The last time this happened, voters didn’t credit Bill Clinton. That may be a bad omen, or a good one.

The last time this happened, voters didn’t credit Bill Clinton. That may be a bad omen, or a good one.

If the stock market chose presidents, Joe Biden would be a shoo-in for reelection in 2024. The market rallied this month amid growing optimism about the economy, with the S&P 500 zooming 1.9 percent Tuesday on news that the consumer price index rose only 3.2 percent in October (compared to 3.7 percent in September). Stocks rallied again Wednesday on news that the producer price index fell 0.5 percent. Commentators are no longer debating whether the economy will experience a “soft landing” (i.e., a reduction in inflation without recession). The only question now is when it will arrive. The S&P 500 seems to have decided it’s already here.

But the stock market doesn’t choose presidents. Voters do, and polls continue to show they think the economy is in terrible shape. A Financial Times–Michigan Ross Nationwide Survey conducted November 2–7 is absolutely brutal on this point.

  • Aqarius@lemmy.world
    3·
    1 year ago

    Sure, but you’ll buy them even if they’re not cheap, because you need to eat. But on a large enough scale, the effects are, well, large.

        • SmoothIsFast@citizensgaming.com
          1·
          1 year ago

          The world does not stop because prices fall, people still have needs and wants. Just because money will be worth more down the line does not mean people will suddenly stop impulse buying or purchasing necessities. It means superfluous spending would drop. Billionaires would loose enormous wealth as people stop playing with futures, it would not kill an economy it would kill the wealth gap and wealth classes. The biggest problem is the US sells its debt but in a deflationary time said debt loses value not gains it. But even that you can reverse to still encourage growth. The biggest “issue” is the common man drives the economy in a deflationary period by purchasing nessacities instead of bullshit waste to drive growth numbers.

          • Aqarius@lemmy.world
            1·
            1 year ago

            I swear to god, it’s like you cranks are completely illiterate, both economically and actually. The question was:

            I hear about how deflation is supposedly the death knell for an economy,

            I give an answer, and you come in with “Wrong! Only superfluous spending would drop”. Yes, genius, that is the death knell of the economy. The economy is set up to sell shit, if shit stops selling, moneyed classes pull the plug and everyone gets fired, and then the salary that buys you more stops existing. And then when the market collapses and everything grinds to a halt, you will spend what money you have on groceries, while Bezos will spend his buying shit up on the cheap, and will walk out of the ordeal owning everything. That’s what happened in 2008, and you’re deluded if you think it won’t repeat. And you people will buy it hook, line, and sinker, because you can’t understand an explanation that doesn’t have a bad guy.

            • SmoothIsFast@citizensgaming.com
              1·
              1 year ago

              while Bezos will spend his buying shit up on the cheap, and will walk out of the ordeal owning everything

              I love how you conviently forgot that these billionaires’ values are 90% derived from stock holdings and intangible assets. They won’t have money to buy up everything, liquidating their stock options would only work with buyers being able to pay Bezos out of his positions, or you know a bailout like what happened in 2008 but you seem to forget that and associate it with deflationary policies that where not happening at the time…

              That’s what happened in 2008

              No what happened in 2008 is before the banks that bet bad failed, we bailed them the fuck out setting ourselves up for hyper inflation where riskier and riskier behavior is rewarded at scale due to to big to fail ideologies constantly bailing out failing businesses due to the capital they control.

              you people will buy it hook, line, and sinker, because you can’t understand an explanation that doesn’t have a bad guy.

              No one is saying we need a bad guy, we are pointing out the very flawed system we operate in, while you try and defend it saying this is how it should all work, when in reality these principles you think will balance everything are avoided through captured regulatory agencies implementing loopholes for big businesses, like market maker exemptions for naked short selling, or constant bailouts for to big to fail banks.

              • Aqarius@lemmy.world
                1·
                1 year ago

                No one is saying we need a bad guy, we are pointing out the very flawed system we operate in, while you try and defend it saying this is how it should all work,

                Wow. Incredible. Not only do you misread what I wrote, you can’t even understand what you’re writing. Amazing. 100%, completely illiterate.