INFLATION--FED's cutting rates again...
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Yesterday, I learned from Claire McCaskill on MSNBC that Bidenomics is not working and should not be the DNC message to the people. They need to tout gas prices and unemployment numbers!
Government data and graphs mean nothing to the average American trying to feed their family and buy gas to get to work. Interest rates will prevent young Americans from buying homes and rent prices will remain high. For retired people, their savings and SS will not keep up with inflation.
Government data and graphs mean nothing to the average American trying to feed their family and buy gas to get to work. Interest rates will prevent young Americans from buying homes and rent prices will remain high. For retired people, their savings and SS will not keep up with inflation.
Monahorns
10,000+ Posts
For retired people, have you calculated your extra annual expense due to recent inflation and then calculate how much more you need in savings to compensate for the higher base cost over the next 10-20 years? For example, you are paying $5k more per year in groceries, insurance, etc and you need to find $60k (lump sum, after tax) to offset the inflation for the foreseeable future.
Exactly. And the bottom line - that's pretty much impossible. So I'll simply have to continue depleting my investments in order to meet rising expenses.
I think the progressive folks in DC who pushed the out of control federal spending and zero interest rate policy (ZIRP) was intending to help younger folks, minorities, etc to get work after covid at the expense of older whiter folks. Younger folks can offset the higher prices with higher wages over many years of employment. Older folks either have to deplete savings even more or go back into the workforce to make-up for the shortfall. I seriously believe this was the intention with the hope that higher inflation would be accepted without fierce criticism.Exactly. And the bottom line - that's pretty much impossible. So I'll simply have to continue depleting my investments in order to meet rising expenses.
Monahorns
10,000+ Posts
Reminder that the progressives are in both parties. Republicans have done nothing to reduce spending, at least not in 30 years. Also, this round of inflation was caused primarily by Donald J Trump. His covid stimulus stuff was horrendous. Biden followed up with more but it wasn't as much as Trump.
When Covid hit, I don't think Trump really knew what to do. The "experts" told him to lockdown and to pay people not to work. Since he has no ideology and relies on populism in a similar way that the far left does, it probably made sense to him to follow their lead and act like a 1930s Democrat. And of course, like in the 1930s, the policy was **** and made things significantly worse than they otherwise would have been.
What's funny is that when he and Biden are the nominees, he's going to rip Biden for the inflation, when most of it is his fault. Biden did pour gasoline on the fire (and tried pour an entire oil tanker on it), but Trump brought on the initial problem. He really won't have any credibility on the matter.
All true, but the Trump team can counter with (1) if Trump had been reelected the second round would never have happened (low-hanging fruit as an excuse); and (2) a large portion of the the depth of the problem is the war on oil as every increase in energy prices caused by Biden's war on oil is multiplied as those costs work through everything requiring transportation to reach the consumer (everything for short).
Going back into the workforce may be an alternative for recent retirees - they may be able to find part-time work to supplement their retirement income. Going back to work is a lot tougher when you're pushing hard on age 80.
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He'll make that argument, but honestly, I think Trump would have gone along with more Covid "relief" like Biden did. He had no hesitancy to throw money at voters. He'll have a point about oil, but I don't think that's the dominant factor in the inflation. As @Monahorns often points out, inflation is a choice, and we chose it with our nutty fiscal and monetary policies.
If you wanted to be 100% prepared, everyone nearing retirement or considering retirement in January, 2009 should have kept working after Obama and his fellow progressives won the WH in the 2008 election. The natural outcome of their policies was inflation. It finally came home to roost in January, 2021 but the seeds were sown in 2009.
We will disagree on the energy front. When energy prices go up, the cost of anything delivered by boat, rail, car, truck or airplane goes up.
Energy is a simple supply and demand situation. Natural gas is under $3 per million BTU. Cheap! If you account for inflation, gas at the pump is not expensive (though not cheap).
Natural gas had been over $3 for a month. Heating bills this winter will be up.
It's a factor, but we've had high energy prices before. It didn't lead to inflation anywhere near this high. It takes policy to have inflation this high.
1970s
First of all energy pricing itself is not a factor of any inflation calculation due to the economist community refusing to include food and energy pricing in the inflation calculation. This stupidity is based on the theory that commodity pricing fluctuates too much to provide a constant clear picture of the economy. That theory is entirely BS.
The energy (or better the no carbon-based energy) policy is the issue. The high energy prices in the 70's and 80's were caused by OPEC withholding crude from the market. All other parts of the economy after Carter had settled down.
The current issue is increased prices in all areas of the economy caused by the release of the COVID germ and the Chinese purposeful refusal to disclose the weaponization of the disease (they now know the spread effect of that particular disease).
The energy (or better the no carbon-based energy) policy is the issue. The high energy prices in the 70's and 80's were caused by OPEC withholding crude from the market. All other parts of the economy after Carter had settled down.
The current issue is increased prices in all areas of the economy caused by the release of the COVID germ and the Chinese purposeful refusal to disclose the weaponization of the disease (they now know the spread effect of that particular disease).
Biden taking credit for slight cost decrease in 2023 over 2022.
They are.
In the '70s, we had high energy prices and ****** policy. I'm not saying energy costs aren't a factor. They are, but inflation very often doesn't go with energy costs. Hell, Europe always has ridiculous energy costs. They don't always have high inflation. They have high inflation when their governments hemorrhage money and the European Central Bank prints money like crazy.
And of course, keep in mind that high energy costs are often the product of crappy policy.
Same regime that claims they have no control over fuel prices is trying to take a victory lap over lower prices at the pump...
Yes, but it is the same group that is saying the border is closed. The unbelievable part is about a third of the population believe they are stating the truth.
Headline inflation by this measure (preferred by Fed over the CPI) is now down to 3.0%. Moving forward inflation will be under 3% with a shallow recession happening now or soon. Unfortunately higher prices will be with us forever.
Fed's Favorite Inflation Indicator Slides To 30 Month Lows, Savings Rate Ticks Higher | ZeroHedge
Fed's Favorite Inflation Indicator Slides To 30 Month Lows, Savings Rate Ticks Higher | ZeroHedge
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