Tag: Inflation

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 SIRI, I haven’t gotten any attention for awhile.  What’s the best tweet to show I’m an out-of-touch elite snob? $61 for a shot of my favorite whisky?  Boy, inflation is really starting to hit the little guy. Three tries and I couldn’t hit the french fries.  Maybe I shouldn’t have downed that first one so […]

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Student loan forbearance will be lifted September 1st, 2023 resulting in student payments resuming in October.  As we approach the October pivot, expect the Administration to whip support for a modified version of loan forgiveness, e.g. something beyond REPAYE, further payment postponement, or some other restructuring of student loan obligations.  More, expect them to assert […]

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Join Jim and Greg as they appreciate the National Transportation Safety Board explanation of what really led to the train derailment in Ohio – an ignored warning on an overheated axle and not some left-wing fiction about reckless deregulation. Plus, they discuss what this means for Buttigieg’s political future and how President Biden may have stumbled into a stroke of political genius. They also wince at the latest consumer expenditure numbers suggesting inflation may be stubbornly high for quite a bit longer. And they get a kick out of the news that Marianne Williamson plans to enter the Democratic presidential field, but also wonder whether more prominent figures on the left will follow her lead.

In this episode, Dave sits down with Brian Rust, the host of Panama City Beach and Bay County’s most listened to talk show, The Brian Rust Show on News Talk@101FM. On the air weekdays from 5 – 8AM, Brian not only has a finely tuned sense of voter temperament, but he has the attention of the 2nd Congressional District’s Representative, among others. As the conversation progresses, Dave and Brian discuss the impact of President Biden’s economic prescriptions on voters in the Florida panhandle and across the country.   There’s more to the conversation, including Brian’s diagnosis of the GOP’s electoral prospects in the future.  

From Dave’s perspective on current events, to a fascinating discussion with one talk radio’s brightest lights, to some new plans for Dave’s podcast, this is a fast-paced and compelling show that you won’t want to miss. 

Join Jim and Greg as they welcome the news that FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried is facing a truckload of fraud charges and luggage thief Sam Brinton is out at the Department of Energy. They also groan as inflation is still at an annoying 7.1 percent year-over-year. And while the growth of inflation is slowing, the administration and its media allies keep trying to make us believe the problem is over. And they shake their heads as the man who ran the 2020 Bernie Sanders campaign says the senator would probably take a hard look at a 2024 race for the White House if President Biden does not run again.

DeSantis-Crist Debate: Used Car Salesman Available

 

The debate the other night between Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Gov. Charlie Crist offered actual meat coming from Gov. DeSantis, with the new fake plant-based meat coming from Crist. We’ve lived in Florida long enough to have lived under both governors. DeSantis delivered answers that belong to a real governor. He answered questions directly, based on real-life issues, both state and national, and his policies. For example:

He believes in teaching children the basics — math, reading, writing, history — and not distorting their young, fragile minds with confusing gender ideology, race-baiting, planet-worshiping, or any of today’s trends that young children should not be subjected to. He made it clear that parents decide their child’s health, which includes vaccines, their mental and emotional well-being, and their gender identity.

Schools are for teaching skills and all history — not selective, as it has always been. He rejected Common Core elements that left math and other skills more complicated than teaching needed to be, and heard teachers who wanted to teach and not be bound by countless tests — and a specific, nationally dictated curriculum. Teachers want to teach children, and share their gifts of enthusiasm for our country and all that it has to offer. I spoke to teachers and they told me so, and how they’ve been hampered by Common Core.

Inflation is here. After a 40-year hiatus, we’re now in the midst of the phenomena characterized by rising prices and declining purchasing power. Many had warned about it, but it became inevitable in the wake of the pandemic with the passage of the $2 trillion American Rescue Plan. Did policymakers and economists anticipate the danger of inflation from massive fiscal stimulus, only to have their advice ignored? Or were they complacent? To answer these questions and more, Harvard economist and Pioneer Institute board member Ed Glaeser recently interviewed Larry Summers, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and former President of Harvard University, for a special episode of Hubwonk.

Guest:

Join Jim and Greg as they applaud the direct and devastating attack from GOP New Mexico gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti, as he blasted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for grabbing the crotch of a male staffer, claiming she did nothing wrong, but also paying the staffer $150,000 to settle the complaint while forbidding the staffer from discussing the matter publicly. Ronchetti was also very effective at calling out the governor for imposing lockdowns she violated on numerous occasions. They also cringe over the latest consumer inflation numbers that come in worse than expected and prove higher prices aren’t going anywhere for awhile. Finally, they slam Politico Europe for naming Vladimir Putin as their top “green” figure because ending dependence upon Russian energy will force a revolution in renewables – ignoring the reality of people freezing to death and facing astronomical energy costs.

Join Jim and Greg as they wince over the larger-than-expected jump in the Producer Price Index in September and brace for the consumer inflation numbers tomorrow. They also discuss Jim’s in-depth reporting on Pennsylvania Senate candidate John Fetterman and the media that have coddled him for many years. And they shake their heads as the Quinnipiac Poll, which was spectacularly wrong at times in 2020, shows not only Sen. Warnock growing his lead over Herschel Walker but Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams in an alleged dead heat in the governor’s race.

Fuel for Inflation

 

For financial markets, September 2022 was one of the worst on record. A nonstop bear market has been created by a decline in stock prices in excess of 20 percent, just as national output declines for the second straight quarter. These indicators point to a continuing recession. Inflation pressures have, as of now, brought the thirty-year fixed-rate mortgage to a 6.7 percent rate, up 1.5 percentage points in the past six weeks and double what it was in January 2022. The Federal Reserve has instituted a series of sharp rate increases to tame the inflation. But this remedy, even if justified, will drive down stock prices in the short run and, by raising the cost of capital, could well further dampen economic activity. Wages have risen in nominal terms, but well below the rate of inflation.

We are now past the point where any government response to monetary issues can reverse this downward trend. Instead, what is necessary is a hard look at the wide array of social and business policies that have led to the current malaise.

Recall for these purposes that the basic definition of inflation is too many dollars chasing too few goods. The rate of inflation does not depend solely on monetary issues within the Fed’s domain—it also depends on changes in the stock of goods and services. Sensible economic policies that aid growth will thus tend to curb inflation even with bad or capricious decisions by the Fed. But conversely, foolish economic and regulatory decisions will compound the problem by shrinking the economic pie in area after area; a key tenet of progressive thinking harbors the sorry illusion that if the Fed does its job, governments and businesses—often backed by government power—are free to pursue all sorts of collateral ends, most of which are counterproductive.

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Tomorrow is the first day of October, which kicks off the Hallowthanksmas holiday cycle. It’s time to put out the decor, and I usually do a fair job of it (see below).  We were already planning on scaling back a bit this year. I anticipated buying a few strings of lights to replace the old […]

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Riochet.com Editor-in-Chief Jon Gabriel is in for Jim today. Join Jon and Greg as they are pleased to see Dr. Oz and the GOP exposing John Fetterman’s radical record of coddling violent criminals. They also shudder as the government confirms a recession as the negative economic growth in the second quarter of this year becomes official, and they nod glumly as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers ties the inflation mess back to a spending binge that started 18 months ago. And they sigh as White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says it is not at all odd that President Biden would ask if a deceased congresswoman was in the audience because she was “top of mind.”

With Winter Coming, 20 Million Americans Are Behind on their Utility Bills.

 

A favorite polling firm is TIPP Insights, which has been conducting public opinion surveys such as the IBD/TIPP poll for about 30 years. I follow their work closely. Their polling of the 2016 presidential election (Trump v. Hillary) was spot on.

This weekend, they published the results of a new survey that should scare incumbent Democratic officeholders on the ballot on November 8th, at least the ones (all of them in Congress) who voted to hose the economy with over $5 trillion in inflationary spending over the past two years and are still at it (and that’s not counting the trillions spent during the pandemic when the Trump Administration shut down the economy). Our money supply (M2) has grown more than 40 percent since February 2020. Even most Democrats blame Biden’s policies for runaway inflation. Yelling “Donald Trump!” and “Abortion!” and other shiny objects isn’t going to save them.

Quote of the Day: The Economy and Government Mismanagement

 

“The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.” – Milton Friedman

We are going to see a repeat of this over the next year or two.  We are headed for recession, and possibly depression (although no one will call it that) even if the Republicans take over control of both houses of Congress next year. Part of that is due to existing inflation. But an even larger part will be due to government mismanagement.

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  I’m not a person that understands the stock market all that well, but I remember someone significant in the media saying watch the bond market – when that goes South, head for the bunker, because all hell is soon to break loose.  Why is that?  This was back during the last disastrously dip and […]

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Join Jim and Greg as they breathe a sigh of relief that a rail workers strike is averted, although they’re curious to see the terms of the agreement. They also sigh as Biden again claims costs are going down as he hails the announcement. They’re also pleasantly surprised to see New York Times columnist Tom Friedman scolding the left to get serious about fossil fuel production as a way both to help Europeans in the face of Putin cutting off natural gas and for the U.S. to produce energy at levels that renewables cannot possibly match. Then they roll their eyes as the left freaks out over red state governors sending a few migrants to blue parts of the country but as no interest in dealing with the thousands of people crossing our southern border illegally every day. Finally, they remember former Independent Counsel Ken Starr and how the Democrats and the media turned him into a villain for investigating the unconscionable conduct of President Clinton.

Join Jim and Greg as they get a kick out of Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly tripping all over his words when asked whether he thinks President Biden is doing a good job. They also applaud Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for giving some of his huge campaign funds to help elect other Republicans in his state, and they hammer Charlie Crist his for comparing DeSantis to Satan and himself to Christ. Finally, they cringe at the latest horrible inflation numbers that are getting worse in many ways, even as the Biden administration tries to convince us things are getting better.

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My discussion question for today: In a world with global and highly-efficient transportation and communications…and billions of people who are accustomed to low wages…is it possible for a country such as the United States to maintain its accustomed high standards of living for the large majority of its people?…and, if so, what are the key […]

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Mrs. Tabby and I just returned from dinner at a modestly priced restaurant that is part of a regional chain (dinners in the $12 – 15 range). We rarely eat out more than once per week, so our observations of restaurants are a bit hit and miss. It’s been a few months since we were […]

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