Analysis: Voter Economic Beliefs Unknown

U.S. News & World Report's Michael Barone Says Many Don't Have Set Positions On Economy, Healthcare

(US News)  This analysis was written by U.S. News and World Report columnist Michael Barone.

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"It's the economy, stupid." Those immortal words of the political philosopher James Carville in 1992 have been reverberating increasingly in the 2008 campaign. Polls show the economy as the top issue for voters, far ahead of Iraq. The general assumption is that this helps the Democrats, since the Republicans hold the White House and economic growth has stalled on their watch. But what do voters want done about the economy? And how amenable are they to the big-government programs Democrats are proposing?

On fiscal policy, both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton want higher taxes, at least on high earners. They want to let at least some of the Bush tax cuts expire in 2010, as scheduled. On trade, they oppose new free-trade agreements and want to renegotiate NAFTA with Canada and Mexico. As it happens, another president embraced such policies in a time of economic slowdown and financial market turbulence: Herbert Hoover raised taxes on high earners sharply and, ignoring a letter signed by 1,000 economists, signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff in 1930. The results were not pretty. Until now, his example has not commended itself to Democrats. One wonders whether voters will agree that tax increases will stimulate the economy.

Obama and Clinton are also proposing a traditional Democratic remedy for recession - more spending and new federal programs. And on the broader question of expanding government, Pew Research Center polls show an increasingly more favorable opinion climate, particularly on healthcare, than when we elected our last two presidents, in 1992 and 2000. One reason is generational change. Almost all voters in 1992 and a large majority in 2000 had vivid memories of the 1970s, when we had both economic stagnation and double-digit inflation - stagflation - and thanks to government price controls, motorists had to wait an hour in line to fill up their gas tanks. Those experiences put the advocates of bigger government on the defensive.

This year, half the voters are too young to have been behind the wheel in a gas line or to have been paying rapidly rising monthly bills with a paycheck eroded by inflation. They have lived all their adult lives - all their lives, in the case of the millennial generation, born since 1980 - in an era when we have had low-inflation economic growth 95 percent of the time. In their recent book Millennial Makeover, Morley Winograd and Michael Hais write that these millennials have high trust in the federal government. Have Uncle Sam pay for healthcare? Hey, that's like, neat.

Options. But they also say that millennials favor systems that give them lots of choices. They want to mouse-click on the option they prefer. This, of course, is in conflict or at least tension with systems in which government makes choices for you. If young voters' positive disposition to government programs gives Democrats an opening, their preference for choices gives Republicans one, too. As it happens, we have a recent example, the Medicare prescription drug program passed in 2003. Democrats wanted government to negotiate prices and thought that seniors would hate to choose between plans. But even the elderly, who grew up in an America where big institutions - the U.S. military, big corporations, giant labor unions - made choices for them, turned out to be satisfied with the choices they had under Medicare Part D. You haven't heard the Democratic presidential candidates campaigning much against it this cycle.

My sense is that voter preferences on issues like the economy and healthcare will depend on discussion and debate that haven't taken place yet. Voters have been concentrating on the curriculum vitae and character of the candidates, and the candidates themselves have made little in the way of argument for their positions. It's not immediately obvious what fiscal policy or healthcare policies voters want. It's less "the economy, stupid" than "the economy, huh?"

[thepentangle]

With all the money that we spend (middle and working class) on products and donations to campaigns, we could''ve pooled our money together to make public owned companies to undermine the fabric of greedy corporate america. Imagine pooling our money together and making a publicly ran oil company with no high priced executives or investors.

We probally could negotiate a deal with Venezuela. Chavez would love to support a company that would bring down the oil giants!

Presto, undermine and ruin established oil companies! When their bankrupt, buy their assetts, fire the big wigs and move to the next sector!

We can do this with Auto, health care, insurance, drug companies, and all imports.

Provide jobs without the wall street nvestor ties and the corporate stingy overhead!

[samthetvcat]

Where Repubs are going to get decked is on their belief that this is an ideological policy debate based on ''Democratic remedies'' . . . there''s the secondary issue and tertiary of competence and faith in government - who grasps the complexities and is best able to predict the far-reaching consequences of their policy choices, and who is being honest and is truly going to go to bat for we voters.

Johnny McSame''s economic speech was terrible - the thought that kept going through my mind while he was reading the teleprompter is who really is coming up with the ideas and what is their history and true agenda. Parts of it just sounded like Repub talking points that were designed to pander rather than strengthen the economy. I mean, that kind of stuff counts - McNasty also reared his ugly head at the end when he referred to Obama . . . he looks slightly psycho and really arrogant when he turns into the ''punk'' . . . you start to imagine how he ended up losing his cool and calling his wife a ''c*nt'' while she was twirling his hair.

If there weren''t such a huge divide in competence between the two candidates, I would think trying to press McCain''s buttons to get a rise out of him would be a good way to gain the upper hand, but I don''t even think we Dems''ll have to go there . . .

[samthetvcat]

PS oops, I kind of rambled - basically, I guess I was saying that McSame''s biggest problem is that he doesn''t appear competent in economic issues, and he''s got lobbyists . . .

[samthetvcat]

PPS Also Johnny McSame was just on Hardball and he sounds like he''s trying to copy Reagan when he keeps repeating the mantra that people are ''optimistic'', want a ''vision'' and a ''bright future'' - Reagan had the substance to back it up, and 2008 isn''t 1980 . . .

[mcvet]

We were fed a BIG bottle of Snake Oil by people who are just plain Greedy... the Republican Party. If all of you remember when we started down the path of Trickle Down/Free Trade, we were told if we trashed our Unions, or allowed Companies to trash our Unions, allow those same CEO''s to export our jobs and take advantage of that cheap labor, those people would buy the more expensive stuff from us and we''d have BETTER jobs and earn MORE money. It like the Republican Party is a fraud. There are no better jobs and the Trade Agreements pit American Workers who EARNED their standard of living against workers earning 30 cents a day. It''s time to clean house and trash this "Trickle Down"/Free Trade garbage. It''s time to put AMERICA and it''s PEOPLE FIRST for a change. Sieg Heil Bush

[ubrew12]

US Scr*ws: "Until now, [Hoovers tax raising] example has not commended itself to Democrats. One wonders whether voters will agree that tax increases will stimulate the economy."

Hoover RAISED TAXES?? If it didn''t work, does US Peuws bother to tell us if it was TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE!! Of course NOT!! FDR raised taxes again, enough to jumpstart the US economy for real. Hoover (like the ''supply-siders of his age'') gifted America with the Great Depression. Now we have the U.S. ''News'' and ''World Report'' doing an ''analysis'' (no, not a hack job) telling us that HOOVER raised taxes to no avail. What an unbelievable diservice to their readers.

The editors of U.S. Clueless can''t even be thought to be AMERICAN, at this time. They''re publishing cr*p in the hope of hoodwinking ordinary Americans that tax raises are BAD, even if only to address our HISTORIC $10 trillion Republican debt.

If theres a god in heaven, I hope U.S. slews is shown a ticket out of this country. They deserve it.

Lets be clear: raising taxes and tarriffs will slow the economy - - in the short term. Much like coming off of heroin (like coming off Republican DEBT) HURTS in the short term. In the long term, you''re much better being off heroin. And you''re much better being off debt. U.S. Excuse doesn''t want to tell you THAT part of the equation!

[bluestardad]

AMERICANS WOULD VOTE FOR A PEZ DISPENSER BEFORE THEY VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[blackspirit3]

IN 1992 THE CLINTONS WENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO FIX THINGS

- The only president ever impeached on grounds of personal malfeasance
- Most number of convictions and guilty pleas by friends and associates*
- Most number of cabinet officials to come under criminal investigation
- Most number of witnesses to flee country or refuse to testify
- Most number of witnesses to die suddenly
- First president sued for sexual harassment.
- First president accused of rape.
- First first lady to come under criminal investigation
- Largest criminal plea agreement in an illegal campaign contribution case
- First president to establish a legal defense fund.
- First president to be held in contempt of court
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions
- Greatest amount of illegal campaign contributions from abroad
- First president disbarred from the US Supreme Court and a state court

IN 2008 LETS SEND THEM BACK TO FINISH THEIR JOB

[blackspirit3]

A 1969 charge by a Eileen Wellstone, 19-year-old woman who said Clinton assaulted her after she met him at a pub near the Oxford University
In 1972, a 22-year-old woman told campus police at Yale University that she was sexually assaulted by Clinton, who was a law student at the college
In 1974, a female student at the University of Arkansas complained that then-law professor Bill Clinton groped her and forced his hand inside her blouse.
Broaddrick, a volunteer in Clinton''s attorney general campaign, said he raped her in 1978;
From 1978-1980, during Clinton''s first term as governor of Arkansas, state troopers assigned to protect the governor reported seven complaints from women who said Clinton forced, or attempted to force, himself on them sexually.
Elizabeth Ward, the Miss Arkansas who won the Miss America crown in 1982, told friends she was forced by Clinton to have *** with him shortly after she won her state crown.
Paula Corbin, an Arkansas state worker, filed a sexual harassment case against Clinton after an encounter in a Little Rock hotel room.
Sandra Allen James, a former Washington, DC, political fundraiser says in 1991 Presidential candidate-to-be Clinton pinned her against the wall and stuck his hand up her dress.
Kathleen Willey, a White House volunteer, reported that Clinton grabbed her, fondled her breast and pressed her hand against his genitals during an Oval Office meeting in November, 1993.

[popstom1]

One more time for the limited Ken Star 70 million
And he could not buy a lie found liwinski kept
dirty landry in ziplock bags never seen on America''s
most wanted Ho one more thing aquited by the senate
Obama in San Francisco speaking to elite donors
Insults small town America and yeah Tony he got us some money ahhh amm err ok $150.000 or was it ugg eemm
okok it was $250.00 but I donated to umm hoo yeah
Rev.Wingnut

[libra127]

Posted by BLACKSPIRIT3 at 08:57 AM : Apr 16, 2008

Newsflash!!!! Bill Clinton is not running for President. This stuff is irrelevant. Furthermore, the innuendo, accusations, and allegations against Bill have already been investigated ad nauseum. He has not been found guilty of these allegations. Having been in politics all his life, he has many political enemies who pay people to make allegations against him. Where are the convictions ?

He is not even running for President !