The economy is in rough shape, voters know it firsthand, and they won’t be convinced otherwise.
The economy is in rough shape, voters know it firsthand, and they won’t be convinced otherwise.
I n an excellent piece in today’s New York Times, David Leonhardt observes that “in recent weeks, economists and pundits have been asking why Americans feel grouchy about the economy when many indicators — like G.D.P. growth, stock prices and the unemployment rate — look strong,” before concluding that the “supposed paradox” to which they are pointing is “not really a paradox.” “Americans think the economy is in rough shape,” Leonhardt writes bluntly, “because the economy is in rough shape.”
Leonhardt is correct, and his explanations are solid. But he is remiss in one area: He doesn’t explain why “economists and pundits have been asking why Americans feel grouchy about the economy,” even though they’re evaluating the same set of economic facts as everyone else. So I will: Economists and pundits are talking up the economy because the White House has urged them to talk up the economy, and because unlike David Leonhardt, they have gladly acquiesced to the demand.
Don’t take my word for it. Earlier this week, CNN’s Oliver Darcy reported that the White House is “not happy with the news media’s coverage of the supply chain and economy,” and “has been working behind the scenes trying to reshape coverage in its favor.” These “conversations,” Darcy confirmed, “have been productive, with anchors and reporters and producers getting to talk with the officials.” And, sure enough, in no time at all the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank had decided that the press treats Biden worse than Trump, the Times’s Paul Krugman had proposed that “the public’s highly negative assessment of the economy is at odds with every other indicator I can think of,” MSNBC’s Joy Reid had lamented that Republicans were being so negative when “the economy is booming,” CNBC’s Jim Cramer had submitted that the economy is better than it has ever been in his life, Don Lemon had begun cheering tiny-and-temporary reductions in the price of gas, and The Hill’s Max Burns had not only criticized Americans for being ungrateful for the “surging economic recovery” but slammed Republicans for suggesting that our inflation problem might just get worse if the federal government continues to pump trillions of dollars into the economy.
Ask, and ye shall receive.
The Democrats’ attempts to spin the situation have been even more comical. Last week, the DCCC published a farcical tweet with the message, “Thanks, @JoeBiden,” that showed gas prices going down by two cents over two weeks. (Presumably, then, the subsequent rises are also Biden’s doing?) Yesterday evening, the Democratic Party attempted to convince the public that Biden should be credited for Americans’ returning to the same jobs that they had held before government-imposed lockdowns forced them to stay home. And today, the ever-amusing Ron Klain is promoting a strange propaganda video in which he lauds the president for “delivering the fastest economic recovery in history.”
None of this is going to work, because it simply does not scan with what Americans are experiencing every day. Per the Times, this morning’s economic data show that we are currently living through “the strongest inflationary burst in a generation,” with inflation having “jumped to the highest level in nearly 40 years.” More specifically, per CNBC, “the consumer price index rose 0.8% for the month, good for a 6.8% pace on a year over year basis and the fastest rate since June 1982.” “Energy prices,” CNBC adds, “have risen 33.3% since November 2020, including a 3.5% surge in November. Gasoline alone is up 58.1%. Food prices have jumped 6.1% over the year, while used car and truck prices, a major contributor to the inflation burst, are up 31.4%, following a 2.5% increase last month.”
Spin your way out of that.
In most circumstances, the Democrats’ domination of the media, academia, and entertainment pays the party great dividends. Here, it is a drag. If they so wish, prominent newspapers can assassinate the characters of politicians the public has never heard of, fact-check away scandals and inconveniences, and work to alter the English language so that it tilts in the favor of their friends. But, try as they might, they cannot stand between voters and economic reality. Americans do not need to hear reports about the prices of gas or groceries, about the ongoing supply-chain crisis, or about the empty offices, canceled flights, infrequent buses, and interrupted schools that still afflict American life. They can see these things with their own eyes.
“Does this sound like a healthy economy to you?” asks David Leonhardt. No, and it doesn’t look like one, either.