“Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?”
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If things are going well, it’s all thanks to Daddy. If
anything’s not so good, it’s Daddy’s fault.
Substitute “the President” for “Daddy,” and you have the childish and simple-minded thinking behind the question some politicians keep asking: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
This was also the
first question lobbed at Kamala Harris at the presidential debate. Mercifully,
she simply ignored this dumb query.
Let me try out the question with myself: Are my wife and I
better off than we were four years ago?
On the cost of living: Although many have
suffered from inflation, for most of us, growth in our incomes has actually
outpaced inflation since Biden became president. Statistics from the U.S.
Treasury Department show that our experience is common. The “median” American household
(half do better, half do worse) had real weekly earnings (meaning purchasing
power after taking inflation into account) that were 2.3% higher than in 2019.
Prices are higher, so our money doesn’t go as far as it did
in 2020. Grocery prices on basics are shocking. On the other hand, we – like
the average American – find our real incomes have gone up over the last four
years.
Those worst hit by inflation could be helped by raising
the minimum wage — or by strengthening union rights
What about the many whose incomes haven’t gone up in years,
or whose wage increases have been entirely eaten up by inflation? Those whose
incomes have stalled sure could use an increase in the minimum wage! Or a
union. Perhaps they should be asking, which party is responsible for keeping
the minimum wage frozen at the level of $7.25 per hour for the last 15 years?
And which party supports workers’ right to unionize and bargain together?
In any event, income isn’t the only aspect of being “better
off” than in 2020. Do we worry about losing our health insurance? Nope.
(Thanks, Obamacare.) But there’s a candidate who nearly ended Obamacare when he
was president and still wants to get rid of it – and he admits he is still
without a plan to replace it.
We are lucky to have homeowner’s insurance, and the
insurance company has not canceled our coverage, as they have for so many
others. But there’s a greater chance of losing essential insurance now than
there was in 2020. Particularly if you live in places directly impacted by
ever-more-severe hurricanes, rising sea levels, flooding, lethal heat or
massive wildfires. These things are much worse than four years ago.
Is the real issue whether things have gotten worse or who is responsible?
What are the prospects for our adult children and
grandchildren? In a world of unfolding climate disaster, I don’t think their
chances of a decent life in a livable planet are better than they were four
years ago.
Crime and safety? I am more worried than I was four years
about the possibility of my grandson being murdered in middle school by some
disturbed kid who can lay his hands on an AR-15.
I can’t say whether this all adds up to our being “better”
or “worse” off than we were four years ago. But the key point is that
everything that makes life better or worse is not within the power of
government, and of the things impacted by government action or inaction, few
are under the control of one person, the president.
The real issue is who is responsible when
government makes things better or worse.
If things are a mess, ask whose mess it is, and who is
likely to clean things up
If your main concern is the rising impacts of climate
change, don’t ask whether it’s better or worse than four years ago. Ask which
party wants to address the crisis, and which deems climate change a “hoax.” Which
candidate seeks to create jobs for the transition to a carbon-free economy and
which promised he would put the kabosh on electric vehicles, and would adopt the fossil fuel
companies’ agenda, if only the gas and oil companies would
contribute $1 billion to his campaign.
If it’s gun violence and your children’s safety in school
you worry about, ask which party rejects any limitations on supposed gun
“rights,” and refuses to see school shootings as a problem government should
even try to solve.
If you’re concerned that state governments have inserted
themselves into personal decisions about reproduction and family life, you
should ask how we got into this sorry place – which party appointed the judges
who did away with reproductive freedom and which candidate celebrated their successful
fight against abortion rights?
If it is inflation, we need to recognize, first, that this
has been an international phenomenon,
and, second, that it’s got to do with the fallout from the pandemic, which for
a time plagued the entire developed world, not horrible financial management by
the current president.
If you’re concerned about future prices, you should be
particularly leary of Donald Trump’s plan to impose a
60% tariff on everything imported from China (most of
everything you buy at Walmart other than groceries), and a 20% tariff on
everything else imported. A tariff is a tax paid by importers, but –
surprise! – the importers pass on the
expense to consumers in raised prices.
Big Daddy, the president, is not responsible for everything
going well or ill. But if you think government has made a mess of somethings –
or isn’t helping as it should – you need to focus on who created the problem
and who is likely to clean things up – or make it worse.
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