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To the editor:
When decisions are based upon bad information, the consequences can be disastrous. Imagine a vehicle at a railroad crossing and the driver incorrectly believes the tracks are clear; it won’t end well.
While the stakes are not exactly analogous, Americans will be making a very consequential decision this November and all indications are that too many could be doing so based upon very bad information. A Harris poll taken this May confirms this. Nearly three in five respondents said the U.S. is in a recession and the economy is contracting.
The opposite is true. The last U.S. recession was 2020 during the pandemic and GDP growth has been strong for the past three-plus years.
Forty-nine percent of respondents believe unemployment is at a 50-year high; it is actually at a 50-year low. And, a majority (58 percent) blame Joe Biden for a “worsening” economy rather than credit him for the strongest post-pandemic recovery among G7 nations.
A recent letter (“Are you better off?” The Chief, May 10) illustrated this. The author incorrectly stated that under Donald Trump we experienced “The highest employment and lowest unemployment numbers in history.” I doubt the author knew this statement was false or that he intended to spread misinformation. That is the problem.
There was a time when Americans were among the best informed electorates in the world; not anymore. Today, voter opinions are shaped by politics rather than political choices being shaped by facts. Don’t look now, but the train is coming.
Joseph Cannisi
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