Bizarro president destroys the economy

Like Edie Brickell, I'm not aware of too many things. I know what I know, if you know what I mean.

One of the few things I know is inflation risen from the dead like Christopher Lee in the beginning of every one of his Dracula movies. Reagan drove a wooden stake through inflation in the 1980s and his successors carried a crucifix afterward.

Then came Biden.

He emptied the Treasury by borrowing trillions of dollars to spend on the Green New Deal (ironically labeled the Inflation Reduction Act) and on an infrastructure program called the American Rescue Plan.

Democrat Senator Mark Warner of Virginia told Bloomberg, “Was there too much in the American Rescue Plan on a relative basis? Absolutely.”

This is the first infrastructure program that actually tears down interstate highways in the name of equity.

On September 15, 2022, MSNBC breathlessly reported, “Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed to the Associated Press on Thursday that $104.6 million in federal funds coming from last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill will go toward a plan to dismantle Interstate 375, a highway built to bisect Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood and its epicenter of black business, Paradise Valley.

“The funds are being allocated to Detroit as part of a $1.5 billion grant program called Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, or INFRA, for states to move critical projects forward.”

Buttigieg is the Bizarro World transportation secretary who destroys highways.

He serves the Bizarro president who destroys the economy. Those trillions borrowed and spent resurrected inflation.

Just the News reported on Monday, “Halloween candy will cost 13% more than compared to last year, Labor Department report shows.”

The candy corn crops must have failed.

The story said, “For comparison, it took nine years, from 1997 to 2006, for candy prices to rise 13%, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting.”

Look at it this way. Let’s Go Brandon is protecting kids’ teeth.

Well, there’s always Thanksgiving, right?

Wrong. On the same day, Breitbart News reported, “One in five Americans are unsure if they will be able to cover the costs of Thanksgiving this year, and one in four plan to skip it to save money, a recent Personal Capital survey found.

“The state of economic affairs in President Joe Biden’s America is affecting Americans’ holiday plans. According to the survey, one quarter of Americans are planning to skip Thanksgiving this year to save money, and one in five ‘doubted they would have enough money to cover the costs of Thanksgiving this year.’

“More specifically, one-third expect their 2022 Thanksgiving dinner to be smaller, and 45%, overall, said they are financially stressed by Thanksgiving.”

Oh my stars. Tom Turkey just got laid off.

Well, Christmas is just around the corner. Everything should be better by then, right?

Wrong!

On October 3, 2022, Fox 29 in Philadelphia reported, “According to a report by The New York Post, Nike said it's planning to offer sales of up to 44% overall and 65% in North America, the company as it reported for its latest quarter last week.

“The company is blaming supply chain issues for a lag in product movement which resulted in the company overstocking some items while others arrived late.”

Overstocked is a polite way of saying sales plunged. Kids went back to school in last year’s shoes. But that is just one company’s problem, right?

Wrong!

Looks like Christmas will suck too.

On October 2, 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported, “Ocean carriers are canceling dozens of sailings on the world’s busiest routes during what is normally their peak season, the latest sign of the economic whiplash hitting companies as inflation weighs on global trade and consumer spending.

“The October cancellations are a sharp reversal from just a few months ago, when scarce shipping space pushed freight rates higher and carriers’ profits to record levels. Last October, companies like Walmart Inc. and Home Depot Inc. were chartering their own ships to get around bottlenecks at ports to meet a surge in demand for imports.

“Trans-Pacific shipping rates have plummeted roughly 75% from year-ago levels. The transportation industry is grappling with weaker demand as big retailers cancel orders with vendors and step up efforts to cut inventories. FedEx Corp. recently said it would cancel flights and park cargo planes because of a sharp drop in shipping volumes. On Thursday, Nike Inc. said it was sitting on 65% more inventory in North America than a year earlier and would resort to markdowns.

“The erosion in global economic conditions, from the war in Ukraine to factory shutdowns in China, have dealt heavy blows to trade activity. The International Monetary Fund has cut its forecast for global growth in gross domestic product multiple times this year. Consumer prices are rising at the fastest rates in years in the U.S., countries in Europe and other parts of the world.”

Well, at least we solved the supply chain mess by reducing demand.

Speaking of a drop in demand, housing prices are dropping as mortgage rates rise. The mortgage rates rise as interest rates rise to cure inflation.

On Monday, the New York Post reported, “Home sellers are slashing their asking prices at a record clip as surging mortgage rates drive a downturn in the US housing market, according to a recent report from real estate firm Redfin.

“About 7.9% of home listings reported price drops during the four-week period ending Oct. 9, according to a rolling average compiled by Redfin. That figure marked a record high and a significant uptick compared to the same period last year, when just 4% of listings reported price cuts.”

The lower prices are not working.

On Thursday, CNBC reported, “Existing home sales fall to a 10-year low in September, as mortgage rates soar.”

We are in a recession. The media won’t call it a recession until after the election. The recession is this year’s Hunter’s laptop. The media is going out of its way to pretend that everything is peachy keen.

But if you run a business news network or a business news service, you have to address the odor from the elephant in the room. On October 17, 2022, Bloomberg came up with a novel way of acknowledging the recession without admitting we are in one. Clever.

Bloomberg said, “Forecast for US Recession Within Year Hits 100% in Blow to Biden.”

The story said, “The latest recession probability models by Bloomberg economists Anna Wong and Eliza Winger forecast a higher recession probability across all timeframes, with the 12-month estimate of a downturn by October 2023 hitting 100%, up from 65% for the comparable period in the previous update.

“The forecast will be unwelcome news for Biden, who has repeatedly said the US will avoid a recession and that any downturn would be very slight, as he seeks to reassure Americans the economy is on solid footing under his administration.

“But tightening financial conditions, persistent inflation and expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve pressing ahead with rate hikes are raising the risk of a contraction.”

Raising the risk of contraction? The economy has been in contraction since January but as I said, the media is under orders not to admit that until after the election.

But the electorate knows better. Polls show the economy and inflation are by far the top concerns of Americans. Abortion will keep suburban women Democrat, right?

Wrong!

On Monday, National Review reported, “49% of voters plan to vote for the Republican nominee to represent their House district while 45% said they’d back their Democratic opponent, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday. Of particular note was a 32 point swing among independent women toward the GOP. In September’s iteration of the poll, Democrats boasted a 14 point lead among that demographic, but by October, Republicans held an 18 point advantage.”

The people who do the grocery shopping (like me) notice inflation first.

Which brings me back to Edie Brickell.

On July 5, 2022, the Dirt reported, “It took more than three years, but married musicians Paul Simon and Edie Brickell have at long last unloaded their sprawling estate just 45 minutes outside of Manhattan, in Connecticut’s ritzy and bucolic New Canaan, at $10.8 million.

“The sale price is girthy by just about any standard but unfortunately for the May-December pair — married 30 years, 80-year-old Simon is 25 years Brickell’s senior – it’s a staggering $5.7 million below the $16.5 million records show the innovative singer-songwriters paid for the nearly 32-acre spread about 20 years ago. According to reports from when the property first popped up for sale in 2019 with a too-optimistic price of $13.9 million, Simon recorded many of his hit albums there.”

Bidenomics hits Democrat elitists hardest.

If you know what I mean.