What does the market have to do with how the middle & lower income vote?

[GingerSnaps]

Why would the middle class and lower income people vote for Bush and company because the markets are up.

The only market that I know about right now is the Supermarket.

[Yupster]

1. Middle class has 401(k) plans

They get a statement every quarter and everyone at least looks at the bottom line to see if they're up or down the last quarter.

[GingerSnaps]

3. Not all middle class have 401K plans

Most people don't get benefits with their jobs today.

[Paradise]

2. that's exactly what i was thinking. n/t

[Mountainman]

4. Because they are sheep and believe what they are told.

Lots of older middle class and lower believe that what is good for business is good for the country. I shouldn't say they believe it, they are told that's the case and they don't ever question it.

Just think about all the things we take as faith that we are told by the various industries. The food industry and diet industry are a couple that come to mind.

[Journeyman]

5. Psychological factor in their perception of the economy. . .

even though most people are not invested in the market, and even more don't understand how it works, because the daily fluctuations are so much a part of the news cycle a lot of people perceive it as a strong indicator of the economy's health . . . which is rarely the case, but perception -- indeed -- is all.

[jayavarman]

6. The market under Bush's watch

DJIA on 11/7/00 closed @ 10,952.18
DJIA Closed today @ 10,290.28

Bush cannot plausibly look to the market as a reason for folks to support him. . . . For those who would blame 9-11 for these unimpressive statistics . . . I have more-

Market Close on 9/10/01 9,605.51
Lowest Immediate post 9-11 Close 8,235.81

The Biggest market slide under Bush's watch actually occurred between this wonderful interval

3/11/02 10,611.24
10/10/02 7,533.95

People don't forget shit like we've seen especially when it comes to Their money.

I don't care if you are a billionaire or a factory worker . . . . your $ is your $ and anyone with investments or a 401k knows that these last 4 years have sucked balls.

Here's a overview of the past 5 years for all that are interested

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=^DJI&t=5y

[napi21]

7. I go along with the 401(K) statement.

There are lot of people who don't have them, but there a lot of people who do! Especially those who have been in the workforce for a nuimber of years. It really doesn't cost a Co much to have one of those. There isn't any requirement that they contribute any matching funds, although most do at least some.

I know I worked for 40+ years, and I had almost $200,000 in my 401(K), until Bush, Enron, etc. happened. Now it's worth $45,000. And no I didn't work for Enron, and all my funds were in mutual funds, not all one company. People like me watch the stock market because we keep hoping our savings might at least get closer to what they were 4 years ago.

Very very few have pensions anymore. That may be what you're thinking of.