Can Harris Convince Voters She's Better Than Trump on This Top Issue?
Can Harris Convince Voters She's Better Than Trump on This Top Issue?
The US economy, contrary to conventional wisdom, is the 'envy of the world' – so why don't Americans agree?
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has the highest batting average, .331, in Major League Baseball. That represents one hit every three times he comes to the plate.
But it also means Witt makes an out two out of every three times. Put that way, even someone more successful than all the other hitters doesn’t sound all that successful.
That’s a bit like our campaign 2024 discussion of the economy.
As has been the case for decades, millions of Americans live in poverty. Millions struggle to pay bills for housing, gas, and groceries. The richest 10% hold 67% of all household wealth, according to Federal Reserve data, while the bottom 50% hold just 2.5%.
Media reports about the economy reflect polls showing a sour mood. Fewer than one in three people in the US consider the economy good or excellent; about six in 10 disapprove of President Joe Biden’s economic stewardship.
Yet the US economy has outperformed other countries so much since the pandemic that it’s the “Envy of the World,” as a Wall Street Journal headline declared earlier this year. Inflation has fallen. Wages have risen. Unemployment remains near 50-year lows with uninterrupted output growth – the “soft landing” economists have hoped for.
So by the standards of recent history and the US’ global peers, our economy has thrived. You might even say it’s leading the league.
“The US is the global engine of growth,” concludes Moody’s economist Mark Zandi. “The typical American is doing well, and has done incredibly well.”
Election-Year Conundrum
In the close race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the disconnect between economic conditions and political opinion represents an election-year conundrum. If the top issue for voters really is “the economy, stupid,” in James Carville’s famous 1992 dictum, the incumbent vice president ought to hold a stronger hand than she does. So, why doesn’t she?