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andy_ppp | on: Trump wins presidency for second time
My theory: people are just hacked off that life is getting worse for most people while billionaires get richer and richer. Every disaster the wealthy get handouts while the poor have to pay for them. Government can no longer afford anything because all of its assets have been sold and rented back at a profit.

I don’t think either campaign made any difference to the outcome of this election at all.

In conclusion it might be an amazing economy on the high level averages but when inflation caused by COVID handouts (I’m reading $16 TRILLION, but that can’t be real surely?) is always going to lose you an election badly.

hodgesrm | parent | next
Since COVID food prices went up around 50% on many items that I pay attention to. (Example: meat & fish) For many Americans, messaging about the "great economy" does not match their lived experience.
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Cthulhu_ | parent | next
How did the COVID handouts cause inflation? It was only a small amount. Isn't inflation caused by macro-economic forces, e.g. interest, international policy / stability, and free market somethings?
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ericmcer | parent | next
I think this is kind of it for me, I didn't want Kamala to win at all, but I also didn't want Trump to be president.

It feels like we have been on this march for the last 40+ years of eroding working class leverage and handing power over to politicians and giant corporations.

Dems have been struggling because they keep putting out the same lifetime politicians who promise to play ball and keep moving us down this road. They need someone who promises actual change, someone who is a threat to entrenched power structures. Bernie 100% was that guy for the Dems and they buried him... twice... He was the last time I was remotely excited for an election.

patatero | parent | next
Inflation were caused by mass factories shutdown in China and South East Asia. When they reopen they got so many orders that they simply increase their prices.
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roca | parent | next
Life is not getting worse for most people, at least not economically. See for example https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N --- median real (i.e. inflation-adjusted) household income in the USA is at an all-time high, even though we had a pandemic.

I don't know why people believe otherwise. Maybe it's just rising expectations, fueled by rising inequality?

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yodsanklai | parent | next
> people are just hacked off that life is getting worse for most people while billionaires get richer and richer.

So their answer is to vote precisely for a representative of that class (supported by richest guy in the world). And at the same time, the same electors have a strong disdain for anything remotely socialistic such as free health care and education for all.

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intellix | parent | next
I know you're not advocating for it but it doesn't make sense to essentially vote in 2x billionaires into office.

I'm just disappointed we may never know what Russia has on Musk. He went from being an avid atheist Democrat to pretending to be a Christian and pushing for Republican like his life depended on it. What is he hiding? Why was he so afraid?

You might as well empty Arkham Asylum whilst all the pardons for crimes are being dished out.

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John23832 | parent | next
> My theory: people are just hacked off that life is getting worse for most people while billionaires get richer and richer. Every disaster the wealthy get handouts while the poor have to pay for them. Government can no longer afford anything because all of its assets have been sold and rented back at a profit.

So they support the candidate with the billionares bankrolling him and and doing "million dollar sweepstakes". Give me a break.

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Havoc | parent | next
> people are just hacked off that life is getting worse for most people

Yeah that’s my read on it too.

Rather unfortunate that the response was to elect someone that’s more showman/ego trip than leader with technocratic skills

tchock23 | parent | next
Weren’t most of the COVID handouts done under Trump? I recall people getting up in arms because Trump wanted his signature on the handouts.
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svara | parent | next
And yet the US economy is doing great, much better than most developed countries, and most of those countries are not going off the rails to quite the same extent.

Inflation is probably relevant, since even though it's down by a lot, the sticker shock so to speak lingers for a while.

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porbelm | parent
But... but... Trump's policies are even more tax breaks for the rich and tariffs on everything, do people not understand this?
lynndotpy | root | parent | next
I'm not sure if you're being rhetorical, but people in the United States generally do not understand this. Even among those who are pro-Democrat, the differences in tax and tariff policy are usually not the top three issues.
justin66 | root | parent | next
Narrator: people did not understand this
mbg721 | root | parent | next
It's pretty hard to run a campaign on "change" when you're the incumbent and nobody voted for you.
andy_ppp | root | parent | next
I think they just assume things can’t get worse so f** it. Most people only vaguely know policies and are voting based on feelings.
kelnos | root | parent | next
Many people in the US believe that the target country is the one who pays the tariffs, and don't understand that they pay for them, at the cash register.
jampekka | root | parent | next
Plenty of people have good reasons to support tariffs. Free trade destroyed a lot of industries and adjanced communities and the free trade fans didn't give a damn about them.
seanp2k2 | root | parent
Do…people really think that prices will go down when cheap foreign labor is off the table? Do they think we can establish replacement infrastructure at comparable costs in months or a couple of years? Will they want to work those jobs for comparable pay to keep the costs of goods stable?
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Veen | root | parent | next
Yes, but voters are forced to choose between the fuckers who screwed them yesterday and the fuckers who will screw them tomorrow.
Urahandystar | root | parent | next
He gave out money during covid that reasonates.
theshrike79 | root | parent
You mean: "He put his name on checks sent out" - it wasn't his money and it would've gone out anyway.
tjpnz | root | parent | next
We'll have to wait and see re: tariffs, but the democrats are no different on tax breaks for the rich.
a1j9o94 | root | parent | next
Harris' plan lowered taxes for everyone making less than 900K per year

https://itep.org/kamala-harris-donald-trump-tax-plans/

EricDeb | root | parent | next
Didnt Biden want to raise taxes on those making more than 400k a year or something?
jampekka | root | parent
Biden was all in on tariffs too.
fny | root | parent | next
Go look at a chart of income inequality. It hasn’t improved under any administration. So why do they still feel Trump is the answer? Inflation.
astrange | root | parent
Income inequality hasn't increased in the US since 2014, and sharply /decreased/ since 2019. The current administration did an amazing job at improving it!

https://recruitonomics.com/the-unexpected-wage-compression/

(Note this is about wage inequality, which strictly speaking isn't income inequality. The best policy for income inequality would be bringing back the expanded CTC.)

But the median voter doesn't actually like this, because they have above-median income due to being older, and this means service workers got more expensive.

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j-krieger | root | parent
"America first" includes economic policies that drive up commerce, even at the cost of our allies. German news is full of VW and other auto executives wanting to leave for production in the US. Trump's tariffs mean companies will just want to produce in the US and export outside it. And it's working.

Do people not understand this?

andy_ppp | root | parent | next
The idea that you’re going to be producing iPhones or other mobile phones in the US (for example) is extremely unlikely in the next decade. It will be interesting to see the chaos he causes if he goes through with this and the plan to deport 20 million people.
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astrange | root | parent | next
Tariffs will make this much worse for two reasons:

1. importing your inputs becomes more expensive.

2. other countries will impose retaliatory tariffs on your exports.

This is not how to do economic development; Asian countries instead used export promotion. (…And wage suppression and currency weakening.)

tomrod | root | parent | next
Tariffs are an unnecessary price increase. To use your example, there will be some modest net growth of manufacturing at the expense of higher prices for everyone, typically dominating any net growth in jobs.
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redeux | root | parent
We lack the critical infrastructure and skills to produce a lot of these things, so it won’t just magically restore jobs but it will increase taxes for the foreseeable future.