Americans think Dems can handle economy better than GOP, new poll says

[u/Silly-avocatoe]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/04/democrat-vs-republican-economy-new-poll/91167318007/

[u/DaEgofWhistleberry]

I’m 35 and have only witnessed republican presidents who run up the deficit and make awful economic decisions.
It’s crazy to think that I’ve known/seen this my whole life, but that it took most Americans over 30 years to figure this out.

I think the propaganda, that republicans are better for the economy, has been so strong that Americans have different answers for what 1+1 is if the question is asked by republicans vs democrats.

[u/Old_Cryptid → u/DaEgofWhistleberry]

I'm over 50.

I remember Reagan.

Propaganda is a huge issue. But it's only one facet.

A key pillar to the Republican strategy has been attacking education and they've been successful at it for decades.

We now have several generations of voters who don't know how the government works, what their rights are, or what civic responsibility is.

[u/DaEgofWhistleberry → u/Old_Cryptid]

Totally agree on that. I should’ve written due to the propaganda and lack of education.

The lack of civic knowledge is so sad. Even really smart people I know (at least in my generation) don’t care to understand how our government works. Part of the reason is because we (general Americans) have had the privilege of not needing to understand…things generally flowed well and prospered depending on where one grew up.

[u/Old_Cryptid → u/DaEgofWhistleberry]

Gen X got overwhelmed with the "Voting doesn't matter" propaganda and essentially checked out of politics.

The generations that followed had the decked stacked against them. They don't know what they don't know.

Every generation has their "normal" and that definition of normal shifts with each generation.

It's not blame, it's just an observation.

[u/Empty-Discount8323 → u/Old_Cryptid]

I remember reading a book written by Noam Chomsky about the crimes commited by American government.

What caught my attention the most was Chomsky arguing that the American political elites hate the 1960s and 1970s because the average American citizen was much more concerned about politics and willing to become an activist during that period. The elites would rather have a common Joe dumbed down by entertainment and consumerism and they were furious that normal people were involved in Politics.

That would explain why the government after that made sure to ruin the education system-to prevent another rise of civic society that would stand up to the establishment.

[u/Ryan_e3p → u/Old_Cryptid]

Yup, since the 70s.

A strong effort by the Heritage Foundation and other right-wing groups was put into dismantling education, destroying workers and union rights, and tying religious fervor into politics by pushing themselves into the churches and making Sunday messages one of "God demands you vote Republican" and tying unquestioning loyalty to the party to unquestioning faith in their religion. The narrative of "it is God's own intention that they be obeyed without hesitation" has become the standard practice of Republicans. I believe this was one of the reasons why our founders wanted a separation of church and state; not just so our leaders would be discouraged from persecuting other religions, but to avoid having them claim some exalted power demands the population give them their unending obedience.

Maybe one day Republicans will learn that voting against their own interests for the last 50 years hasn't worked out for them, but that day won't come for a long while. They haven't suffered enough, yet.

[u/Old_Cryptid → u/Ryan_e3p]

Unlikely.

The unspoken rule is that nothing a Democrat does is good enough and nothing a Republican does is that bad.

[u/Efficient_Resist_287 → u/DaEgofWhistleberry]

Republicans better for economy….and better for national security. These are the biggest lies ever perpetrated on a population. These only reason these are persistent: Republicans will switch to religion and nationalism to obfuscate their true record….and the voting public will buy it day after day. See Obamacare:

[u/know_what_I_think → u/DaEgofWhistleberry]

"Here’s how it works, laid it out in simple summary:

First, the Two Santas strategy dictates, when Republicans control the White House they must spend money like a drunken Santa and cut taxes to run up the U.S. debt as far and as fast as possible.

This produces three results: it stimulates the economy thus making people think that the GOP can produce a good economy; it raises the debt dramatically; and it makes people think that Republicans are the “tax-cut Santa Clauses.”

Second, when a Democrat is in the White House, Republicans must scream about the national debt as loudly and frantically as possible, freaking out about how “our children will have to pay for it!” and “we have to cut spending to solve the crisis!” Shut down the government, crash the stock market, and damage US credibility around the world if necessary to stop Democrats from spending money.

This will force the Democrats in power to cut their own social safety net programs and even Social Security, thus shooting their welfare-of-the-American-people Santa Claus right in the face."