Today. the US has the highest economic growth rate, leading the world economies since the pandemic, the highest in the world.

Our economy came roaring back. Unemployment dipped below 4 percent by the end of my first year in office.

Bringing down inflation remains one of my top priorities today. Today, inflation is less than half — less than half of what it was a year ago.

Folks, it’s no accident.

That’s Bidenomics in action. Bidenomics is about building an economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.

Yay!

Hi, y’all. Nice to meet you. Good morning. This is Elisa and Sophia. We’re from “The Times” Nice to meet you.

How y’all doing?

Someone to take my picture

I would love to hear some stories about y’all, too. When did you first start canvassing? When did you first get involved in One Fair Wage?

I just got involved, but I used to be a low restaurant tip worker.

Where did you work?

The Waffle House — $2.13 an hour, plus tips. And I was getting great tips. But you know what the catch was? The people that wasn’t getting tips, I had to share my tips with them. So, yeah, so it wasn’t, it wasn’t great.

That was in the state of Oklahoma. Yeah, it’s $2.13. So just imagine $2.13, and I’m getting these tips. But I got to share them with three or four different people. So I was really making nothing.

When was that?

That was two years ago.

So when you heard about this, what did you think?

I thought this was great. This is perfect. We need to raise minimum wage, especially like everywhere in my state. I come from a very red state. And so I would love when we get there to that state, to my state, so we can work on that.

Because just imagine. If I didn’t get any tips, can you live off of $2.13? I couldn’t. So this will be very helpful to me if I — at that time, if I was getting $15 an hour, I would live comfortable, plus tips. So, yeah.

You’re like, that’s a tangible difference in quality of life. Can you give me an example about a time in which — I mean, this might seem obvious, but when it became really clear to you that that $2.13 plus tips wasn’t enough?

Yeah, when stuff starts getting cut off. I had five kids. So can you imagine having five kids on $2.13 an hour, and you got your electric, gas, and water that has to be paid, and your cell phone bill? Can you imagine how I was struggling?

So I had to get food stamps. So it was like, OK, I’m just going to try to do the best I can do. I’m going to braid some hair, I’m going to do people’s hair and stuff on the side, just to get little extras to get my kids, you know, the clothes they need.

I’d go to thrift stores, garage sales like that, just to be able to provide for my kids. The food pantry because I didn’t get that many food stamps also. But the food pantries came in handy, too. So that’s how I was able to survive.

Now, I spent that days. I didn’t have no electricity. I would go, like, four or five days without any electricity. But we survived with candles. Yeah.

What’s it been like getting involved in this?

This has been great. This been great because these people, they really care about people. I love canvassing. I love meeting people. I can go out and talk to people like I’ve been knowing them forever. And I want these signatures, so I’m going to talk to you, get these signatures because we have a goal to reach, and I want to reach that goal. It will help a lot of people.

You’re from — you’re from Ohio?

I’m from Dayton, actually.

You’re from Dayton? OK.

I am.

And where did you work previously?

Previously, I did McDonald’s. I was — I actually was making $16, and it still wasn’t enough. So I think it should go up to maybe like $20 because making $16 when you got $900 rent, your car payment is $800.

Even when you make $24. I know people that make $24, and that sounds like a lot. So yeah, I was making more than the minimum wage, and it still just wasn’t enough not to make ends meet.

And I have a 13-year-old son at home. My girls are grown, but he wants to go and do things. And he wants all these iPhones and things like that. And even with $16, I still couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.

Hello. Could I get you to sign my petition to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour?

Sure.

OK, thank you, ma’am. Are you a registered voter in the state? OK, here you go.

Hello, sir. Would you like to sign my petition to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour?

I don’t care about people making money. I just love to have fun.

People gotta make some money around here.

Yeah, I’ll sign it. Let me get over here real quick.

All right.

You say you signed the petition. I guess, how do you feel about the economy?

I feel like the economy right now is crap.

Minimum wage is too low. Inflation is definitely too high. Even if you make six figures, you need to make nine figures to survive in this economy.

Do you feel like it’s gotten worse over the years?

It’s gotten worse definitely over these last three years.

What do you account that to? Why do you think that is?

I’m going to account that to Joe Biden and his administration and what they’re doing.

I really believe that them increasing the prices on every single thing. And I know they’re trying to get their money back from giving out all of them stimulus checks. But come on, now. We can’t even live. We got to rob Peter to pay Paul, and that’s just not working.

How did you feel about the stimulus checks? Do you feel like those were necessary?

Those were definitely necessary. But at the same time, I felt like there should have been things in place for people not to over-abuse them. And we’re just paying for everybody who did all that PPP fraud. That’s what we’re paying for.

Did you vote for Biden in 2020?

I did vote for Biden.

Is it making you reconsider voting?

No, I’m going to vote for him again.

You’re going to vote for him again.

Even though inflation is crazy high right now, I still believe that he’s done a lot outside of that. And I feel like if we give him another chance, he’ll do even more.

OK, so then you have issues with him when it comes to economy, I guess. Then what is your motivation for voting for him again in the fall?

Well, he did what he’s supposed to do with the student loan debt, finally. He’s done things as far as him and Kamala when it comes to diversity and inclusion among communities. And so they’ve done a lot of great things, I would say. And that would lead my vote towards them. Now, I do miss Trump. Trump did give us the money. Trump did give us the money. I do believe that Trump was more so a president for helping the lower-class citizens. But yeah.

Did you — did you ever vote for Trump?

I did vote for Trump.

OK, so tell me. Walk me through. So did you vote for Trump in 2016?

Yes.

But you voted for Biden in 2020?

Yes.

OK. Tell me, why did you vote for Trump in 2016?

So I voted for Trump because Trump was funny. I’m going to be completely honest. He was a funny guy. I watched him on “Celebrity Apprentice” for many years and followed his business mindset. So that’s why I voted for him, and not to know all the stuff that he was going to do while he was elected, you know, was going to come out, all of that stuff. But him as a person that I viewed then is why I voted for him.

So then you vote for Biden. Is that because — tell me — tell me then how do you —

I was grown and more mature. And then I seen the state of the world as the United States was going in. And that direction President Trump was putting us in was bad. It was bad.

And when did you decide that? When? 2017, 2018?

Probably 2019. 2020, actually, really, when the whole really outbreak of coronavirus really took its toll. And I seen how he was treating people from China and his remarks and that.

And I’m like, OK, now this is not a joke. This is really who he is. And started to look into everything else. And then that persuaded my vote against him for his second term.

OK, OK. And now, and now, you’re decidedly — you’re going to vote for Biden in —

Yes, yes. I’m going to give Biden a second chance. I believe that he’s doing what he said he was going to do during his campaign. Everything he said he was going to do, he’s pretty much done.

And so he lived up to his word, even though he made the cost of living high. They waited till I started making six figures to make the cost of living crazy. But I believe that he’s going to redeem, he’s going to redeem the United States.

Thank you so much. I’m Elisa.

Good afternoon, sir. Would you like to sign the petition to raise minimum wage to $15?

I did yesterday.

How are you doing, sir? My name is Astead. This is Sophia. We’re from “The New York Times.” We’re actually in Ohio today talking to people about how they feel about the economy, how they feel about things that are going in the country right now, how they feel about this crazy election we’re about to have. Do you mind if you have five minutes to chat with us?

Sure.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

You may not like what I have to say, but.

I will promise you that as long as you’re saying something that’s honest, I would love to hear it. Can you tell me your name?

Rod

Rod. All right, and are you from the county? Where are you from?

Miamisburg.

OK, cool. You said you signed the minimum wage petition yesterday.

Yes.

What made you want to sign?

Most of my life, I’ve worked in food, as I still do. And we’ve always gotten paid less than what I thought we should be getting paid.

Do you mind if I ask how much you get paid now?

I make $18 now, which isn’t too bad, especially, I don’t think, we’re making a sub. I know people that work at factories. They get paid that, and they do a lot harder work than I do.

So you’re saying you’ve always worked in food, and so usually that number’s been less than that?

Oh, yes, definitely.

Can you tell me about some of the other rates that you were working at, other places, and how much you were making?

All the way back to my first job — when I first started working at Taco Bell, I made $2.65 an hour. But that’s when I was 16.

Yeah.

I don’t know. For the past few years, it’s been $10 or more But even then, I just feel like people should be able to work. You or me or anybody should be able to work by themselves and take care of themselves.

You can’t do that, especially not at $10, $12, $13 an hour, which is what most places are at about now. McDonald’s probably has the best pay out of fast food places.

I guess I’m wondering. With that $18 an hour in this economy, is it enough for you? How are you feeling right now?

My wife works, and I DoorDash when I get off work. So, technically, I guess I have two jobs.

What’s the biggest stressor for you income wise when you think about your budget?

Well, together, my wife and I both, we make enough to pay all the bills and everything and go to the grocery store. But there’s nothing left for us to do what we want to do with the money, not what we have to do with the money. So that’s why I DoorDash.

Has that changed in recent years? I’ve heard people talk about the rising prices. What has been the change like for you over the last couple of years when you think about money and the economy?

The biggest thing is everything has increased in price, everything. I don’t care what it is — from gas to rent to food, whatever the case is. And because of that, it just makes everything else harder.

If I was making $18 even five years ago, or let’s say before COVID hit, I would have been making decent money then. I probably could have worked myself and took care of things myself.

Who do you blame for the rise in prices? Is there someone you blame specifically?

Well, I mean, it all comes down to the man in charge, I think. He’s the one that can say yay or no to anything. Now, mind you, there’s still checks and balances where he can’t just absolutely say no or yes. But a lot of the people there that are there now are just — they’re not on the right track, I don’t think.

What do you mean? Can you be more specific?

They’re not thinking about everyone.

Are you talking about President Biden? Are you talking about Democrats? Are you talking about Trump? Or are you talking — who are you talking about?

Biden and Democrats. I was a Democrat for years up until Trump ran. I switched.

In 2016?

Yes. And it was just because as a low-income person, you’re just automatically drawn to being a Democrat because they always want to give you things. Well, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize that they lie a lot.

They tell you all this stuff’s coming, and it never comes, or that this is changing and it never changes. Now, not to say that the same shit hasn’t happened with a Republican because it has. But I figured, I’ve been on one side long enough, and they weren’t working for me, so I switched.

What’d you do in 2020? Did you vote for Trump again?

Um, I don’t remember. I would say yes.

The weird thing about this one is we got the same two again. When you look ahead, do you know who’s going to get your vote in November?

Oh, definitely Trump, without a doubt.

There’s a lot of — Trump cut taxes for the rich. Trump added to the deficit. There’s a lot of arguments that you can say that he didn’t prioritize low-wage workers, either. So why does he definitely have your vote?

Well, I just think the country in general was in a better place when he was the president than Biden has been the whole time, pretty much. He was — again, he was one of those people that came out and said we’re going to do this, we’re going to do that, we’re going to give you this, we’re going to give you that. Nothing.

And he keeps making up excuses about the border, for instance, about how I can’t just close the border. I can’t do it. He can. He legit can sign a piece of paper and stop the whole thing. But he won’t because it’s an election year.

If you could rank your most important issues — economy, you mentioned immigration. Is there anything at the top of your list when you think about the things that most matter to you, and then why you’re voting for Trump?

I don’t know. Even though Trump is super rich, I don’t know why, but I feel I can relate to him more, which is kind of weird for me to say still to this day about a Republican, to be honest.

But I don’t know. He just — maybe he’s lying too, but he definitely is saying all the right things and wanting to maybe not correct, but at least make better some of the things that have fallen off since Biden took office.

Do you trust Trump or Biden more on the economy?

Trump.

Trump or Biden more on immigration?

Trump.

Is there any issue that you prefer Democrats to, considering you used to be a Democrat?

Well, I mean, I like the way Democrats think, if they would just follow through with everything. A lot of the ideas that they come up with are great ideas.

It’s not just the words, it’s action.

Yes.

Got it.

I mean, you can’t tell somebody — like, if you’re a friend and I tell you I’m coming over. Well, I didn’t come today. Well, I’m coming tomorrow. I didn’t come tomorrow. I’m coming — you know, you can’t just keep telling somebody that over and over and over and over. They’re just going to be like, whatever. Don’t come. That’s just where I’m at with that.

In all honesty, I wish we didn’t have parties in general because when it’s all said and done, we’re all one country. We’re all one people. And we should all have the same, or at least close to the same, set of values and morals. And I don’t feel like that’s the case right now.

Thanks, Rod. Can you just tell me your last name?

My name is Astead. This is Sophia. We’re with “The New York Times.” We’ve been talking with the canvassers today and asking people why they decided to sign. I know you’ve got some bags. We can walk with you, too. We just wanted to know why you decided to sign. And I heard some stuff about you working with the folks returning.

Yes.

And so I just would love to hear that story.

Yes.

And so we can walk with you, if that’s easier.

OK, OK, thank you.

No problem. Can you just tell me a little — oh.

Uh-oh.

Cool. Thank you. Can you just tell us a little bit about yourself?

All right. I work for the Montgomery County Office —

OK.

Thank you, baby. — Montgomery County Office of Reentry. We welcome back returning citizens who are coming from incarceration. I’m sorry, darling.

No, go ahead. We can finish. We’re all good. You want to put it right here?

Yes, darling, that’s fine. A lot of the returning citizens come back. They went to prison because they were street men. They had stacks of money all the time. So what sense does it make to come out of prison after you’re used to having money to survive, and you’re just making minimum wage?

So I think it’s important that that minimum wage is increased to help people live and to survive. I’m a single woman, so my income is my only income. And it’s hard to try and juggle between do I get food or gas? What do I do? Or do I just try to wait for another two weeks to pay the utility bill, pay a part of the utility bill? No one deserves to have to live like that.

Yeah, we’re talking about others. I’m curious for you, too. How long have you been in Dayton? Are you from around here?

I’m from Dayton. I sure am.

We’re also asking people about the election, how they feel about the country right now. If I could pose that question to you, how would you relate the way people are kind of feeling that economic strife to the state of the country, optimism, and how things look going forward?

As far as our government is concerned, you got to meet the people where they are. So politicians who are out and who are advocating for a position in government, you got to go where the people are. And you got to stay there. You just don’t go for photo ops and things like that. You got to become a part of the community that you are trying to win an election for.

The interesting thing is Ohio is such an important place for the presidential race historically. And there’s a kind of open question about whether it’s still a place that Democrats can do well and things. When you think about if you’re President Biden, do you think Ohio is a place where he can still win?

I think Ohio is a place that he can still win. There are a lot of spiritually led people here in the state of Ohio who believes that if you have a heart for people that you’ll do good in office. So I just believe if he begins to just come and just advocate for some things for the people here that he would have a strong chance at winning the election again.

The last thing I’ll ask is, for us being around so many Dayton Black folks today, I haven’t heard a lot of good things about how they’re feeling about Democrats or how they’re feeling about even President Biden.

What do you think has shifted, that has made a community that historically has been so Democratic supportive? And when I’m around here over today and talking to people, I hear a lot of people upset. Do you hear the same thing? Or do you think that’s just the kind of outlier voice?

I do hear the same thing. When Obama was in office, I believe that the African-Americans had a lot of hope, a lot of hope. But when he did his bid and his term, and now I just believe that they just feel hopeless.

We have a mayor who was the mayor of Trotwood, Ohio, for several terms. And she ran those terms as a Democrat. But then she switched affiliation to Republican. So that says a lot. It speaks volume. It really, really does.

Do you hear Trump even making inroads sometimes with these people?

Yes.

And I’m always torn to know how real we think that is. Do you think that — what do you think is drawing some connection between someone who, I think, eight years ago, we would have said there’s no way he’s winning some Black folks? And now I’m like, I’m not so sure.

Yeah, yeah. I do know African-Americans who support Trump. Yes, they support him because they feel as though he is a go-getter. He’s questionable, but he says what he means. And he’s not afraid to stand up to the opposition.

And so I believe that African-Americans they just want to support someone who is gung ho and gun strong and is going to do that. So they kind of overlook the things that he’s kind of going through in his life.

All those cases can mean less if he’s someone who says what he means and does what he means?

Yes, yes.

If I’m hearing you correctly, though, I should expect you to vote for Biden in November. Question mark?

I would vote? Is that what you’re asking?

Yeah, is that who you think you’re going to vote for?

Yes, yes.

Cool. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Thank you. This was really great.

Thank you for helping.

Have a great day.

Who ever going to forgive my student loans? I’ll take you. I’ll say you can go ahead and get in office.

I think I’ll probably — if you want to forgive your student loans, you got to go with Trump.

No, Biden’s been forgiving the loans. He was been clearing loans. Where are you at? Donald Trump.

Why he ain’t clearing mines yet?

You got to get in line.

To be honest with you —

Yeah?

— I hate to say it, but it’s honesty, you know what I’m saying, we got a lot done with Trump in office.

Disenfranchised. This is coming from a man that’s born in ‘60. So I know what it’s like for brothers to have the right to vote. And I’ve always frowned on people saying, I’m not voting. What’s wrong with you. Well, I see now.

No, I wouldn’t vote for neither one of the presidents. Vote for the lesser of the two evils, you know what I’m saying? But you still voting for evil because what they’re doing is wrong, you know what I’m saying? So like, you know what I’m saying? So I’m not going to even get into that part of it.

Is there anything that jumped out from the people we talked to that stuck out to you?

It’s something that we’re hearing every day, and that’s the fact that people can’t afford their bills. I think what we saw today just proves the point that this issue is top of mind for Black voters, Latin voters, and youth all around the state and around the country.

What happens next, though, in terms of being able to reach the signature threshold? And then once that is reached, how will this campaign transition?

Yeah. So after we collect over 700,000 signatures, which is our goal, and we turn them in to the Secretary of State, then we’re going to move into phase two of our campaign, which is going to be our peer-to-peer program. So these canvassers who you’ve met today who are low wage workers or they’ve worked in the restaurant industry, they’re going to lead our peer-to-peer program, talking to their coworkers, talking to people who they know in the industry, other unlikely voters.

Because what we found is that when candidates run on this issue and there’s a peer-to-peer program and they’re actually outspoken about the issue — not just on a piece of paper, but they actually talk about it — then these unlikely voters will go vote for this issue and for those candidates who support the issue. That’s what we saw today when people were saying I don’t usually vote, but, you know, I’ll come vote for this. And so that’s just true across the board.

Can I ask you about Ohio’s purpleness, I’m curious. What makes you think Democrats still do have a shot? And it’s been a couple of bad cycles for them here.

Yeah, I think Ohio’s views — and I wouldn’t even say necessarily Democrat or Republican because that’s so confined. A lot of people are independents, really, in their day-to-day life. People are more conservative, people are more progressive. But most people identify as independent.

When you are making the bare minimum, and you’re worried about how you’re going to feed your kids tonight, you can’t really care about an election that may not actually change your life or maybe will affect you three to four years later.

You’re worried about today, today only. Maybe tomorrow, but mostly you’re focused on today. And you don’t have the capacity to be able to care about voting or get involved in an election that isn’t going to affect your ability to pay your bills and feed your family.

So at the end of the day, I think that a lot of Ohioans, especially people who are either living in poverty or making wages that aren’t sustainable or living paycheck to paycheck, they can’t get involved in civic engagement because not just the education factor — because we do need more civic engagement, education in the state — but the factor of “I don’t have time for that.”

Other issues are important. Climate change is important. But nobody can care about that because we’re making low wages because that is going to affect them 20 or 30 years from now.

Same thing with other issues that are hard to understand. We have gerrymandering — an initiative for that happening right now in Ohio, and people do want fair districts. However, a lot of people who are making low wages don’t have capacity to learn what that is or even go and vote for that or even register to vote because they can’t take a day off work.

People don’t have time. People aren’t just working one job. Working one job for minimum wage, you might make $1,800 a month. People are working two to three jobs to get by and working side hustles or in a gig economy. People are doing DoorDash. People are doing Uber. People are doing Lyft. People are doing hair on the side. People are just trying to get by. And so people have very hectic schedules, and there’s no capacity to care about something that isn’t going to change your actual situation.

I know that people are engaged when you ask them about minimum wage. Are they engaged when you ask them about voting in general? Because it’s been pretty bleak out there when we talk to people about their level of interest in this election.

No, yeah, people tell us, oh, that isn’t going to change anything, or no, I don’t do politics. We get those traditional answers. However, we always push back against that and say, you should care about politics, especially about your local politics, about your statewide politics because those will affect your day-to-day lives. And when you explain how it affects someone’s day-to-day lives about, hey, you can get the minimum wage raise in your state. Hey, you can get your streets repaired, get that abandoned house tore down or fix some tax issues in your city, municipal tax issues, things like that.

We explain why local elections are so important. And you can vote for your sheriff. You can vote for your judges. A lot of people don’t even know that you can vote for judges. So when we explain those things to people, people are like, I see what you’re saying. I do want to get involved. I do want to do that.

So we register them to vote. And then we’re going to follow up with them and continue to talk to them about pivotal issues that actually can affect their day-to-day lives because that’s the big disconnect. Democrats and Republicans have failed a lot of working people in the fact that it’s not about the GDP or the unemployment rates. For most people, it’s about how much is the eggs in the grocery store? How much is the gas for my car? How much is my rent? And so working people haven’t seen a change in those things. They’re just getting worse every year on the ground.

And so when they see somebody actually trying to change those things, when we see people fighting for housing issues, people fighting for wages, people fighting for things that actually will change their day-to-day lives, then people want to get involved because they can see tangible results. And that’s what it’s about.

Yeah. And to your point, that’s not necessarily the conversation you hear either from D or R when you’re thinking about the presidential race, or even Joe Biden. It’s a lot about the GDP. It’s a lot about employment.

And you hear a lot of Democrats right now, they say the economy is very good, in fact. Can you explain the gap between that language and what you experienced on the day? If I’m a Democrat saying the economy is good right now, does that message hit?

I think there’s a bit of a disconnect on the definition of economy. What is an economy? If you ask an economist, it’ll be GDP, unemployment rates, and a lot of other factors that the average American does not understand or care about, quite frankly.

But if you ask an average worker, they would tell you an economy is how much does it cost to get the items I need to live, and does my livelihood cover those costs? Do I make enough money to cover the cost to live? That is what the economy is to most people. So we ask people, you’ll hear a lot of people say the economy is terrible. And that doesn’t mean they’re talking about GDP or unemployment rates. They’re talking about the gas is expensive in my community. And I make a wage that doesn’t afford that gas.

So therefore, to me, the economy is bad. That is what the economy means to an average American. And I think it’s just a definition issue. The traditional word — a good economy, a bad economy, or economics in general with economists — versus what people actually think the economy is.

What they’re experiencing.

Yeah.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

So how do you feel about the economy now?

What’s at the bottom of it?

I could definitely use more pay.

It could, couldn’t it. Yes.

I actually make $15 an hour right now.

Do you?

Yeah.

You have a working mother that makes — you know what I’m saying — that they got to live from paycheck to paycheck but still got to go down here to a pantry to get food to provide for her kids. You know what I’m saying? It’s everybody is out for something. It’s always this.

I’m sorry. I’m penny pinching, and my kids are grown now, but I’m still penny pinching. Thank god that I have, you know, a family that we all live together, like my dad, my husband, my son. So we split the bills, but I couldn’t even imagine doing it by myself.

I mean, literally, anything you purchase is higher in price now than it was a couple of years ago.

It’s not sustainable without — you can’t keep raising the cost of living without allowing people to meet that at least somewhat.

Just my rent is $910 off of my wages, and it’s not enough.

Basically, we do need more money. It’s been struggling lately, but most people aren’t keeping track of the way the food and stuff been going up and everything.

$15 ain’t even —

It isn’t enough.

And if you got kids, you really struggling.

Yeah.

In order to work minimum wage, you have to live in low-income housing or something. It’s hard. It’s like, you cannot get ahead.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

And about one week from now, a jury of 12 New Yorkers will start deliberating the fate of the first former President charged with a crime.

This case is a disgrace.

This is all about Biden can’t campaign, so he’s trying to injure his opponent.

Breaking news. We’re getting election results.

And voters hit the polls last night in a state that is key to Trump legally and to the 2024 electoral map. We’re talking about Georgia.