First, let's point out how little the media has done to dispute this belief -- which is totally a result of hypnotic repetition by the Queens used car salesman. You can't ignore disinformation for years and then credibly say, "Huh, where did that come from?" Morning Joe takes a shot this morning.
"Despite strong economic numbers, new polling finds most Americans believe the country is in a recession. It is not," Willie Geist said.
"In the latest Harris poll conducted for The Guardian, 56% of adults expressed the belief we are in a recession. That includes 67% of Republicans, 49% of Democrats, and 53% of independents. Although inflation has fallen sharply over the past year, 72% of adults still think that is increasing," he said.
"Willie, it is quite -- excuse me -- an extraordinary poll," said economic analyst Steve Ratner. "We've seen polls before that show americans having a more negative view on the economy. I've never seen one quite like this. These are the numbers you mentioned in your lead-in. Roughly more than half of Americans think we're in a recession. It is divided somewhat by party. More Republicans, 67%, feel it than Democrats, but even Democrats, 49% feel it," he said.
He points out that under Joe Biden, the economy has grown 2.8% a year, which is slightly faster than it was growing under Trump, even before covid hit. So he's mystified.
"What about this other low unemployment, surging stock market, yet, dot, dot, dot. how do you explain what's going on with the economy?" Geist asked.
Same kind of results, Ratner said.
"Fifty percent of Americans think unemployment is at a 50-year high, 50% think it is at a 50-year high. Unemployment is actually at a 50-year low. It's really amazing. Unemployment is below 4%. It's been below 4% for months and months now. It's just extraordinary that people think we're at a 50-year high. You can see some of the highs over here," he said.
"Another issue is stocks. Half of Americans think stocks are down this year. Stocks are actually up 11% this year. They're up 45% since Joe Biden took office. Complete disconnect in people's minds between perception and reality of the stock market."
How the media refuses to acknowledge the effect of Trump's constant claim that the economy is in shambles under Biden is a failure of the media, which hasn't done it's job. The whole "Huh, look at that" reaction is a disgrace.
