I think that’s the main thing- sure, the economic numbers don’t look too bad on paper, but if it’s not flowing down to the average person (which it wasn’t) and people aren’t seeing any improvement in their own lives and economic position, it’s going to be hard to convince people that the country is going down the right path (regardless of how insane the alternative might be).
I’m actually not sure they are smart enough to connect the dots. Even if things get worse or there is no improvement in their lives they will still justify it somehow. That’s how cults work.
They’ll still claim Trump saved their trailer park from socialism, or prevented immigrants from eating their cats.
What has led the US to this point is a grand failure of education. Particularly education that takes a world view.
I doubt Trump will do much that will improve American’s lives, but he told them what voters wanted to hear - that he will fix the economy - Harris did not do that, at least to the same level.
The stock market is strong. Inflation is way down. And employment is strong. All these are wonderdful stats and yes America’s economy is strong. However it is not being felt by households. Inflation is doewn but that does not mean prices are dropping. It means they are not shooting up as fast. Houses, insurance, travel, education, gas, groceries - are all 30-50% higher than they were 4 years ago. And wages have not kept pace. Americams are being sqeezed more than ever. So the stats may look great on paper - but the reality is Americans are poorer in real terms as wages have not kept pace with houses and consumer prices.
Why should a voter in Ohio care about grocery prices in NZ or Norway. People are not voting on global economic policy.
No one is going “I struggle with bills, my gas bill is double. I can’t afford my rent. But it’s the same in Amsterdam and Auckland, so never mind - I guess its okay”
The problem is politicians have set agendas where the rich get richer. And because they’re in that enclave - it works for them.
If you have stocks, bought a home 15 years ago and make 250k + a year - you’re doing pretty damn well in US and oz under biden or trump
I don’t know why I’m wading into this, but anyway…
We can wring our hands until doomsday (which knowing Trump will be sooner than we think ) about how the economy’s going gangbusters but voters were too stupid to see that… but that does no one any favours, least of all us (a bunch of media nerds who mostly don’t live in America, lol).
The fact is, Trump won. Big league. He won because his message cut through in a way that Harris’ didn’t. For better or worse, people bought into his talk about how tariffs would create American jobs, would bring manufacturing back to American soil, stop the fentanyl being smuggled into America.
Meanwhile what did Harris have to say on the economy? Some nonsense about protecting black men’s crypto investments. Jeez, no wonder she lost. I hate to say this as Trump is a nutcase, senile, vile. But his campaign was very focused, had very strong messaging.
Never mind that any sane economist would tell you that tariffs just don’t work. The average voter doesn’t know or understand this. They don’t have the time, or the inclination, to research effective economic policy. And why should they? It’s a representative democracy, not a direct democracy - like it or not, we trust politicians to do that research, and make decisions for us. And the American public on the whole clearly trusts Trump and his team more than Harris and co.
The dow, S&P and Nasdaq serged the day after his win - 3% in one day. It was a straight line up. The biggest one day rise in years. The business community and people who have a lot in 401k stand to do well under Trump.
But as others have already said, the economy might be good on paper, but it isn’t good for the average working class voter. The stock market might be at record highs and unemployment back down, but that doesn’t mean a lot for the average person. Thry are, quite rightly, focused on their grocery shop, their energy and fuel costs, their insurance bill, and how their wage doesn’t go as far as it did. That’s the reality of the economy for a lot of people and it isn’t stupidity for them to vote based on that.
Maybe. But I’d rather hear from Harris herself about where they went wrong rather than those that work from her. From all accounts they are still planning on running again in 2028 and running for the governor in 2026. So they kind of need to be upbeat and positive. If you start drawing on the negatives it isn’t going to sell it to the voter.
Look at trump he still hasn’t admitted to even losing an election and that worked for him.
And not to sound like them but they did turn the unwinable election into a close election.
It’s not that they should “care”, but they should understand that global issues will have an impact on their own economy that are not always easy to fix. They should be intelligent enough to know that sometimes there are no magic fixes to some economic issues.
If you asked most people in the street in Australia they would at least understand that inflation is a global issue at the moment. I think if you asked most Maga nuts they wouldn’t even know that. If they’re gullible enough to think Trump can wave a magic wand and fix these problems for them, then they’re idiots.
It’s also crazy to me that Americans are prepared to piss and moan about the “economy” and the government, but won’t acknowledge the real cause of their misery - big business and corporations who refuse to pay living wages and have the government in their pocket, ensuring things like health care can never be affordable. They are even stupid enough to attack governments for trying to make health care more affordable and accessible, labelling it “socialised medicine” like that’s a bad thing!
And they think a big business nepo baby like Trump will save them…There’s gullible, then there’s insanity.
The S&P is up 49% under Biden’s presidency. You’d think most Americans might have noticed that in their 401ks
Since the initial 3% surge following the election the S&P has barely gone anywhere, and the Nasdaq is lower. Most markets get an initial sugar hit when there’s a decisive election win, regardless of who wins.
Regardless, stock markets are a crazy way to assess a government - especially in the short term, being only a matter of weeks!