A dustup over the cost of burritos recently swept the internet, with claims that a burrito now costs $20. This spurred all manner of debate over the state of the economy, and on today’s Editors, Charlie asks Jim if the panic is “a real sentiment about the economy or are people fine with their finances but just convinced that things are bad in general?”
“Unfortunately,” Jim says, “‘How do you think the economy is doing’ has turned into a proxy question of ‘how do you think the president’s doing?'”
“Like, the moment Obama became president, Democrats assessed that things were going better in Iraq instantaneously, one month later,” Jim points out. “Assessments of the economy, usually within a week or two, change dramatically when administrations change.”
“Now you could argue. ‘But people shouldn’t answer the question this way,’ but they do. And I think that’s a considerable aspect of what you’re seeing here.”
The Editors podcast is recorded on Tuesdays and Fridays every week and is available wherever you listen to podcasts.