Nowhere to Turn for Comfort: Bidenomics, an Economic Success but a Political Failure

I’m publishing this series of articles to share and discuss my ruminations on coping with a troubled and messy world. You can “follow” me to never miss an article.

While the differences between them can never be minimized or glossed over, Paul Krugman and David Brooks are nonetheless in agreement on a number of points when it comes to the success of President Biden’s Economic policies[i]. Namely, while they’re a clear success Economically, they’re in trouble, if not a failure, Politically.

The basic reason is due to the great Educational and Social Divide that is literally tearing us apart. Thus, according to David Brooks, Democrats have essentially lost Working-Class Whites, as well as Blacks and Hispanics. In a word, they feel continually snubbed and put down by College-Educated Whites who act as if they’re better than everybody else.

While Krugman unequivocally touts the success of President Biden’s policies, he notes as well the Great Divide not only between Democrats and Republicans, but between Democrats as well:

“Saying this leads, of course, to pushback from Republicans who’ve claimed ad nauseam that President Biden’s ‘socialist’ policies would be a disaster — and as I recently wrote, for such people believing is seeing, so they continue to insist that the economy is terrible even when by all measures, it’s doing pretty well. You also get some pushback from people on the left, who apparently believe that a progressive president shouldn’t be allowed to tout policy successes until he has completely eliminated poverty and insecurity — that is, never.”

Just when we need Democrats to be united, we’re Divided as much as can be. Yes, we’re aligned on such major issues such as the Rights of Women and their Doctors to Exercise Control Over Their Bodies, LGBTQ’s, Fair Election Laws, and so forth.

The Extremes of both Parties have usurped the bounds of Reason and Good Sense. As I’ve said many times over, the survival of the Nation is in serious jeopardy.

[i] David Brooks, “The Political Failure of Bidenomics,” The New York Times, Friday, February 23, 2024, P A20; Paul Krugman, “The Economic Sucees of Bidenomics,” The New York Times, Friday, February 23, 2024, P A21.

Ian I. Mitroff is credited as being one of the principal founders of the modern field of Crisis Management. He has a BS, MS, and a PhD in Engineering and the Philosophy of Social Systems Science from UC Berkeley. He Is Professor Emeritus from the Marshall School of Business and the Annenberg School of Communication at USC. Currently, he is a Senior Research Affiliate in the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, UC Berkeley. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Management. He has published 41 books. His latest is: The Socially Responsible Organization: Lessons from Covid, Springer, New York, 2022.

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