Washington campaign trail splits on economic record ahead of midterms

A Johns Hopkins professor says the U.S. economy looks strong on paper while many voters do not feel that strength in their own household budgets. Alessandro Rebucci, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, described the gap between aggregate data and household spending power as a split in the economic picture.

"Voters reflect the perception of the cost of living as they experienced, as opposed to what is in the data," Rebucci said. "In the data, you have an economy that is very strong as a whole."

Rebucci said the wealthiest households spend a larger share of their income and wealth than the lowest earners. He described this pattern as a chart where higher earners and asset owners move one way while middle and lower earners move another. "This is an economy that is comfortable with inequality," he said. He added that the issue is adjusting the system so people can live with that inequality and see a path into the top 10% or top 1%.

President Donald Trump has told supporters the economy is performing well. "The economy is the greatest economy we've ever had, by far," Trump said at an Aug. 5 rally in Las Vegas. Rebucci said the party in Washington typically makes similar claims each election cycle.

Consumer surveys have recorded different opinions from voters about their own finances. Rebucci said the distribution of economic gains shapes how people answer those questions.

Rebucci said Americans have lived with economic inequality for a long time. He said the goal is not to remove the gap but to adjust the system so people can live with it and see a path toward the top income brackets.

The midterm elections are approaching, and voters are preparing to head to the polls.