Elections: Economic Impact Predictions

Benny May, tomorrow is election day and the economy we know is top of mind for many. So we want to bring in an expert to talk more about it. We have Assistant Vice President at Integer, Grant Berkshire, joining us this morning. Grant, good to see you. Good morning. Let's begin just in general with the state of the economy. I mean, you can look at any poll and you can see that that's the top issue for most voters. Yeah, and I think the voters will show you on Tuesday how they really feel about the economy. I think consistently we've seen that ranked as the highest issue that folks are gonna be voting on tomorrow. Voters had clear concerns with the economy back in 2024 when they elected President Trump and Republicans. Tomorrow, you'll get to see how voters feel that the President and And Republicans in Congress. Delivered on some of their campaign promises back then to address their concerns with the economy. And I do expect. them to receive not the best grades by what we see the voters do on Tuesday. And when we talk about the economy, I mean, home prices, interest rates, gas prices, we're looking at stock market video here. Tell us about those changes and how they typically impact people in elections and how those elections turn out because of it. Yeah, so I think those items can be really galvanizing forces to get voters to the polls. I think, you know, consistently. Over the past two years, inflation has remained an issue. It's subsequently been exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East. And I think, you know, for voters, they look at something like that as a big issue that they wanted to see addressed. And now they're seeing, I think, a lot of folks' minds and administration take an action of choice that is further They're exacerbating those concerns. Home ownership obviously remains a huge issue, especially for younger Americans like myself who one day aspire to own a home. And I think the issue here is beyond these problems just continuing to exist, it doesn't feel like things are moving in a better direction. I think if it felt like we were on the right track but we just weren't there yet, voters may give the current party in power a little bit more grace. But just the fact that it feels like these problems are continuing to get worse, I think that contributes to voter dissatisfaction. Finally, here, in terms of forecasting things and how it may or may not change moving forward, when do you believe that we'll see a lift, regardless of party, in terms of the economy getting better for most? Yeah, that is a great question. What we've historically seen in the year following midterm elections is a positive time for the economy, a good period for markets. That generally is due to the stability that you'll see in Congress, oftentimes with divided government, which we do expect after tomorrow. You don't see major policy reforms like Tax cuts, tax increases make their way through Congress and be signed into law. And that policy certainty that this period of divided government can offer is generally good time for businesses, good for investment. Now, will those gains and potential increases in economic activity trickle down to the average American, the average worker? I think that's always a question. I think that's where there's some skepticism. That they may feel those gains and maybe be felt widely. All right. Well, Grant, thank you so much. And summing up what we're seeing and what we can potentially see post election day. We appreciate your time and your expertise. This is 722. We want to.