The last time this happened, voters didn’t credit Bill Clinton. That may be a bad omen, or a good one.
If the stock market chose presidents, Joe Biden would be a shoo-in for reelection in 2024. The market rallied this month amid growing optimism about the economy, with the S&P 500 zooming 1.9 percent Tuesday on news that the consumer price index rose only 3.2 percent in October (compared to 3.7 percent in September). Stocks rallied again Wednesday on news that the producer price index fell 0.5 percent. Commentators are no longer debating whether the economy will experience a “soft landing” (i.e., a reduction in inflation without recession). The only question now is when it will arrive. The S&P 500 seems to have decided it’s already here.
But the stock market doesn’t choose presidents. Voters do, and polls continue to show they think the economy is in terrible shape. A Financial Times–Michigan Ross Nationwide Survey conducted November 2–7 is absolutely brutal on this point.
The economy is not even close to being the main priority for me when I vote. I’m pissed about things like Roe and Jan 6.
And I’m pissed that the US does not offer universal healthcare, universal college-level education, universal PTO, universal family leave, etc.
You know, basic things in every other developed country in this world.
Zero chance I’m ever voting for a Republican. Democrats down the ballot for me.
I’m voting D too for the time being, but the Dems are never going to give us those things either.
The best Dems will offer is BS like means-tested limited family leave if you work for 3 years in an underprivileged school district first and then apply for a special program that will offset 25.7% of your lost wages via tax credits that can only be applied to the first $34,000 of income including HSA contributions but crediting back via deduction the first $500 spent on diapers as long as the diapers were 70% manufactured in the US blah blah blah
This Democratic party does not want universal healthcare. At best, they will grudgingly support universal “access” to healthcare. They do not want universal free college, nor free PTO, because that runs counter to the interests of their largest donors.
The best we can say about the current Democratic party is that they will, at times, pause the active arson that the GOP is inflicting on this country… maybe, sort of. They could have added DC and PR as states in the 2021-2022 session and given themselves a fighting chance in the Senate, but I guess they just kinda forgot to get around to it.
They exist to be a placeholder for whenever the GOP loses power, and a continuous fundraising lifestyle brand the rest of the time.
I don’t think that’s true. Lots of Dems support Medicare for All, which would be a good step in the right direction toward universal healthcare.
I also see the Biden admin do everything it can to get as much student loan relief as possible. But they are blocked at every turn by Republicans and Trump’s Supreme Court. I appreciate Biden’s efforts.
They also attempted to instate family leave and a child credit during covid. Again blocked by Republicans.
I hope to see them continue their attempts and hopefully succeed sooner rather than later.
I think most Democratic party voters want universal healthcare. I think most Democratic party politicians do not.
I don’t think cynicism will bring us any further. I believe it can be done if we vote for people who share the vision. And there are lots of people who share that vision.
But, of course, it’s not going to happen if people end up voting for someone else on election day because “gas prices are a little high for my taste right now.”
The best bet is to vote for enough progressive democrats that will support ranked choice voting and we get it. Once that happens we can build actual progressive platforms and parties but as it sits your not going to change the foundation of the democrat or republican parties. We need new ones and for the time being the democrats are allowing us to vote in more younger progressives and that may be the ticket to finally getting out of the US’s trapped two party system.