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Posts Tagged ‘inflation’

Their Views On Our Future Prospects

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 15, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Their Views On Our Future Prospects

It seems there is no longer any attempt to maintain anything. It’s all being allowed to fall apart. The thinking appears to be highly short-term. There used to be consideration for both the short and the long term. Instead, there is this sense that everyone is trying to butcher the cash cow and get their share of the meat before it’s gone. There is the sense that people are trying to wring all the blood out of the middle class. But wringing the middle class out of its discretionary income through inflation and higher interest rates has long-term repercussions and I doubt the rich and the economists are too stupid to realize this. For example, what will the banks be left with if people can no longer afford to maintain their homes? A surefire way to ruin a house is to allow the roof to deteriorate. What will happen when the middle class can no longer afford to buy the goods from small businesses — the major, still existing employer of American citizens? Can they really not realize the domino effect that will ensue if they rid us of all our money? Or, is it they believe we are transitioning away from the economic paradigm we had all grown up with, and it will soon be replaced by one with extreme wealth coupled with extreme poverty? Where the majority work for no more than room and board — if we’re fortunate enough to afford even that much?

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It’s Booming! Part 4: Those Pesky Prices!

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 3, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It’s Booming! Part 4: Those Pesky Prices!

The article, “Inflation is slowing. Here’s why prices still aren’t going down” by Charlotte Morabito, is about inflation and seeks to answer why prices aren’t going down. The author makes the following points: “Historical data suggests a key factor in bringing down prices is a slowdown in consumer spending. Despite nearly half of Americans reporting they’re in a worse financial situation than five years ago, they’re still spending. Retail sales were up 2.1% year over year in the first quarter of 2024 and consumer spending jumped in February and March.” (Morabito, 2024)
The article explains the difference between disinflation and deflation. Disinflation is when the rate of inflation growth is slowing down. Deflation is when the prices go down. “There’s an important difference between inflation increasing more slowly — a phenomenon called disinflation — and inflation reversing itself, which would lead to prices coming down. Economists call the latter deflation, which is typically associated with a shrinking economy and potential recessions.” (Morabito, 2024) So, the prices going downward is actually a bad thing? Good to know.

Apparently, they have a new term for those who have a problem with the higher prices: “money illusion.” ‘“This cycle is a concept called money illusion,” said Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist. “People with money illusion … don’t take into account the level of inflation in an economy,” she said. “So they wrongly believe that a dollar today is worth the same amount that it was the year prior.” ’ (Morabito, 2024)

Yes, it seems those of us who actually expected an improvement in their personal circumstances are suffering from some sort of mental syndrome. It reminds me of the term money dysmorphia in the Dickler article, which describes how some people don’t see how great they have it since they are too busy comparing themselves to others.

Now we are mentally questionable because we expected the higher interest rates to drive prices down.

Also of note in the article is the following: “Wage-increase data may also seem inconsistent with consumer experience. Wages have been rising since January 2022, but the pace of the increase has been slowing down and, on average, it is just keeping up with rising prices. An analysis from Bankrate estimates the gap between inflation and wages won’t fully close until the fourth quarter of 2024.” Once again we’re supposed to believe that it’s the rate of increase that matters, not the cumulative inflation increase in comparison to the current wage.

The fact is the article reinforces the theory that domestic demand is responsible for the inflation. Both the article and the prevailing theory coming from the woke media seem to ignore global demand, such as from China, for our resources; cuts in supply for things like food, energy, and housing; as well as the printing of money coupled with excessive spending by the federal government. Unless these issues are addressed, how can the inflation be resolved? Instead, the article’s author is content blaming the consumer for continuing to spend. What are they supposed to do, not eat? Not pay their rent? 

Their utilities? Where does this attitude we’re buying luxury (unnecessary) items come from? And what are we supposed to do, hope that people tap out of their credit and can’t pay their bills, so they’ll stop spending money? The implication from the article seems to be that that’s the only way we’ll see a reduction in prices. And one might conclude it’s the only way they’ll lower the interest rates on credit cards as well.

(Dickler, 2024)

Dickler, J. (2024, March 13). “Nearly half of young adults have ‘money dysmorphia,’ survey finds. Here are the symptoms.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/13/nearly-half-of-young-adults-have-money-dysmorphia-survey-finds.html

(Morabito, 2024)

Morabito, C. (2024, May 12). “Inflation is slowing. Here’s why prices still aren’t going down.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/05/12/inflation-is-slowing-heres-why-prices-still-arent-going-down.html

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Inflation Caused by Government Spending, Supply Cuts, and Importation of Labor

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

In the past, the general understanding of inflation was that the demand for a good or service exceeded the supply. The implication was that any increase in the supply of money was in the hands of the consumer. In this case, the money is in the hands of the government and whatever special interests and agendas it decides to fund. There is no generalized proportional increase in wages for the workers, despite what the media says.

Instead, they are bringing in cheap foreign labor to undercut already proportionately low wages. This is to prevent a wage-price spiral — where the corporations would be forced to pay higher labor costs to compensate for the increased cost of living. They say preventing a wage-price spiral is good for everyone, but in reality it’s mostly good for the corporations. Bringing in foreign labor doesn’t just freeze wages, it can also reduce them. It also manages to drive up demand, putting pressure on price inflation. The corporations are also using taxpayer dollars to subsidize the foreign labor workforce — pay for their housing, food, healthcare, education. The taxpayer is paying the social costs of these workers while the corporations are just reaping the benefits of the cheap labor. This is a fascist system.

Meanwhile, in economics ideal price is determined by a bell curve. At the center of the curve is a price sweet spot. Free market systems are interested in that sweet spot since it allows companies to maximize profit. It shows the intersection where demand plus price can yield the maximum profit. Increasing the price has a tendency to decrease demand while decreasing the price has the tendency to increase demand in most things. Any price above or below that ideal price will decrease the profit. But in the fascist ideologically based system, supply is being artificially cut in areas such as housing, food, and energy, so that corporate profits can be somewhat maintained — though not at the level they were at under the free market system.

This keeps demand artificially high in comparison to the supply. That way they can keep prices and profit high while providing less. In other words, people can’t live without food, even if they can’t pay for it. And the few who can pay will pay whatever they have to in order to be able to eat. By targeting inelastic goods — essential items — for supply cuts they can force people to pay more for the item and thereby partially compensate for the reduction in quantity sold.

There is no intention to supply the world’s population with what they need to survive.

That way they can starve out the general population of necessary resources while still reaping some profit in the bargain — a compromise between greed and ideological fervor — and well in keeping with depopulation goals.

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Why Do Government Policies Seem to End in Death?

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Why Do Government Policies Seem to End in Death?

One of the fallouts from people’s discretionary income being taken away from them due to inflation is that things regular people used to do to support society through charity and responsible pet ownership also goes away. Back in the time of Henry VIII, Henry VIII declared himself the head of the church then raided the monasteries. The monasteries supported the poor; Henry VIII and elites who profited from the money seized did not.

It seems every time the government volunteers to replace the philanthropy of the people and do the job itself, it fails. They don’t want to use the money for the people it was allocated for — they want to use it on themselves and for their own agendas. Very quickly it becomes their money. The intended recipients become a burden they can’t afford to support. Soon, like a corrupt person who takes money in the form of a loan from a third party, they begin to think if that person weren’t around they wouldn’t need to repay. You can see that in healthcare and in Social Security. In health care, there are the POST (POLST) and MOST (MOLST) forms in most states all over the country, which encourage the chronically ill or those not anticipated to live past a set period of time to forgo things like antibiotics, food, and water. For example, New York’s MOLST form states, “This Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form is generally for patients with advanced illness who require long-term care services

and/or who might die within 1-2 years.* The MOLST may also be used for individuals who wish to avoid and/or receive specific life-sustaining treatments.”

Criteria differs per state. Many require some sort of signature from the patient, even if it’s just an e-signature. Some states like Alaska and Tennessee only require the physician (or in some cases certain other health care professionals) to sign the form. In Tennessee, the criteria for signing away a patient’s life by a health care professional is that the professional wouldn’t be surprised if the patient died within a set period of time. The Tennessee POST form reads: “POST is not for everyone, but is designed for seriously ill or frail patients who wish to limit treatment in some way. To determine whether a POST should be considered, clinicians should ask themselves: “Would I be surprised if this patient died or lost decision-making capacity in the next year”? If the answer is, “No I would not be surprised,” then a goals-of-care discussion and advance care planning with POST is appropriate to consider. Each treatment on the form should be evaluated and discussed based on what, if any, benefit it has for the patient.”

Some of the forms, even those that insist on a patient’s signature, nevertheless allow the frail or the chronically ill to opt for euthanasia on the basis that basically their lives are just not worth living. Needless to say, I expect pressure is applied to these people to opt for death. It really was a macabre experience when I stumbled across this information. These forms managed to make it through state legislatures through most of the states in the county without my being aware of them. I personally would never want to live in a state where the patient’s signature is not required. But I’m dubious of e-signatures as well. If a signature doesn’t have to be witnessed and/or can’t be verified then what good is it?

The Tennessee form includes the following:

“The POST form is not intended to replace an advance directive, but can be used for seriously ill patients, even if they do not have an advance directive. It is recommended that patients with a life-limiting illness have two (2) documents: Advance directive that includes appointment of a health care agent (also called a power of attorney for health care (3) and scenario-based treatment directives POST (Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment)”

Notice the words are intended and recommended not required.

Tennessee POST form reads:  “The POST from may be prepared by any health care professional. To be valid, the form

must be signed by a physician, or at discharge from a hospital or long term care facility by a nurse practitioner (NP), clinical nurse specialist (CNS), or physician assistant (PA). Verbal orders are acceptable with follow-up signature by the physician in accordance with facility/community policy. The preparer should fill out the health care professional information on the front of the form. The professional who signs the POST form is assuming full responsibility for the medical orders and attests that these orders are an accurate reflection of the patient’s current treatment preferences.”

Tennessee POST form reads: “Patient or Surrogate Signature

Tennessee is one of a few states that does not require the patient or surrogate to sign the POST form. However providers are strongly encouraged to have the patient or surrogate, as appropriate, sign it, due to increasing concerns about Tennessee POST forms not being honored in states requiring patient signatures.”

“Health care facilities are also required to honor specific orders contained in the POST. The POST form itself can serve as the order set, or new orders consistent with those on the POST form can be written, per facility policy.

Specifically for first responders, the Board for Licensing Health Care Facilities has defined the Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and Para-Medic Scope of Practice so that Tennessee-certified First Responder or EMT are required to comply with POST forms appropriately executed if signed on discharge from a hospital or long term care facility (by a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant).”

You can read more about the Tennessee POLST form here:

Click to access 2015_Tennessee_POSTGuidance.pdf

Here are the signature requirements per state, which was last updated on February 28, 2022:

Click to access 2022.02.28-Signature-Requirements-by-State.pdf

Meanwhile, people are abandoning their dogs in dog parks. And the number of strays is increasing. The shelter system is overwhelmed. People increasingly can’t afford their own pets, can’t afford to adopt pets, and I suspect can’t afford to fix their pets. Eventually, they will begin rounding up these cats and dogs and putting them to death — if they haven’t already. Death is the solution that is their ultimate answer to everything. Let the problem get so bad that the public just wants the problem to go away. Then, they introduce death as the solution. Increasingly, it’s becoming a solution people are willing to live with.

(Gibson, 2024)

Gibson, K. (2024, January 9). “Animal shelters are overwhelmed by abandoned dogs. Here’s why.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/animal-shelters-overwhelmed-by-abandoned-dogs/

Michaels, 2023)

Michaels, D. (2023, December 12). “Owner Dumped His Dog Alone In The Park With A ‘Heartbreaking’ Note.” I Heart Dogs. https://iheartdogs.com/owner-dumped-his-dog-alone-in-the-park-with-a-heartbreaking-note/

(Molina Acosta, 2023)

Molina Acosta, C. (2023, January 4).  “Pets are being given up by people who can’t afford to keep them.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/01/04/1146866246/pets-are-being-given-up-by-people-who-cant-afford-to-keep-them

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It’s Booming! Part 3: In Defense of Dollar Tree.

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It’s Booming! Part 3: In Defense of Dollar Tree.

A lot of flak has been aimed at dollar stores like Dollar Tree lately. Dollar Tree is set to close some of its Family Dollar stores. The reasons given for the closures vary. Some of the articles say it’s because the acquisition of Family Dollar by Dollar Tree has turned out to be more of a problem than it’s worth. The two stores don’t mesh well together. Still, there are plans to open combo stores where both stores are in the same building. One article I recently read, “Crime magnets, food deserts? US dollar stores in the dock” partially blames lackluster Christmas sales. “Dollar Tree said in March that it planned to close nearly 1,000 of its Family Dollar outlets after poor holiday sales. Discount stores have also struggled with shifts in consumer demand and rising costs.” (Biron, 2024) A different article, “Dollar Tree Raising Some Prices to $7 as 6-Figure Earners Flock to the Discount Store.” said, “Dollar Tree also announced that it is closing 1,000 Family Dollar stores, representing 12% of its total store count. The company also said in the earnings call that it continues to deal with increased theft at Family Dollar, which is only one of many factors behind store closures. As a result, the company has locked up certain products and placed others behind registers.” (Nesbit, 2024)

Either way, it’s clear that the authors of most of the recent articles about Dollar Tree are clearly not fans of Dollar Tree and its ilk. After reading some of these articles, you’d think dollar stores were responsible for the inflation we are experiencing. Most of the authors act like it’s a crime to earn a profit in order to keep your business from bankruptcy and continue to pay your employees. Yes, when Dollar Tree tacked on that additional $0.25 to their prices it did signal that the inflation problem was worse than what the woke media would have you believe. Maybe the propagandists don’t, but I appreciate the position Dollar Tree is in. The business model Dollar Tree had had that worked for years, and they probably expected to continue on indefinitely, no longer works in this high inflation environment. The selling point had been that you could walk into the store and buy whatever you saw there for $1.00 plus any applicable tax. Now that’s no longer possible.

Still, it appears that the propagandists want Dollar Tree to just take the loss — sell the item for less than they can acquire it for in order to hide the fact that there’s an inflation problem. How typical of the woke to steamroll over everything and everyone in order to have their way and then expect someone else to take the pain for it. Heaven forbid they change course when their policies turn out to be a disaster. No, they scapegoat instead.

“While dollar stores use the allure of single-digit prices to bring customers in, they “actually end up costing customers more in the long run,” Sasha Rogelberg said for Fortune. This is especially true for essential products, since “toilet paper, soap, and groceries cost more per unit price at dollar stores than they do as other large retailers.” (Klawans, 2024)

Yes, there are savings to be made buying in bulk — there always has been. It has been a way to get your money to go further. But then, that’s the rub. What if you have to finance your bulk purchases with a high interest rate credit card? Or worse yet, you’ve already tapped out your credit? Then, there becomes a use for a store that sells things in smaller quantities. The problem once again is that it’s not a good thing to be priced out of buying bulk, which can be a way to get financially ahead. But that’s the economic reality we’re in. Some people can no longer afford to invest in a larger quantity in order to gain a discount per ounce or per count. But instead of acknowledging that there is an inflation problem that has led to an interest rate hike on credit, woke propagandists have instead decided to engage in the less than helpful practice of blaming the retailers for not taking the financial loss on themselves by charging bulk prices per ounce or count for smaller quantities. Eventually, undercharging would probably cause them to lose their business since no one is forecasting that the widespread inflationary prices will go back down.

And yet the attack on dollar stores continues with moves even being made to restrict the expansion of dollar stores in some communities. “Critics of these stores, which stayed open during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide essential items and saw swift expansion afterwards, say they attract crime, like shoplifting, are often poorly maintained and push out grocery shops and other businesses. They also say the stores create “food deserts” where consumers have little access to healthy, fresh produce. Supporters say the so-called small box retailers offer a lifeline to low-income families.” (Biron, 2024) The Dollar Tree response was thus: “A spokesperson for Dollar Tree said Chicago’s decision meant it and other small box retailers “will essentially be prohibited from opening new or relocated stores” in the city. The move “will bring more harm than help to the very communities it claims to support by limiting the flexibility to improve stores and provide new offerings to people in these communities,” the spokesperson told Context.” (Biron, 2024)

But the criticism continues … ““This whole thing has exploded,” said Kennedy Smith, a senior researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), which published a report on the “Dollar Store Invasion” last year. As word gets out more about communities that have been successful in controlling dollar store development … others are coming to ask for guidance,” she told Context.” (Biron, 2024) “The closures give communities “an opportunity to re-set the clock and find better ways to ensure that residents have convenient and affordable access to healthy food. With fewer dollar stores, it will be easier for communities to develop or attract better food options,” Smith said.” (Biron, 2024)

Yet, even the author of the “Crime magnets, food deserts? US dollar stores in the dock.”  article admits, “there is evidence that the retailers are responding to a genuine demand. The first national survey last year by the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest found more than 80% of respondents said the stores helped their communities, were convenient and allowed them to stretch tight budgets.” (Biron, 2024)

But criticism of the dollar store phenomenon persisted in the article: “Broader food access was also highlighted by researchers with UCLA Anderson and the University of Toronto, who found that around one grocery store will close for every three dollar stores that open within a two-mile radius.” (Biron, 2024) And, “In a petition calling for a ban, people in Tangipahoa said they had been negatively affected by the “saturation” of dollar stores, which they said had increased traffic, affected drainage, diminished small businesses and attracted litter and crime.” (Biron, 2024)

The Klawans article is also rife with criticism. “Indeed, while simply shopping elsewhere may seem like an obvious solution, customers “already shopping at dollar stores may not have a choice,” Rogelberg said for Fortune. The “thousands of dollar stores cropping up across the U.S. may seem like a win for shoppers looking for convenience,” but “dollar store expansions have also forced out independent grocers and created food deserts in the areas they occupy.” This means that dollar stores, which are “heavily reliant on cash-strapped shoppers with few options,” have “little motivation to do away with shrinkflation.” (Klawans, 2024)

Still, one woman in the Biron article was willing to work with Dollar Tree in order to remedy the chain’s perceived shortcomings. The article states, “Lorraine Cochran-Johnson, a former commissioner in DeKalb County, Georgia, believes the key to striking a balance between the pros and cons of dollar stores lies in collaboration.” as well as, “Cochran-Johnson drew up legislation to encourage the stores to offer fresh food items, and now many include a cold food section selling milk, cheese and more, she said.” (Biron, 2024)

And yet, you can’t sell those fresh food items for $1.25. So now Dollar Tree is planning to offer items up to $7.00 limit. While most items will still be at the $1.25 price point, others will now range from $1.50 to $7.00. It’s of note that the Klawans article mentions the $7.00 price limit and the shrinking sizes, but neglects to mention that most items will remain $1.25. The Nesbit article mentions, “In the company’s most recent earnings call, executive chairman and CEO Rick Dreiling said the increase was part of Dollar Tree’s “multi-price point strategy” to offer shoppers a more “relevant assortment,” Business Insider reported. He also noted that most of Dollar Tree’s new shoppers in 2023 came from households earning more than $125,000 per year.” (Nesbit, 2024) He also added that “Higher-priced items will include food, snacks, beverages, pet care, personal care and more.” (Nesbit, 2024) Klawans misinterprets the information about the more affluent customers in the following, “And despite what Dollar Tree executives said, statistics show the majority of dollar store customers sit in low-income brackets.” (Klawans, 2024) CEO Rick Dreiling actually said new customers, not all customers.

In the end, apparently Dollar Tree can’t win. When they offer healthier food options for more money the implication is made that the company is catering to the wealthy. If they don’t offer healthier options, the company is a “crime magnet” and a creator of “food deserts.”

It’s also useful to point out that it doesn’t appear that the company is raking in the dough at the $1.25 price point. “The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.71 billion and a net loss of $998.4 million for fiscal year 2023, Supermarket News reported.” (Nesbit, 2024) Yet, Klawans insists, “The rampant shrinkflation, as in other types of stores, has “resulted in tasty profit margins for both Dollar General and Dollar Tree,” Bill Wilson said for Supermarket News.” (Klawans, 2024) Klawans then seems to contradict himself by pointing out that Dollar Tree is closing stores. “The shrinkflation doesn’t necessarily appear to be helping to avoid other drastic measures; Dollar Tree and its subsidiary, Family Dollar, announced it will close nearly 1,000 stores in the next few years due to a lackluster 2023. While this may help the company, it is “likely to leave a void for Americans with already limited shopping choices,” CNN said. So, which is it? Dollar Tree is a useful resource for the poor and therefore they have a moral obligation to keep their stores open? Or, are they supposedly a scourge that causes “food deserts” by driving out competition? And do we even know there is competition willing to move into these areas? I guess we’ll find out soon if any traditional groceries swoop in to fill that void created by the store closures.

In the end, yes, there is a problem, but the problem isn’t being caused by Dollar Tree.

(Biron, 2024)

Biron, C. (2024, April 22). “Crime magnets, food deserts? US dollar stores in the dock.” Context. https://www.context.news/socioeconomic-inclusion/crime-magnets-food-deserts-us-dollar-stores-in-the-dock

(Klawans, 2024)

Klawans, J. (2024, March 29). “Why are dollar stores a microcosm for America’s shrinkflation problem?” THE WEEK US. https://theweek.com/business/economy/dollar-stores-americas-shrinkflation-problem

(Nesbit, 2024)

Nesbit, J. (2024, March 22). “Dollar Tree Raising Some Prices to $7 as 6-Figure Earners Flock to the Discount Store.” Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dollar-tree-raising-prices-7-201647729.html

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It’s Booming! Part 2: Another Term to Explain It All Away

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , on April 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It’s Booming! Part 2: Another Term to Explain It All Away

3/15/24

They call it “money dysmorphia.” Yeah, I’m not kidding. It is a new word that has been added to the lexicon of wokeism. It basically means social media is making young adults feel financially inadequate when in fact the economy is actually working well for them! In the article, “Nearly half of young adults have ‘money dysmorphia,’ survey finds. Here are the symptoms.” it states that, “The average household’s net worth has soared in recent years, rising 37% between 2019 and 2022, according to the survey of consumer finances from the Federal Reserve.” (Dickler, 2024) And yet people aren’t feeling well-off. How can that be? Money dysmorphia! Still, the author later admits that, a “prolonged period of high inflation and instability has chipped away at most consumers’ buying power and confidence. Instagram is also partly to blame.” (Dickler, 2024) Notice how the article starts off by admitting that things like inflation have something to do with people’s feelings of financial inadequacy then it pivots to blaming social media. Attacks on social media are being ratcheted up recently. Now, according to the article, the pressure to impress strangers online has warped our perception of financial reality as well.

Then, the article goes on to say that “more than half of Americans earning more than $100,000 a year say they live paycheck to paycheck, another report by LendingClub found.” (Dickler, 2024) Apparently, the cost of living is so high where these people live that it eats away at their income until they have no discretionary income. And really isn’t that what feeling rich is about? The means to have your will met? Isn’t that what really causes people to do the things listed in the article like going on expensive trips and buying things they don’t need? They want to feel powerful and in control? And apparently when they had discretionary income — when the cost of living was less — they felt that way. The media can call this reality whatever they like; they can blame it on a need to impress other people on social media, but in the end I don’t see how telling people they have enough money and implying they are nuts not to see it is going to work. As long as they can’t do as they please whenever they please they aren’t going to feel rich.

Dickler, J. (2024, March 13). “Nearly half of young adults have ‘money dysmorphia,’ survey finds. Here are the symptoms.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/13/nearly-half-of-young-adults-have-money-dysmorphia-survey-finds.html

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It’s Booming! Part 1

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , , on April 10, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It’s Booming! Part 1

4/10/24

There’s so much propaganda out there that the economy is booming! Funny, one of the only things I see booming is inflation. So, I’ve decided to dissect some of the woke propaganda articles on this and other common themes such as climate change from time to time. After all, pretty much all of these articles conveniently lack a comments section. Therefore, they get to mount their podium and lecture at you as though you are a mere school child and they are your not to be questioned or challenged professor. In other words, you are deprived of the ability to mount a response. I find his frustrating.

The article, “The strong U.S. job market is in a ‘sweet spot,’ economists say.”, makes the following points. Facts: “The U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs in March, the largest gain in more than a year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its monthly jobs report.” (Iacurci, 2024) “The unemployment rate also edged lower, to 3.8%.” (Iacurci, 2024) Spin: “It’s a bit harder for workers to find jobs relative to the “great resignation” era a few years ago.” (Iacurci, 2024) “But overall, the labor market looks healthy and sustainable and is giving inflation-adjusted raises to the average worker, economists said.” (Iacurci, 2024) The author spins that the economy is making progress without “overheating” as it did during the “great resignation” era. It’s adding jobs, but not too many. The spin is this is good for both the economy and workers. According to the author’s spin, “employers are adding ample jobs to their payrolls, unemployment hovers near historical lows, and worker buying power (so-called “real” wage growth) is steadily rising, economists said.”

Facts: “Employers added 303,000 jobs to payrolls in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. That’s the largest monthly gain since January 2023. Job growth in the first three months of 2024 — 274,000, on average — beats the 2019 pre-pandemic average by more than 100,000.” (Iacurci, 2024) “The U.S. unemployment rate declined to 3.8% in March, from 3.9% in February. Unemployment has been below 4% — a historically low mark — for more than two years.” (Iacurci, 2024) The author cites Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter who spins, “Those conditions are pushing employers to make “very attractive” offers to new hires and proactively recruit prospective candidates.” (Iacurci, 2024) The author mentions that, “The layoff rate has also been near a historic low for more than two years, as employers hang on to their current workforce.” (Iacurci, 2024) He fails to mention that the tech industry is experiencing severe layoffs. The author then goes on to blame the so-called hot labor market of 2021-2022 for contributing to the high inflation rate. The author admits that, “Wage growth has declined, to an annual 4.1% pace in March from a pandemic-era peak of 5.9% in March 2022, on average. But inflation has fallen more than that, which translates to an increase in household buying power since May 2023.” (Iacurci, 2024)

 “Real hourly earnings — wages after accounting for inflation — grew by 1.1% in February 2024 versus a year earlier.” (Iacurci, 2024) “While workers have lost some leverage, it’s still “relatively easy” to find a job and workers are now getting those inflation-adjusted raises,” Nick Bunker, economic research director for North America at job site Indeed said. (Iacurci, 2024)

The most misleading part of this article is that it’s dealing with rates of increase in wages as compared to rates of increase in inflation over a short period of time. Inflation damage is unfortunately cumulative. In the long term, wage increases consistently outstripping the rate of increase in inflation might make a noticeable difference to consumers. As it stands now, even if the trend continued, they are still contending with prices way too high as compared to their wages. It’s disingenuous for the author and his commenters to ignore the fact that our real wage is still dreadfully inadequate compared to the current cost of living. At best they can say that there has been a sign of improvement they can cite. Instead, they imply that the consumer can go out to their local store and buy more than they could a short while ago. That is wrong. I also think it’s premature to act as though the inflation crisis is over.

(Iacurci, 2024)

Iacurci, G. (2024, April 5). “The strong U.S. job market is in a ‘sweet spot,’ economists say.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/05/the-strong-us-job-market-is-in-a-sweet-spot-economists-say.html

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Whose Money Is It Again?

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Whose Money Is It Again?

It’s pretty clear to me that one of the major reasons people vote for big government spenders is that they are hoping to get a slice of the pie for themselves. It can be overwhelming when the propagandists get to talking about trillions of dollars. It feels as though there is a limitless supply of money to be had. But in actuality, there couldn’t possibly be.

I noticed that they sold out our industrial base in the 1990s. I figure that’s largely why Millennials and Gen Z have very few career opportunities that require a college degree now. Those jobs were given away before many of them were born. I realized that a college degree would have a limited payoff attached to it when the 2000s came upon us. But there were still some careers worth having then — that were still worth the college price tag — if you had the talent to separate yourself from the pack. But that’s not the case so much anymore. What we seem to have left are largely unskilled labor jobs. And they are currently flooding those mostly service jobs with labor from other countries. This, of course, will drive up prices for goods like food while suppressing wages. Meanwhile, the service industry is liable to take a hit with the inflation and interest rate hikes eroding the discretionary income of the lower and middle classes. Isn’t that likely to reduce even the unskilled service jobs? Also, the wages aren’t likely to increase if labor is being brought in to compete with domestic workers. This wouldn’t be so distressing if our cost of living weren’t so disproportionately out of sync with our income. And it seems clear that we US citizens aren’t welcome to just go to countries with better jobs or lower costs of living. American citizens are tied to the land. We are not allowed to follow the jobs to other countries. This apparently isn’t the case for citizens of other countries in regards to the United States.

And as an aside, what brought about the re-evaluation of house values that drastically increased the cost of houses not just in regional hot spots but all across the country? Since we middle/lower classes actually have to live in our houses then anything we gain by the price hike will likely be taken away at the other end.

Anyway, we are being told the inflation is due to an increase in domestic demand. But how can that be? If the prices were just a matter of domestic demand, then how can they exceed the amount people are able to pay? I’ve heard that some facets of the economy such as social media and tech companies had been paying quite a bit. But enough to inflate the entire economy? What did these people with substantial incomes do? Start eating copious amounts of food? I doubt that. It seems more likely to me that the inflation is a result of government overspending, competition with wealthier nations such as China, and supply restrictions.

And by the way, when the government overspends the money it isn’t being reinvested in the United States. They begrudge spending the money on us. East Palestine, Ohio and the fire in Maui demonstrated that.

No, we are supposed to fund our own disaster relief with our nonexistent discretionary incomes. We are supposed to pay for our own security now that they’ve defunded the police. When they mandate prohibitively expensive furnaces we have to buy those. (“Biden Announces Restrictions on Gas Furnaces,” 2023) These mandated furnaces are also not as highly rated as the former models. Meanwhile, they are too busy spending the collective funds of the United States, which had allowed the middle and lower classes to live an acceptable standard of living without having to be wealthy, on their own agendas (which also happens to be the agendas of the globalists) to bother with our welfare. If our society, infrastructure, and services deteriorate, we will just have to suck it up. Safety, what’s that? Hygiene? That’s not necessary — not for us anyway. Luxuries like those are only meant for the people who can afford them — so says the people who rule over us with their mansions and private jets.

Biden Announces Restrictions on Gas Furnaces. (2023, October 3). IER. https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/regulation/biden-announces-restrictions-on-gas-furnaces/

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Inflation Rate Blues

Posted in Thoughts of the Day, tagged , on December 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

The latest inflation figures provided by Consumer Affairs/Datasembly show a 5.3% increase in grocery prices for 2023. Last year the price increase was 25.5%. So the inflation increase rate has slowed. The article by Justin Klawans entitled: “2023: the year of sticker shock” suggests that this is a good thing and that regular people should see it as the improvement that it is. But alas, apparently we’re too unsophisticated and ignorant to appreciate economics. We’re too hung up on the prices we’re paying — which are incidentally eroding our discretionary income — to grasp the beauty of the rate of inflation increase slowing down — not stopping mind you just slowing down. And we actually have the nerve to compare the prices to the pre-COVID numbers as well. How stupid is that! Everyone knows that that world no longer exists! What I didn’t realize is one of the symptoms of COVID was inflation. Silly me.

One of the things I found interesting in the article is the implication that our expectations are too high. What we’ve been wanting is deflation — where the prices actually go back down. Silly us. Of course, we should instead be satisfied that the prices, though still rising, are rising slower than before. Call me crazy, but I never thought the prices would continue to rise at the absurd rate they had been rising.

But the fact of the matter is we are paying a cumulative rate of inflation. Yes, they would prefer we just compare the prices to last year instead of pre-COVID. But really, what sense does that make? It’s like a sinking ship that’s already taken on a lot of water. They would have you focus on the rate of the ongoing leak rather than measure the standing water in the hold. And once again, the leak is still ongoing; the ship is merely not taking on water as quickly as it had before. What is troubling though is the captain and the crew appear to believe this is good enough. While the boat is continuing to take on water, they not only have not stopped the leak, they have no plans to bail out the boat from prior inflationary damage.

There is impracticality in their take on the economic forecast. They want people to focus on the abstract rather than the concrete. But in real life you deal with prices. When you get a bill more than likely you are obligated to pay the full amount. You can’t tell a utility company, I’ll pay 3/4 of the bill but increase my payment rate by 5% month over month and expect to get away with it.

Of course, the author also seems to think that grocery prices are decreasing. How does he figure that? They have increased by 5.3% compared to last year’s baseline according to the figures the author provided.

In the end, it would seem reading between the lines that these high prices are expected to be here to stay. The open question is whether people can actually afford to pay them.

Klawans, Justin. “2023: the year of sticker shock.” THE WEEK US, 14 December 2023,

https://theweek.com/sticker-shock-inflation-2023

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