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It's the economy, stupid! Or, can we talk about inflation please? [1]

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Date: 2023-11-14  

A commentator on MSNBC the other day said something that I have never thought about before and it resonated with me.

His paraphrased theory is that people don’t really make a call about the economy until after Thanksgiving. They hear the news talking about how good things are or (more often) how bad things are and they run with that until they get around their dining room table with their family and friends.

You might be doing okay, but if your brother says he can’t find a job or your sister-in-law says that her business is closing down 3 office locations, that’s a sign that things aren’t good.

Of course it works the other way…. the MSM is saying things are crappy but your job is going well, you still might have the opinion that the greater economy is in trouble until you hear your nephew talking about his big singing bonus or your best friend is picking up more hours because the factory got a big juicy contract.

In short, people’s opinion about the economy is centered on their interactions with their family and friends and Thanksgiving is the time when opinions often change.

This isn’t going to get much press coverage because good news stories usually don’t…. and of course, the press is reluctant to run any story that paints Joe Biden in a good light.

But we SHOULD be talking about this around the Thanksgiving table.

From Raw Story:

"Inflation's receding, baby," exclaimed professor of economics and Brookngs senior fellow Justin Wolfers. "Headline inflation was literally zero -- on average, prices were the same in October as September. Over the year, headline inflation is 3.2%, beating expectations of 3.3%." That means that over the past 12 months, prices on average increased just 3.2%. The drop in inflation has been dramatic: in June of last year, inflation was 9.1%.

That’s a really serious accomplishment. I am not happy about how the Fed went after workers instead of taking on big corporations for their price gouging during and after the pandemic, but in general Biden’s team did what competent people are supposed to do, they accomplish their goals.

And BOY has Biden and his people accomplished their goals when it comes to the economy.

More from Raw Story:

Wolfers, known for his wit, added, "Let's call this the Mary Poppins economy: Inflation is floating back to target, unemployment remains near fifty-year lows, growth remains robust, and inequality is falling."

The thing that we really need to focus on is the long-term benefit of President Biden’s actions, real-world wages are up for the first time in decades. That wage growth can and will have a strong impact for workers and their families over many quarters, possibly over multiple years, even if the wage growth doesn’t continue (and I believe it will based on other Biden policies).

So if you hear someone talk about how bad things are and the Biden economy stinks, point to the Marry Poppins quote above, things really are going very well.

And make sure you share this information around the dinner table so we can change the public perception of the Biden Economy…. the data is right there and I will take the Biden Economy over the Trump or Bush Economy any day of the week!

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