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Inflation was global, and the USA navigated it much better than other Western economies. But of course that’s far too much nuance for the average voter anywher

by pavlov 2y ago

Inflation was global, and the USA navigated it much better than other Western economies. But of course that’s far too much nuance for the average voter anywhere.

ruthmarx 2y ago
It is astounding how many people don't get that. Also how many people blame it on Biden while giving Trump credit for Obama's work.
astrange 2y ago
Funny thing is we saved ourselves from 2008-style economic collapse with stimulus, which partially caused the inflation here but also caused it in all the other countries. But nevertheless, all their incumbent parties lost over it.
sethammons 2y ago
When you get punched in the face, the first thought is not who else got punched. Of course ppl will vote based on their own recent face punching. "I didn't get punched in the face when the other guy was president"
- pavlov 2y ago
  Which is a bit of a weird argument because people did get punched hard in 2020. Things were mostly very bad during Trump’s last year in office. Jobs were lost, millions died; Trump himself spent days in intensive care in October 2020. Political memories are very short. Trump can get excused for the botched Covid response because it’s ancient history, but Biden can’t get excused for global inflation which followed from the same disaster.
- crabmusket 2y ago
  So what you're saying is that voters are stupid? Punch-drunk unable to think about the consequences of their actions?
  - sethammons 2y ago
    I wouldn't say stupid, I'd say ignorant. A more progressive interpretation: you can't help someone else until you have your own mask on. People are voting based on how they feel their life is compared to 4 years ago and apparently half of america very much recalls life being better then. They don't feel the need to dig any deeper than that; they need to get their own oxygen mask on.
refurb 2y ago
> Inflation was global, and the USA navigated it much better than other Western economies. This comes across as very out of touch. By "navigated it" you mean brought inflation under control. But it's not like prices came down. The $1,500 per month grocery bill that was $1,000 in 2019 is still $1,500. People don't look at the CPI and think "phew, glad the Fed was able to get inflation back to target" they think "I remember when I used to have $1,000 left over each month". And they remember that every single month.

by pavlov 2y ago

Inflation was global, and the USA navigated it much better than other Western economies. But of course that’s far too much nuance for the average voter anywhere.

ruthmarx 2y ago

It is astounding how many people don't get that. Also how many people blame it on Biden while giving Trump credit for Obama's work.

astrange 2y ago

Funny thing is we saved ourselves from 2008-style economic collapse with stimulus, which partially caused the inflation here but also caused it in all the other countries. But nevertheless, all their incumbent parties lost over it.

sethammons 2y ago

When you get punched in the face, the first thought is not who else got punched. Of course ppl will vote based on their own recent face punching. "I didn't get punched in the face when the other guy was president"

pavlov 2y ago
Which is a bit of a weird argument because people did get punched hard in 2020. Things were mostly very bad during Trump’s last year in office. Jobs were lost, millions died; Trump himself spent days in intensive care in October 2020. Political memories are very short. Trump can get excused for the botched Covid response because it’s ancient history, but Biden can’t get excused for global inflation which followed from the same disaster.
crabmusket 2y ago
So what you're saying is that voters are stupid? Punch-drunk unable to think about the consequences of their actions?
- sethammons 2y ago
  I wouldn't say stupid, I'd say ignorant. A more progressive interpretation: you can't help someone else until you have your own mask on. People are voting based on how they feel their life is compared to 4 years ago and apparently half of america very much recalls life being better then. They don't feel the need to dig any deeper than that; they need to get their own oxygen mask on.

refurb 2y ago

> Inflation was global, and the USA navigated it much better than other Western economies. This comes across as very out of touch. By "navigated it" you mean brought inflation under control. But it's not like prices came down. The $1,500 per month grocery bill that was $1,000 in 2019 is still $1,500. People don't look at the CPI and think "phew, glad the Fed was able to get inflation back to target" they think "I remember when I used to have $1,000 left over each month". And they remember that every single month.