The last time this happened, voters didn’t credit Bill Clinton. That may be a bad omen, or a good one.
If the stock market chose presidents, Joe Biden would be a shoo-in for reelection in 2024. The market rallied this month amid growing optimism about the economy, with the S&P 500 zooming 1.9 percent Tuesday on news that the consumer price index rose only 3.2 percent in October (compared to 3.7 percent in September). Stocks rallied again Wednesday on news that the producer price index fell 0.5 percent. Commentators are no longer debating whether the economy will experience a “soft landing” (i.e., a reduction in inflation without recession). The only question now is when it will arrive. The S&P 500 seems to have decided it’s already here.
But the stock market doesn’t choose presidents. Voters do, and polls continue to show they think the economy is in terrible shape. A Financial Times–Michigan Ross Nationwide Survey conducted November 2–7 is absolutely brutal on this point.
A quick glance at his profile should be all you need to know that facts aren’t going to change his opinions.
Not because he’s one of the usual fascists, reactionaries, or idiots, but because chances are he’s a neoliberal, groomed from birth to defend the rich.
It’s unlikely he’ll actually admit it, because the piss-covered graves of Thatcher and Reagan made it clear it was best to stay mask on. Instead they communicate through dog-whistles, flashing just enough of their bullshit theories like “trickle down economics” and “deregulation is better for everyone” to let other neoliberals know the feeding trough will soon open and filled with other people’s money.
The giveaway is that whenever he decides to be critical of other peoples opinions, they’re almost always opinions that are a threat to someones profits.
People upset about the spiralling cost of living while the executives of the companies milking them for every cent get multi-million dollar bonuses? They just don’t understand economics.
Whistleblowers exposing the horrific animal abuse thats rife within the multi-billion dollar meat industry? They’re just petty criminals.
It’s the game they’ve all been taught to play. You’re allowed to tussle for market share (such as the “left wing” and “right wing” media empires and political parties) but you’re never, ever to tolerate a genuine threat to the systems they’ve built.
The moment a politician suggests making the rich pay their share, all of these “competitors” suddenly unify with a class solidarity we can only dream of.
Which is a lot of words to call out a single person living in his greedy little bubble, but it’s important that people are able to identity neoliberalism in the wild, because its well on its way to killing us all.