cle23 Posted March 6 Posted March 6 8 hours ago, Pokebball said: Timing was certainly a priority, particularly in the first batch of pandemic funds. The funds were disbursed in many ways, as quickly as possible, without the time to really establish much of a system to track as well as we normally would expect from our government. I think this was the right way to do it. The economy and our citizens needed it, in emergency kind of ways. Were the later pandemic funds needed? That's where we find disagreements, right? I think if the 1st round was done properly, the 2nd round may not have been needed. Honestly, the 2nd probably wasn't needed either way. But as I mentioned, the citizens didn't get crap from either round, or at least the citizens who "deserved" it. Most of the recipients were corporations and people who used it to not work but still make more money than they were while working. The every day citizen who continued to work didn't really get much at all in regards to useful benefits. 1
All_Pro_Bills Posted March 12 Posted March 12 8 minutes ago, Tommy Callahan said: Rates won't be coming down anytime soon The administration, claiming the greatest economy ever, adds almost $1 Trillion to the national debt every 90 days just to keep the economy from imploding. In theory good times call for budget surpluses. Not massive intervention and money printing. Interest expense on the fiscal year budget will soon become bigger than the defense budget. Inflation is not coming down. Market crash approaching. Banks held together by chewing gum and string. Economy not far behind. The trick is to hold it off until AFTER the election. If they win, so what. If they lose, well, blame you know who. We all lose either way but a Win/Win strategy for them. Which is all they care about. 2
All_Pro_Bills Posted March 12 Posted March 12 (edited) 50 minutes ago, Tommy Callahan said: Read an interesting blog from a commodity/currency market perspective discussing inflation levels, sources of inflation, implications for US consumers and businesses, etc. The author's premise was the inflation we're experiencing is the result of sanctions, dollar denominated asset seizures and freezing, and how those actions have disrupted the "normal" functioning of those markets. And fostered the need for alternative mechanisms for trade. The conclusion is, if you want inflation to fall to lower levels then revoke the sanctions and return the assets to their owner. This will restore the previous system of trade and commerce arrangements. But the author concludes this administration will do nothing of the sort. So inflation will continue and is likely rise as more and more countries get on the de-dollarization train and alternative settlement platforms and arrangements with a result that lots of dollars that found a home in currency reserve and trade settlement functions will come home (the more dollars chasing the same or fewer goods story) and put further pressure on higher prices and inflation levels. My own 2 cents is trillion dollar quarterly Federal budget deficits aren't helping either. Edited March 12 by All_Pro_Bills 2
B-Man Posted March 12 Posted March 12 Consumer prices rose 0.4% in February and 3.2% from a year ago. “Inflation rose again in February, keeping the Federal Reserve on course to wait at least until the summer before starting to lower interest rates.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/12/cpi-inflation-report-february-2024-.html I’m so old, I remember when inflation was imaginary, transitory, over with already, and a high-class problem to have. .
Biden is Mentally Fit Posted March 12 Posted March 12 6 minutes ago, B-Man said: Consumer prices rose 0.4% in February and 3.2% from a year ago. “Inflation rose again in February, keeping the Federal Reserve on course to wait at least until the summer before starting to lower interest rates.” https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/12/cpi-inflation-report-february-2024-.html I’m so old, I remember when inflation was imaginary, transitory, over with already, and a high-class problem to have. . Frankish has been getting cheap gas and fed everyone at Thanksgiving for $6/head. Color me skeptical about this latest “data”. 2
B-Man Posted March 13 Posted March 13 BIDENOMICS IS WORKING: A Dollar Ain’t What It Used to Be: Family Dollar to Shutter Nearly 1,000 Stores. https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2024/03/13/a-dollar-aint-what-it-used-to-be-dollar-tree-to-shutter-nearly-1000-stores-n4927261 1
B-Man Posted March 13 Posted March 13 Bidenflation Is Even Worse Than You Think CHRIS QUEEN It doesn't take a master's degree in economics to understand that prices are up in every sector of the economy. The economy under Joe Biden is nickel-and-diming us at every turn, and Americans can see past the smoke and mirrors that the White House is using to try to convince us that everything is fine. The federal government's measure of price increases, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has consistently shown that inflation isn't going away. The most recent CPI report indicates a 3.2% increase in prices from Feb. 2023 to Feb. 2024. That's a significant increase, but it only shows the increase over a rolling 12 months. To get a clearer picture of what Bidenflation looks like, we need to compare prices between now and when Biden took office. That's what TIPPinsights did, and the results show you that Bidenflation isn't just worse than the White House wants you to believe — it's worse than you might have realized. https://pjmedia.com/chris-queen/2024/03/13/bidenflation-is-even-worse-than-you-think-n4927264 .
All_Pro_Bills Posted March 13 Posted March 13 (edited) 36 minutes ago, B-Man said: Bidenflation Is Even Worse Than You Think CHRIS QUEEN It doesn't take a master's degree in economics to understand that prices are up in every sector of the economy. The economy under Joe Biden is nickel-and-diming us at every turn, and Americans can see past the smoke and mirrors that the White House is using to try to convince us that everything is fine. The federal government's measure of price increases, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), has consistently shown that inflation isn't going away. The most recent CPI report indicates a 3.2% increase in prices from Feb. 2023 to Feb. 2024. That's a significant increase, but it only shows the increase over a rolling 12 months. To get a clearer picture of what Bidenflation looks like, we need to compare prices between now and when Biden took office. That's what TIPPinsights did, and the results show you that Bidenflation isn't just worse than the White House wants you to believe — it's worse than you might have realized. https://pjmedia.com/chris-queen/2024/03/13/bidenflation-is-even-worse-than-you-think-n4927264 . John Williams runs a for-pay service at Shadowstats.com that has been tracking inflation and other stats for some time and adjusting out of the "official" numbers the substitutions, assumptions, revisions, and "quality" improvement factors the government uses to produce a number as low as they possibly can explain. Based on his work current inflation is running about 12%. That may explain much of why consumers are "out of touch" with the Biden team's assessment of how great things are going. Edited March 13 by All_Pro_Bills 1
B-Man Posted March 15 Posted March 15 Wholesale Inflation Surges at Double Expected Rate. Unexpectedly! Wholesale inflation rose at double its expected rate in February, according to a government report released Thursday, the second report this week that could indicate a lack of progress on tempering inflation. The Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks the cost of materials that producers and manufacturers buy from their suppliers, rose by 0.6 percent last month compared with January, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That surge is double the expected 0.3 percent that Dow Jones forecasted. A PPI report signaling higher prices for producers may portend higher prices for consumers. https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/wholesale-inflation-surges-at-double-expected-rate/ 1
Tommy Callahan Posted March 15 Posted March 15 7 minutes ago, B-Man said: Wholesale Inflation Surges at Double Expected Rate. Unexpectedly! Wholesale inflation rose at double its expected rate in February, according to a government report released Thursday, the second report this week that could indicate a lack of progress on tempering inflation. The Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks the cost of materials that producers and manufacturers buy from their suppliers, rose by 0.6 percent last month compared with January, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That surge is double the expected 0.3 percent that Dow Jones forecasted. A PPI report signaling higher prices for producers may portend higher prices for consumers. https://freebeacon.com/latest-news/wholesale-inflation-surges-at-double-expected-rate/ "Transitionary" Is there any way that the fact we do not have a debt limit, and we print a trillion a month have anything to do with this? The stimuluses from prior are just now being used at the local level. 1
B-Man Posted March 15 Posted March 15 MORE: More Americans Are Treating Their 401(k)s Like Cash Machines. “A record share of 401(k) account holders took early withdrawals from their accounts last year for financial emergencies, according to internal data from Vanguard Group. . . . Americans are dealing with conflicting financial forces. While hiring has been strong and workers’ earnings keep rising, the cost of groceries, child care and car insurance keeps climbing. More people are carrying heftier balances on their credit cards. Emergency distributions hit back-to-back record highs in 2022 and 2023, according to Vanguard, which administers 401(k)-type accounts for nearly five million people and published the data ahead of an annual report scheduled for June. The Internal Revenue Service allows withdrawals for hardship-related reasons, including preventing evictions and paying medical and tuition bills. People who take them from traditional accounts must pay income tax, plus often a 10% penalty if they are younger than 59½ years old. Nearly 40% of those who took a hardship distribution last year did so to avoid foreclosure, compared with 36% in 2022.” https://archive.is/wq8vx 1 1
B-Man Posted March 22 Posted March 22 BIDENOMICS: Credit Scores Have Fallen For the First Time In A Decade. FICO reports announced that the average credit score in the United States dipped for the first time in a decade, indicating Americans may be struggling with financial distress as they endeavor to make timely credit payments and bolster their savings. Ethan Dornhelm, FICO’s VP of scores and predictive analytics, identified a lack of savings buffer in households as one likely culprit for the lower credit scores. As the COVID-19 pandemic subsided and consumer spending increased, data showed a drawn-down of savings among American households. (Excerpt) Read more https://thenationalpulse.com/2024/03/21/bidenomics-credit-scores-have-fallen-for-the-first-time-in-a-decade/? . 1
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