This is the Democratic Party.
- Thread starter lawpoke87
- Start date
The consumer price index was admittedly quite high in 2022, very much related to commodity problems related to Ukraine, exacerbated by the Covid hangover.
2021 and 2023 were just a bit higher than many years pre 2008 when the recession led to really prolonged stagnation and low interest rates. The current level of inflation was celebrated during the Reagan + Bush 1.0 years.
As to minimum wage, it has been 15 years since the last change to federal minimum wage and the value of that wage is at its lowest since the 60's when compared to the median cost of living in the US. It made some sense not to increase it during the low-growth Obama years, but with inflation, it really needs to be modified, no different than a COLA adjustment at any business.
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for the last 4 years, prices are up 15 to 40 percent, according to the NY Post.
You are forgetting that most of us have seen this movie before, including Carter’s Treasury Secretary who has said 8.5% inflation isn’t like the 13% during the Carter years, but also you can’t solve lack of buying power with an increase in wages. In some sectors it makes the problem worse. When Jimmy Carters people are publicly admitting they failed and the current situation is similar, you know you need to stop doing what you are doing and let others take over.
Decrease the money supply, raise interest rates, lower energy prices by stopping your unnecessary romantic and naive foreign policy goals that are aimed at self navel gazing but end in regional conflicts. Biden continues to stumble and bumble through all the wrong decisions. Just when we need lower energy costs to control inflation, we get Biden foreign policy decisions that result in Venezuela preparing to invade an oil rich region of Guyana while we are refusing to help arm Guyana or defend against the invasion. Not to mention record illegal migration from Venezuela and the billions that will cost. More money printed to pay for more failures and inflation goes up and up.
So much failure. Prepare for more pain at the pump.
I’ve said for the past year that watching Fed work to decrease the money supply and curb inflation while the Biden Admin is doing everything they can to do the opposite is one of the most bizarre scenarios I’ve ever witnessed. Eventually the Fed should prevail as the Admin can only borrow and print a finite amount of money to throw into the system.
Can you illuminate as to which specific Biden foreign policy position has caused Venezuela to position itself for conflict in Guyana? (I know about the conflict itself and its implications) but I have yet to hear anything about a US policy being a key driver behind it.
Also, very curious that you want to arm Guyana against Venezuela, but not Ukraine against Russia.
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I thought you were worried about a recession? Do you not think that tightening the money supply (raising interest rates) at the same time as providing no economic stimulus would cause one of those? If such a recession did occur as a result of not spending (as it has in Europe), I would presume that you would have blamed it on Biden.
I also think if you do see Biden win a second term and become a lame duck, you will probably see fewer spending proposals targeted at election demographics in years 4-8 (not that I'm saying that's a good practice, but it's a reality of US politics)
A mild recession would have been welcome imo. Get inflation in check near our 2% target and start the path toward a new growth cycle. As I’ve stated constantly, high interest rates with a $33T debt is disastrous for our budget. Take the mild recession and get back to paying 1-2% on debt service. It’s not rocket science. We’re borrowing money at 5% to act as economic stimulus while the Fed is trying to reduce the money supply. It makes zero sense from an economic and fiscal policy standpoint. Biden’s move is purely based on short term political motives and ignores the long term damage being caused.
Watch economic indicators these next 2-3 months. Things could get really interesting.
Who said I didn’t think we shouldn’t be fighting in Ukraine? Also, Guyana is much closer to the United States and its regional strategic interests.
As for Maduro, the current band of geniuses lifted sanctions to the tune of $10 billion or more. Despite Maduro repeatedly violating the conditions set on lifting sanctions, Biden has done nothing. It would appear Venezuela has purchased weapons and war materials with at least some of their new flush cash. And they’ve turned around and used that as part of a compellence strategy to get even more oil profits out of the disputed region. Failure.
shutting down our production of oil, shut down our commerce
ny would sue a ham sandwich.
So you would rather have high global oil prices because we've stunted Venezuelan supply? That was one of the ways that we've brought inflation under some semblance of control post the global rebalance related to Russian commodities. I agree that long term, Venezuela controlling that Guyana region might not be in the US's best interest. Short term.... the collective West needs oil and they're willing to make compromises in some places so they don't have to in others.
I don't disagree with this at all, but this can be said of pretty much every person that has been posted in the oval office for the past 50 years.
If Biden had done the hard thing and caused a recession in year 3 of 4, and there was a significant impact to jobs numbers, he would have been tarred and feathered worse than he was already. It would have been the right thing, but it would have almost certainly cost his party the Whitehouse and Congress. Honestly, I'd be willing to live with quite a lot of detriment to keep Trump out of office.
Voters care more about their pocket books (inflation) than job numbers imo. As I said above, I’ve never seen an Admin continue to pump money into the economy while the Fed is implementing measures to do the opposite. If Biden would have allowed the Fed to do it job I believe we would have seen low inflation and the beginning of an economic recovery this summer and fall. Just in time for the November election. Inflation will begin to slowly come down this year but so will GDP growth. Likely below 1%.
As it stands now Biden’s approval rating is below 40%. He needs some good news. Will cooling inflation offset the hit in economic growth ? I sure like the scenario of an extended period of low inflation with an expanding economy more for his reelection chances. That wasn’t the choice though.
“Never ignore or underestimate the American middle class.” - George H. W. Bush after losing re-election despite recent record popularity.
I’d rather we stop looking impotent and incompetent on the world stage.
He avoided making hard but good decisions because he owed his political victory to groups who advocate inflationary policies and he didn’t want to risk losing control of Congress. Which happened anyway. Because he wouldn’t make hard decisions and he was wrecking the economy through inflationary policies.
Trump is a lot of things, but not being a competent president wasn't (and isn't) one of them....
He left things in good order when he left office in January, of 2021:
Updated military and atomic arsenal
Inflation @ under 2%
energy independence and low fuel costs
no arbitrary rules/regs re: vehicle/appliance power sources
no new wars and a quiet mid-east, with the Abraham accords
great trade agreements with Canada, Mexico and China
appropriate sanctions on Iran, North Korea, etal, and defeat/control of terrorist groups
getting the NATO countries to ante up their 2% GDP toward defense
He kept filtering through those with potential until his cabinet was the best since Eisenhower's
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY
emphasis on and success in control of our borders...The broadest and most successful
control in this era ensued until Biden totally tore it down, and still insists on a totally open
border...
What has happened since will change America for generations, and not in a good way...All of
a sudden we look 3rd world...our schools, medical facilities, housing (and lack thereof), and
police protection are all inadequate, given this administration's policies and lack of control
and Biden, and the marxist idiots that pull his puppet strings has managed in only 3 years to
subvert, or destroy every one of those things, with no successes to celebrate...His cabinet
some times act and appear to have been hired off the street in a poor part of town...Should
Biden not end up running, who do the Dems propose to replace him...
Newscum? who has basically destroyed California? No thanks!
Michelle Obama? who was 40ish before she said "I'm just now proud to be an American"?
Either would give us only a slightly better border situation, too much spending, too many
controls that would try to tell us and small businesses how to operate, and would still be
totally incapable of handling the critical area of foreign policy...The Dems have NO bench...
I said at the beginning that Trump is a lot of things...Given the incompetence of this current
administration, these indeed are special times, and a too large number of serious problems
exist in all the areas cited above...
Given the Urgency of the more serious of the problems in saving our freedoms, saving
the dollar, saving our country from the current invasion, and saving (and restoring some
reasonable aspect of law and order), Trump is one more thing that is unique....
He is the only man from either political party (or any where else) that has the background,
the knowledge, and the balls to get America headed back in the direction that we need...
He also has the advantages of knowing and using a very talented group of administrators
that won't be selected by gender, skin color or other inclusion attributes...
Those of us that want to save and restore America to the exceptional Constitutional and
democratic republic that we grew up in, know that critical times demand the best possible
solution....We also know to look past the personal attributes of a man which are sometimes
a little abrasive and to acknowledge that he is the great problem solver that he is...Our
future survival as a free republic is way, way more important than the mandated use of
strange pronouns....
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You can not simply blame inflation on Biden. The US was hardly the only country that saw that level of inflation…. Inflation happened independent of US spending policy. But it has recovered from it better than most other countries thus far.
recovered? I used to get a 12oz steak, now I can only get a 9oz steak for that price.
Actually you can---And should! His early attacks on our
energy industry caused an immediate price increase in the
price of crude and everything associated with or that used
any form of petrol suffered the hand-me-down price increases.
The spread to every petrol. related form of transportation
caused subsequent spreads to all products that are transported,
and every business that uses or sells such products had to
adjust for their increased costs....
Best proof that inflation is at Biden's door step only is that
it got here just after he did...And that goes for the global
inflation that soon followed....
energy industry caused an immediate price increase in the
price of crude and everything associated with or that used
any form of petrol suffered the hand-me-down price increases.
The spread to every petrol. related form of transportation
caused subsequent spreads to all products that are transported,
and every business that uses or sells such products had to
adjust for their increased costs....
Best proof that inflation is at Biden's door step only is that
it got here just after he did...And that goes for the global
inflation that soon followed....
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Please illuminate me as to what policies he put in place which attacked the energy industry. And while you’re at it… tell me why economies outside of the US or its allies have struggled during the same period?
You’re finally starting to understand inflation congratulations. Also your house is worth more now than when you were buying that 12 oz steak. I personally know that I had an 8% pay raise in 2022 3.5 % last year. And my company still paid bonuses and I still have a job. I’m very grateful for that even if inflation slightly outpaced my pay increases, I prefer that to being laid off and needing to sell my house if the job lull were to blow through my emergency fund.
I think The palestine protesters targeting democrats is really funny given the stance of the other option they have…. there has been a definite uptick on the hard left of gullibility which I suspect is partially being fomented by forces outside our country.
Everyone over 65, working fixed income long term employment contracts, union workers, and government employees totally disagree.
So does the 57 year old father of three with one in college who was laid off to hire you and give you back a little of the savings as a “bonus.”
Unions have received some pretty big wins in the past few years. As far as those aging out of the workforce…. Yes that does suck, but it’s not something unique to this economy.
Also, no one was laid off to hire me. My company tends to try and save costs by not filling vacancies after retirements. This makes everything harder on the young workers but to be honest I can’t wait for some folks to retire because they hold the company back. They are incredibly resistant to change and constantly belittle technology because they don’t comprehend what its power could be if they were to embrace it.
Ah.. youth .. no one ever thinks that they will be the old guy down the hall..
older workers bring reliability and experience, but at a slower pace. younger workers bring their cell phone.
Honestly, what I see from many (not all) older workers is that they’re doing the bare minimum coasting towards retirement. They won’t adapt their business processes to make the company grow. They think that they’re the best thing since sliced bread because they’ve seen a lot, but by and large the company barely notices when they leave. (Hence why they aren’t being replaced)
There are a select few who want to keep learning professionally and driving the business forward simply because they enjoy it, and those are the ones I hire into my group.
I wish. At a law firm, it’s the opposite. I routinely left earlier and generated double the profits of all the whiz kid thirty something new partners with the Harvard degrees and spread sheets and innovations. Still, I’d see my 50 year old colleagues packing up their offices after record years to make way for kids working to 10pm who were either generating a loss or barely breaking even with maybe one client we actually wanted. 15 years ago at a law firm it wasn’t about the money, it was about the money. Now it’s about perception and what might turn a profit ten years from now. Meanwhile, let’s start borrowing to pay our rent since we expanded too quickly to buy our office buildings years ago. Madness. So glad I got out.
My experience is similar to Huffy. Finding young people with a work ethic and drive has been extremely difficult. Hell…just getting them to show up for work is a challenge at times. Had a young lady last month who had been with me two weeks ask for a couple of mental health days. I explained to her that’s what we call Saturday and Sunday. She quickly decided this wasn’t for her. There are exceptions and they are very valuable due to their energy and innovations they bring to the table. I need to figure out how to weed those people out who really don’t want to work and/or lack self motivation better during the interview process.
I loved the young guys and their tech... they complained about working late and weekends. They complained about chasing one rig with a frac crew, they complained when they missed happy hour at the local brew pub... meanwhile the guy that worked 24/7 and chased 5 frac crews while pushing cost per frac down got laid off..
Pandemic supply chain problems and monetary policy initiated inflation. I don't think it was avoidable.
Biden just exacerbated it.
