The morning after the election, a social media pundit expressed amazement that Democrat Kamala Harris had lost, noting that America is enjoying “an objectively strong economy.”
Indeed, the data shows impressive job growth, rising wages, slowing inflation, etc. – all indicators of a solid economy. Nearly every pundit hailed this as meaning Harris’s campaign could glide on rising prosperity, while focusing her main message on what a dangerous bumbling buffoon Trump is.
The problem is that “objective economic data” often deceives. For example, consider economist John Kenneth Galbraith’s sad tale of the six-foot-tall statistician who drowned crossing a stream with an average depth of two feet.
Millions of Americans are drowning in today’s economy – even workaday people with college degrees – are struggling to make ends meet and feeling pessimistic about their future. Happy talk by economists, pundits, and politicians doesn’t pay the rising bills for rent, child care, groceries, insurance, medicines, etc. Everything is moving out of reach… except a protest vote. About half of Trump voters say high prices were “the largest factor” in their vote.
Democratic Party officials were dazzled by the soaring Dow Jones Average, ignoring the Doug Jones Average, which showed that Doug and Donna are struggling, anxious, angry… and even open to a bull goose demagog blustering that he’ll “fix” the rigged system on Day One.
Few of these hard-hit men and women actually believe in, agree with, trust, or like Trump – nor are they stuck on supporting him. But they will be, unless and until some progressive party decides to side with grassroots people in an unabashed fight for economic fairness and social justice. To help push in that direction, go to WorkingFamilies.org.
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