You didn’t seriously expect a guy who was in government since 1973 up to January 2017, then since January 2021, to understand how economics works, did you? That he would understand balance sheets and the need to make a profit to stay in business, when he can just demand millions from people to hire his son to do a job he doesn’t know how to do, right? That when he goes to get ice cream (which is good for dementia) the shop has to raise prices because eggs, cream, milk, chocolate, vanilla, fruit, etc. costs them more?
Biden admits prices ‘too high’ but blames sellers for 18% inflation
President Biden acknowledged Monday that prices are still “too high” and argued that companies should lower them after an 18% jump in consumer costs since he took office.
“We know that prices are still too high for too many things — that times are still too tough for too many families,” the 81-year-old said near the White House.
“We’ve made progress, but we have more work to do,” Biden added. “Let me be clear to any corporation has not brought their prices back down, even as inflation has come down, even supply chains have been rebuilt: It’s time to stop the price gouging and give the American consumer a break.”
The prices of some goods, such as food products, are expected to decline in the coming months, but periods of general deflation are rare in US history.
It would be nice if they went down, but, two main components are still high: wages and fuels, and, to some degree, general energy. But, many services are much higher due to COVID. Auto insurance is up about 25%, due to the increased cost of medical care, auto prices, repair prices, and part prices, among others. How does that come down now?
The president also attacked Republicans Monday, saying they “want to go back to the bad old days when corporations looked around the world to find the cheapest labor they could find, just to send the jobs overseas and then import the products back to the United States” — despite opposition to outsourcing being a signature issue for former President Donald Trump.
Says the guy leaving the border mostly open, which will deflate wages.
Annual inflation has cooled this year due to aggressive interest rate hikes, though it remained an elevated 3.2% in October and interest hikes caused fresh consumer pain, sending average credit card rates to 27.81% — roughly double the 14.6% APR when Biden took office — and average 30-year home mortgage rates have soared from 2.65% to between 7 and 8% this year.
Auto rates are way up, anywhere from 2 to 4 points. And people are carrying massive credit card debt. New cars are about $2000-$6000 higher than pre-COVID. Used will come down to reasonable within 6 months, but, that will leave people with massive negative equity. This isn’t Joe’s fault, it’s China’s fault. Biden’s little “Inflation Reduction Act” failed to target the things driving inflation.
Read: LGB Blames Retailers For Inflation, Wants Them To Lower Prices »
Presidents seeking a second term have often found the public’s perception of the economy a pivotal issue. It was a boon to Ronald Reagan; it helped usher Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush out of the White House.
Increasing taxes on polluting activities and cutting fossil fuel subsidies could generate trillions of dollars to tackle climate change, an advisory panel to the COP28 talks in Dubai said.
World leaders will begin to gather Thursday for two weeks of climate talks in the United Arab Emirates. Discussions will center around what governments need to do going forward to stop temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius, a point that would have catastrophic impacts for the planet if passed.
In an effort to deter migrants from illegally crossing into the United States, the federal government has in recent years been erecting walls that are taller and harder to scale along the border with Mexico.
The Biden administration unveiled a massive set of highway emissions regulations on Wednesday as Americans were settling in for the holiday weekend.
