Helped the country defy recession expectations, which were practically universal. Our economy overall is the strongest in the world by far. Yet, the Biden admin not only gets no credit for the strong economy - could very well turn out to be immigration which defeats him.

Perception matters more than reality in politics. On immigration, I think the main problem is chaos. That’s been a joint venture by dems and repubs - dems didn’t think things all the way through during three years of back burnuring it, and chaos at the border spread nationally with a giant assist from some repub guvs. Before we just bitch and moan about media and spin, we have to note that immigration is straining democracy worldwide, fueling rwnj populism. The goal should be the immigration without the chaos. I fully agree that this year, repubs opted for chaos to boost their campaign prospects.

On the economy, people are pissed things cost more after more than 15 yrs of no inflation. They hear “moderating inflation” and expect “moderating prices”. And they don’t allow for the fact that 15-16 years of worry about deflation plus a few recent years of very high inflation equals avg annualized inflation of not much above that 2% bogie.

People vote their perceptions.

[Post edited by hoolstoptheheels at 04/20/2024 09:00AM]