I always like your writing, but this feels like one of your recent bests.
When referring to the President, we tend to make it about the President. I'm not trying to sound stupid, but pointing out that almost all of the policy and actions have been researched, poll tested and fine tuned by everyone but the President. People with other ideological agendas, most probably Far Left.
I read a WSJ article today that says that the White House has two factions -- one is Biden's inner circle, who have been around longer than the rest of the secondary staff, which are probably all young Millennials and wide eyed activists. It appears that the "staff" is proposing many things, while the "inner circle" seems to be rejecting them. Or, perhaps the staff is proposing too many ineffective solutions that the Far Left likes, but that aren't true economic solutions.
I don't know who is winning the policy war over there, but it's not Biden (he wouldn't know what to do), and it's probably not anyone with a brain that has a grip on economics. This was the same problem with Obama, in that they had no private sector experience.
It always amazes me that you need a license to practice everything else, but any political idiot can make any very harmful move to the economy once in the White House or Congress. Did these people study classical economics? Do they understand what they are doing, or is everything just a poll tested, thin veneer of a policy with no substance?
Jamie Dimon recently said that oil could go to $175 bbl and natural gas is at $9.52 per thousand cubic feet, up from $1.52 in January 2020. Biden killed energy independence and like someone who has no bills to, no gas to purchase, no food to purchase is oblivious to any of the pain going on in the country. He is just as bad as Obama when it comes to optics and we need the House and Senate in November---which will be next January 2023.
Excellent commentary Jeff. I heard Jamie Dimon said oil could reach $175 bbl which would mean $8.50-$10.00 gasoline. Natural gas is at $9.52 per thousand cubic feet. There are going to be rolling blackouts in Texas, California, southern and central Illinois and Indiana and other states. Biden is a disaster.
The old record is around $140 which happened in the run up to the Olympics in Beijing. I know, I shorted it and scratched. Then, shorted it around 140 and scratched again because I didn't believe it could break to $35. Crazy thing is if we go into a deep recession, oil prices will go down somewhat.
They are doing this s*** on purpose. They are trying to create chaos and destruction so they can disrupt (read: steal) the midterms. Power outages, Covid returns (it already is to the jabbed mostly), food and gas shortages, etc. etc.
Then it is lockdowns, states of emergency and with it Governor's and perhaps even POTUS giving themselves "Emergency Power" to do all sorts of unconstitutional things.
Covid lockdowns were simply a dress rehearsal for a police state. And the rehearsal couldn't have gone better for the Left and the State.
one of the plays in the Marxist Playbook is to create so much chaos, people will beg for any sort of government, and they waltz in. Worked well for Lenin. Almost worked in Spain in 1937
Don't forget that when Democrats do pretend to take some sort of blame for the unpopularity of their policies, it's because they aren't "messaging" well enough and/or that people are just too stupid to understand.
Regarding Hoover as one of the worst presidents, I think that's a fair assessment. One difference from Biden, however, is that Hoover really wanted to do well but I have yet to see that compassion by the Biden oligarchy.
The one caveat I will give to any President prior to the work of the Chicago Boys that started in the late 50s and carries through until today is "they didn't know". Intuitively, we sort of knew that the FDR programs were stupid, but there was no intellectual heft against it. Hoover was pro-tariff etc. His knee jerk reactions to the Depression were not correct-and FDR didn't lift a finger to help. He waited to implement things and had the Democrats in Congress stall so he could get credit. (See Freedom From Fear by Professor Kennedy). Today, there is no excuse. The Keynesians models are bereft of actual intellectual heft. Basically, they just want power and control. On the classical side, the soundbite of "Nobody Knows" isn't good since they rely on trillions of individual actions they can't control to create economic growth. Classical economics isn't neat and tidy. But, neat and tidy means command and control...
My family and I have been fortunate and, while we notice the increase in the cost of everything (it now costs me over $125 to fill my tank here in the Chicago burbs) we can still afford our lifestyle. But I have spoken to many who it has impacted significantly.
We recently purchased a place in Indiana. It needed upgrading so we hired a contractor to do the work that needed getting done. His crew pointed out that they have started telling customers that they get one free trip for materials to the the local big box. After that, any adjustments requiring additional trips will cost them a charge for the gasoline to get there and back. For those largely living paycheck to paycheck Biden and his policies have been a complete disaster.
complete and utter disaster. Oh, and by the way, buy an electric car. Don't worry that they cost $50k+ and if everyone had one we'd for sure crush the power grid.
“Just buy an EV” is this administration’s other “let them eat cake” moment.
No one ever mentions how EVs will affect the mobility of lower income Americans. Where I live in western North Carolina is not economically segregated like the Chicago area is. I drive by trailer parks and houses in rough shape every day. People down here regularly drive old beat up cars since we only get a few days of snow and salting of the roads is not common. I regularly see 20 year old cars around. The average age of a car in the US these days is 12 years. However, EV batteries are usually only warrantied for less than that. For example, BMW warranties its X5 PHEV batteries for 8 years, and the replacement cost is $30k.
What happens when there are no old cars that can be used by my low income neighbors? Do we turn into Havana with old junks powered by tractor motors? The mobility of the growing low income population is just as important as any other American’s.
I always like your writing, but this feels like one of your recent bests.
When referring to the President, we tend to make it about the President. I'm not trying to sound stupid, but pointing out that almost all of the policy and actions have been researched, poll tested and fine tuned by everyone but the President. People with other ideological agendas, most probably Far Left.
I read a WSJ article today that says that the White House has two factions -- one is Biden's inner circle, who have been around longer than the rest of the secondary staff, which are probably all young Millennials and wide eyed activists. It appears that the "staff" is proposing many things, while the "inner circle" seems to be rejecting them. Or, perhaps the staff is proposing too many ineffective solutions that the Far Left likes, but that aren't true economic solutions.
I don't know who is winning the policy war over there, but it's not Biden (he wouldn't know what to do), and it's probably not anyone with a brain that has a grip on economics. This was the same problem with Obama, in that they had no private sector experience.
It always amazes me that you need a license to practice everything else, but any political idiot can make any very harmful move to the economy once in the White House or Congress. Did these people study classical economics? Do they understand what they are doing, or is everything just a poll tested, thin veneer of a policy with no substance?
Jamie Dimon recently said that oil could go to $175 bbl and natural gas is at $9.52 per thousand cubic feet, up from $1.52 in January 2020. Biden killed energy independence and like someone who has no bills to, no gas to purchase, no food to purchase is oblivious to any of the pain going on in the country. He is just as bad as Obama when it comes to optics and we need the House and Senate in November---which will be next January 2023.
Excellent commentary Jeff. I heard Jamie Dimon said oil could reach $175 bbl which would mean $8.50-$10.00 gasoline. Natural gas is at $9.52 per thousand cubic feet. There are going to be rolling blackouts in Texas, California, southern and central Illinois and Indiana and other states. Biden is a disaster.
The old record is around $140 which happened in the run up to the Olympics in Beijing. I know, I shorted it and scratched. Then, shorted it around 140 and scratched again because I didn't believe it could break to $35. Crazy thing is if we go into a deep recession, oil prices will go down somewhat.
“America’s economy is doing better than other countries in the world.”
Being someone who has to put off retiring now that's a real comfort
unfortunately, I am in my first year of retirement right now.....don't think I will stay this way
They are doing this s*** on purpose. They are trying to create chaos and destruction so they can disrupt (read: steal) the midterms. Power outages, Covid returns (it already is to the jabbed mostly), food and gas shortages, etc. etc.
Then it is lockdowns, states of emergency and with it Governor's and perhaps even POTUS giving themselves "Emergency Power" to do all sorts of unconstitutional things.
Covid lockdowns were simply a dress rehearsal for a police state. And the rehearsal couldn't have gone better for the Left and the State.
one of the plays in the Marxist Playbook is to create so much chaos, people will beg for any sort of government, and they waltz in. Worked well for Lenin. Almost worked in Spain in 1937
Don't forget that when Democrats do pretend to take some sort of blame for the unpopularity of their policies, it's because they aren't "messaging" well enough and/or that people are just too stupid to understand.
Regarding Hoover as one of the worst presidents, I think that's a fair assessment. One difference from Biden, however, is that Hoover really wanted to do well but I have yet to see that compassion by the Biden oligarchy.
The one caveat I will give to any President prior to the work of the Chicago Boys that started in the late 50s and carries through until today is "they didn't know". Intuitively, we sort of knew that the FDR programs were stupid, but there was no intellectual heft against it. Hoover was pro-tariff etc. His knee jerk reactions to the Depression were not correct-and FDR didn't lift a finger to help. He waited to implement things and had the Democrats in Congress stall so he could get credit. (See Freedom From Fear by Professor Kennedy). Today, there is no excuse. The Keynesians models are bereft of actual intellectual heft. Basically, they just want power and control. On the classical side, the soundbite of "Nobody Knows" isn't good since they rely on trillions of individual actions they can't control to create economic growth. Classical economics isn't neat and tidy. But, neat and tidy means command and control...
My family and I have been fortunate and, while we notice the increase in the cost of everything (it now costs me over $125 to fill my tank here in the Chicago burbs) we can still afford our lifestyle. But I have spoken to many who it has impacted significantly.
We recently purchased a place in Indiana. It needed upgrading so we hired a contractor to do the work that needed getting done. His crew pointed out that they have started telling customers that they get one free trip for materials to the the local big box. After that, any adjustments requiring additional trips will cost them a charge for the gasoline to get there and back. For those largely living paycheck to paycheck Biden and his policies have been a complete disaster.
complete and utter disaster. Oh, and by the way, buy an electric car. Don't worry that they cost $50k+ and if everyone had one we'd for sure crush the power grid.
“Just buy an EV” is this administration’s other “let them eat cake” moment.
No one ever mentions how EVs will affect the mobility of lower income Americans. Where I live in western North Carolina is not economically segregated like the Chicago area is. I drive by trailer parks and houses in rough shape every day. People down here regularly drive old beat up cars since we only get a few days of snow and salting of the roads is not common. I regularly see 20 year old cars around. The average age of a car in the US these days is 12 years. However, EV batteries are usually only warrantied for less than that. For example, BMW warranties its X5 PHEV batteries for 8 years, and the replacement cost is $30k.
What happens when there are no old cars that can be used by my low income neighbors? Do we turn into Havana with old junks powered by tractor motors? The mobility of the growing low income population is just as important as any other American’s.
Better make friends with a body shop, and mechanic. Of course, most of the parts are made in China....