The economy is thriving under Biden. So why don’t Americans believe it?
A new Harris poll for The Guardian found that the majority of Americans believe that the U.S. is in a recession. This is patently untrue. The U.S. is experiencing an extended period of growth, and while market forecasters spent much of the last three years predicting that a recession was just around the corner, it never arrived. Now economists believe that a recession is increasingly unlikely. As The Wall Street Journal reported a month ago, the U.S. economy is the envy of the world, and it has “far outperformed expectations over the past year and a half.” But in poll after poll, Americans say that the economy is poor or simply bad. And a plurality believe the economy was better under Donald Trump. With voters saying that the economy is their top issue for the 2024 election, there might be nothing more important to President Joe Biden than finding a way to get people to believe good news in a nation pervaded by media outlets and Republican politicians selling disaster. All three of the major stock indexes set new records in the last week, with the Dow Jones closing above 40,000 for the first time. While it’s easy to dismiss stock prices as something that matters only to the rich, workers with 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts have also benefited from this extended period of good economy and rising markets. The number of American workers with access to a 401(k) plan surged in 2023. The percentage of workers who depend on a 401(k) or IRA for retirement now greatly exceeds the number who rely on a pension. The average 401(k) plan grew by 9.6% in 2023, and markets are up 10% in just the first quarter of 2024. Sure, that’s a lot of money for the wealthy who control 93% of stock, but it’s also tens of millions of Americans who will have a more comfortable and secure retirement. In fact, the number of Americans who have over $1 million in their retirement accounts grew by 20% in the last quarter of 2023. Unemployment dropped from 6.3% under Trump and has remained under 4% for the longest period since the Vietnam War. Also, 15 million new jobs have been created under Biden while 2.9 million were lost under Trump. Not only that, but manufacturing jobs, long the foundation of a strong middle class, are making a comeback under Biden as the CHIPS and Science Act brings in billions in new investment. Good new jobs are finally being created in areas where Trump promised but failed to deliver. Economists recognize that the economy is much better under Biden than it was under Trump. So why do polls keep showing that Americans aren’t giving Biden any credit? And why do 74% of swing state voters say inflation is getting worse even though that's not true? A majority of Americans say that their own personal finances are doing well, and even when the question is expanded to their whole state, voters say the economy has improved. But they're convinced that the U.S. economy is worse. For someone. Somewhere. And, circling back to that poll in The Guardian, they blame Biden. As The Wall Street Journal reported in April, there’s nothing wrong with the data; the economy really is thriving in just about every way that can be measured. When it comes to the economy, the vibes are at war with the facts, and the vibes are winning. This is obviously bad news for President Biden’s re-election hopes. He can’t exactly tell voters that they are wrong; he would be called out of touch. And it probably wouldn’t change anything. The vibes seem symptomatic of a broader pessimism disconnected from the data. That reflects an earlier post from the Poynter Institute. Voters are giving Donald Trump — who’s seeking to return to the White House — more love on the economy than they’re giving Biden. In a late February-early March CBS News poll, almost two-thirds of respondents nationally said the economy was good under Trump, while 39% said the same of today’s economy under Biden. Over the last three years, Biden has done a tremendous job at handling the real economy. Yet somehow the “vibe economy” seems immune to an avalanche of good news. Maybe that’s a matter of messaging, or maybe it’s simply because it’s easier to believe the worst. If there’s any problem Biden needs to solve before November, it’s how to get voters to believe in the near miracle he has already delivered. Like many Republicans, Donald Trump has tried to sidestep the issue of abortion and reproductive rights. But he stumbled during an interview with a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh this week, promising an “interesting” new policy that would let states restrict contraception.. Embedded Content Campaign Action
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A new Harris poll for The Guardian found that the majority of Americans believe that the U.S. is in a recession.
This is patently untrue.
The U.S. is experiencing an extended period of growth, and while market forecasters spent much of the last three years predicting that a recession was just around the corner, it never arrived. Now economists believe that a recession is increasingly unlikely.
As The Wall Street Journal reported a month ago, the U.S. economy is the envy of the world, and it has “far outperformed expectations over the past year and a half.” But in poll after poll, Americans say that the economy is poor or simply bad. And a plurality believe the economy was better under Donald Trump.
With voters saying that the economy is their top issue for the 2024 election, there might be nothing more important to President Joe Biden than finding a way to get people to believe good news in a nation pervaded by media outlets and Republican politicians selling disaster.
All three of the major stock indexes set new records in the last week, with the Dow Jones closing above 40,000 for the first time.
While it’s easy to dismiss stock prices as something that matters only to the rich, workers with 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts have also benefited from this extended period of good economy and rising markets. The number of American workers with access to a 401(k) plan surged in 2023. The percentage of workers who depend on a 401(k) or IRA for retirement now greatly exceeds the number who rely on a pension. The average 401(k) plan grew by 9.6% in 2023, and markets are up 10% in just the first quarter of 2024.
Sure, that’s a lot of money for the wealthy who control 93% of stock, but it’s also tens of millions of Americans who will have a more comfortable and secure retirement. In fact, the number of Americans who have over $1 million in their retirement accounts grew by 20% in the last quarter of 2023.
Unemployment dropped from 6.3% under Trump and has remained under 4% for the longest period since the Vietnam War. Also, 15 million new jobs have been created under Biden while 2.9 million were lost under Trump.
Not only that, but manufacturing jobs, long the foundation of a strong middle class, are making a comeback under Biden as the CHIPS and Science Act brings in billions in new investment. Good new jobs are finally being created in areas where Trump promised but failed to deliver.
Economists recognize that the economy is much better under Biden than it was under Trump. So why do polls keep showing that Americans aren’t giving Biden any credit? And why do 74% of swing state voters say inflation is getting worse even though that's not true?
A majority of Americans say that their own personal finances are doing well, and even when the question is expanded to their whole state, voters say the economy has improved.
But they're convinced that the U.S. economy is worse. For someone. Somewhere. And, circling back to that poll in The Guardian, they blame Biden.
As The Wall Street Journal reported in April, there’s nothing wrong with the data; the economy really is thriving in just about every way that can be measured.
When it comes to the economy, the vibes are at war with the facts, and the vibes are winning. This is obviously bad news for President Biden’s re-election hopes. He can’t exactly tell voters that they are wrong; he would be called out of touch. And it probably wouldn’t change anything. The vibes seem symptomatic of a broader pessimism disconnected from the data.
That reflects an earlier post from the Poynter Institute.
Voters are giving Donald Trump — who’s seeking to return to the White House — more love on the economy than they’re giving Biden. In a late February-early March CBS News poll, almost two-thirds of respondents nationally said the economy was good under Trump, while 39% said the same of today’s economy under Biden.
Over the last three years, Biden has done a tremendous job at handling the real economy. Yet somehow the “vibe economy” seems immune to an avalanche of good news. Maybe that’s a matter of messaging, or maybe it’s simply because it’s easier to believe the worst.
If there’s any problem Biden needs to solve before November, it’s how to get voters to believe in the near miracle he has already delivered.
Like many Republicans, Donald Trump has tried to sidestep the issue of abortion and reproductive rights. But he stumbled during an interview with a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh this week, promising an “interesting” new policy that would let states restrict contraception..
