Comparing “Morning in America” with 2023

… Survey after survey shows that Americans see the current economy in a very negative light. I wrote a post a week ago trying to think about why Americans might be so upset about the economy, when indicators like unemployment, wages, and inflation have all turned up in the last year or so. Other people have written very thoughtfully on the same topic. But today I want to do something slightly different — I want to compare the Biden economy of 2023 to the Reagan economy of 1984.

Naturally, a President running for reelection will choose to highlight economic indicators that are most favorable to his own record. So judging Biden’s economy by the things that Reagan’s campaign thought he was getting right is actually a pretty tough standard. Nevertheless, 2023 actually comes out ahead on most counts.

Reagan’s ad trumpets five things: 1. High employment rates. 2. Lower interest rates. 3. Lower inflation. 4. Lots of homebuying. 5. A large number of marriages.

So let’s do a little comparison. CONTINUED

Noah Smith, Noahpinion


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