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Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? Is it because all the fear mongering about $5 eggs (They are $3 at

by vkou 2y ago

Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? Is it because all the fear mongering about $5 eggs (They are $3 at my grocery, btw) was overblown?

cuttothechase 2y ago
I guess its relative to what the voters experienced or assumed they experienced before the 4 years vs what they were experiencing in the current election cycle. So if you are used to $3 eggs then a $5 egg would be potentially anxiety inducing. It wouldnt matter if the actual cost of eggs is $1 as the fair price in other countries.
- seanmcdirmid 2y ago
  I went through this in Switzerland until I discovered that imported eggs from France were a lot cheaper than domestic eggs.
bpt3 2y ago
> Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? Because the median voter is largely uninformed and irrational. > Is it because all the fear mongering about $5 eggs (They are $3 at my grocery, btw) was overblown? It is overblown in that most Americans can comfortably afford essentials and more compared to their peers and most of history. That doesn't mean they aren't any less annoyed about the current economy, which is what drives votes.
- account42 2y ago
  > Because the median voter is largely uninformed and irrational. Is this only true when they make decisions you don't agree with or also when they elect politicians you like?
  - bpt3 2y ago
    The median human is largely uninformed and irrational, so it's universally true regardless of a specific election outcome.
TuringNYC 2y ago
Because many of the folks here are probably high-earning engineers w/o grounding to the everyday experience. I grew up poor and have many friends who barely scrape by. My friends' anecdotal experience is no different than the anecdotal experience posted by GP about "BMWs" -- BMWs arent that common in real america.
- eigen 2y ago
  > BMWs arent that common in real america. can you clarify where "real america" is? are places like Spartanburg, SC or Tuscaloosa, AL "real america" because you can commonly find BMWs and Mercedes in these areas.
  - Shog9 2y ago
    BMWs aren't that common anywhere in the US - if they were, they'd stop being a status symbol. That said, they're also not uncommon - a quick look at registration data suggests ~8% of cars "on the road" are BMWs, though of course just because a car legally could be on the road doesn't mean it's being driven with any regularity (I had a co-worker years back whose pastime was buying old BMWs and fixing them up; apparently they could be had relatively inexpensively at the time, as servicing was pricey). Which is why all this pedantry misses the point: there's nothing terribly special about BMW; total cost of ownership is probably higher than domestic brands, but you could just as well pad out your ordinary expenses with a Ford or GM payment; a new Suburban or nicer pickup can soak up just as much excess cash as that X3. Then again, Real Americans drive increasingly old used cars.
    - seanmcdirmid 2y ago
      They explicitly don’t import or make entry level BMW and Mercedes in the American market to keep it a status symbol, but you’ll see lots of 1 and 2 series BMWs in Europe and even Asia. In the USA, 3 series is entry level.
      - dcrazy 2y ago
        I see tons of X1s, A classes, and GLAs in the Bay Area. I think the main reason certain models don’t get imported is because of size preferences. The Yaris (aka the Mazda 2) is no longer sold here but the Mazda 3 still sells. Relatedly, MB didn’t import the EQC into the US. Yet the GLC is the best-selling Mercedes in America. I just learned that they cancelled the EQC due to disappointing sales and will be introducing an electric GLC to the US.
lazide 2y ago
People know they are anxious, afraid, and confused. It’s easy to point fingers at something (anything, really) and have it stick when the actual cause - including bad health habits, unmet social needs, a constant barrage of BS on the media, and no meaningful plan or hope to actually resolve any of this - seems unapproachable/unresolvable.
fsckboy 2y ago
>Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? anxiety because their standard of living went down from before the high inflation from the economic so-called stimulus, and election because they trust Trump to grow the economy by removing obstacles to growth. The US economy is more dynamic than the European economy because of less regulation and bureaucracy. As one example, companies are more willing to hire workers for a speculative new project if they don't have to pay extensive wages to lay people off if the project fails. American workers are used to it and are willing to take good jobs when they are offered, and it just makes the economy go faster, "ahead of its rivals".
FireBeyond 2y ago
The same electorate who caused one of the most common searches on election day to be "Did Biden drop out?"? That informed electorate?
prmoustache 2y ago
>Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? Mosty because of marketing and social medias. When you are targeted 24h/d by ads on what shit you should buy or subscribe to and you feel you couldn't afford 10% of it while your social medias feed seems to show a lot of people enjoying them, you feel like cost of living is way too high.
refurb 2y ago
It’s actually relatively simple. Because when inflation got under control, prices didn’t go down. They just stopped going up so fast. We’re at the tail end of the most significant period of inflation in the US since the 1970’s. While incomes are growing slowly and unemployment is low, the pain of inflation is still being felt. Until real incomes grow significantly, people are going to feel worse off than before the period of inflation.

by vkou 2y ago

Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? Is it because all the fear mongering about $5 eggs (They are $3 at my grocery, btw) was overblown?

cuttothechase 2y ago

I guess its relative to what the voters experienced or assumed they experienced before the 4 years vs what they were experiencing in the current election cycle. So if you are used to $3 eggs then a $5 egg would be potentially anxiety inducing. It wouldnt matter if the actual cost of eggs is $1 as the fair price in other countries.

seanmcdirmid 2y ago
I went through this in Switzerland until I discovered that imported eggs from France were a lot cheaper than domestic eggs.

bpt3 2y ago

> Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? Because the median voter is largely uninformed and irrational. > Is it because all the fear mongering about $5 eggs (They are $3 at my grocery, btw) was overblown? It is overblown in that most Americans can comfortably afford essentials and more compared to their peers and most of history. That doesn't mean they aren't any less annoyed about the current economy, which is what drives votes.

account42 2y ago
> Because the median voter is largely uninformed and irrational. Is this only true when they make decisions you don't agree with or also when they elect politicians you like?
- bpt3 2y ago
  The median human is largely uninformed and irrational, so it's universally true regardless of a specific election outcome.

TuringNYC 2y ago

Because many of the folks here are probably high-earning engineers w/o grounding to the everyday experience. I grew up poor and have many friends who barely scrape by. My friends' anecdotal experience is no different than the anecdotal experience posted by GP about "BMWs" -- BMWs arent that common in real america.

eigen 2y ago
> BMWs arent that common in real america. can you clarify where "real america" is? are places like Spartanburg, SC or Tuscaloosa, AL "real america" because you can commonly find BMWs and Mercedes in these areas.
- Shog9 2y ago
  BMWs aren't that common anywhere in the US - if they were, they'd stop being a status symbol. That said, they're also not uncommon - a quick look at registration data suggests ~8% of cars "on the road" are BMWs, though of course just because a car legally could be on the road doesn't mean it's being driven with any regularity (I had a co-worker years back whose pastime was buying old BMWs and fixing them up; apparently they could be had relatively inexpensively at the time, as servicing was pricey). Which is why all this pedantry misses the point: there's nothing terribly special about BMW; total cost of ownership is probably higher than domestic brands, but you could just as well pad out your ordinary expenses with a Ford or GM payment; a new Suburban or nicer pickup can soak up just as much excess cash as that X3. Then again, Real Americans drive increasingly old used cars.
  - seanmcdirmid 2y ago
    They explicitly don’t import or make entry level BMW and Mercedes in the American market to keep it a status symbol, but you’ll see lots of 1 and 2 series BMWs in Europe and even Asia. In the USA, 3 series is entry level.
    - dcrazy 2y ago
      I see tons of X1s, A classes, and GLAs in the Bay Area. I think the main reason certain models don’t get imported is because of size preferences. The Yaris (aka the Mazda 2) is no longer sold here but the Mazda 3 still sells. Relatedly, MB didn’t import the EQC into the US. Yet the GLC is the best-selling Mercedes in America. I just learned that they cancelled the EQC due to disappointing sales and will be introducing an electric GLC to the US.

lazide 2y ago

People know they are anxious, afraid, and confused. It’s easy to point fingers at something (anything, really) and have it stick when the actual cause - including bad health habits, unmet social needs, a constant barrage of BS on the media, and no meaningful plan or hope to actually resolve any of this - seems unapproachable/unresolvable.

fsckboy 2y ago

>Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? anxiety because their standard of living went down from before the high inflation from the economic so-called stimulus, and election because they trust Trump to grow the economy by removing obstacles to growth. The US economy is more dynamic than the European economy because of less regulation and bureaucracy. As one example, companies are more willing to hire workers for a speculative new project if they don't have to pay extensive wages to lay people off if the project fails. American workers are used to it and are willing to take good jobs when they are offered, and it just makes the economy go faster, "ahead of its rivals".

FireBeyond 2y ago

The same electorate who caused one of the most common searches on election day to be "Did Biden drop out?"? That informed electorate?

prmoustache 2y ago

>Then why did the median household just decide an election largely based on economic anxiety? Mosty because of marketing and social medias. When you are targeted 24h/d by ads on what shit you should buy or subscribe to and you feel you couldn't afford 10% of it while your social medias feed seems to show a lot of people enjoying them, you feel like cost of living is way too high.

refurb 2y ago

It’s actually relatively simple. Because when inflation got under control, prices didn’t go down. They just stopped going up so fast. We’re at the tail end of the most significant period of inflation in the US since the 1970’s. While incomes are growing slowly and unemployment is low, the pain of inflation is still being felt. Until real incomes grow significantly, people are going to feel worse off than before the period of inflation.