Remember the sign James Carville put up in Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign headquarters? It read, "It's the economy, stupid!" It still is. If Democrats want to obsess over Donald Trump until Hell freezes over, then let them; they'll be totally missing the point.
"There are three kinds of lies; lies, damned lies, and statistics." This aphorism, credited to various people, is nonetheless accurate. And I can prove that Federal Government statisticians are VERY accomplished liars. Source: John Williams' Shadow Government Statistics. www.shadowstats.com
1. Unemployment (Lie 1): The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the November unemployment rate at 4.2%. However, If you compute unemployment including long term "discouraged workers", those unemployed for more than 102 consecutive weeks, who were no longer counted beginning in 1994, the unemployment rate becomes 24.2% http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts This may be too high, but it's probably closer to the real truth.
2. Inflation (Lie 2): The official November Consumer Price Index shows a rate of 7.6%. That's bad enough, but using the methodology used in 1990, that rate becomes close to 10%; using the 1980 computation, almost 15%. http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts
3. Labor Force Participation Rate: This is the number of civilians ages 18-64 who are either employed or actively looking for work. In November 2001, that rate was 66.7% In November 2021, it's fallen to 61.8% https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm And remember, the population in November 2021 is quite a bit larger than it was 20 years ago.
Carville was right; It really IS the economy, stupid! And Republicans need to own up to their role in helping to put us in this position, point out that Democrats have yet to do so, and propose growth oriented policies which wil get the economy growing again (Growth rate now is back at about 2%/year (https://www.bea.gov/news/glance ); growth must be much higher to allow us to deal with the $6 TRILLION of new debt we've piled on in Fiscal Year 2021, which doesn't include the debt we'd add were the Build Back Broker boondoggle passed). Doing this can electorally obliterate the left for all time. Or to paraphrase Lincoln, let the people know the lies, and the country will be saved.
Sorry for all the charts and stuff, but this needs to be told; I'll let some better man make it simpler to understand.
P.P.S. Another measure of inflation which is more accurate is the Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks what producers of goods are charging their FIRST purchasers (usually wholesalers). That index is backward looking; that is, it shows what has already happened. However, it can serve as an indication of eventual retail inflation trends. The October 2021 PPI is up 8.6%, and I won't be at all surprised if the November figure, which is out Tuesday, shows an even greater increase. https://www.bls.gov/charts/producer-price-index/final-demand-12-month-percent-change.htm
So when are the Republicans and Trump going to stop talking about the Democrats, the stolen election, CRT, and abortion like they were the big issues. When are they going to start spending 80% of their air time on opening the economy by reducing regulations, restarting pipeline construction, and reducing Covid restrictions; getting education back to normal by opening all schools, reducing mask restrictions in schools, and requiring teachers to teach the basic subjects; reducing inflation by slowing government spending and increasing the value of the dollar. If those are the issues people care about, they should focus most of their time on them. Maybe we should all send a copy of this article to every Republican who is up for re-election.
What you have touched on is framing the message. Most people are concrete thinkers, abstract thinking is more rare.
What people care about is what they have to interact with every day, and it's pretty much binary. Does "this" cause me stress and difficulty, or is this easy and I don't mind.
I posit liberal progressive policies are the root cause of most of what people deal with that they don't like.
The problem is the left is able to obfuscate, deflect, project the results of their failed policies onto Republicans. By design. Democrats believe in government, the government educates the children. Therefore for many, less government cannot be problem. In fact rejecting progressive liberal policies is the problem.
The message has to connect the cause, liberal progressive policies, to the affect of what makes life more difficult every day.
It is necessary to call out the "issue", but also to connect the "and this is why" dot.
Continued mask mandates and the gnashing of teeth over COVID is a direct result of the Karens that believe in Government. And just as criticizing Fauci is criticizing science, criticizing Karens is criticizing the god Government.
This is what passes for critical thinking in the mind of a liberal.
I voted for Trump both times but I'm hoping he doesn't run again in 2024. I feel Trump's time has come and gone, and we would be best served with someone else at the top of the ticket. Just as you pointed out, the media is still frothing at the mouth with TDS. Furthermore, I wish him the best but I don't think he should pursue the office just so he can continue his vendetta for a lost election. America does not need or deserve the kind of distraction this would bring to our country.
Yes I am very concerned about the price of everything. But, I am also sooooo tired of race getting thrown into the mix of everything and the media and the politicians are responsible. Why can't we just be Americans?
Because the left is absolutely obsessed with race, since they have successfully used it in the past as a wedge issue. That things were never as bad as the left made them seem, and that people are starting to see through the curtain, is largely irrelevant so long as Democrats believe that their bottomless deck of race cards can still be played to positive effect.
Eric, I really want to believe what you wrote is true. It was encouraging what happened in Virginia. However, it seems to me that what you write really is only true in Red and possibly Purple states. With all of the issues people in California face (extremely high taxes, high gas and food prices, homeless pooping on the streets, rampant crime, no cash bail, $900 threshold for shoplifting arrests, I could go on and on) I really thought Larry Elder had a good chance of winning. Nope....Gavin Newsome escaped the recall easily...it was not even close. This same situation is also true in Baltimore, New York, Portland, Chicago, Philadelphia, and most major cities in the U.S. If voters really cared about food availability, gas prices, education, cost of living, etc. these areas would vote Republican instead of constantly voting for Democrats that never get anything done but line their pockets.
Yes thank you Erick. Voters are still concerned with the issues but with prioritizing importance first. Nice to be able to afford gas and groceries to feed their families. Nice to not get murdered while minding their own business. And so on!
It is amazing to me how much the media is still obsessing over Trump. He was a good president, in my opinion, but he isn't president now. No amount of litigating or arguing is going to change the outcome of the 2020 election. It is time for conservative voters to unite behind a candidate that is looking ahead for the good of our country.
Remember the sign James Carville put up in Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign headquarters? It read, "It's the economy, stupid!" It still is. If Democrats want to obsess over Donald Trump until Hell freezes over, then let them; they'll be totally missing the point.
You wrote, "What this means is that fewer people have been laid off and in search of work in the last week than at any time since 1969. The problem is there are still a lot of people out there who are looking for jobs. But even that number, at least it's trending in the right direction." Let me assure you, Erick, that not only is the economy trending in the wrong direction, But it's every bit as possible, and maybe more so, that the U.S. will experience a true sovereign debt crisis (https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-a-sovereign-debt-crisis-with-examples-3305748#:~:text=Sovereign%20Debt%20Crisis%20With%20Examples%201%20Greek%20Debt,3%20U.S.%20...%204%20Iceland%20Debt%20Crisis.%20 ) and the loss of the dollar's status as the world reserve currency within the next 24 months. Let me explain:
"There are three kinds of lies; lies, damned lies, and statistics." This aphorism, credited to various people, is nonetheless accurate. And I can prove that Federal Government statisticians are VERY accomplished liars. Source: John Williams' Shadow Government Statistics. www.shadowstats.com
1. Unemployment (Lie 1): The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the November unemployment rate at 4.2%. However, If you compute unemployment including long term "discouraged workers", those unemployed for more than 102 consecutive weeks, who were no longer counted beginning in 1994, the unemployment rate becomes 24.2% http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts This may be too high, but it's probably closer to the real truth.
2. Inflation (Lie 2): The official November Consumer Price Index shows a rate of 7.6%. That's bad enough, but using the methodology used in 1990, that rate becomes close to 10%; using the 1980 computation, almost 15%. http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/inflation-charts
3. Labor Force Participation Rate: This is the number of civilians ages 18-64 who are either employed or actively looking for work. In November 2001, that rate was 66.7% In November 2021, it's fallen to 61.8% https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm And remember, the population in November 2021 is quite a bit larger than it was 20 years ago.
Carville was right; It really IS the economy, stupid! And Republicans need to own up to their role in helping to put us in this position, point out that Democrats have yet to do so, and propose growth oriented policies which wil get the economy growing again (Growth rate now is back at about 2%/year (https://www.bea.gov/news/glance ); growth must be much higher to allow us to deal with the $6 TRILLION of new debt we've piled on in Fiscal Year 2021, which doesn't include the debt we'd add were the Build Back Broker boondoggle passed). Doing this can electorally obliterate the left for all time. Or to paraphrase Lincoln, let the people know the lies, and the country will be saved.
Sorry for all the charts and stuff, but this needs to be told; I'll let some better man make it simpler to understand.
P.P.S. Another measure of inflation which is more accurate is the Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks what producers of goods are charging their FIRST purchasers (usually wholesalers). That index is backward looking; that is, it shows what has already happened. However, it can serve as an indication of eventual retail inflation trends. The October 2021 PPI is up 8.6%, and I won't be at all surprised if the November figure, which is out Tuesday, shows an even greater increase. https://www.bls.gov/charts/producer-price-index/final-demand-12-month-percent-change.htm
👍👍👍
So when are the Republicans and Trump going to stop talking about the Democrats, the stolen election, CRT, and abortion like they were the big issues. When are they going to start spending 80% of their air time on opening the economy by reducing regulations, restarting pipeline construction, and reducing Covid restrictions; getting education back to normal by opening all schools, reducing mask restrictions in schools, and requiring teachers to teach the basic subjects; reducing inflation by slowing government spending and increasing the value of the dollar. If those are the issues people care about, they should focus most of their time on them. Maybe we should all send a copy of this article to every Republican who is up for re-election.
What you have touched on is framing the message. Most people are concrete thinkers, abstract thinking is more rare.
What people care about is what they have to interact with every day, and it's pretty much binary. Does "this" cause me stress and difficulty, or is this easy and I don't mind.
I posit liberal progressive policies are the root cause of most of what people deal with that they don't like.
The problem is the left is able to obfuscate, deflect, project the results of their failed policies onto Republicans. By design. Democrats believe in government, the government educates the children. Therefore for many, less government cannot be problem. In fact rejecting progressive liberal policies is the problem.
The message has to connect the cause, liberal progressive policies, to the affect of what makes life more difficult every day.
It is necessary to call out the "issue", but also to connect the "and this is why" dot.
Continued mask mandates and the gnashing of teeth over COVID is a direct result of the Karens that believe in Government. And just as criticizing Fauci is criticizing science, criticizing Karens is criticizing the god Government.
This is what passes for critical thinking in the mind of a liberal.
I voted for Trump both times but I'm hoping he doesn't run again in 2024. I feel Trump's time has come and gone, and we would be best served with someone else at the top of the ticket. Just as you pointed out, the media is still frothing at the mouth with TDS. Furthermore, I wish him the best but I don't think he should pursue the office just so he can continue his vendetta for a lost election. America does not need or deserve the kind of distraction this would bring to our country.
P.S. Reinstituting the Trump energy policy and ending America's lockdown fetish would help mightily.
Yes I am very concerned about the price of everything. But, I am also sooooo tired of race getting thrown into the mix of everything and the media and the politicians are responsible. Why can't we just be Americans?
Because the left is absolutely obsessed with race, since they have successfully used it in the past as a wedge issue. That things were never as bad as the left made them seem, and that people are starting to see through the curtain, is largely irrelevant so long as Democrats believe that their bottomless deck of race cards can still be played to positive effect.
Eric, I really want to believe what you wrote is true. It was encouraging what happened in Virginia. However, it seems to me that what you write really is only true in Red and possibly Purple states. With all of the issues people in California face (extremely high taxes, high gas and food prices, homeless pooping on the streets, rampant crime, no cash bail, $900 threshold for shoplifting arrests, I could go on and on) I really thought Larry Elder had a good chance of winning. Nope....Gavin Newsome escaped the recall easily...it was not even close. This same situation is also true in Baltimore, New York, Portland, Chicago, Philadelphia, and most major cities in the U.S. If voters really cared about food availability, gas prices, education, cost of living, etc. these areas would vote Republican instead of constantly voting for Democrats that never get anything done but line their pockets.
Maybe they really don't care about these things. I know that they had damned well better start caring; the alternative doesn't bear contemplating.
Yes thank you Erick. Voters are still concerned with the issues but with prioritizing importance first. Nice to be able to afford gas and groceries to feed their families. Nice to not get murdered while minding their own business. And so on!
Thanks for the reset, Erick. I needed that.🎄
It is amazing to me how much the media is still obsessing over Trump. He was a good president, in my opinion, but he isn't president now. No amount of litigating or arguing is going to change the outcome of the 2020 election. It is time for conservative voters to unite behind a candidate that is looking ahead for the good of our country.