The chart above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between August 26th and 29th of a nationwide sample of 1,500 adults (including 1,303 registered voters). The margin of error for adults is 3.2 points, and for registered voters is 3.1 points.
It shows that a clear majority (54% of adults and 53% of registered voters) believes the economy is getting worse. I can understand why Republicans would think that. They don't think the economy can do well unless a Republican is in the White House. But it's not just Republicans -- 63% of Independents and 26% of Democrats also think the economy is getting worse. This flies in the face of the facts.
The truth is the economy is actually doing very well, and getting better. The unemployment rate is below 4%, and has been for many months now. Inflation is falling, and has been for several months now. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is strong, and it looks now like the economy will avoid a recession any time soon. Business profits are up as consumer spending remains strong. Even the Stock Market remains strong and investors are harvesting nice profits.
Those are all the marks of a strong economy. So, why do most Americans think the economy is getting worse?
It's because too many in both the working and middle classes are not getting to share in the improving economy. While the rich are getting much richer, the working and middle classes are struggling just to keep up with inflation (even a smaller inflation).
The problem started back in 1980, when the Republicans were able to seize enough power to change economic policy. Before then, a rise in productivity was shared among most Americans -- even the poor, who saw more generous government programs. The Republicans changed that. They tilted the economic playing field to favor the rich and corporations.
Since then the rich have done very well (with their income rising over 300%) and so have the corporations (with most seeing record profits). They said the increasing wealth of the rich and corporations would trickle down and benefit everyone, but that didn't happen. While the rich got fatter bank accounts, nothing trickled down.
This "trickle-down" economic policy of the GOP has been a spectacular failure for most Americans. It has created a very unequal society, with the gap between the rich and the rest of Americans growing even larger than it was before the Great Depression.
The economy is good, and growing. But it doesn't look like it to many Americans because they are not sharing in the growing national wealth. To them, it looks like the economy is getting worse, because their own economic situation is getting worse.
It doesn't have to be this way. Democrats want to do things to make the economic system fairer.
They want to raise the minimum wage to a livable wage. This would not only help those at the bottom, but would put upward pressure on all wages.
They want to make it easier to form a labor union, because the only way workers can have a say in productivity is to band together. Unions created the American middle class and could once again increase it.
They want to make the rich pay their fair share of income taxes. It's just wrong that many, if not most, of the rich pay a smaller percentage of their income in taxes than most in the middle class. That must be fixed.
There is more that could be done, but just doing these three things would help most Americans, and make the society much fairer.
Sadly, GOP politicians oppose all three. That is why they must be voted out of office in the next election!
