Very Useful. I would also recommend reading Ferguson and Storm here:https://www.ineteconomics.org/uploads/papers/WP_221-Ferguson-and-Storm-Second-Coming-final-May-17.pdf. The paper argues that in terms of net income lower 60% doing better under Trump than Biden. If correct, it argues that perception of many that Trump years were better had a decent basis in fact. This makes the claims that working people never had it so good as under Biden (the new FDR!) pure gaslighting. It also enforced the perception that Biden (and then Harris) would not fix these problems because they didnt even recognize their existence. Say what one likes about Trump (and I could say a lot) he at least talked the talk and insisted that problems existed. If recognizing a problem is a necessary condition for fixing it, this made voting for Trump and against Harris eminently rational.
Very Useful. I would also recommend reading Ferguson and Storm here:https://www.ineteconomics.org/uploads/papers/WP_221-Ferguson-and-Storm-Second-Coming-final-May-17.pdf. The paper argues that in terms of net income lower 60% doing better under Trump than Biden. If correct, it argues that perception of many that Trump years were better had a decent basis in fact. This makes the claims that working people never had it so good as under Biden (the new FDR!) pure gaslighting. It also enforced the perception that Biden (and then Harris) would not fix these problems because they didnt even recognize their existence. Say what one likes about Trump (and I could say a lot) he at least talked the talk and insisted that problems existed. If recognizing a problem is a necessary condition for fixing it, this made voting for Trump and against Harris eminently rational.
I think you hit the nail on the head. And I had been meaning to read this paper! Thanks for the reference.