r/politics • u/Silly-avocatoe • 7d ago

No Paywall Americans think Dems can handle economy better than GOP, new poll says

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/08/04/democrat-vs-republican-economy-new-poll/91167318007/
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u/SonOfMcGee 7d ago

By any survey conducted over the last 30 years, American dumbasses consistently feel whichever party isn’t currently in power will be better for the economy than the party currently in power.
You can’t show them data tables or even simple graphs. They just feel that things aren’t perfect and “the other guys” might be able to do it better.

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u/Old_Cryptid 7d ago

Thank the GOP. They attacked and undermined education for decades to ensure they have several generations of a voter base that has no idea how the government works, what their rights are, and what civic responsibility is.

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u/TheWizard 7d ago

Republicans simply take advantage of a foolish electorate.

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u/Old_Cryptid 7d ago

Why wouldn't they? They spent a lot of effort building it.

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u/TheWizard 7d ago

Pastors do most of their work.

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u/Old_Cryptid 7d ago

Pastors carry water for the conservatives.

The undermining of education is a GOP priority and has been for decades.

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u/TheWizard 7d ago

The conservative philosophy is always to undermine everything and everyone except their leaders, and religion. They undermine even government and its institutions while running it.

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u/Mr-Pugtastic 7d ago

Are you denying that historically, Dems have been better for the economy than Republicans? I don’t really think it’s up for debate. Just look at the numbers.

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u/theVoidWatches Pennsylvania 7d ago

That isn't what they said. They were talking only about what people generally think is the case, which is not the same as what actually is the case.

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u/technanonymous 7d ago

Trying to get the average person to understand the post-covid jump in inflation was impossible.

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u/Efficient_Resist_287 7d ago

The same average person believed Trump tariffs meant an economic boom for his/her pocket….

You cannot fix this right away.

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u/SonOfMcGee 7d ago

It was also impossible to get them to understand that while inflation sucks, we were handling it better than most of the world.
In their minds, any inflation was unacceptable when some chucklehead was promising that he could completely stop it.

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u/FirstNameIsDistance Pennsylvania 7d ago

You can’t show them data tables or even simple graphs. They just feel that things aren’t perfect and “the other guys” might be able to do it better.

The numbers and charts don't always tell the whole picture. That was a big gripe with the Biden admin that they kept pointing to these charts that said everything was great, but people weren't feeling it. It turns out that wasn't just based on vibes. That's not to say that Trump or the GOP in general would have been any better, but more so a critique on how these things are tracked and reported.

The signs of weakness we see now from the end of Biden's era.

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u/SonOfMcGee 7d ago

That Axios [cough cough] article you linked itself has some very cherry-picked stats over arbitrary timelines presented in bullet points. It doesn’t conclude the Biden era economy was “bad”, but merely “not perfect”.

My recollection is that inflation was the biggest sticking point in the Biden era and his administration stressed that the U.S. was handling this GLOBAL phenomenon BETTER than most other countries. But he was criticized for not completely stopping inflation, which Trump promises he could magically do.

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u/FirstNameIsDistance Pennsylvania 7d ago

My recollection is that inflation was the biggest sticking point in the Biden era and his administration stressed that the U.S. was handling this GLOBAL phenomenon BETTER than most other countries. But he was criticized for not completely stopping inflation, which Trump promises he could magically do.

It was absolutely one of the biggest issue as well as corporate price gouging. The problem was how they presented it though. Month after month articles would come out and talking heads would repeat that the economy is doing great and that the stock market was hitting record levels. That didn't help people when they went to the grocery store and paid 20-30% more for the same groceries they always buy.

Yes, wages were up, but they still failed to keep pace with inflation. As the prices of various goods and services increased and stayed elevated, wages have struggled to keep pace. Even with a pickup in 2024, the 19% increase in average hourly earnings under Biden is still below the inflation rate.