Six-Chart Sunday (#7) - The Paradoxes of March
6 Infographics from the week + 1 interview (Gov. Jeb Bush)
Political Economy Paradox: While voters in every demographic (gender, race, age) say former President Trump’s policies were more helpful to them personally than President Biden’s policies (NYT poll), the actual economic performance records in their first 3 years are much closer (Trump saw faster annual wage growth, stronger stock market gains & lower inflation, while Biden enjoyed faster GDP growth, stronger manufacturing job gains & lower monthly Black unemployment (NYT).
Education Paradox: While the economic (wage) advantage of a college degree has never been higher, the share of Americans questioning the value of college has also never been higher (56% said they don’t think college is “worth the costs” in 2023 vs 40% saying the same in 2013).
Stock Market Paradox: While the market cap concentration in the top 10% of stocks is the greatest in a century, billionaire investor Ray Dalio says "the US stock market… doesn’t look very bubbly" by historical standards.
Generational Wealth Growth Paradox: While seniors’ median net worth grew by significantly larger dollar amounts than those of 18-39 year-olds during the pandemic ($91k vs. $21.6k), as a percentage of pre-pandemic wealth 18-39 year-olds enjoyed 133% gains vs just 30% for seniors.
Green Power Paradox: While U.S. energy transition spending topped a record $303 billion last year, two-thirds higher than before President Biden entered office, vast swaths of the U.S. are at risk of running short of power as clean-technology factories and electricity-hungry data centers proliferate around the country and projected energy demand doubled.
The Paradox of Voter ID: While many voting rights advocates are concerned that 36 states have enacted voter ID laws (with 8 since the 2020 election), 81% of Americans favor requiring people to show government-issued photo identification to vote (including 95% of Republicans and 69% of Democrats).
VIDEO:
Former Governor Jeb Bush on American leadership and the future of the GOP (from 2021):
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Jeb Bush nailed Trump in 2016: “He is a chaos candidate, and he’ll have a chaos administration.” Trump’s threat to national security Chrystal clear Let Putin do whaterver he wants to Europe.) it’s incumbent upon Jed and W. tell America that Trump is a clear and present danger.
Finaly got to watch the Jeb interview. His comments at the 42:00 mark were so hopeful back in 2021. Now, with the fear of being primaried, NOBODY is willing to meet in the middle. DJT's iron grip on every GOP topic cemented a stalemate. Bring Jeb back for a follow-up, I enjoyed his sensibility.