It's The Economy, Stupid
Yesterday’s grossly misreported abortion ruling out of Arizona has Republicans panicked that the baby-snuffers on the left are going to manufacture outrage and defeat Republicans in November. Just last night ABC, CBS, and NBC chose to lead their primetime news hours with abortion coverage instead of imminent threats to Israel, or the US economy’s deepening inflation problems.
Guys, please take a deep breath.
Anytime abortion is in the news, it inevitably generates the most passionate abortion supporters on the left to engage with politics in a visceral way that is dutifully covered by the media. But the issue that supersedes this is an economy that Joe Biden tells Americans is good, but their lived experience says otherwise.
Consider these facts: 8 million+ Americans are working multiple jobs to keep food on the table. Homeownership is at its least affordable point since the inflation crisis of the 70s. Car insurance and eldercare hit record price increases within the past two months. United Way’s ALICE framework says that a record 36 million American households are at risk of falling into poverty due to the affordability crisis.
If Republicans want to win in November, it’s not complicated. They need to focus on the economy. Watch:
Wish Erick's title were true, but can't help thinking, "It's the ballot harvesting, stupid."
I'm closer to 64 than 63. I've been retired since August of 2020 (at age 60) after working full-time since age 22. (Had I still been working during the period of highest gas prices,I wouldn't have been able to afford to commute.)
My wife draws Social Security, as does our Special Needs daughter. We made a concious decision to use some of my retirement to pay off our credit cards, so we have no credit card debt. I used a bit more of my retirement to set up a monthly annuity payment and started drawing Social Security early to give us some breathing room.
Luckily, our vehicles (average age: 18+) are paid off. Due to my wife's age, we are exempt from school taxes, which dropped our property tax bill by 2/3 and our mortgage payment (@ 3.125%) by nearly $150/month.
My pension has a COLA adjustment every six months.. Social Security adjusts (I think) once a year. But that just catches us back to even. We saved, did without, planned and made difficult decisions and still can't get ahead in today's Biden economy.
So when I hear Biden saying "We've got the best economy in the world" I think, "The economies of the world must REALLY suck."
Biden often says, "Don't compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative." For all his (numerous) faults and flaws, the 'Alternative' looks pretty dang good.