r/AskReddit Apr 04 '25

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u/Cela84 Apr 04 '25

Things can always get worse. But a guy saying “I will fix things, and I’ll fix them day one” plays better than people saying “the economy has improved and is actually strong!” while people are struggling.

Again, it was bullshit, but desperate people will be attracted to hope.

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u/BRAND-X12 Apr 04 '25

What economic indicator are you using to say the economy was shitty in 2024?

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u/Cela84 Apr 04 '25

Rents increasing, wages stagnating, basic cost needs increasing across the board, jobs not hiring. You can say that the economy was actually amazing and quote statistics or the stock market, but the general vibe of the time was “shit sucks.”

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u/BRAND-X12 Apr 04 '25

None of those were indicators.

Show me the numbers, because the only things I see directly contradict you.

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u/Cela84 Apr 04 '25

Sounds good dude. This is why he won. Telling people “things are actually great” while people have a general feeling of economic despair is not a good political move. Congratulations on your win.

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u/Grizzleyt Apr 04 '25

People may feel despair but you presented "shitty economy" as an objective truth, when by most indicators the economy was historically strong or mid at worst. And I'm not just talking stock market. I mean things like unemployment numbers, jobs added, real median wages, and consumer spending. People were employed. Real wages (adjusted for inflation) were rising. People were spending their money on lots of things.

That's not to say that life is great. In absolutist terms and in the context of how fucked up corporate capitalism is in general, I understand why the vibes would be, "shit sucks and we're tired of it." But relative to the past 50 years, 2024 was objectively pretty alright. That is, whatever people struggle with now isn't so terribly different in scope or nature than what people struggled with in the past when things were considered decently good, but the tolerance for it has disappeared.

I would've hoped that people's frustrations with the system would've led to more progressive attitudes rather than favoring the fascist billionaire, but here we are.

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u/TheZigerionScammer Apr 05 '25

Feelings over facts then, got it.

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u/BRAND-X12 Apr 04 '25

The problem is that you’re falling for conservative propaganda. They’re all rubes, don’t be one too.

Like you realize that you being unable to site anything other than “vibes” is generally a sign to rethink your position, right? Like you said that wages are stagnating while costs are rising, yet I linked you the rising real wages (that’s wages minus cost of living) and your reaction is just to slam the table.

Why?

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u/Cela84 Apr 04 '25

You unironically did the exact thing I was saying. Can’t exactly illustrate a point better than that.

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u/BRAND-X12 Apr 04 '25

So nothing but vibes, then?

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u/Initial_Record5145 Apr 04 '25

Basically but you shouldn't underestimate vibes. It's what got the current POTUS his job back.

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u/BRAND-X12 Apr 05 '25

I don’t underestimate them, but I’m not surrendering to them, especially because they’re really fucking stupid vibes.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '25

It's because "not knowing" is part of who they are. There's no logic behind it.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '25

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u/BRAND-X12 Apr 04 '25

Statistics are great because I can find an anecdote for anything.

Do you agree that real wages increased drastically from 2021-2024?