Housing market downturn clouds Biden’s rosy economic forecast for the US
With a little over two weeks to go before the presidential election, Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden’s rosy economic forecast for the US now appears in serious doubt. After all, the US economy has been shedding jobs for three years and there is a big question mark over whether it can get back to normal employment, especially after two consecutive recessions.
A CNN poll released on Monday put the race between Biden and his Republican opponent, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, back to within a percentage point. But now the economic downturn is putting the brakes on Biden’s rosy forecasts. According to the poll, only 21% of people now view Biden as “better” able to handle the economy – down from 24% last month and just under 30% four months ago.
The latest poll also showed Senator Cruz and President Barack Obama at 10% and 11% respectively, with the remaining candidates at around 2%.
“We’re not where we were right after the 2008 crash,” said John Schmitt of the Wall Street Journal, “but the fact is that we are now in recession, which puts the presidential election in a very different light in terms of what the candidates are prepared to do to try to boost our economy.”
While the economy is still very much a factor in the presidential election, the new CNN poll does give a clearer picture of how voters view it. According to the survey, 61% say the state of the economy is “extremely important” to their vote, and only 22% say it is only “some important,” and 21% do not give an answer at all.
The current downturn is hurting many of Biden’s more upbeat views on the economy. Twenty-two percent say that America is “on the right track” to deal with the impact of recent economic problems, with another 16% saying it is “a little off” and 15% saying it is “a lot off.”
However, Biden’s economic optimism among the public has been put in question. According to CNN’s poll, just 24% now view him as “better” able to handle the economy, down from 39% four months ago and around 40% last month.
The recent economic downturn is also impacting Obama’s popularity. While 46% view him as “better” able to handle the economy, 42% say they are “about the same” as they were before the problem started
