity of wealth is depressing. Everyone can see the distribution of wealth is obviously one sided. This is a mean country. And some people just like to play victim, even the uber rich.

  12. Figure CPI based on food, shelter, and energy. You know, things you actually need. Most are getting squeezed regardless of what the media tell you.

  13. People throw the word Late Stage Capitalism around a lot, but that really is what is happening. Corporation have bought out or ruined most of the small competition, and are now in the process of squeezing every last penny out of the consumer. It has been a slow process over the last 40 years, but seemed to have really ramped up since Covid. There are a million examples one could give, but ultimately people are just worn down by it all. Combine that with elections that seem hopeless and another round of forever wars, and America AND Americans are just in a real funk right now no matter what the “numbers” say. Too many people have come to realize just how much of America is total bullshit, and it is ingrained into multiple generations now. America is a novelty at this point, filled with legacy governments, politicians, and corporations that have no interest in doing anything outside of the status quo.

  15. If people feel bad about their day to day life and the loss of purchasing power, do the numbers really matter? The American population votes on emotion not numbers.

  19. The great mystery is why voters think Republicans are strong on the economy.

  20. Out of control prices, layoffs everywhere, interest rates, piss poor jobs market

  22. The answer is simple. We pay our bills and we see what’s left. There use to be a lot more left.

  23. Because it is if you rent or if you’re not on the right half of the bell curve. The economy absolutely sucks for those people.

  24. The false notion that every generation before them had it much better.

  25. When an economy gets stimulus in the form of deficit spending amounting to ~5-10% of GDP and the economy is STILL contracting, maybe the economy actually is doing poorly…

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