Data Bytes: Political Data
Biden’s Infrastructure Spending, Dow Jones Average Returns and President’s First 100 Days, Vehicle Choice and Party Identification, Political Donations and Occupations
Biden’s Infrastructure Spending
Source: American Institute for Economic Research
Here is an excellent breakdown of estimated spending on President Biden’s American Jobs Plan. Notice only $115 billion on highways, bridges, and roads – the conventional understanding of infrastructure. The 174 billion for electric vehicles highlights a substantial priority – including 500,000 charging stations. This is on top of a $7,500 federal tax credit to buy an electric vehicle. Biden also redefines infrastructure as social-justice policy and income redistribution. The plan includes 213 billion for affordable housing, 137 billion for schools and colleges, and 400 billion for home health care. It’s therefore not surprising that few if any Republicans will vote for the plan and the GOP countered with a much smaller and focused proposal of nearly 600 billion on typical infrastructure spending. See Episode 11: The American Jobs Plan for a JOZ Bytes breakdown of the proposal.
President’s first 100 days and Dow Jones Returns
Source: Financial Advisor Magazine
Since Teddy Roosevelt, the Dow has averaged 4.3% for the first 100 days of a new president. Joe Biden’s average return of 9.9% ranks as the third best since 1900 – only Taft and FDR did better.
However, the first 100 days do not offer a clear signal of the Dow’s performance for the rest of the term. President Obama’s average 100-day return was (-1.2%) but for the rest of his term + 66.7%! Indeed, after starting slow, several other presidents including Eisenhower’s notable rise enjoyed big rallies over the remainder of their terms. $
Vehicle Choices and Party Identification
Source: Forbes
Yes, like virtually every other choice, attitude, or behavior, there is now a relationship between political affiliation and car-buying habits. Republicans prefer heavy-duty pickups and full-size SUVs whereas Democrats favor small and mid-size APT (hybrids, EVs). The largest disparity between partisan preferences is the heavy-duty pickup truck market – Republicans buy 8 pickups to everyone for Democrats.
For ideological leanings, the top 3 models for Liberals are Tesla Model 3, Honda Civic Sedan, and Toyota Rav4 Hybrid. The top 3 models for Conservatives are Ford F-250/350, Ford F-150, Ford Ranger.
Political Donations and Occupation
Source: Bloomberg
Fascinating data are graphics of the 2020 election political contributions by occupation and employer. Trump’s top donors include many in or associated with transportation – truckers, drivers, pilots, contractors, brokers, and business owners. On the other hand, Biden’s top donors included lawyers, professors, scientists, and educators generally. Indeed, Democrats garnered more contributions from primarily white-collar professions while Trump fared much better with blue-collar.
Of the employers included in Bloomberg’s analysis, almost 70% of the New York Police Department and U.S Marines contributed to Trump. By contrast, over 97% of Facebook and University of Washington employees contributed to Biden. A significant share of Amazon employees also contributed to Biden.
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