Interestingly, the article never mentions the word Biden, nor Democrats, despite raging inflation eroding the standard of living
As Inflation Stalks Europe, Leaders Shudder
The downfall of Britain’s prime minister served as a warning to all of the political peril that awaits those who fail to address the erosion of living standards, no matter the cause.The retired women wheeled their canvas shopping carts to the fresh pasta counter of an outdoor market in Rome this week and commiserated about how the price of tagliatelle, oranges, napkins, utility bills — you name it — had gone through the roof.
“Prices have gone up on everything,” said Simonetta Belardi, 69, a self-described leftist who argued that while inflation whittled away her savings, it also wore down her support for Ukraine in the war that many across Europe blame for the astronomical costs. She was no fan of Russia, she said, but the time had long passed for an end to military support for Ukraine and a shift to diplomatic negotiations for peace. She said more and more people she knew, in need of economic relief, were losing their patience, too.
“All they want is arms, arms, arms,” she said of Ukraine. “I’m sick and tired of them.”
It is a sentiment — impatience, even inchoate anger, at the inflation fueled by the war — that transcends the shoppers in Rome’s piazzas and can be found among the weekly protests in Germany or in the swelling ranks of French strikers. And it has leaders nervous.
A bit of gaslighting, since the primary cause of inflation was China’s coronavirus. Then you get into issues like printing too much money, spending too much as the economies were re-opening, passing bills that do nothing to address inflation but put more money into economies, overheating them. And then Biden baiting Putin into invading Ukraine
While Britain’s economic tailspin was largely self-inflicted by unfunded tax proposals, the resignation on Thursday of Prime Minister Liz Truss sent perhaps the clearest signal yet that political peril awaits those who fail to address inflation and the erosion of living standards, no matter the cause.
The situation is arguably even more dire on continental Europe. The annual inflation rate in the European Union is now at its highest in decades — 10.9 percent in September, up from 3.6 a year earlier.
A big driver is their lack of energy, mostly fossil fuels, which drives up prices.
That is worse even than in the United States or Britain, and it is being driven largely by the bloc’s unique and anguishing withdrawal pains as it tries to punish Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, for his invasion of Ukraine by quitting its long dependence on cheap Russian gas.
Remember when they laughed at Trump for saying they were too reliant on Russia for natural gas?
Mario Draghi, the departing prime minister of Italy and an architect of the continent’s united line against Russia, warned as much would happen if Europe failed to reach a deal to cap prices on the alternative gas imports.
Spiraling energy costs, he said in a speech at the United Nations in September, would be something that “puts at risk the economic recovery, limits the buying power of families and damages the production capabilities of businesses.”
That’s what happens when you legislate away fossil fuels, coal, and nuclear power, ones that are reliable, dependable, and affordable. But, the Elites really do not care, because it doesn’t affect them, they’re rich. But, it does harm the working and middle class
That moment, it seems, is arriving as strikes and protests over the rising cost of living proliferate, ushering in a period of social and labor unrest not seen since at least the 1970s.
But, are the politicians and Elites listening? Most aren’t. They look like this
https://twitter.com/JoeT888/status/1583073944428388352
It’s no wonder the Times doesn’t want to discuss Biden and the Democrats, because they are beyond out of touch, and just do not care.
I’ve got no use for AOC, but I can’t stop thinking that if it had been a sane conservative dancing to her hecklers, we’d be singing her praises.
I don’t think so. We have enough childlike, immature idiots on our own team e don’t need idiot dancers who ignore their constituents like they’re a joke.
I don’t think so. I can not see a conservative woman being so disrespectful to people she is supposed to represent. It is hard to watch the video as she is so gross.
We can’t see liberal constituents being so disrespectful to an elected official.
It was hard to watch the video as those “constituents” are so gross.
Global fossil fuel prices are set by the big exporters. Those would include Russia and the Gulf Arabs. These countries are all friends of the right-wing politicians here in the USA. New refineries and nuclear plants can’t get permits because of local opposition to them. The Chokecherry Wind Project due to come on line in 3 years will provide the equivalent to 3 nuclear power plants. In the USA our cost for any fossil fuel is set by the Russians and Arabs and always will be. The price is NOT set by the amount we produce domestically. Should the increased costs be called inflation or price gouging? Refinery production decreased under Trump when the Trump virus hit and demand ceased. Oil companies then closed their worst performing refineries permanently. Why should American oil producers even want to change any of their policies when they are making all time record high profits?
Under capitalism the accumulation of profits is the goal. Oil companies want high profits, they can do that by limiting supply. Is that so wrong?
Global fossil fuel prices are set by the big exporters.
No they’re not. They are set by the market which is why they change daily.
These countries are all friends of the right-wing politicians here in the USA.
Then why do they donate to democommies?
In the USA our cost for any fossil fuel is set by the Russians and Arabs and always will be. The price is NOT set by the amount we produce domestically.
Our costs are not “set” by anybody but fluxuate with the market. Therefore, when the US produces more it adds more to the market lowering prices. That’s why when your pedophile hero joe raids our SPR the prices go down. Idiot. Have you ever taken an economics class? Read a book? Watched the markets on TV?
Should the increased costs be called inflation or price gouging? Refinery production decreased under Trump when the Trump virus hit and demand ceased.
Who is price gouging? The supply shrinks, the price rises. Its economics and it’s the same for capitalists as socialists. You can’t change reality H even as a communist partisan. Your demented mind is showing…what “TRump virus”? Are you now claiming that Trump started the Wuhan flu which started in a lab in China? Is that what you’re saying. Is everything you claim a lie or what?
Why should American oil producers even want to change any of their policies when they are making all time record high profits?
Oil producers don’t make policy, government does. Pedo joe has made the policy by cancelling all sorts of oil production or were you asleep during the first 3 months of his illegal jujnta?
Under capitalism the accumulation of profits is the goal. Oil companies want high profits, they can do that by limiting supply. Is that so wrong?
You say stupid stuff because you were trained by stupid people. Oil companies like any other companies (Big Pharma for example) want to make profits. But they still want to sell their product. You do realize when prices are controlled by the state we either have horrid shortages or gluts. Only the markets acting independently can determine a price and that price is not “set” it’s fluid.
Do you just type this stupid ignorant commie shit to piss people off or do you really believe this nonsense?
MAGA, moron.
L: They (global oil prices) are set by the market which is why they change daily.
And OPEC+ controls most of the oil reserves. They can turn the taps on and off at will. Although the US is the #1 individual producer, it’s a fraction of OPEC+. It’s the “law” of supply and demand and OPEC+ controls the supply.
L: The supply shrinks, the price rises.
The “law” of supply and demand is not a law at all, unless you consider it a law of human behavior. Increased demand or decreased supply allows a seller to raise prices without hurting sales, thus increasing profit. You do support capitalism, right?
L: (President Biden) has made the policy by canceling all sorts of oil production
President Biden doesn’t and didn’t cancel “all sorts of oil production”. US crude production has INCREAESED since Mr Biden took office. N.B. – The US has never been “oil independent”. In modern times, we’ve used more crude oil than we’ve produced. Even in the go-go years under pedoDon, we used several million more barrels per day than we produced.
L: Only the markets acting independently can determine a price and that price is not “set” it’s fluid.
In an ideal world, yes. But OPEC+, acting as a virtual monopoly, can and does manipulate the price of crude oil to increase their income and to affect global politics. It’s to Russia’s and the Saudi’s advantage to keep the US dependent on crude oil.
Understand – even in the US, the objective of every corporation is to monopolize the market. Big Pharma does it using patents which uses the power of governments to enforce Big Pharma’s monopolies. Why do you think a drug’s price plummets when a generic version is allowed by the government?
Thank you for agreeing with me.
It’s as big a lie as blaming Putin and the pandemic for inflation and the high price of gas instead of Democrat policies. Biden has said he was going to destroy the oil industry for years. And he has.
Here are the facts on crude oil prices:
Crude oil price:
Feb 2020: Before the pandemic: 53.35 per barrel
Oct 2020 before Biden was elected $40 per barrel
Feb 2022: Before Putin attacked Ukraine $93.54 per barrel. It was up over 125% from the election before the war started.
Today: Around $85 per barrel
We are also told the lie that gas stations are gouging the public because their prices do not react to crude oil prices. Stations net between 4cents and 15 cents per gallon. That ain’t even as high percentage as a TV.
The retail price of gas when Biden was elected was $2.10 per gallon and today it is around $3.90 per gallon so up less than 90% while crude oil is up more than 110%.
We have repeatedly heard that oil companies are greedy and screw the public.
Here is a historical fact: In 1980. The price of crude oil was $35 per barrel. The price forty years later, before Biden was elected, was $40 or up less than 15%.
Meanwhile college costs were up over 180% in the same forty years, but Democrats don’t accuse them of gouging. Nope, they want the government and taxpayers to eat the high costs.
In 1980, the price to attend a four-year college full-time was $10,231 annually—including tuition, fees, room and board, and adjusted for inflation—according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By 2019-20, the total price increased to $28,775. That’s a 180% increase.
Should we compare the costs of Big Pharma, legal costs (Oh yeah, they go up too), automobile prices due to EV’s?
Most of our costs are due to regulatory and legal impediments, not gouging or any other of your anti-capitalist defamation. It simply ain’t true.
Stop lying you create leftist angles to control the economy for your special interests. Free and open markets allow for everybody and they don’t need to be democommies with lobbyists and advocates to participate.
MEGA MAGA, Pedo lovers.
Jeff,
That is some list. Took some time to compile. Yet all wrong.