Americans are horribly misinformed on the economy

• Share on
• 
• 
• 
• 

Subscribe to WeeklyPost and you’ll receive Jim Heaney’s recommended reading Sunday mornings in your inbox.

We’re a nation that watches football, obsessives over Taylor Swift and can’t stop staring at our phone screens.

Paying attention to reality, not so much.

A poll released last week showed most Americans are horribly misinformed over the state of the economy, which in turn is coloring their views on national politics. 

Consider:

• A majority say we’re in a recession; we’re not.
• Most say unemployment is at a record high; it’s actually near a 50-year low. 
• A majority say inflation is rising; it’s decreasing.
• Most say the stock market is down; it’s up.

The same poll showed a majority of Americans believe President Biden is at fault. 

A second poll, from the Pew Research Center, also finds pessimism regarding the economy. 

Yet another poll shows that the economy is foremost in the mind of voters and a majority of those who prioritize the economy believe Trump, not Biden, is better equipped to manage things. 

Paul Krugman, in his column last week for The New York Times, had this to say:

The U.S. economy isn’t in bad shape. In fact, it’s doing quite well, better than almost all its global peers.

So much, you may say, for official statistics: If people feel that they’re doing badly, well, when it comes to the economy, the customer is always right.

But here’s the kicker: When asked, most Americans don’t say that they’re doing badly. On the contrary, survey after survey finds that most voters are feeling positive about their personal financial situation, even as they insist that the economy is terrible overall. 

I’d say Americans are in need of a reality check. And perhaps a history refresher, given the shambles of an economy that Donald Trump left behind when he exited the White House.

City Hall is getting $8 million from the feds to buy trees, which are in short supply on the East Side. The Buffalo News reports that the Brown administration has been slow to adopt a plan and estimates it will cost about $1,000 a tree to buy and plant. Most of that $1,000 pays for the installation of the tree in a neighborhood; other cities, like Pittsburgh, have been able to buy more trees for the same amount of money in part because they’re either planting them in open space or giving them away.

Buffalo’s do-nothing Common Council doesn’t want to touch a civilian review board for the police department.

The Brown administration now says it will be too costly to renovate the building that housed the Buffalo Niagara Hostel. 

A guest commentary in Buffalo Rising says it’s time for WNY to prepare for climate change migration. Meanwhile, the Census reports Buffalo is once again losing population.

Donate to support our nonprofit newsroom

The rent is too damn high. So is child care.

Here are profiles on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan, his running mate. Neither of them are flattering, and for good reason.

A private equity firm is buying up minor league baseball teams and shaking down taxpayers to improve the stadiums they play in. 

A poll finds most Canadians have had it with fighting in hockey. What’s next, they don’t like beer?

Jim Heaney