OP-ED: An economic asteroid is approaching
Like many Americans, I am running out of patience with a number of things.
In no particular order, these include a government that regards those with whom it does not agree as domestic terrorists, upon which the full force of the justice system may be unleashed; the hoaxes and delusions being foisted upon Americans by leftist elitists, including the absolute fantasies of transgenderism and climate change; politicians who refuse to discuss the real problems facing America, such as an economy that is on the verge of implosion; a completely uninterested press that investigates nothing not approved by the Democratic Party; and the vacuous “debates” foisted on us that could be mistaken for schoolyard squabbles.
Let’s talk about the economy. President Biden tries valiantly to string a couple of cogent sentences together to tell us Bidenomics is working splendidly. Even he, who has a lot of trouble with the truth, must know this is an outright whopper of a lie. This nation is on the verge of a major depression that could rival the 1930s, and it is of his making.
One very critical indicator is, in the last few years, never-before-experienced levels of money creation were fueled by Federal Reserve low-interest policies which, in turn, encouraged Congress to spend more money. This year, non-defense spending will be 18.6% or $4.9 trillion. Somewhere around 2000, all fiscal discipline collapsed and non-defense spending has risen from 12.6% to its current 18.6%.
What is different, and more alarming, about conditions now than in the past? In the past, when monetary policy increased interest rates, prices have fallen. Today, prices have remained high and the money supply has fallen, putting an incredible strain on American families. This is the first time since the early 1930s and the Great Depression that the money supply growth rate has been negative and dropped this sharply. This is a huge red flag and yet no one seems to be reacting to it.
Unless our political leaders find the fortitude to return to reality, our economy, and our country, are doomed. This may be a bit like what dinosaurs saw 66 million years ago just before the asteroid hit and caused an extinction event.
As we look toward the 2024 election, let’s evaluate what impact the economy is having on us right now. A recent USA Today poll shows that Americans trust former President Donald Trump more than Biden to restore the economy (47% to 36%). That trust among independents favors Trump 46% to 25%. Seventy percent of Americans think the economy is getting worse under Biden and 20%, for reasons unknown, think it is getting better.
In 2021, Trump handed Biden an economy that was expanding at 6.7% annually. Biden went to work destroying the fossil fuel industry, over-regulating industry in general and installing a hugely wasteful government apparatus that, in less than three years, has managed to destroy the strongest economy in the world.
Under Trump, inflation-adjusted wages were rising for the first time in decades, giving working Americans what amounted to a 9% raise. Biden has wiped that out. Biden’s economic meddling has cost each worker a loss of income of $4,000, forcing many people to take second jobs.
The dream of buying a home, especially for young people, has vanished. Mortgage rates under Trump were around 2.65%. Today, under Biden, they are over 7% and rising. The cost of materials and labor has risen so far that the cost of a home itself is unaffordable.
Cars have also become unaffordable. Under Trump, the average cost of a car was $35,000, and that price now is over $46,000. The government is pushing electric cars, which can cost over $70,000 and actually have little net positive impact on the environment.
Americans, it seems, cannot afford their lives right now. Credit card debt has risen to over $1.1 trillion, much of it bearing interest rates around 25%. Fifty-three percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
Overall, America and Americans are not doing well under Biden. Says former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, “the poor are getting poorer and the middle class is under worsening siege.”
Under Biden, 15.3 million people have been added to the poverty numbers. If you think of nothing else when pondering what Biden has done for our economy, remember that.
While the above numbers are bad, they may not be as bad as they really are. You see, the White House and its departments lie. Yup, they do. The Labor Department, for example, regularly reports numbers that look good and the administration brags about how Bidenomics is working. Then, a couple of months later, the numbers are quietly revised downward, sometimes dramatically. The monthly jobs report has been revised downward every month this year. For example, in July, the administration reported the U.S. added 187,000 people to payrolls and the number of employed workers rose by 268,000. “Upon review” it seems that in July the number of well-paid, full-time workers actually dropped by 585,000, offset by 972,000 part-time workers. The balance was 118,000 people who found it necessary to work more than one job. Quite a different story, isn’t it?
Does anyone think Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House spokeswoman, received any questions about this from the toadying press? Of course not. Their job is to report on Democratic-provided taking points and to bash Trump at every opportunity.
In the last debate, very little time was devoted to the economy. If we are serious about saving this nation, we need to demand the entire third Republican presidential debate focus on the economy and select our next president based upon the person who can turn the current disaster around.
The asteroid is getting closer.
Dave Ball is the former chairman of the Washington County Republican Party.