On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Inside Politics” Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg stated that President Joe Biden needs to stop arguing that we’re making progress on the economy and noted that disposable income has fallen since May.
Greenberg said, “[W]e are coming out of a period with three exceptional factors: … One is inflation, inflation concentrates the mind, it’s been inflation on essentials, energy, fuel prices, food, real basics, second has been the fact that the political class has done nothing about the profiteering, and then third is the migration that’s come through as a result of wars and climate change.”
He added, “[W]hat matters is how many months people have been struggling to deal with inflation. And each month, they get madder and madder about it as long as their wages are trailing prices. … In the last six months, there has been a decline in disposable income. So, the context is, you have to start there. Inflation is like 30 points higher than the next problem. And you can’t — what the President currently is doing, is his tweets always start with, we’re making progress, and then he mentions prices. If you look at his ads aimed at black voters, [they’re] mainly trying to convince them they’re doing a good job. But that’s not where they are. They are not — they are losing ground every month and angered about it. But you have to stop, you have to say, what’s the main problem? How do you deal with the first problem, which is inflation and the cost of living?”
Greenberg further stated, “You have to stop on the notion that we’re making progress. You have to get where people are. And where they are is on the rise in prices.”
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