Special Counsel Interviews Biden Over Handling Of Classified Documents

[iluvatar5150]

The current inflation rate (3.4%) is 140 basis points above the Federal Reserve target of 2%

so the car hasn't "stopped" --if the car completely stopped, we would likely go into deflation

but you are arguing technicalities that literally no one among the electorate cares about when it comes to inflation. Do you think a woman who has to buy milk for 20% more than a year ago, a car which is 30% more expensive, or a home which is now 40-50% more expensive than a few years ago, is going to be comforted by this gaslighting that "oh don't worry, the inflation rate has actually slowed"!

prices aren't coming down, and we just went through one of the worst inflationary storms in US history. DNC talking-points about how things "aren't really that bad"! aren't going to fly with the public

Whether we still have an "inflation problem" is a separate question from whether there are other, related problems, or whether the public will be assuaged with reassurances that it's not getting worse anymore.

 

[BCP1928]

Economists have been pretty clear about the causes:

1. Monetary policy and artificially low interest rates
2. Excessive government spending (by both administrations)
3. Supply line shocks caused partly by bad COVID policy
4. Bad policy, such as student-loan payment deferral or forgiveness, direct coronavirus payments to citizens, etc.

what it isn't about is "corporate greed" among some big multinationals. That is a bogus narrative put forth by the president and others.

You are arguing that there have been no opportunistic price increases? In any case, you need to convince us that the cost of inflation should only be born by wage earners rather than corporations.

 

[DaisyDay]

It’s not the Special Counsel’s job to speculate about what a jury would find. He’s making excuses, just like Comey did.

He is like Comey was, trying to tank the candidacy.

 

[BPPLEE]

He is like Comey was, trying to tank the candidacy.

It seems that way.

 

[BPPLEE]

You are confusing Israel with Egypt.

No worries. It can happen to anyone.

Biden has bigger problems

In his second mix-up this week, Biden talks about meeting with dead European leaders

He referred to François Mitterrand, who died in 1996, instead of French President Emmanuel Macron and the late Helmut Kohl instead of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

www.nbcnews.com

and this is NBC, not FOX

 

[Merrill]

You are arguing that there have been no opportunistic price increases? In any case, you need to convince us that the cost of inflation should only be born by wage earners rather than corporations.

Businesses always look for "opportunistic price increases"

Did some take advantage of supply shocks and other issues in order to hike prices? Sure

Auto-dealerships were the principal offenders here, marking up vehicles

but the idea that a few dozen corporations caused inflation by arbitrarily hiking prices is complete nonsense. If they had the ability to do that, they would have done it in the years prior to the pandemic.

Inflation is a monetary phenomenon, and largely an issue of central bank policy, and actions by the treasury.

And this isn't a partisan issue. We have had lax monetary policy for decades, and we have also had overspending for decades

 

[BCP1928]

but the idea that a few dozen corporations caused inflation by arbitrarily hiking prices is complete nonsense. If they had the ability to do that, they would have done it in the years prior to the pandemic.

That is a straw man and no one takes it seriously.

 

[durangodawood]

Biden has bigger problems

In his second mix-up this week, Biden talks about meeting with dead European leaders

He referred to François Mitterrand, who died in 1996, instead of French President Emmanuel Macron and the late Helmut Kohl instead of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

www.nbcnews.com

and this is NBC, not FOX

I really wish the D's offered up someone better. Thanks you for your service, Joe. But its time to move on.

Problem is, even moreso do I wish the R's offered up someone who was not constitutionally malevolent. And so here we are.....

 

[Merrill]

That is a straw man and no one takes it seriously.

Not a straw man at all

‘Stop the price gouging’: Biden hits corporations over high consumer costs

Big business and junk fees prove easy targets for the White House in the inflation blame game.

www.cnbc.com

 

[BCP1928]

Not a straw man at all

‘Stop the price gouging’: Biden hits corporations over high consumer costs

Big business and junk fees prove easy targets for the White House in the inflation blame game.

www.cnbc.com

According to that story, Biden is not blaming inflation on corporations, he is scolding them for opportunism.

 

[Merrill]

According to that story, Biden is not blaming inflation on corporations, he is scolding them for opportunism.

I've seen statements and memes all over the interwebs from Democrats claiming corporate greed is the cause of inflation

Bernie Sanders states:

"The truth is that inflation is, to a significant extent, caused by the ongoing global pandemic, the break in international supply chains and the horrific war in Ukraine. But there is another major reason for inflation that too few people talk about. And that is the unprecedented level of corporate greed that we are now seeing.

According to a recent study, nearly 54% of the rise in inflation is directly attributable to the astronomical increase in corporate profit margins."

which is complete nonsense. I don't know what "study" he is looking at

so yeah, not a strawman. Dems have been pushing this theory for a while now, and it isn't accurate

 

[iluvatar5150]

Businesses always look for "opportunistic price increases"

Did some take advantage of supply shocks and other issues in order to hike prices? Sure

Auto-dealerships were the principal offenders here, marking up vehicles

As I recall, automobiles were one of the biggest drivers of inflation numbers.

but the idea that a few dozen corporations caused inflation by arbitrarily hiking prices is complete nonsense. If they had the ability to do that, they would have done it in the years prior to the pandemic.

Not necessarily. The pandemic gave them cover to take advantage of the situation.

To be clear, I'm not arguing about the magnitude of this opportunism or was or was not a significant factor in the inflation. What I am arguing is that the pandemic afforded them an opportunity to capitalize upon and aggravate the inflation that was already occurring.

The best analogy that's coming to me at the moment is looting during rioting - maybe the looters wouldn't have stolen a bunch of tv's on a normal day, but amidst a riot when lots of other people are breaking things, maybe they'll give it a shot because they think they can get away with it.

Inflation is a monetary phenomenon, and largely an issue of central bank policy, and actions by the treasury.

No, inflation is not "a monetary phenomenon." It's a price phenomenon. The inflation indicators everybody looks at are measures of prices, not the amount of money in circulation. Yes, they are often related, but they're not the same thing.

And this isn't a partisan issue. We have had lax monetary policy for decades, and we have also had overspending for decades

And yet, we had low inflation for decades until the pandemic. That alone ought to suggest that maybe it's not primarily a monetary issue.

 

[BCP1928]

I've seen statements and memes all over the interwebs from Democrats claiming corporate greed is the cause of inflation

Bernie Sanders states:

"The truth is that inflation is, to a significant extent, caused by the ongoing global pandemic, the break in international supply chains and the horrific war in Ukraine. But there is another major reason for inflation that too few people talk about. And that is the unprecedented level of corporate greed that we are now seeing.

According to a recent study, nearly 54% of the rise in inflation is directly attributable to the astronomical increase in corporate profit margins."

which is complete nonsense. I don't know what "study" he is looking at

Maybe you should--to see if there is anything to it.

 

[Merrill]

As I recall, automobiles were one of the biggest drivers of inflation numbers.



Not necessarily. The pandemic gave them cover to take advantage of the situation.

To be clear, I'm not arguing about the magnitude of this opportunism or was or was not a significant factor in the inflation. What I am arguing is that the pandemic afforded them an opportunity to capitalize upon and aggravate the inflation that was already occurring.

The best analogy that's coming to me at the moment is looting during rioting - maybe the looters wouldn't have stolen a bunch of tv's on a normal day, but amidst a riot when lots of other people are breaking things, maybe they'll give it a shot because they think they can get away with it.



No, inflation is not "a monetary phenomenon." It's a price phenomenon. The inflation indicators everybody looks at are measures of prices, not the amount of money in circulation. Yes, they are often related, but they're not the same thing.



And yet, we had low inflation for decades until the pandemic. That alone ought to suggest that maybe it's not primarily a monetary issue.

Milton Friedman: “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon”. According to him, "price levels increase when too much money is pumped into the economy due to excessive credit demand"

inflation was kept at bay in the decades prior to the pandemic by advances in technology & productivity (technology is deflationary), the importation of cheap goods from overseas, reduced labor costs due to immigration, and other factors.

it is now a problem because of reckless government spending, monetary policy and interest rates, supply shocks, high energy prices, and bad policy.

auto-dealerships, Walmart, whatever, didn't cause inflation of fuel it. Paying people not to work, forgiving loans (or telling people they didn't have to pay their student loans--for years), artificially low interest rates, massive government spending, a huge increase in the money supply (M2), and easy credit, along with the supply shocks, caused, and fueled, inflation.

 

[BCP1928]

Milton Friedman: “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon”. According to him, "price levels increase when too much money is pumped into the economy due to excessive credit demand"

inflation was kept at bay in the decades prior to the pandemic by advances in technology & productivity (technology is deflationary), the importation of cheap goods from overseas, reduced labor costs due to immigration, and other factors.

it is now a problem because of reckless government spending, monetary policy and interest rates, supply shocks, high energy prices, and bad policy.

auto-dealerships, Walmart, whatever, didn't cause inflation of fuel it. Paying people not to work, forgiving loans (or telling people they didn't have to pay their student loans--for years), artificially low interest rates, massive government spending, a huge increase in the money supply (M2), and easy credit, along with the supply shocks, caused, and fueled, inflation.

Good. Keep going, you're almost home: inflation is largely caused by a left-wing government giving too much money to lazy poor people who won't work and there is no reason that corporate profitability should suffer for it.

 

[DaisyDay]

As I recall, automobiles were one of the biggest drivers of inflation numbers.

True and as I recall chips, lack of, were a major choke point in that supply line. Happily, Biden passed the Chip Act (or whatever its moniker may be) that should keep that from happening while boosting our own economy.

I read that China is going through a painful deflation. I would not want that for us.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Milton Friedman: “Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon”. According to him, "price levels increase when too much money is pumped into the economy due to excessive credit demand"

Your own acknowledgement that supply shocks are a factor shows that his answer is, at best, incomplete.

inflation was kept at bay in the decades prior to the pandemic by advances in technology & productivity (technology is deflationary), the importation of cheap goods from overseas, reduced labor costs due to immigration, and other factors.

That's what was keeping inflation at bay after the 2008 crash?

 

[Merrill]

Your own acknowledgement that supply shocks are a factor shows that his answer is, at best, incomplete.



That's what was keeping inflation at bay after the 2008 crash?

We can argue with Friedman, but my point was that the claim "inflation is a monetary phenomenon" is commonly accepted in economics

how much supply shocks and other factors enter into any given period of inflation is a question for economics professors