The opinions of guest writers do not represent the views of The Ridgeview News.
By Deirdre Purdy, Calhoun Democrat Executive Committee Chairperson
When Republicans dubbed President Bidenâs economic plans âBidenomics,â he took it up. Dark Brandon laughing at their memes.
Thanks to Bidenomics, the US has the lowest inflation rate, the lowest unemployment rate and the strongest economic growth of all the worldâs advanced economies.
In late October, the Gross Domestic Product grew at an annual rate of 4.9%, far above the most optimistic forecasts.
Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, there are 40,000 infrastructure projects in all 50 states â roads, bridges, airports, and ports. Unions are strong: the autoworkers just ratified historic contracts with the Big Three automakers.
And yet . . . there is discordant music playing in the background.
Polling shows 59% believe the economy is shrinking rather than growing. The S&P 500 is up 20% in 2023, but 59% believe itâs down. Wages are finally (post-pandemic) growing faster than inflation, but 75% believe otherwise. 51% believe unemployment is near a 50-year high; itâs actually at a 54-year low.
Inflation has stabilized at 3%, close to the Federal Reserveâs target, but voters tell pollsters their main concerns are immigration, inflation, and the faltering economy.
Worse still, 58% of voters in key swing states recently told pollsters they have more confidence in Trumpâs ability to manage the economy, the stock market, everyday costs, interest rates and taxes than Biden, regardless of who they thought theyâd vote for.
(Does this reflect in part the mythos of The Apprentice, The Art of the Deal, andthe billionaire with the golden apartment? Unfortunately, myths are not dented by courts finding that Trumpâs self-valuations are all fraudulent.)
Polls have been wrong before, of course, but when so many appear to know so little about something so critical, we must consider that itâs not the messenger.
The economistsâ âeconomyâ reports these wonderful numbers â the big picture of unemployment, inflation and GDP â all doing great.
But when you ask random voters about âthe economy,â many think of their own households. Some groceries still cost more than they did a year ago, average rent and mortgage rates have spiked and healthcare and childcare grow ever more unaffordable.
More people have jobs, but itâs still paychecks versus bills and in the US, 68% live paycheck to paycheck. Young people are paying off student loans and paying ever-higher rents; 93% see the economy as âonly fairâ or âpoor.â
Bidenomics produces unequal results in part because the US economy remains incredibly unequal. The top 1% now owns more than the entire bottom 90%.
This is the result of the last 40+ years of Republican trickle-down policies, including W and Trumpâs windfall tax cuts to corporations and the very rich.
Bidenomicsâ goal is precisely to reverse this trend, tax the rich and corporations, and grow the lower and middle classes. And itâs working.
To this point, in a second category of random voters who are negative on the economy, 60% polled said their own financial situation was good or excellent, but only 28% said the national economy was equally good.
Partisan views could shape some of this: Republicans refusing to give Biden any credit for anything.
But how to explain this wide and stark divide between votersâ views and the actual factual highly successful US economy, when even people doing well canât see it?
We canât blame the mainstream media for this one. The New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, and the nightly news shows all regularly report these good news numbers. Even Fox Business reported 4.9% GDP as âwow, what a stunner.â
But who is watching MSM? 32% of Americans aged 18 to 29 get their news on TikTok where âSilent Depressionâ memes abound, expressing despair over the economy. US adults too get their news from TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X, where the âvibecessionâ posts get the most hits. Bleak is the outlook.
In such an atmosphere, Biden administration triumphalism is not welcomed, nor even believed. Minds donât change hearing, âYouâre wrong, wrong, wrong.â
If the economy continues to be so strong, surely more people will recognize reality is good, especially if interest rates start to fall.
Meanwhile What to Do? Especially since weâve been told for decades that, âItâs the Economy, Stupidâ and thatâs the be-all and end-all of presidential politics.
Will bad vibes and ignorance sink Biden in 2024?
Or will the choice be clear between President Biden and a Christian nationalist party that plans to round up undesirables, pass a nationwide abortion ban, put unions back in their place, cut taxes for corporations and the rich, end funding for Ukraine, roll back rights to contraception and same-sex marriage, and establish a Christian theocracy?
And thatâs even before we focus on the personal characteristics of the Republican frontrunner.
The economy is doing great.  Letâs stop fretting about things we cannot change andfocus on what really matters.  Itâs the Democracy, Stupid.
I want to thank you again Diedre for writing on the Democratic policies and beliefs. As much as I disagree with you on many things, I applaud you on your transparency. Some politicians give the appearance of transparency but then work behind the scenes to promote their own agenda. I am glad you are upfront. We can spend the rest of the week breaking down politically driven numbers, by that I mean how one side can skew to their advantage. Both sides do. But lets look at the reality. As far as the economy, since Biden took office, the average consumer has lost $8,000 a year in buying power. That may not seem like much nationally, but for places like Calhoun County, where a lot of people are on a fixed income that is a lot. If they have $32,000 coming in annually, that drops them down to $24,000. That is a 25% drop in income. Since Covid, because of regulations imposed by Democrats, many small businesses shut down and went out of business. That drop nationally has empowered Democrats to make people dependent on the government. ( as a sidelight, I find it strange that as a child growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s the young people were having protests against the “man” or government. now they bow to what the “man tells them. (Mask mandates , untested vaccines, etc. ) As far as jobs, the job growth you tout is is not for higher paying jobs. A lot of those are gone for good. Most of the jobs are minimum wage jobs , . Again, it is more profitable to stay home and get welfare than work for less. As far as your concern about Christian nationalism. That really is what the Democrat party leaders despise the most. Their agenda shows it. Some of them cry about 40 babies being beheaded in Israel, a despicable act of cowards for sure, yet are upset when they can kill one more of the 50 million plus babies murdered since Roe v. Wade. They encourage illegal immigration, which empowers drug cartels, which makes huge profits from sex trafficking, drug sales and human bondage and slavery. Well they encouraged it until it was put in their home town. Ask the residents of Cape Cod and Washington D.C., among the most liberal of the liberal states how long it took it remove them from their neighborhood. One day. Biden policies forcibly removed military personal for refusing, which is their right, to not take the jab. Now, with troops being mobilized, all is forgiven. Why? It will not be any of their families blood shed for their bank accounts. And on and on the hypocrisy. It is not like the Republicans have done a lot to help other than lots of lip service, except for a few. That is why MAGA was created . It is the conservative faction of the Republican party .It is the put America and its citizens first agenda. Even more important to Liberals than MAGA policies is where we MAGA get our guidance and policies. From God Himself. In and through His written word and interactions with His people. Almost every policy Democrats promote goes against God and His standards. You said it yourself Diedre when calling out Christian Nationalists. The founding fathers were Christians and Theocrasisists. Read James Madison’s treatise on the writing of the Constitution. Liberals will even deny the one who wrote it, if it does not fit their agenda. Thatb is why MAGA. We support Republican principals . And will work with Republicans to attain them. We differ when those principals are compromised. Rinos are worse as political friends than Democrats because they ran on Republican values then support Democrats. Hypocrisy in action. The McCarthys, McConnels, Romneys etc. We cannot and will not support them. The problem for mainstream Republicans and liberals is that MAGA can only go away by a police action of some kind. Which is in the works. Our stance is, If God is for you, who can be against you? Fortunately this is still America and we are allowed to have differing opinions. Work together where we can and bring our differences and solutions to the people and let them vote on it. Even in Calhoun County, MAGA is growing. We are slowly adding people . For those areas that the Republican party is forced to follow state and Federal choices, a small group of us do not and can support publicly our choices. We are not beholden to anything or anyone except God. As I said, we are the conservative branch that the mainstream party has left behind. We know we will be catered to by them until an election is over. Then be irrelevant again. But that is okay. It is the agenda, not the personalities or personal gain that can be had. Rather than a Christian nationalist being portrayed as a bad thing. I and other MAGA members are proud to be labeled that. We are not ashamed of our faith or our God. As a MAGA member, your voice matters. How much? We will see come election time.