Jobs are coming back. Wages are going up. Taxes are going down. Consumer spending is at a pre-2007 level. The economy is looking poised to have a strong continuation in 2018 from the progress made in 2017. There are still many things that can derail it quickly, but the biggest risk is born from a hatred of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Mainstream media knows a very important reality, as I detailed in my 2018 predictions. Perceptions play an important role in the strength or weakness of the economy. When the general sentiment among Americans is strong, the economy is strong as a result. When people are fearful, certain economic indicators stumble from the concern. That has been the nature of the economy for a few decades since mass media made news travel quickly and broadly. It’s a nature that works through or against self-fulfilling prophecies.
The other reality that mainstream media understands is most Americans make voting decision based upon personal prosperity. In the voting booth, they aren’t as concerned about Israel’s embassy, net neutrality, or obnoxious Tweets as they are the rest of the year. Their biggest concern is which candidate or party is going to make things better, easier, or both for the voter and their family.
Jimmy Carter didn’t just lose to Ronald Reagan. He lost to the poor economic conditions that ravaged the nation through his term. Bill Clinton didn’t beat Bob Dole just because the Republican was boring while the Democrat played the saxophone. He beat Dole because the economy was doing very well at the time.
It’s easier to see during presidential election years, but it’s still prevalent in midterm elections. We vote based upon how much is in our wallets.
Some may be balking right about now. If you’re reading this, you’re probably the exception. In fact, you’ve probably rarely if ever voted for a Democrat since this is a conservative blog with a generally conservative audience. Those on the ideological left and right don’t look at fiscal indicators. Then again, many of us don’t look at anything other than the letter next to the name of the candidate. We’re not the people who decide elections. The swing voters are, and they’re the ones who vote with their wallets. They’re also the target audience for mainstream media when it comes to swaying elections.
We can expect the media to continue their attacks on President Trump. It’s almost as natural for them as covering up for President Obama. The difference is in how they spin everything that happens with the economy. We’re already seeing this in the way they’re spinning reactions from corporate America to the tax cuts. As dozens of major companies started instantly giving extra money to their employees following passage of the tax cuts, mainstream media tried desperately to under-report the moves, or worse, to call them tricks by Trump-loving corporate America.
It’s only going to get more aggressive from here. In 2018, you will be hard-pressed to find any major and positive economic news on mainstream media outside of Fox News and WSJ that isn’t spun to somehow be a negative. When bad economic news comes along, the problem will be magnified and the message will be amplified.
This midterm election is vindication for the media… at least that’s what they hope. They can either prove they still have sway over elections or they will be proven powerless. The easiest way they can cheat their way into power is with Democratic victories. The easiest way for Democrats to win is for the media to declare doom and gloom over the economy. How the economy responds will be based upon whether or not people believe what they hear from the media or what they see in their bank accounts. Unfortunately, many will ignore the obvious for the sake of the left’s incessant narrative.
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