How to Talk to Voters about the Economy

It's One of the BIG THREE Issues

“The economy” is one of the three top issues of the presidential campaign, as well as being the TOP issue for all statewide and local races this cycle.

When you talk to voters, you want to talk about all the great things that our slate will do. You want to talk about Project 2025 and the potential damage to the entire world. You might even want to be snarky about the other side. Squelch those desires.

Because your job is to get the voter to “yes”. And these voters include Democrats who are thinking of staying home in November. More of them than you might think. As I found out the other day, this might be in someone’s own home.

An aside: a young woman told me that she was all in. I know she lives with her father, who is going through a lot of health challenges, so I asked if she was going to get him an absentee ballot. “He’s not voting this year,” she told me, as if the subject was then closed. She lives in a bright blue state, so it doesn’t matter directly for the presidential race, but what I knew that she didn’t, was that they live in a competitive House district. And so, I quizzed her on his logic, and what his issues were. Her dad doesn’t see a difference between the candidates, nor the party platforms. He feels that neither would have an impact on him.

I know about his health challenges, so I was able to point out to her the risk to him of losing his health insurance (if the ACA ceases), and then, in a decade, not having Social Security nor Medicare, and facing a full retirement age of 69 instead of 67. We then reviewed what would happen to doctors under Project 2025, as well as his medications. She is talking to him, now fully armed with literature, and if necessary, I’ll talk to him. I told you this anecdote to show that non-voters could be hiding anywhere.

But likely, what you’ll hear relates to economic issues (as well as Gaza and the border, and I’ll cover those in separate posts.)

I’ll give you a couple examples, and you can extrapolate to other responses. If you hear something you don’t know how to answer, drop me a note, and I’ll get you through it.

A voter might tell you that “gas and food are too expensive.”

The best answer is "You are absolutely correct. I come close to having a panic attack when I think about going to the grocery store to buy the week's food for my family. I HAVE to keep my kids fed. But you know what? In the past few months, the prices of both milk and eggs have come down, and I'm starting to see places like Target lowering prices. Have you shopped for food at the Target?"

(If they say yes -- talk food a bit, if they say no, say "you should!") In fact, have a copy of Target’s weekly ad on your phone so you can show the sale prices of the week. There are other places besides Target that are lowering food and household prices, but I only know about Target. (And as a complete aside, this week at Target, they have back to school supplies like crayons, pencils, folders, glue, etc. on sale for 25 cents to 99 cents, AND if you are a teacher or school staff, you get 20% off a complete qualifying purchase.)

Then, say, "I believe that part of the problem is corporate greed - like shrinkflation - the government had nothing to do with that. I mean, I need to buy extra toilet paper because the rolls are so much smaller. I'm SO GLAD that Senator Casey has a bill on tap to punish the corporate raiders for shrinkflation, and I'm so glad that a President Harris would go even further to help lower prices. May I tell you one other thing?"

(They'll say yes.)

"I'm really terrified that if Trump gets elected, he'll put tariffs on everything. Do you realize what that means?"

(They'll either say no, or give a wrong answer, so explain it to them.)

"At Walmart, I can buy a tee shirt for my kid that costs $3. But with the tariff, it will cost me $6. Everything from China will double in price. Isn't that terrible?"

Note: if you don’t live in Pennsylvania, you can’t use the Bob Casey example, but there are other examples you can use - contact me if you need help with your specific Senator or Representative.

Another economic argument you may hear is that government spending (“Bidenomics”) CAUSED inflation. These people will say that they were better off under the previous administration.

At this point, you want to ask one or two of the following questions:

• Did you receive a $1,400 check in 2021? Did your spouse? Did that money help you? <Wait for a response, and then> Do you realize THAT is what they are saying “caused inflation”?

• Did you benefit from the increased Child Care Credit? Did that money help you? <Wait for a response, and then> Do you realize THAT is what they are saying “caused inflation”?

• Did you receive 100% paid COBRA benefits if you lost your job under the Trump response to Covid? And that your deductibles were covered if you had insurance through the ACA? <Wait for a response, and then> Do you realize THAT is what they are saying “caused inflation”?

• If you lost your job under the Trump response to Covid, did you notice the increased unemployment benefit, and that your unemployment benefits were tax free, unlike normally, when you have to pay taxes on them? <Wait for a response, and then> Do you realize THAT is what they are saying “caused inflation”?

• Did you benefit from the moratorium on evictions?<Wait for a response, and then> Do you realize THAT is what they are saying “caused inflation”?

• Did you receive a free Covid vaccine, or free Covid treatment?<Wait for a response, and then> Do you realize THAT is what they are saying “caused inflation”?

• There are other payments that were made. Should the Biden administration NOT helped Americans during a time of pandemic, high unemployment, evictions, and when food and household goods were so hard to get from empty shelves?<Wait for a response, and then> Do you realize THAT is what they are saying “caused inflation”?

You can follow up with how these payments were necessary to help all of us. If they bring up the MAGA lie that money went to undocumented immigrants, explain that the direct payments were made to people with an active Social Security number. This included Green Card holders, and others authorized to work in the United States. Checks were NOT sent to people without Social Security numbers.

You should NOT ask them if they are making more money today than they did in 2019. They probably are, but they’ll just hit back with the idea that the increase in pay isn’t covering the increase in their costs. You also should NOT ask them about their IRA/401(k) balances, which are likely appreciably higher. It’s impolite.

When you speak to voters about the economy, remember that for a lot of people, they are hurting. They no longer remember the last time they lost a job, the last time prices were expensive…they only know NOW. Show compassion, understanding, and make sure they know you feel it, too.

Later this week, the Harris-Walz campaign will be publishing their economic policies. If someone wants more financial information, that will be a great place to start, and I’ll have it for you once it’s out.