People have been complaining about politicians as long as there have been politicians. I do it now and then too, most recently after Social Security claiming rules were altered. Without so much as a mention or a word of public discussion, the rug was pulled out from couples about to put their plans in motion.
My complaint about Social Security sure seems justified to me, but few people see their complaints as unjustified. In a free and democratic society, disagreements will be plentiful.
Every four years we get to disagree about who should hold the office of President of the United States. Let the craziness begin.
So far, the crazy has been entertaining. Saturday Night Live loves it. Both the lack of drama on the Democratic side and the slew of candidates on the Republican side provide plenty of opportunity for laughs.
Of course, electing a president is no laughing matter; it's quite the opposite. It is the very seriousness of the issue that will change the mood of some of your clients. The closer we get to Election Day and the narrower the field becomes, the higher the anxiety.
The progression from “We’ll see how it goes” to “If they win, we are all doomed!” is hardly a phenomenon unique to 2016. The cast of characters changes, but the result is the same. Some clients become convinced that the election of someone they don’t like will cause tremendous problems and send the country in a horrible direction.
I respect my clients’ right to their opinions and assume they did not come to their viewpoints lightly. My clients are intelligent, well-educated, hard-working people. Still, with all the noise generated during an election cycle, some of them get so worked up over politics, they feel compelled to make changes to their finances.
Sometimes this is just a matter of wanting to do something so they feel in control. Sometimes it is a preventive measure stemming from a fear of what the election results will do to them. Regardless, it is a short-term maneuver that runs contrary to their long-term plans.
Do not wait for the conventions to start talking to clients about this. Right now, most people are calm because the competition lacks intensity, but that will change.
Both parties want to nominate someone who can win. This is likely to result in a fall campaign season in which clients can envision their favorite candidate losing to someone they don’t like.
Now is the time to engage clients in as rational a conversation as possible about how the noise can increase their anxiety. When someone says something obnoxious, it will get coverage. This is done deliberately. Campaigns want to fire up their supporters and media outlets want ad revenue which is dependent on ratings and circulation numbers. The campaigns, commentators, pundits and analysts will seek to make as much noise as possible to stand out.
If you want your clients to be levelheaded and rational, you should be levelheaded and rational yourself. To that end, I try to remind clients of some things, and the earlier in the election year I have these discussions, the better.