Saturday, June 4, 2022

Joe Biden Gives a Warning of Economic 'Moderation' That Should Terrify You


Bonchie reporting for RedState 

Joe Biden gave a speech on the economy on Friday in an attempt to reset his messaging. That comes as inflation remains near record highs and growth slows, otherwise known as stagflation.

As RedState reported, there has been vast chaos and disagreement inside the White House over how to handle the current slate of crises, and apparently, the president’s handlers have settled on having him speak directly to the American people more. He’s been doing more public appearances and putting out more statements on social media. Consider me skeptical that such a strategy will do anything but make matters worse.

Why? Because Joe Biden is still Joe Biden.

Those exploding gas prices, high-grocery bills, and other escalating costs? They are just a figment of your imagination. You see, everything is actually going great. According to the president, you have less debt, more savings, and are more comfortable financially than before inflation topped eight percent. Now, ask yourself whether that’s true or not? Are you more financially comfortable than before he took office? We know from polling that very few Americans feel that way.

The reason is that what Biden is saying is complete nonsense that ignores that having “more money” is irrelevant when you aren’t also factoring in increased costs. For example, it is true that wages are slightly up. Yet, it’s also true that inflation is far outpacing those wage increases. Many of those wage increases are also coming at the bottom of the wage scale because fast food joints and other entry-level jobs are having to pay more due to a shortage of labor. That shortage was largely caused by the government dumping way too much free money into the system.

Regardless, while Biden wants you to know everything is great, he also wants you to brace for impact.

Everyone should take his warning of “moderation” as dire. If the White House has decided things are going to get bad enough for them to actually admit to a slowdown, you know it’s going to be painful. This is what happens when you allow inflation to rocket out of control for a year in a cynical attempt to not just take the loss. Eventually, interest rates must go up which stifles investment and suppresses growth. The growth in costs will settle, but the economy itself will retract, hiring will slow, and you are left with a lost decade as Japan experienced.

Unfortunately, there’s no way out of the corner the president has painted the country into. These are the fruits of horrible leadership and unearned arrogance. Meanwhile, Americans are left holding the bag while Biden takes his umpteenth vacation to Delaware.