Media Malpractice: The Hill Can't Fathom Why People Who Buy Food, Gas Think We're in a Recession

The media are going to keep trying -- to their detriment and the detriment of the Biden campaign -- to gaslight us on the economy. They're going to keep telling us everything is fine, great even, and we're just too stupid to realize it.

The Hill is one of the most egregious offenders (Axios is another). The other day they insisted 'experts' (oh, how we loathe that word) assured us there's no recession and hasn't been one since 2020.

A majority of Americans wrongly believe that the country is in a recession, a new survey found.

The poll found that nearly 3 in 5 respondents say the U.S. is in a recession, even though experts say there hasn’t been one since 2020. https://t.co/s34COogbc9
— The Hill (@thehill) May 22, 2024

Today, they doubled down on this, insisting that Americans who think we're in a recession are just plain wrong, and dumb.

"Why the public thinks the country is in recession" (@TheHillOpinion) https://t.co/DsgUHi863N pic.twitter.com/mhWiELQKyd
— The Hill (@thehill) May 28, 2024

Because we are would be the reason.

Yeah, they fudge the metrics and make excuses for why we're not, but if you buy food, gas, or pay rent you know things are not good.

Here's some of the op-ed:

Reporters expressed some surprise at a recent Guardian-Harris poll revealing that 56 percent of those surveyed believe the country is in an economic recession, and that President Biden’s policies are to blame. And 49 percent believe the S&P 500 stock index is down for the year. Why doesn’t the public understand, reporters mused, that most of the macroeconomic numbers are really quite good? Biden, whose polling numbers are in the tank, has been wondering the same thing.
But average Americans, those who are not economists or vote-seeking politicians, tend to focus on a different set of numbers. Let’s call them personal economic indicators, the ones individuals and families confront daily. And those numbers tell them a different story. What are they saying?

Serious question, do reporters purchase groceries, do they go out and eat, do they drive a vehicle that needs filled up occasionally? Are they not also consumers? They surely understand what has hit the average American’s pocketbook. The problem, they are biased towards Biden.
— Gandalf Graymatter (@GGraymatter) May 28, 2024

The answer is no -- they live in isolated, privileged little enclaves where the experiences of the average American are foreign to them.

This is why pic.twitter.com/IS1zkWKjaK
— DC (@DCMockers) May 28, 2024

Numbers don't lie.

The media, however, do.

Silly public! The economy is booming! https://t.co/vQlQKSsAwq
— Ahab (@Ahab4K) May 28, 2024

Pretty much.

Not a recession but:
1) Savings are gone.
2) Credit card debt is way up.
3) Living paycheck to paycheck.

Matthews: Why the public thinks the country is in recession https://t.co/0OJBM1sk4p
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) May 28, 2024

Laughably out of touch.

And 4) Inflation lives.
"In fact, the public is correct. While the 'rate of inflation' increases have fallen, inflation continues to grow, just at a slower pace. Those month-over-month inflationary increases are cumulative. "

Read the rest.
— Physics Geek (@physicsgeek) May 28, 2024

Yeah, read it and laugh at how much the journalist class despises you.

The Biden administration cannot fix this by November. All they can do is spin and try to smear and jail the opposition. No record to run on.
— BoVodio Toad (@BovodioToad) May 29, 2024

Which is why they're going to push hard on abortion. It's the only card they've got to play, and it's not a good one.

Here's the thing. At the time Biden took office, breakfast for two people at our local spot was ~$28. Last week, it was $42. All the gaslighting and hand-waving by rich economists and newsreaders cannot hide what people are experiencing.
— Bolt Vanderhuge (@GenghisKhet) May 28, 2024

But if they sneer at us and call us dumb, that'll change our minds.

They can just keep changing the definition of a recession to make sure we never officially hit one
— Thomas A (for Amazing) Grace (@AmazingTomGrace) May 28, 2024

Yep.