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The article is pretty clearly politically motivated. Thr argument is XYZ number doesn't capture everything and the absolute number is higher. Which may be true,

The article is pretty clearly politically motivated. Thr argument is XYZ number doesn't capture everything and the absolute number is higher. Which may be true, but for U3 unemployment that has always been true! The fact is every unemplpyment metric you look at is at a historical low. So regardless of what they are or aren't capturing they are all better than they've been in decades. In relative terms the economy has been doing well. The difference is two thing. In 2020 half the world shut down and it caused inflation. Our inflation was also much better handled than most of the developed world. And number two, there is a very strong echo chamber that wanted to convince they country the economy was bad, and they were successful. I'll have to find the link, but there was a reputable poll right around the election that asked people in all the swing states how the economy was doing. They all rated it poorly. They then asked how the economy was doing in their state, they all rated it well. Voters in every swing state saw up front with their own eyes the economy was doing well in their states and said so in the poll, but were sure the economy was doing poorly because of what they heard about all the other states. Mission accomplished for the echo-chamber.

vannevar 2y ago
Yes, saying "the voters were right" is not really justified by the evidence presented. According to the article, economic reality isn't reflected in the government numbers and has not been for many years. But since the gap was present in both the Biden Administration and the first Trump term, it doesn't explain the voters' preference for Trump. When you factor in the economic impact of the pandemic and the strength of the US recovery, then regardless of the systematic gap the record actually suggests a much better economic record for Biden than Trump. A more plausible explanation is that the Republicans were able to persuade many Americans that the economic problems caused by the pandemic were the fault of the Democrats. Blaming the other side for historical accident is a tried-and-true campaign strategy, and the pandemic provided a perfect opportunity to put it to use for 2024.
spdgg 2y ago
Those economic gains are not felt by a majority of the population. That was clear by the election, and would be clear to you if you stepped out of your own echo chamber. Nobody wants to hear about U3 unemployment when they can't afford childcare, groceries, medicine, all of which have inflated significantly. For folks who were already living paycheck to paycheck, of which there are many, these explanations are both patronizing and out of touch with the lived experience of most of the population.
- maximusdrex 2y ago
  I’d love to see some data supporting this argument because I’ve heard it over and over from people all over the political spectrum the past few years but it just doesn’t line up with any data. You act like they’re quoting abstract numbers which are meaningless compared to people’s “lived experience” but unemployment is a large part of people’s experience. Furthermore, inflation adjusted wages are up (with the highest gains in the lowest 50% of earners). If these statistics aren’t fully capturing people’s experiences, I’m sure every economist in the world would love to know what metrics are better. Instead it seems perceptions about the state of the economy have become more tightly coupled to the media atmosphere than anything measurable.
  - spdgg 2y ago
    If the anecdotes are not matching up with the data maybe the data is not measured right. Economics is not a science. Given that for profit media is already tightly coupled with the economy, and supported by advertising, the incentive would be for them to create a narrative that the economy is doing well. Consumer confidence is necessary to continue their model of making money through advertising. Righteous consumers of the media have incentive to promote its narratives to make themselves seem more worldly and educated, and that's how we end up with arguments denying the lived experience of "people all over the political spectrum the past few years". The people who have been saying that are not the ones with incentive to lie to you.
  - nothercastle 2y ago
    If you can’t see the issues with the data you aren’t looking. If you examine the CPI basket and see that health care weighing vs what it is as a % of the economy and that doesn’t draw suspicion idk what will.
    - itsdrewmiller 2y ago
      What is your allegation here? Health care is weighted at 8.275% and private spending on healthcare is right around there. Do you think it should include public spending on healthcare for some reason?
yummypaint 2y ago
The economy is fine, but we are in a gilded age of income and wealth inequality. The 3 richest men in the world increased their wealth by roughly an order of magnitude in about a decade, meanwhile minimum wage hasn't moved in a quarter century.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
  And wealth inequality means power inequality. It's not really democracy if you can buy elections and buy your way into a government job
GordonAShumway 2y ago
I was just amused that a former comptroller of the currency discovered U-6!
consumer451 2y ago
> The article is pretty clearly politically motivated. Supporting links as to why Politico would do something like this: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/06/axel-springer-politico-media-scandal-germany-bild/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/06/axel-springer-politico-... https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/politico-owner-pray-for-trump-mathias-dopfner-axel-springer-1234587243/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/politico...
- CRConrad 2y ago
  N.B: This is the same Springer group that owns a (very) large share of the world’s scientific journals, including quite a few of the most prestigious ones.
  - consumer451 2y ago
    Thank you. I had no idea that the two were related.

vannevar 2y ago

Yes, saying "the voters were right" is not really justified by the evidence presented. According to the article, economic reality isn't reflected in the government numbers and has not been for many years. But since the gap was present in both the Biden Administration and the first Trump term, it doesn't explain the voters' preference for Trump. When you factor in the economic impact of the pandemic and the strength of the US recovery, then regardless of the systematic gap the record actually suggests a much better economic record for Biden than Trump. A more plausible explanation is that the Republicans were able to persuade many Americans that the economic problems caused by the pandemic were the fault of the Democrats. Blaming the other side for historical accident is a tried-and-true campaign strategy, and the pandemic provided a perfect opportunity to put it to use for 2024.

spdgg 2y ago

Those economic gains are not felt by a majority of the population. That was clear by the election, and would be clear to you if you stepped out of your own echo chamber. Nobody wants to hear about U3 unemployment when they can't afford childcare, groceries, medicine, all of which have inflated significantly. For folks who were already living paycheck to paycheck, of which there are many, these explanations are both patronizing and out of touch with the lived experience of most of the population.

maximusdrex 2y ago
I’d love to see some data supporting this argument because I’ve heard it over and over from people all over the political spectrum the past few years but it just doesn’t line up with any data. You act like they’re quoting abstract numbers which are meaningless compared to people’s “lived experience” but unemployment is a large part of people’s experience. Furthermore, inflation adjusted wages are up (with the highest gains in the lowest 50% of earners). If these statistics aren’t fully capturing people’s experiences, I’m sure every economist in the world would love to know what metrics are better. Instead it seems perceptions about the state of the economy have become more tightly coupled to the media atmosphere than anything measurable.
- spdgg 2y ago
  If the anecdotes are not matching up with the data maybe the data is not measured right. Economics is not a science. Given that for profit media is already tightly coupled with the economy, and supported by advertising, the incentive would be for them to create a narrative that the economy is doing well. Consumer confidence is necessary to continue their model of making money through advertising. Righteous consumers of the media have incentive to promote its narratives to make themselves seem more worldly and educated, and that's how we end up with arguments denying the lived experience of "people all over the political spectrum the past few years". The people who have been saying that are not the ones with incentive to lie to you.
- nothercastle 2y ago
  If you can’t see the issues with the data you aren’t looking. If you examine the CPI basket and see that health care weighing vs what it is as a % of the economy and that doesn’t draw suspicion idk what will.
  - itsdrewmiller 2y ago
    What is your allegation here? Health care is weighted at 8.275% and private spending on healthcare is right around there. Do you think it should include public spending on healthcare for some reason?

yummypaint 2y ago

The economy is fine, but we are in a gilded age of income and wealth inequality. The 3 richest men in the world increased their wealth by roughly an order of magnitude in about a decade, meanwhile minimum wage hasn't moved in a quarter century.

01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
And wealth inequality means power inequality. It's not really democracy if you can buy elections and buy your way into a government job

GordonAShumway 2y ago

I was just amused that a former comptroller of the currency discovered U-6!

consumer451 2y ago

> The article is pretty clearly politically motivated. Supporting links as to why Politico would do something like this: https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/06/axel-springer-politico-media-scandal-germany-bild/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/01/06/axel-springer-politico-... https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/politico-owner-pray-for-trump-mathias-dopfner-axel-springer-1234587243/ https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/politico...

CRConrad 2y ago
N.B: This is the same Springer group that owns a (very) large share of the world’s scientific journals, including quite a few of the most prestigious ones.
- consumer451 2y ago
  Thank you. I had no idea that the two were related.