Pirate's Cove

In other words, the leftist news media is going to attempt to protect the Democrats from the crappy economy and Biden’s incompetence

Republicans, Democrats push dueling economic narratives ahead of midterms

In an economy that’s seeing both surging growth and debilitating inflation, Democrats and Republicans are telling very different stories about the overall economic picture ahead of midterm elections later this year.

For Republicans, the message is simple: inflation, inflation, inflation.

Consumer prices have risen 8.5 percent since last year, with wholesale prices climbing more than 11 percent, and Republicans are hammering the point home.

Where’s the growth? Product is limited. The auto industry is not getting better. It might be getting worse. While there might be just enough of some consumer goods, there isn’t a large supply. Those backrooms are not stocked up like usual. Manufacturers are prioritizing what they make. And, I’ll say again, it isn’t all Biden’s fault, nor the Democrats. The ultimate responsibility is on China for screwing around with coronaviruses, though, throw some blame towards Fauci and the National Institute of Health for funding Wuhan.

Democrats, meanwhile, are focused on the red-hot rebound of the economy following the onset of the pandemic, which has led to an increase in nominal wages and some of the highest levels of employment since the late 1960s.

“Our nation’s hiring spree continues, with March marking the eleventh straight month with over 400,000 jobs added back,” House Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.) said earlier this month. “Over 90 percent of American jobs lost to the pandemic during the Trump Administration have been recovered, and the unemployment rate dropped to the lowest level since the pandemic began. The health and pace of our recovery is extraordinary.”

The employment rate is especially strong in Texas, where it’s almost doubled since before the pandemic, adding more than 40,000 jobs to the labor force every month this year. It’s a trend that Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) attributes to one of the Biden administration’s signature economic stimulus packages.

But, it isn’t like these are mostly new jobs, they are filling jobs that went away thanks to the pandemic and government lockdown policies, among others. I know lots of businesses that are down about 25% for employees, and aren’t filling it. We’d normally have 40 salespeople: we have 25. The number of service techs is down, and not being filled. Same at a lot of dealerships. Hours are reduced. Many that would normally be open Sunday are no longer. Lots of fast food places are still down and unable to fill those spots. Many within a couple miles of work only do drive thru, no in store ordering. Many places have cut hours. I went to Best Buy at 10am to get new speakers for the new car and found out they do not open till 11am.

It’s why you do not see that many really good sales. Why the stock is limited at stores.

While some economists have pointed to the trillions in fiscal stimulus packages, which went out to Americans under both presidents Trump and Biden, as a contributor to inflation, most say the core reason is supply chain disruptions and high demand for goods and services resulting from the pandemic.

The demand is not high: it’s, at best, normal, though many are focusing on needs, not wants. And, the cause is both. And Biden isn’t really doing a damned thing to help. He seems barely cognizant that Americans are suffering. Seriously, are there fewer chickens and cows? Nope. There’s plenty of milk, eggs, and chickens and cows to have meat. Things like shipping cause the problems. Where’s the Biden admin? What’s the Transportation Dept doing?

Dems can talk about jobs all they want: when consumers see the prices on the shelves that’s what they’ll remember. And Biden going off grid every weekend to his beach house or Camp David. Biden just doesn’t have time to do the job.

Read: Republicans And Democrats Have Different Narratives On Economy For Midterms »