1. January 2021 was the depths of deflation- so that’s selective. Try comparing that to prior to Covid and you won’t find much difference today. 2. Americans are and have been recovering in employment, including taking on gig jobs. It’s not really an issue because we are past full employment. The best measure is consumer spending if you are looking at the health of the American worker. 3. Drugs, specifically fentanyl, is wreaking havoc on our society. Homelessness, premature death and crime are side effects of the drug issue. What I will say, and have been saying even before Covid, is America has a structural housing problem. Too many local regulations makes home construction very difficult. This problem is most prevalent in California. Real work must be done here. Home ownership rates are at near historic highs and open rental properties are near historic lows. The market is squeezed.
Hey man I can’t help how you feel. And I get a lot of people feel a certain way. Like I said I look to the standard measurements as a means of analysis over periods of time. It is what it is. A doctor can’t cure a hypochondriac.
While the economy gives us something to debate about good or bad it will not determine the election. Black voter turnout in 2008 65% Democrats Won Black voter turnout in 2012 67% Democrats Won Black voter turnout in 2020 63% Democrats Won Black voter turnout in 2016 60% Democrats Lost Black voter turnout in 2004 56% Democrats Lost Black voter turnout in 2000 57% Democrats Lost Green Party % of the vote in 2008 0.12% Democrats Won Green Party % of the vote in 2012 0.36% Democrats Won Green Party % of the vote in 2020 0.26% Democrats Won Green Party % of the vote in 2016 1.07 % Democrats Lost Green Party % of the vote in 2000 2.74% Democrats Lost 2024 will be decided just as every presidential election has been since 2000,whether blacks and progressives come out and vote for the democrat or stay home or vote Green Party. Bidens approval with Blacks is 40 points lower than Clinton and Obama.Biden is the first democrat president to have a higher disapproval with Blacks than approval. The combination of Stein /West is polling at 4.4%,higher than Naders 2000 2.74% or Steins 2016 1.07 %. Progressives and Blacks hate Biden far more than they did Hillary and Gore.As 2000 and 2016 showed a good economy will not get Progressives and Blacks to come out and vote for the democrat.
You are tying in “progressives” as a cohort similar to voters who are black or women, etc. That’s not it. You may think of not voting for Biden is some sort of “progressive” retribution for Puerto Rico not becoming a state and not adding 3 judging to the Supreme Court but what the real electorate has a problem with Biden is his age. You’re allowed to have your own opinion and reasons but you’re not the main character in this story.
Progressives are a similar cohort to Black voters.Black voter turnout was 63% or higher and The Green Party percentage of the vote was less than 0.40 % the last 3 presidential elections democrats won. Black voter turnout was 60% or lower and The Green Party percentage of the vote was more than 1% in 2000 and 2016.That is not a coincidence.One one thing we have in common is the overall economy is not a top factor for Progressives or Black voters,as 2000 and 2016 clearly shows.Personally the overall economy plays zero factor in how I vote,if I donate or volunteer.I only debate it because Biden and his supporters are trying to convince people this shit economy is good. Biden was old when he was elected in 2020,Blacks and progs and other voters didn't give a shit about his age because of what he promised in 2020.We wouldn't give a shit about his age now if he had actually fought to keep the promises he made in 2020.Trump is nearly as old as Biden and its not an issue. Puerto Rico not becoming a state is not the reason Progressives or blacks are not voting for Biden,its not very high on progressives or Blacks priority list.Bidens betrayal on police reform,oil drilling,student loans,not even trying for 15.00 min wage,higher taxes on the rich, medicare option for all,restarting student loans for nothing in return etc is more of a reason we will be staying home or voting Green in November and we will be doing so in higher numbers than 2000 and 2016. Not adding to The SC in itself is not that big of a deal but after Roe was overturned and Bidens response was he did not support adding to The SC it did become a big deal and made millions of abortion rights advocates say that its not worth voting for Biden for abortion as protecting this corrupt SC is more important to him.
This is not a bad read. Minorities by and large find progs as the domain of snooty privileged white libs. They'll like Bernie and his policies but are put off by more out of touch social policies that go counter to socially conservative (religious) beliefs. The intersectionality happens when cons & dems abandon or worse persecute the groups. Cons have done an excellent job of dismantling these coalition by pitting browns v. blacks and letting them control the border messaging. They've done similarly by pitting browns and black v. gays or trans in the past. Or pro-Palestinian as an insensible anti-Semitic position. I'm not even sure the establishment dem. makeup would oppose such measures as they aim to reduce the progs' growing power in the party. Divide and conquer if you will.
It's a huge problem (interest rates) especially if the economy continues to improve. Another problem is what I saw on my last visit to the States...a lot of people one day talking about their hourly pay or monthly salary being higher than it ever has been in their employment career but they continue to complain and worry about their cost of living... A few I mentioned or suggested that they should "downsize" and they looked at me like I was crazy. Further, some are trying to determine how to "upsize" their living...accumulating more debt while blaming it on the "economy". Another thing I saw that I didn't see 10 years ago...more high school students with part-time jobs during the school year or full-time jobs in the summer because they need to make money to buy the things their parents can not afford to buy for them. My point, there's a disconnect about a growing economy that's encouraging people to "upsize" to the point that their cost of living continues to become more difficult and people are working more hours, and multiple jobs just to maintain that "lifestyle or a feeling that the're OK. One more stange thing I saw...high schools are getting bigger with more amenities. I visited my old high school that I attended for two years before studying abroad in France for two years of secondary school... I didn't recognize my old high school, it had doubled in size, had state of a state-of-the-art fitness center, indoor track, a football stadium set up like a stadium at a university, and a state-of-the-art computer system to rival a top university... The expenditures were off the map while the parents of those students are bitching about how bad the economy is when they have a 6 figure income but growing debt. Simply, I'm lost about how people feel when it comes to the economy when I see these crazy expenditures. In contrast, I see poor neighborhoods (they do exist) getting poorer. In America (Canada too)...the more money they make...they have this stupid need to spend more of it (see chart below). U.S. household debt increased by 4.8% from November 2022 to November 2023, with credit card debt as the highest increase at 16.6%. In the meantime, the Republicans (I saw it with my own two eyes on Fox News) are freaking out still about Taylor Swift influencing the 2024 U.S. election. They believe a conspiracy theory she will help Biden to "steal" the election from Trump. Note: I'm talking about the MAGA Republicans. That conspiracy theory had me go to other sources (e.g. CNN and The Hill) to see what they had to say about Taylor Swift. That's panic mode when someone fears the social influence of a celebrity they believe will or can influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. Presidential Elections. https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...lash-as-maga-world-zeroes-in-on-taylor-swift/ wrbtrader