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Lowering Our Expectations Has Political Consequences – Polls Show Inflation & Economy Now the Top Concerns



It is difficult to imagine how the Biden administration can possibly spin the economic reality of increasing, unavoidable inflation making the economy weaker over the next year.  However, somehow, they will try.

The AP is reporting that 68% of Americans now say the economy overall is their number one concern.  Meanwhile, the federal reserve of New York is reporting the inflation results from December are likely to be the same, if not higher, than the inflation results in November.

The Biden administration has continued to push additional federal spending under the auspices of Build Back Better as the bridge to offset the impact from their Green New Deal energy policies.  In fact, if you look at how the massive spending effort has been shaped, it becomes clear the overall goal is to push a new energy policy and then hide the impact by using COVID as the cover for the subsidies to try and offset the impacts.

It is a sneaky program when reviewed in totality.  Shut down oil and natural gas production, cancel leases, block pipelines and use the regulatory arm to shut down any additional growth in the oil and gas industry, including refinery capacity.  Then, try to hide the consequences by subsidizing the core constituencies who would normally be immediately impacted.

Unfortunately for the Biden architects, no amount of legislative spending is going to be able to offset the massive economic impact of implementing the Green New Deal by executive order, regulatory changes and administrative policy.  The American people are not blind to consequences, and when they start to look deeper into the causes of this inflation, what they discover is easy to see.

Gas prices jumped 50 to 60 percent and appear to be maintaining that level with no foreseeable change in the future.  The plastics, fabrics, containers and ancillary products all created from petroleum are also increasing at a rate similar to fuel.

The manufacturing system, processing, warehousing and distribution costs are also directly proportionate to the increases in energy costs.  Nothing in the supply chain or the consumer economy is unaffected; it is all connected and as a result unavoidable.

We will find out tomorrow how the inflation data from December compares to the reality of 10 to 50% increases at the store.  However, one thing is certain, the inflation is here to stay for the duration – or at least until the unsustainable price increases cause a contraction on the demand side for consumers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Heading into a critical midterm election year, the top political concerns of Americans are shifting in ways that suggest Democrats face considerable challenges to maintaining their control of Congress.

A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that management of the coronavirus pandemic, once an issue that strongly favored President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats, is beginning to recede in the minds of Americans. COVID-19 is increasingly overshadowed by concerns about the economy and personal finances — particularly inflation — which are topics that could lift Republicans.

Just 37% of Americans name the virus as one of their top five priorities for the government to work on in 2022, compared with 53% who said it was a leading priority at the same time a year ago. The economy outpaced the pandemic in the open-ended question, with 68% of respondents mentioning it in some way as a top 2022 concern. A similar percentage said the same last year, but mentions of inflation are much higher now: 14% this year, compared with less than 1% last year. (read more)

The vaccine mandates are only exacerbating the issues, as worker pressures will only increase additional impacts to the supply chain.

We are facing the perfect storm for major problems.  Massive and persistent inflation, a critical shortage of products and a workforce that is forcibly removed from operating the machinery inside the economy.   All of this Biden administration damage cannot be attributed to bad policy, not at this scale.

This level of cumulative economic impact is being done intentionally, in order to put leftist ideology over the best interests of the American public. You know it, I know it and the broader American middle class are feeling and seeing it directly.

We prepare our affairs accordingly.