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The Economy? Stupid! (EP.62)
Summary
"The economy, stupid", was the winning phrase James Carville coined as a campaign strategist in Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against sitting president George H. W. Bush. This outlined the winning strategy; other “mission statement” slogans, including options like focusing on change vs. more of the same, and social issues including healthcare lost out. Good thing; it defeated a sitting president.
Links and References
Economics 101
Economics Definitions
Contact
Please do reach out with comments or questions. You can email me at [email protected], or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
And you can subscribe to the podcast on your favorite device through Apple Podcasts, Google, or Stitcher.
Transcript
"The economy, stupid", was the winning phrase James Carville coined as a campaign strategist in Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against then sitting president George H. W. Bush. This outlined the winning strategy; other “mission statement” slogans, including options like focusing on change vs. more of the same, or social issues including healthcare lost out. Good thing; "The economy, stupid" defeated a sitting president.
Why is the economy not again front and center in this election year? What has changed in the last 25 years.
Yes, I will answer, but first let’s look at who is responsible for this roaring economy. Barack Obama did a lot of the right things to help bring us out of the deep recession he inherited. Credit him for that rescue. After that, the economy for the next six years can be described as either “slow and steady growth” if you like what President Obama did, or “tepid” if you don’t. Donald Trump came in, signaled then implemented tax and regulatory cuts, and the economy took off. Credit him for lighting that fire. The current economy can be described as “roaring and benefiting everyone” if you like what President Trump is doing or “widening the wealth gap” if you don’t. Either way, the economy is on fire.
OK let’s repeat the question: Why is the economy not again front and center in this election year? What has changed in the last 25 years.
Answer: Fewer people believe the economy is a key part of determining their lifestyle. It is partly that many people have short-term memories, and after nine years of an improving economy a downturn may seem out of sight, and out of mind. Hey, it’s all good all the time, right? More important is the growing belief that everyone deserves at least a minimally comfortable standard of living. This expectation is married to a willful ignorance of where the money to support that largess comes from. The belief is clearly that “someone else” is responsible for creating the wealth that must be redistributed. And regardless of the state of the economy, roaring along or in deep recession, the money simply needs to be there to be given out. Ironically, the “someone else” who is being held responsible appears to consist of the disliked “1%” and corporations; “Corporations are not people!” The money this growing number of people demands be there, to be redistributed regardless of the state of the economy, needs to come from the two of the groups they hold in the lowest regard.
In addition to ignoring the state of the economy while still expecting what is “theirs”, this thinking assumes that massive expenditures on things like the environment, healthcare, and education can continue to rise all while the pool of money to be redistributed also increases. Decreasing thought--if any--is given to the engine that provides the wealth to be taxed then spent in the first place.
And that’s why the roaring economy is being virtually ignored by more and more of the electorate. They simply don’t see any necessary connection be...
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By Will LudenSummary
"The economy, stupid", was the winning phrase James Carville coined as a campaign strategist in Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against sitting president George H. W. Bush. This outlined the winning strategy; other “mission statement” slogans, including options like focusing on change vs. more of the same, and social issues including healthcare lost out. Good thing; it defeated a sitting president.
Links and References
Economics 101
Economics Definitions
Contact
Please do reach out with comments or questions. You can email me at [email protected], or connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
And you can subscribe to the podcast on your favorite device through Apple Podcasts, Google, or Stitcher.
Transcript
"The economy, stupid", was the winning phrase James Carville coined as a campaign strategist in Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against then sitting president George H. W. Bush. This outlined the winning strategy; other “mission statement” slogans, including options like focusing on change vs. more of the same, or social issues including healthcare lost out. Good thing; "The economy, stupid" defeated a sitting president.
Why is the economy not again front and center in this election year? What has changed in the last 25 years.
Yes, I will answer, but first let’s look at who is responsible for this roaring economy. Barack Obama did a lot of the right things to help bring us out of the deep recession he inherited. Credit him for that rescue. After that, the economy for the next six years can be described as either “slow and steady growth” if you like what President Obama did, or “tepid” if you don’t. Donald Trump came in, signaled then implemented tax and regulatory cuts, and the economy took off. Credit him for lighting that fire. The current economy can be described as “roaring and benefiting everyone” if you like what President Trump is doing or “widening the wealth gap” if you don’t. Either way, the economy is on fire.
OK let’s repeat the question: Why is the economy not again front and center in this election year? What has changed in the last 25 years.
Answer: Fewer people believe the economy is a key part of determining their lifestyle. It is partly that many people have short-term memories, and after nine years of an improving economy a downturn may seem out of sight, and out of mind. Hey, it’s all good all the time, right? More important is the growing belief that everyone deserves at least a minimally comfortable standard of living. This expectation is married to a willful ignorance of where the money to support that largess comes from. The belief is clearly that “someone else” is responsible for creating the wealth that must be redistributed. And regardless of the state of the economy, roaring along or in deep recession, the money simply needs to be there to be given out. Ironically, the “someone else” who is being held responsible appears to consist of the disliked “1%” and corporations; “Corporations are not people!” The money this growing number of people demands be there, to be redistributed regardless of the state of the economy, needs to come from the two of the groups they hold in the lowest regard.
In addition to ignoring the state of the economy while still expecting what is “theirs”, this thinking assumes that massive expenditures on things like the environment, healthcare, and education can continue to rise all while the pool of money to be redistributed also increases. Decreasing thought--if any--is given to the engine that provides the wealth to be taxed then spent in the first place.
And that’s why the roaring economy is being virtually ignored by more and more of the electorate. They simply don’t see any necessary connection be...