Polls Suggest That Dems Are Weak On the Economy Despite Data Otherwise
By Norman Franklin
Norman Franklin
Conservative Republicans hold that their policies and governance is what is best for the economy, best for the economic vitality of America. They have been very effective in marketing that perspective.
We are a polarized nation. Each camp is subjected to a constricted flow of information that shapes their perception on the issues. It’s social constructionism. Reality is constructed through social interaction. Those in the divided camps only interact with like-minded people. They only listen to the news networks and consider data that confirms their bias. Even when presented with factual data, the information is interpreted in a way that confirms their pre-existing beliefs.
An ABC/Ipsos poll found that more Americans trust Former President Trump to handle the economy and inflation. The economy and inflation are the two top voter issues in the November election.
It is doubtful that the average survey participant had a comprehensive grasp of what comprises the economy. There are five sectors that play a crucial role; these are necessary metrics when determining economic health.
They are the Primary Sector – raw material extraction (agriculture, mining, fishing); Secondary Sector – manufacturing and construction; Tertiary Sector – services (retail, healthcare, finance, education, transportation); Quaternary Sector – knowledge-based activities (R&D, IT, education, transportation); Quinary Sector – high-level decision-making (government, corporate leadership).
Jobs are central to the success of each sector.
The extreme conservative camp labels all network news as fake. Their chosen news and information sources, however, lacks credibility.
AI is the best source of unbiased data; it doesn’t lean blue or red.
I asked AI to analyze unemployment, wage growth, income inequality, poverty rates and job creation under Republican and Democrat administrations from 1980 to the present.
Unemployment under Democratic administrations, particularly Clinton and Obama, saw declining rates after initially inheriting higher rates of unemployment from Republican administrations.
Wage growth has been stronger during Democratic administrations. Clinton and Biden boost greater growth.
Income inequality increased under both parties; however, there were sharp increases resulting from Reagan’s and George W. Bush’s policies.
Poverty rates experienced greater reduction during Democratic administrations, particularly during times of economic expansion.
Tax cuts are implemented to stimulate economic growth, increase consumer spending, and encourage business investment. There are other intended benefits, but these are the essential infrastructure of tax cut policies.
Reagan, the quintessential Republican, and Trump, the greatest Republican in the history of America, both implemented top-heavy tax cuts; the premise being that the wealthy, and corporations will invest the tax savings, stimulate growth and the resulting benefits trickling down through the economic strata.
The tax cuts are to pay for themselves, benefit the middle class, the poor, and reduce the deficit over the long-term. It’s theory, twice tried, twice failed.
Both rounds of tax cuts contributed to short-term economic growth; Reagan’s increased deficits and income inequality, Trump’s resulted in increases in business investments, corporate profits, stock market gains, and a substantial growth in the deficit.
The deficit rose from $74 billion in 1980 to $221 billion in 1986. The Trump tax cuts grew the deficit from $585 billion in 2016 to nearly $1 trillion in pre-covid 2019.
Job creation of Republican and Democratic administrations from Reagan to Biden is strikingly different. Total jobs created under Republicans, 22.7 million over four administrations: Democrats, over three administrations, 47.5 million.
The data don’t lie. Perception is subjective and, therefore, misleading. Allow the facts to challenge, and, change pre-existing beliefs. Perception is a false version of reality.