Pirate's Cove

You know why Biden won (well, other than the cheating)? Because he wasn’t Trump. How many people were voting against Trump because of Mean Tweets, failing to differentiate between personality and policy? Just like in 2004: who was seriously excited about John Kerry? And now these idiots are learning that all politicians are pretty much skeezy people, but, some of them are better than others at this governance thing. Most politicians want to keep the problem going, saying “elect me and I’ll fix the problem.” Then, after not fixing the problem, they’ll say the same thing. Terri McAuliffe paid someone to do a very bad song about how Terry has plans to fix all these things. What did Terry do the previous 4 years?

Anyhow, Biden had no mandate to do all this crazy stuff. He thinks he does, or, at least his handlers think he does. But, this inflation and stuff (drove by gas station on way home, $3.25 in Raleigh. That’s up quite a bit since Trump was in office) is really getting in the way

Rising Prices, Once Seen as Temporary, Threaten Biden’s Agenda
Supply chain disruptions, a worker shortage and pain at the gasoline pump have made inflation an economic and political problem for the White House.

At least once a week, a team of President Biden’s top advisers meet on Zoom to address the nation’s supply chain crisis. They discuss ways to relieve backlogs at America’s ports, ramp up semiconductor production for struggling automakers and swell the ranks of truck drivers.

The conversations are aimed at one goal: taming accelerating price increases that are hurting the economic recovery, unsettling American consumers and denting Mr. Biden’s popularity.

Where’s Joe? Is he involved at all?

An inflation surge is presenting a fresh challenge for Mr. Biden, who for months insisted that rising prices were a temporary hangover from the pandemic recession and would quickly recede. Instead, the president and his aides are now bracing for high inflation to persist into next year, with Americans continuing to see faster — and sustained — increases in prices for food, gasoline and other consumer goods than at any point this century.

That reality has complicated Mr. Biden’s push for sweeping legislation to boost workers, expand access to education and fight poverty and climate change. And it is dragging on the president’s approval ratings, which could threaten Democrats’ already tenuous hold on Congress in the 2022 midterm elections.

See, the important thing for the NY Times is that this causes problems for Biden, not for you the citizens. If you are a Democratic Party voter, you should be getting the idea that they don’t give a flying turd about you and your plight, that you’re paying more for everything, that real wages are going down. They really don’t. Not in the least. You are a little worker bee who needs to just suck it up so that Democrats can enact their agenda. They only care what the elites think.

The ruling class also wants the worker bees to get used to this economic pain, because it will be the norm if they enact their agenda

Administration officials have responded by framing Mr. Biden’s push for what would be his signature spending bill as an effort to reduce costs that American families face, citing provisions to cap child care costs and expand subsidies for higher education, among other plans. And they have mobilized staff to scour options for unclogging supply chains, bringing more people back into the work force, and reducing food and gasoline costs by promoting more competition in the economy via executive actions.

This agenda does zero to solve any issues, and will make things worse. Say what you want about Trump, he tried to solve problems, not perpetuate them, not put bandaids on them. Joe is lost and a disaster, just like we told you he would be.

Inflation and shortages are the downside of that equation. Car prices are elevated as a result of strong demand and a lack of semiconductors. Gasoline has hit its highest cost per gallon in seven years. A shift in consumer preferences and a pandemic crimp in supply chains have delayed shipments of furniture, household appliances and other consumer goods. Millions of Americans, having saved up money from government support through the pandemic, are waiting to return to jobs, driving up labor costs for companies and food prices in many restaurants.

It’s not demand that is driving up car prices: it’s lack of inventory. Period. Full stop, as they like to say. Production is still way down, and most vehicles have deposits before they come off trucks. 75% will have a deposit before they get out of production. So, few dealers will offer a discount. Many will charge above MSRP. Guitars: lack of production, certain brands produced overseas stuck on ships, having to use different woods for domestic production. Customer told me Monday has a friend who’s been waiting since February for her furniture.

Much of that is beyond Mr. Biden’s control. Inflation has risen in wealthy nations across the globe, as the pandemic has hobbled the movement of goods and component parts between countries. Virus-wary consumers have shifted their spending toward goods rather than services, travel and tourism remain depressed, and energy prices have risen as demand for fuel and electricity has surged amid the resumption of business activity and some weather shocks linked to climate change.

You know the NY Times would Blame Trump if he was in office, right? And, in honesty, there is only so much Joe can do. But, he’s also making all the wrong moves, and giving no confidence. During the Chinese coronavirus pandemic last year Trump worked to alleviate what he could and give confidence. No one has confidence in Joe.

But, this is all very inconvenient for Joe, you know?