Republicans Surge in Economic Confidence, Contrary to Democrats’ Historically Strong Performance
In October, Gallup noticed an ominous record for Democrats.
That month, the pollster found Republicans had the biggest advantage over Democrats on the economy than at any point in 32 years.
“Republicans’ 14-percentage-point lead in public preferences for keeping the country prosperous is up from a 10-point margin last year and is its widest advantage on this measure since mid-1991,” per Gallup.
Losing to Republicans when it comes to economics is a new trend for Democrats, who have either been tied on the issue in Gallup’s surveys over the last three decades or have “led by a solid margin.”
Troublingly for President Joe Biden and down-ticket Democrats, Ipsos found the same drift in November when its poll showed Republicans had a 10-point advantage on economics.
Output and employment have grown steadily ever since; inflation has moderated. However, there’s no indication yet in the polls that Americans’ trust in Democrats, with respect to economics, has risen. Quite the opposite, in fact: CBS News reported in March that voters in its latest poll “recall the economy under Trump more fondly” than under Biden.
It’s one thing to be disliked for who you are; it’s another beast entirely to be disliked for who you are not. Democrats are not weak on prosperity; however, Republicans are.
Put bluntly, Americans’ growing confidence in Republican economic competence is entirely misplaced.
In our federal system, states are laboratories of American democracy, experimenting with distinct partisan policies. They offer powerful examples of what works and doesn’t.
After all, determining whether one President and his party deserve credit for the economy at the national level is complicated by the fact that each one since Jimmy Carter has faced divided government. But at the state level, however, one-party rule has increasingly become the norm. Today, 39 states are ruled by one party — 22 by Republicans; 17, by Democrats.
And when one party runs a state, they own the results.
So don your white coats and enter the labs of federalism as sober social scientists, asking one quantitatively-measurable question: For the average American, is it better to work in an economy run by Democrats or Republicans?
The results from these experiments are conclusive.
Consider:
Republican states have the least productive economies.
The states with the lowest output per capita are Republican; Democratic states are home to the most productive workers and business owners, Bureau of Economic Analysis data show.
Workers in Republican states earn the least.
The states that pay the lowest average wages are Republican, per Bureau of Labor Statistics data; Democratic states have the highest-paying jobs.
Beyond making less, workers in GOP states die more often. Republican states consistently have the highest workplace fatality rates, BLS data show. Democratic states are home to the safest workplaces.
Families in Republican states are poorer. The 10 states with the lowest median household income are nearly all Republican, according to US Census data. The average family earns — much — more in Democratic states.
And in an ironic twist for a party whose members believe they’re victims of Big Gov, Republican states take more from the federal government than they pay in.
Specifically, states whose residents rely most on federal spending are Republican, per WalletHub’s most recent analysis. Democratic states not only have the least dependent residents, but their taxes are redistributed away from their home states to finance Republican states’ dependents.
As voters weigh the two parties’ approaches to prosperity, they must know:
There are two very distinct American economies — the one with lower productivity, lower wages, poorer families, deadlier jobs and more dependent citizens is run by Republicans.
