I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
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The graduate should use that iron to bash that misogynist in the head and knock some sense into him. Great memes that strike home.
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Opinion Nearly everything Americans believe about the economy is wrong
Catherine Rampell/Washington Post
Nearly everything Americans believe about the economy is wrong, according to a recent Harris-Guardian poll. And that’s pretty much everyone’s fault.
The poll, conducted earlier this month, found that perceptions of the U.S. economy are often at odds with reality. For instance, most Americans (55 percent) think the economy is shrinking, with about the same share saying we’re in a recession.
In reality, the U.S. economy has been growing consistently for nearly two years, even after accounting for inflation. By virtually every benchmark, in fact, we’re exceeding growth expectations. The U.S. economy has been outperforming other advanced economies. We’re also doing better than pre-pandemic forecasts had situated us by now, both in terms of gross domestic product and the number of jobs out there. This generally isn’t true elsewhere in the world.
The poll also found that roughly half (49 percent) of Americans believe the unemployment rate is at a 50-year high. Reality is, again, nearly the opposite: Unemployment has been below 4 percent for more than two years now, the longest stretch of time it’s stayed that low since the Nixon administration.
Roughly half of respondents (49 percent) also said stock markets were down since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up more than 10 percent, and major equity-market indexes have recently touched all-time highs.
Why are our perceptions so distorted?
To be fair, some economic jargon means specific things to economists but is used differently by normal people. This could explain some of the disconnect.
For example, to economists, “recession” means that the economy overall (as measured by output, employment, etc.) is shrinking. But laypeople often use the term more loosely to mean “something feels bad about this economy,” such as high gas prices. This difference in usage might account for why a plurality or a majority of respondents — including nearly half of Democrats in that Harris-Guardian poll — believe we’re in a recession now, while almost no professional economic forecasters agree.
Similarly, economists define “inflation” as growth in prices, not the level of prices.So if prices skyrocketed last year, then flattened out this year, economists would describe inflation as currently low. A normal person, however, might still complain about “inflation” since the level of prices remains higher than it was not long ago.
This is essentially what’s going on right now. Inflation reached its fastest pace in a generation back in mid-2022 and has generally been slowing since then. Price growth is still elevated, so the problem isn’t over. But to economists (including those at the Federal Reserve), a lot of progress has been made.
For normies who might be (hopelessly) expecting prices to revert to pre-covid levels, however, there is little to celebrate. They remember when ground beef was a buck or two cheaper per pound; the fact that the cost of hamburger meat hasn’t risen a lot further in recent months is not comforting.
That’s apparent in polling. Nearly three-quarters of Americans think inflation is increasing when it has definitely slowed down.
But none of this explains why the public appears so wrong about more straightforward metrics, such as whether unemployment is at historic highs or whether the stock market has risen or fallen recently.
Many commentators (particularly those on the left, who are furious about how these misperceptions reflect upon President Biden) blame the media for the public’s economic illiteracy or for leaving the public with the impression that economic conditions are terrible. I agree that we journalists generally give more play to bad economic numbers than good ones. We’ve also done a lousy job of helping the public understand what the right benchmarks are, such as whether they should expect prices to fall outright, what counts as a “good” GDP report, or how our outcomes compare to those in other countries.
But here’s a secret: If the media has a bad-news bias, that’s because our audiences have a bad-news bias, too.
People are more likely to click, watch, listen to and share content that induces outrage. This human predisposition toward negativity is not unique to economic news, nor news in general. For decades, social scientists have documented a “negativity bias” in how humans process and gravitate toward information. Journalists respond to those incentives, particularly when we have dwindling resources and are fighting for an audience.
Social media and political echo chambers then amplify our biases for negative news, particularly when consumers see developments that also align with their other preferences. For example, there’s a reason Republicans rate the economy more poorly than Democrats do, even if both groups are pretty dour.
So by all means, tell your preferred political team to highlight their wins; and pressure those of us in the media to do better. But the most useful thing you personally can do to help the public be more informed about good news, on the economy or anything else? Reward it with your attention.
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Nice article but I don't see the need to pressure her (or other media) to do better when they recognize the impact of their negativity. So to me, it boils down to principles, you either have them or you don't.
So if you continue to spew false news then you are damning your occupation to being the same as the news available in Russia (Pravda) where you report only what the dictator declares as news and thereby a vehicle of hate and negativity.
I am not saying that they need to declare their political stance but they need to be politically unbiased when presenting the news. If Biden fails then report it as such; if the Loon fails then report that as well. I think their role is to inform us and I am really disappointed with what I read anymore. I do have a newspaper subscription and it gets thinner and thinner each day.
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Valid points, betrayal. What I got out of the article is that for those with careers/jobs in the media, it is a vicious cycle. People tune into the news to read bad news. It’s what sells. The media is out to make a buck. Journalists keep their jobs only if people tune in to them. They could write dozens of happier-news stories but the glum report is what people will gravitate to. I plan to do my part by reading more favorable articles and discussing positive news more often with others. I definitely see where I can fall into the habit of reading negative stories more than ones with a brighter message.
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Devine - I got what you did from the article. And tend to agree that many people want negative, explosive, glum news - political or not = the dog died - not the puppies lived; one roof caved in - not 30 houses were spared. I also understand her point, people do look for the fantastic, over-the-top drama and find another channel if it's not sensational enough so presenting balanced, calm news like Huntley & Brinkley used to do isn't happening. (Maybe still on BBC??) Exactly why I don't watch TV News - EVER. I do read lots of newspapers & other publications, and like Devine, discuss often with others often. But I agree - since I do scan the headlines on my computer, it's easy to click on a link that turns out negative. It's taken me some time to discern which leads are going to be drama and not news.
BTW - I read this thread every day tho I don't often post. Thanks to all of you who keep it active & interesting.
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I try to avoid those where the theme is drama. I want Huntley and Brinkley type news so I avoid most news channels.
The BBC can sometimes be hung up on what it deems the "headlines". When we were in Italy in the fall all it focused on was the slaughter in Israel over and over to the point where you would have thought nothing else had happened in the world since then. Not to disparage what did happen but the focus was on the ugly, the grim and explosive so I spent a lot of time looking for other news sources with no luck most days. It was almost like time stood still or ground hog day. If I want drama, I'll watch Netflix, Acorn or Britbox. Not in to reality shows for same reason.
Nice of you to drop in minustwo.
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May you never miss a rainbow or a sunset because you are looking down.
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It is a huge problem that people don't understand basic language usage in the news etc. I don't understand all of it but enough to know that even if prices drop down some they never go too far back. You will still pay more than you did before. Just how it's pretty much always been. So, I've felt we were in decent shape for some time. Good article though.
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I believe I have uttered the name Robert Reich, but that’s as close as I’ve gotten 😉.
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Notice what happens when you doubt, suppress, or act contrary to
your feelings. You will observe decreased energy, powerless or
helpless feelings, and physical or emotional pain. Now notice what
happens when you follow your intuitive feelings. Usually the result
is increased energy and power and a sense of natural flow. When
you're at one with yourself, the world feels peaceful, exciting, and magical.
Shakti Gawain0 -
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And fictional cannibals at that!
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True, but at least Cohen's wised up that he was going under the bus and need not think to rely on the loon. Although it took that to get to him, at least he chose to come clean and try and re-build as much of his life as he could unlike the giant orange loon.
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The lady is smiling but is that a major scowl I see. Now you see how bad off he is, scowling Eric. Go ahead, stick up for him more — won't help any of you.
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So true.
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That smiling lady standing next to Eric Trump is Tiffany Trump, isn’t it?
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Of course, but I'd go further. He and Thomas and a couple of others need to be given permanent retirement OFF the court.
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Could not agree more.
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