permafrost Loc: Minnesota

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David W. Rudlin
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Author of the Inspector McLean Mystery seriesUpdated 8mo
Initial inflation was 1.5% when Trump left office. Can Democrats share what happened?
Not a Democrat, but happy to help.

In January 2021 when trump left office, 77,400 Americans died of C***D.

The v*****es were out, but trump didn’t have a distribution plan, saying that was up to the states.

Schools, restaurants, and stores were closed. Few people went away for Xmas. Life was essentially on Pause.

GDP shrank by 3.5%, making it pretty remarkable there was any inflation at all. No demand = no shortages.

Biden came in and immediately went to work putting jabs in arms. Confidence returned, more quickly than anyone expecting. The shutters were lifted, and people began to return to normal life.

Meaning they wanted the stuff they were consuming before the p******c began. Except C***D didn’t affect just the demand side of the equation, it also slammed supply. Other countries had done some version of what we’d done, meaning lots of stuff didn’t get made or harvested or shipped, and suddenly we had close to the usual level of demand, PLUS a need to build up inventory that had disappeared or rotted during the shutdowns.

For the past few decades businessmen around the globe had been adopting Toyota’s “just in time” approach to supply chains. That saves lots of money (at least for the companies on the buying end) when everything is working normally. But it left everyone standing naked when adult swim ended.

For example, right now in Japan there’s a four-year wait for a new Lexus. Which is made in Japan. But it uses chips made in China, and China is still in lockdown. The same thing is happening in the US; have a look at what it costs to rent a car these days.

None of this should be surprising. You can’t expect the world to stop and then suddenly pick up where it left off. So anyone paying attention would have known that a period of sustained inflation FOR THE WORLD was inevitable.

Then Putin, Ukraine, wheat shortage, etc.

I can hear you asking, “Isn’t it Joe Biden’s job to deal with all of that?” It is, and if you look at the US inflation rate compared with, say, the UK (10.4% headed for a forecast 18%), you’d have to conclude he’s outperforming his peer group.

None of this is to suggest the current inflation isn’t anything other than tremendously painful. And it’s made worse by companies seeing an opportunity to jack up prices under cover of widespread inflation.

But the one thing it’s not is surprising. The same thing would have happened to trump if he hadn’t lost.

Last point, and again, I am NOT a Democrat:

If the Republicans have a better idea for how to handle the current nightmare, let’s hear it. I’ve heard endless criticism of Biden, but only for not giving everyone a bike for Xmas. I can’t think of a single GOP leader who has said, “He should stop doing X, and start doing Y.”

Can you?

BIRDMAN

Ba ba ba

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

I have to say, always been disgusted on how interest works only one way, never seems to be helpful to us, the consumer.... when it goes up the rate we get on a deposit takes weeks if not months to rise and then much less then the rise we have to pay.. and as your MEME shows the cost we pay for the loan is often far more then the cost of the product we buy..

think of a solution and I will v**e YES....

By the way, your example is an excellent one of price gouging...

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

What could Biden (or Trump) have done differently???

Just off the top of my head ~
1. Bring back manufacturing and increase domestic production of goods... Especially vital goods like medication and tech...

2. Increase domestic oil and gas production so that the US would be less reliant on sales from other nations... It would also give the US more leverage to control the price of oil..

3. Stop bailing out corporations and banks... Let them go under.. At the same time, increase loans and tax breaks to small businesses.. This will spur community based growth and help ensure that money stays in those communities...

4. (This one is controversial) Start up interest free loans for first time homeowners.. And remove interest from student loans... Nothing wrong with asking people to pay back what they borrowed, but tacking interest on is simply wrong...

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

The first 3 things have been done but after the horse got out.. late to the picnic and all that.. You would think no one warned about it would be that way which I read in several places..

As for #4, which I like a lot.. no, this will not happen . Just the mention of it will send the bankers into cardiace arrest.. never will they allow this to happen.. selfish bas*****....

Also, not sure how effective the various programs are at the moment. I have not looked into them at all..

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Why not have a government loan program that is interest free???
That should have been how student loans worked from the beginning.. True investment in the nation.. They could even limit the majors to fields that are needed..
In fact, why not have free programs for vital fields (like nursing and home care ) that would decrease the necessity of hiring foreigners (bipartisan support, right)???

NunyaBizness Loc: Humboldt County California

They should stop targeting Americans. Quit spending billions of dollars spying on our own.
Why would they even want to know what every single person is doing every hour of every day.
Dismantle all government bodies created after 9/11 including the DHS get rid of FEMA and at the same time create one or two intelligence organizations maybe one for domestic and one for foreign. Totally dismantle the FBI, CIA and NSA because many Americans will never trust them and I definately wont.
Thats probably enough for the first week and already saved billions of dollars every year..😎
No branch of government should have the ability to classify documents such that only they can see what they are up to..