Trumps poll numbers have tanked, especially in important swing states. But – as much as he thinks so — the change is not all about him. The economic impacts of the pandemic have demonstrated fundamental flaws in our current system which leaves too many people unable to miss a single paycheck without grave suffering and others losing health insurance as they lose their jobs.
This is reflected in recent polling: Americans are showing a growing appetite for bold economic policy changes. Even Republicans are increasingly supportive of bigger actions by the government to support working people and reduce inequality.
As Trump’s so-called Paycheck Protection Plan continues to struggle, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin Americans would rather see direct federal payroll support over continuing to funnel money to businesses through bank loans.
We can hear the deficit hawks screaming from the sidelines. They are plainly in the minority according to these poll results. Perhaps they’ve finally cried wolf one too many times. As Nobel economist Paul Krugman reminded us recently:
Everything we’ve seen says that advanced countries that borrow in their own currency, like the United States or Japan or Britain, are able to carry, really, very high debt loads without crisis. And a lot of that is because interest rates — even when interest rates aren’t as low as they are now, interest rates are consistently below the growth rate of the economy, which actually means debt tends to melt away over time relative to GDP, as long as you aren’t massively irresponsible year after year.”
https://grabien.com/story.php?id=286571
Further reading: “Peacocks and vultures are circling the deficit,” Salt Lake City Tribune.
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