Janine Jackson: Let’s just sit with that for a second. You know, like, what they’re saying is there’s something abstract called the economy, and it matters more than people.

[Laughter]

You know, somehow this abstraction matters more than people. And then I even hate the subhead. There’s levels and levels on this piece. The subhead was, “Years of elevated prices have strained all but the wealthiest consumers, and low- and middle-income Americans say something needs to change.” Now this gets at another issue that I have with the way corporate media treat the people the public, which is they pit us against one another. So, Well, low- and middle-income Americans are on the short end of this stick, and so they say something needs to change. Like it’s a debate. Your headline is, “Most Americans can’t afford life anymore,” and it’s still supposed to be like a fight between classes. And, you know, it’s such a bizarre way of presenting it and saying that there is this bigger god that must be served that’s called the economy.

Nima: Right. And that’s the real decision maker. It’s not people making decisions.

Janine Jackson: Exactly. And the fact that rich people are now responsible for 50.3% of all consumer spending, as opposed to that lower-income people and ‘low-income’ meaning make less than $250,000 a year, those of us are responsible now for just 50.3% of all consumer spending, whereas 30 years ago, we accounted for 64% of US spending. So since we are poorer and no longer able, or choosing to, spend as much, we don’t matter.

Nima: Right.

Janine Jackson: We don’t matter. We fall off.

Nima: Even more expendable.

Janine Jackson: We’re even more expendable. So you can have media, and I will say, when you just narrate that nightmare, you’re perpetuating it.

Nima: Well, exactly. And that’s what gets to this idea that we were talking about up top, Janine, which is identifying that, literally just even using that ridiculous MarketWatch headline, if you were to say that as a candidate, and say, I want to do something about that. People should be able to afford life. And there is something called ‘the economy’ that needs to change, because this is not working for people, that is when you become unserious. It’s like, Oh, well, this is clear, what is happening in our society. This is being reported on. There is data. We see it anecdotally. We see it rampantly across this country, across our communities, across our families. But when you actually say, And something needs to change, and here’s my plan, to change it, you can say something needs to change all day, like, whatever. Cool. Hope and change, right? But when you explain how, if that in any way takes one penny away from multinational corporations or billionaires? Well, then it’s totally unserious. And this is when it gets to, Oh, now you’re just pandering to these idiot loonies who just want to be told that things will be better when everyone knows, all serious people can agree, they can’t be better.

Janine Jackson: Exactly. I think back to a headline back in 2019, when Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were being very well received by lots of folks within the Democratic electorate and the Associated Press had a headline, “Should Democrats be going big or getting real?”

[Laughter]

Adam: Yeah. Of course, those are the only options you have. It’s seriousness and leftwing frivolity.