It’s one thing to suspect Americans have no clue about the economy, but it's another thing to see it captured in cold hard stats and survey responses. But there it was on the front page of yesterday's Wall Street Journal, i.e.
What’s Wrong With the Economy? It’s You, Not the Data
Many Americans believe that the economy and their finances are worse than they really are.
This piece, which incidentally told it straight unlike the WSJ op-ed pages (where we find Danny Henninger once more spreading misinformation - this time about Trump's Truth Social) ought to be required reading for every sentient and serious voter. Among the findings from the article:
- Half of the respondents defined inflation incorrectly, conflating high prices with high inflation. The sobering fact is that once prices rise they seldom go back down to what normal plebes believe to be 'proper' levels, in this case pre-pandemic.
But the true guide for high inflation is whether the overall year's average rate is higher than the long term average inflation rate. For example, the U.S. Inflation Rate is currently at 3.15%, compared to 3.09% last month and 6.04% last year, and 8.3 percent in 2022
This is lower than the long term average of 3.28%.
Hence, inflation is going down, receding - irrespective of what you paid for eggs, milk and bread in 2022, 2023. The point? You do not base inflation rate on specific prices of specific groceries or other goods.
- By 47% to 41% more Journal respondents think their retirement accounts and investments "went in the wrong direction" in the past year. A period in which the stock market "roared to record highs, home values held steady or rose, and interest on savings went up."
Further:
"The average retirement account at mutual fund giant Vanguard grew 19 percent last year"
So what alternative universe are these negative respondents living in? Who knows?
- By more than 2-to-1 (56% to 25%) respondents "said the economy had gotten worse, rather than gotten better over the past two years." As the WSJ goes on to point out:
"That is difficult to square with the robust employment growth, unemployment near its lowest in a half century, and in gross domestic product (GDP) which actually accelerated last year."
Even more gobsmacking, showing voters' detachment from reality:
"As the saying goes you can't eat gross domestic product, but what you eat is part of GDP and while many people say they are cutting back on groceries and eating out, the data show that collectively they are not."
As prime facie evidence I show the crowd that gathered for the Broadmoor Easter lunch Sunday, with the base charge - get this: $166.00 a head:
As I noted in an earlier post, no one can tell me the Springs has this many people able to afford that tab! More than likely the bulk of them paid with a credit card and will repay their whopping bills in instalments. Which calls to mind an earlier (last week) WSJ piece noting a preponderance of people are buying groceries with credit cards. (We paid for our meal with a debit card). As yesterday's WSJ piece further observes:
"Americans as a whole are still spending more on groceries and restaurant meals, even after adjusting for inflation, than in 2019."
And let's please note that 2019 was the pre-pandemic year. To put the stamp on the fact what people are reporting about the economy being bad is all in their heads, the Journal adds that consumer confidence has risen. More important, "while respondents rate the national economy as bad by a significant margin, they rate their own state's as good by almost as much."
What the hell gives? Fortunately the Journal reports that a study by Stefanie Stantcheva may provide answers. For example, her study shows that while economists associate lower unemployment with higher inflation (natural, given more people working injects more $$ into the economy), the public believes weak growth, high unemployment and high inflation all go together.
In other words, we are dealing with a vastly ignorant populace devoid of familiarity with even basic economics. What the hell has happened to our schools, our education system? It is this vast ignorance, I maintain, that has distorted voters' perceptions about the economy and incited them to saddle Biden with low approval ratings. Including believing the GOP and Trump are better at the economy when they are not.
Another pithy point made by Stantcheva (ibid.) was that "bad feelings about the country might make people more pessimistic about inflation". As well as the nation's direction overall. She insists that "media negativity doesn't necessarily cause pessimism" but perhaps she hasn't been paying attention to the literal dozens of WSJ op-eds about Biden and inflation since 2022. In fact, it's a damned disgrace how many columns have been churned out exaggerating inflation to the WSJ readers, as well as being reinforced on FOX News. All, I suspect, a concerted effort to foment a negative media image of Joe Biden in people's minds which accounts for his 38% approval rating. Not to mention being ranked lower than Trump and the GOP on the economy, which myth I have already exploded, i.e.
Trump- & GOP "Better For Economy" ? This Delusion Is Belied By The Facts
Let us hope people get rid of the persistent "vibe-cession" before November or we will all pay through the nose, eyes and ears - and dearly. And it won't be merely based on pessimistic feelings but a stark thuggish reality.
See Also:
And:
Is The Current Inflation Rate Really Running At 13 Percent? I Call Bunkum On That Claim
And:
Media Disparaging Of Joe Biden Continues With WSJ Troll Not Fit To Shine His Shoes
And:
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