Quote:
Originally Posted by filtherton
I think we should start from the premise that anyone who seems sure of what is actually going on and who isn't also directly involved with what's going on is probably more certain than is justified.
There is never enough information to make completely informed decisions and so, to differing extents, we all have to make assumptions about salient details.
Problems arise when people fail to acknowledge that their assumptions might be misplaced. For instance, people with a superficial understanding of economics tend to misapply the notion of supply and demand. They understand this basic economic concept enough that they can intuitively apply it, but they often aren't aware of the underlying mechanisms.
I think that a lot of people evaluate every bit of political/economic news based on the underlying assumption that Obama/Democrats are socialist tyrants who are trying to ruin the country. These people are then easily exploited by opinion makers seeking to consolidate their own power (ahem, congressional republicans and large financial backers of the tea party movement). An identical process works on the left too.
As with all things, people have the tendency to see what they want to see unless they are explicitly aware of this dynamic and actively try to counteract it.
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I think people believe what affects them. The media or government can put spins on it for a short period of time but in the end a person's reality and belief of what is going on is based on their experiences and what those close to them are going through.
If I come from say, the Buffett/Walton/Gates etc family, I am going to believe that there are no economic problems and if there are they are overblown and not as bad as people say. Why? because I don't pay attention and I don't experience the economic ills, like those who aren't in my class. I truly have no pressure financially and thus economics in my reality don't mean much. I can buy what I need and want and not worry. Government is controllable and I have money so that taxes don't bother me much, besides we have accountants paid well to make sure we pay as little as possible.
If I come from a Ford/GM/Goodyear etc family, I'm going to see wages declining and be trying to watch my budget and just make ends meet. I am under pressure to make ends meet but I still can eke out a little for "luxuries" like movies and because of the Wal marts I can buy some "higher end" goods (e machine computers, Dell, a tv, etc) cheap and be ok, I still have credit and I'll just make minimum payments, pay one thing off buy another if need be. Government seems to maybe try but they aren't truly doing anything to help and what they do seems to hurt us more. I can't really afford more taxes but maybe I can cut back a little more. I'll get my refund in April.
If I come from a service sector/$10 an hour job/small business owner that is losing to the national corporations...I'm going to see an extreme decline. I'm fighting to keep what I got, I may be able to afford some luxuries but not really... everything I can get is on credit or borrowed from this bill where I am behind but not so bad I'll lose service because I play bill ping pong.i have to go to thrift second hand stores, Dollar General stores, etc. to buy clothes and some things if not all I need. I'm 1 blown tire, 1 serious car problem, 1 missed paycheck from losing everything and the pressure has gotten to me. I feel I no longer have a voice and government does not care about me at all. My reality is that I watch celebrities, pay attention to reality show tripe, I drink/drug and live haphazardly with no true "stability" so that I can relax from the real world. Taxes eat up 33% of my paycheck and I can't afford that, let alone sales taxes and taxes on items I buy that are hidden into the prices.
The middle example is fastly becoming a part of the last example. This allows government to be more corrupt and to create more gaps in the classes. This administration, much like the Bush and end part of Clinton Administrations when you could see this happening are and won't do anything to change the course.
So the reality is determinate upon which "class" example you fall into or are closer to.