Begin in agreement, for example: For too many of us, the economic system is broken.
Use values, for example: Justice, equal justice, civil justice, equal opportunity, fairness, fair rules, fair markets, level playing field, security, safety, protection.
Show how they benefit, for example: We need an economy that works for Main Street, not Wall Street.
Democrats (and many Republicans) are emphasizing “affordability.” That makes sense because the cost of child care has increased by 40 percent, rents by 50 percent, and home sale prices by 80 percent since 2017. Grocery prices have increased 30 percent, and overall inflation has risen 26 percent since the start of the pandemic. Some families with ACA health insurance have seen their prices quadruple.
About 60 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, more than 40 percent couldn’t pay an unexpected $400 expense, many credit card holders are carrying huge negative balances, and students are leaving college tens of thousands of dollars in debt.
Of course, Americans have always been most concerned about economic issues that impact them personally, the so-called “kitchen table issues.” Americans have always wanted to know who will help them with wages, benefits, bills, debt, health insurance, college loans, and the like. To them, these are not about politics; they are about life. (For more depth about economics, read Chapter 23.)
Without understanding any details, typical American workers know that they have been cheated in two ways. In the short term, prices have skyrocketed while wages have remained stagnant. Over the long term, workers and their families are worse off than their parents and grandparents were. And they know that somebody is to blame for it.
Short term: More than 70 percent of voters believe that Trump’s tariffs on imports have increased how much they pay. And 90 percent are concerned about high gas and fuel prices caused by the war. So, you don’t have to convince Americans; you need to remind them:
Say… Through his trade tariffs and his war on Iran, Donald Trump has increased the prices you pay for almost everything. And who has stopped him? All the conservative federal, state, and local officials who have refused to push back against these unprecedented tariffs and this ill-conceived war share responsibility for driving up the cost of living.
While Trump is the current leader of the MAGA movement, many others are now lining up to take his place. So don’t simply blame Trump—you need to lay the blame for bad policies at the feet of the movement and all the leaders who drive it. In addition, Americans need to understand that the MAGA foreign policy strategy drives up all prices, not just gasoline and imported electronics. People will quickly understand if you explain:
Say… Trump’s tariffs and the war’s effect on oil are driving up all the prices you pay. Tariffs are, in effect, federal taxes that you end up paying. A shortage of petroleum products drives up the prices you pay. But the war has also driven up fertilizer costs, which in turn raise food prices. And every product must be transported, which now costs more, and you will pay for it. Quite simply, to protect all our families, the Trump/MAGA foreign policy must be stopped.
Long term: This ought to be a slam-dunk for our side, but most Democrats have been unwilling to criticize wealthy individuals and big corporations. We need to say something like this:
Say… The corporate owners and operators are the ones who raised your prices. They fund the far-right conservatives in office. Far-right policies make them richer. If you care about affordability, you must understand that the ultra-rich and their friends in elective office are not on your side.
The far right and MAGA understand that people are hurting and want someone to blame. So they have, quite successfully, blamed people of color, immigrants, low-income workers, and their “woke” allies. Not coincidentally, this diversion of responsibility away from the rich is funded by the rich.
For at least a decade, virtually every poll has shown that, if they hear the following argument, persuadable voters will agree that the billionaires and wealthy corporations deserve blame. It absolutely works. And there are many ways to communicate this idea effectively. For example:
Say… For most working Americans, our economy is broken. To fix it, our policies must benefit all people, not just the richest 1%. Our system works when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone gives their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.
Persuadable voters believe in a series of stereotypes about Republicans and Democrats. In economic policy, persuadable voters favor conservative ideas of low taxes and free markets, but they also believe that Republicans favor the rich over the middle class. At the same time, persuadable voters like progressives who fight for economic fairness, but they also tend to believe that Democrats favor people experiencing poverty over the middle class.
Obviously, we need to emphasize that our opponents support the rich while we support the middle class. That does not mean we should lessen our commitment to fighting poverty or shift our policies to the right; it means we should focus on the fact that our economic policies benefit the middle class while our opponents’ policies don’t. It’s a matter of framing.
This is another version of the same theme:
Say… Our economy is upside down. Most Americans are barely getting by, while the rich have never had it better. We need an economy that works for Main Street. Not Wall Street.
For average Americans to understand the story, it is essential to use language that explicitly calls out the rich, MAGA, and the far right:
Say… Virtually everything that Trump and MAGA have done or plan to do is a giveaway to billionaires. They’ve cut taxes, provided subsidies, reversed rules, and eliminated government staff expressly for the benefit of billionaires. We should all be worried about this.
And:
Say… Americans need leaders who are on their side. Let’s be honest about something: MAGA and far-right leaders do not have plans to create jobs, raise wages, expand health care, relieve debt, or rein in big corporations. The billionaires who support MAGA are the ones who broke the economy, and they have no intention of fixing it for you.
And if you want to go there, especially on tough economic issues like inflation:
Say… My opponent is not going to favor you over the rich. Billionaires like Elon Musk control their side. They haven’t even proposed anything that would actually help you. That’s the real difference in this debate. I am on your side.
Gallup rated Musk the least popular prominent figure in the U.S., and he’s not going to become popular. How do you add facts or statistics to this argument without losing your audience? Here’s an example:
Say… Our economic system is rigged to favor the rich over all the rest of us. At the same time that Trump and MAGA cut the Affordable Care Act and multiplied healthcare costs for middle-class families, they also gave ten times as much money to the rich in tax breaks. The problem is not a lack of money; it is unfair priorities. They put the rich first, while I put you first.
That narrative sandwiched a fact between two expressions of values. Here are some additional phrases about the economy that work together or separately:
Say… Too often, the system is rigged to favor the wealthy over ordinary Americans, or big corporations over small businesses…. It does not have to be that way—we can change the rules…. We need an economy that works for all of us, not just the wealthy few…. To build a strong economy, we need a strong middle class for everyone…. It’s time to rewrite the economic rules to benefit all Americans, not just the rich and powerful.
These messages appeal to just about every persuadable American without sounding ideological. That’s important because most of them think that “free enterprise has done more to lift people out of poverty, help build a strong middle class and make our lives better than all of the government’s programs put together.” So don’t attack capitalism, condemn economic unfairness.
Don’t say… Capitalism
Say… The system isn’t working for working familiesDon’t say… Free markets, free enterprise, free trade
Say… Fair markets, fair trade, level playing field, rigging the rules, gaming the system, stacking the deck, an economy that works for all of us
If you attack the market system, you marginalize yourself. And don’t use the phrases free markets or free enterprise because they frame economics in our opponents’ favor.
Don’t say… Corporations/businesses are bad
Say… The problem is unfair tax breaks and giveaways to Wall Street and Silicon Valley speculators, giant banks, and huge corporationsDon’t say… anything negative about small businesses
Say… anything positive about Main Street
Voters feel good about corporations and businesses—they work for them, use their products, and they are ubiquitous in their lives. But Americans especially adore the concept of Main Street. As pollster Celinda Lake says, “Americans are in love with small business. It’s a concept that voters see as almost synonymous with America.”
Don’t say… Income inequality
Say… The richest one percent, the super-rich, billionairesDon’t say… Economic disparity
Say… All the rest of us, economic injustice or unfairness, the disappearing middle class
Understand that billionaires and big corporations are not unpopular for who they are, but for what they’ve done. To be effective, you need to connect the bad guy to the bad deed, such as unfair financial gains, exploiting workers, accepting bailouts, data mining, or paying outrageous CEO bonuses. Americans expect some people to earn more than others. It’s not income inequality that voters oppose; it is economic injustice, economic unfairness, and people who cheat or rig the system.
In fact, conservatives relentlessly warp markets to benefit the rich and powerful. They use subsidies, loopholes, trade policy, labor law, and economic complexity to corrupt markets. It is progressives who seek to build fair markets. Help voters visualize such a system.
Say… We need an economy that rewards hard work and innovation—and holds accountable those who cheat the system or pass their costs onto the rest of us. A fair market system energizes our economy, creates jobs, and allows everyone the opportunity to pursue the American dream.
Finally, when talking about economics, don’t limit the conversation to income inequality. In America, the biggest inequalities involve assets.
Say… Our economic system should reward hard work and innovation. That’s the American way. But right now, the richest 1% in America own about 10 times more wealth than the bottom half of Americans combined. The rich don’t need more subsidies and loopholes. They need to pay their fair share.
This is a great way to reframe the overall political narrative away from culture wars toward kitchen-table economic issues, which favor progressives—if we talk about them.