Biden's Economy?

[K Graham]

Amazing number: Fewest jobless claims in 54 years

very week since January 1967, the Labor Department has published the number of Americans who filed a new claim for unemployment insurance benefits during the preceding week. That's 2,882 weeks in all.

Last week's total released Thursday, showing 166,000 new claims, was lower than all but one of those weeks.
Why it matters: The claims numbers are just the latest sign of an exceptionally tight U.S. labor market. Companies are not firing people if they can help it, and workers who do lose their jobs are finding new ones rapidly.

It comes exactly two years after the number of claims reached an all-time peak, with 6.1 million people filing for benefits the first week of April 2020, as the pandemic set in.
By the numbers: The record-holder for lowest weekly claims remains the week ending November 30, 1968, with 162,000 new jobless claims.

[Hawkeye]

It's my understanding that steel is very energy intensive to produce, so areas that can produce cheap power are the ideal places for steel production

Yeah, like places that don't have the same environmental regulations as developed countries. Yippeee more jobs shipped overseas at the expense of working class Americans. And the sweetest part of all is that the net effect on the environment is exactly the same.

[Hawkeye]

Yesterday's inflation number (6.2% inflation year over year) was high. But US household debt just hit an all-time high, mortgage delinquencies have fallen to 2017 levels, the financial stress index is near all-time lows, and leading indicators suggest that inflation may have peaked and may cool off from here.

The leading indicators you used back in December seem to have been wrong again. Inflation continues to get worse giving most Americans an effective pay cut with a cost of around $5200 per year.

Yes, you pay stimulus back later in the forms of higher taxes or inflation. But that's the point of stimulus. It smooths out the economy's ups and downs. When the crisis is over and times are good, you can afford higher taxes or inflation.

Bipartisan stimulus prevented a lot of suffering during the pandemic, and it also prevented a lot of permanent economic destruction. 2025 output and productivity will be higher because we did stimulus in 2020.

Yeah, I remember your line in March 2020 of how the economy was never really shut down and according to Analytics we could keep up March 2020 restrictions for 3 or 4 years since the economy was still running at 70% capacity.

4.9% wage increase helps offset most of that 6.2% inflation. Things cost more, but you're also getting paid more.

It's been 4 months now and no we're not getting paid more.

If people would just calm the hell down maybe they'd realize we're basically at just 1.3% inflation.

And inflation continues to get worse and will continue to get worse. Unfortunately the current regime stubbornly pushes the same Build Back Better Legislation that has set us down this road.

[Doctor Steuss]

It's my understanding that steel is very energy intensive to produce, so areas that can produce cheap power are the ideal places for steel production

Yeah, like places that don't have the same environmental regulations as developed countries. Yippeee more jobs shipped overseas at the expense of working class Americans. And the sweetest part of all is that the net effect on the environment is exactly the same.

The top refiners above us are China, India, Japan and the EU. Russia and South Korea are pretty close to us. Based on the comment about environment regulations, I assume you believe we'd all be better off if America strived to be more like China and India?

[K Graham]

It's my understanding that steel is very energy intensive to produce, so areas that can produce cheap power are the ideal places for steel production

Yeah, like places that don't have the same environmental regulations as developed countries. Yippeee more jobs shipped overseas at the expense of working class Americans. And the sweetest part of all is that the net effect on the environment is exactly the same.

Ajax why are you still posting with this sock puppet Hawkeye?

[Res Ipsa]

Yeah, like places that don't have the same environmental regulations as developed countries. Yippeee more jobs shipped overseas at the expense of working class Americans. And the sweetest part of all is that the net effect on the environment is exactly the same.

The top refiners above us are China, India, Japan and the EU. Russia and South Korea are pretty close to us. Based on the comment about environment regulations, I assume you believe we'd all be better off if America strived to be more like China and India?

Ajax can't even keep his resentment issues straight. What he wants is for more US workers to be killed, disabled, or made sick and to increase inflation at the same time. I'll bet he isn't willing to move his family to a place where the people live in a perpetual cloud of pollution. If you suddenly increase the number of US jobs, employers have to compete for workers, which drives wages up. Do the employers eat the increased labor costs? No -- they pass the costs on to the consumer.

A significant part of current inflation is caused by the investor class demanding more return on their investments. The petroleum industry is reaping huge profits right now, which are being used mainly to buy back shares of their own stock, raising the share value, or distributing dividends. What does the investor class do with income -- they invest it in buying other companies. Over the past few weeks, I've gotten an interesting look at what private equity funds own and do. For a while now, they've been investing in housing. Not building more housing. Buying existing single family homes through large holding companies and managing them through sister companies. And with every such purchase, they drive the price of the existing housing stock up and make it harder and harder for the middle class and lower to own their own homes. The same thing has been happening with successful, locally founded and successful businesses. Right now, when you try to buy local, that local hardware store or lumber yard may, in fact, be owned by a series of holding companies that hoover the profits right up to private equity investors, who buy and sell these holding companies all the time. They don't make more stuff. They don't create jobs. They just buy and sell to each other, usually using leveraged debt. And who pays off the debt? Guess.

And the guys who have sucked up the entire GDP of the US since the mid-80s look at Ajax and I fighting each other and laugh their asses off.

[K Graham]

The leading indicators you used back in December seem to have been wrong again. Inflation continues to get worse giving most Americans an effective pay cut with a cost of around $5200 per year.

The indicators weren't wrong at all. Inflation in December is calculated from a 12 month turn from December of the previous year. Inflation today is calculated the same way when compared to what it was in April of last year. Inflation is mostly grounded in the price of gasoline which is a pickle we're in only because Republicans have been apologists for the oil industry for decades and they're dead set on making us eternally dependent on oil instead of adopting common sense measures to shift towards renewable energy sources. They do this because they know the Left will get all the credit when this inevitability happens, because they're the ones who have been fighting for it since the 90's.

Yeah, I remember your line in March 2020 of how the economy was never really shut down and according to Analytics we could keep up March 2020 restrictions for 3 or 4 years since the economy was still running at 70% capacity.

And that's a true statement. You don't want to mess with Analytics on economic issues.

It's been 4 months now and no we're not getting paid more.

Who is we? My income rose far higher than the rate of inflation because my income is tied to rising prices for homes. Care salesmen are seeing their incomes rise 30+% also.

Walmart announces pay hike to in fight against worker shortage

Many employees could be in for pay hikes of 5% or more in 2022

52% of Organizations are Planning More Funding for Merit Increases in 2022 According to Annual Pay Practices Survey from Salary.com

Inflation is temporary, wage increases are permanent.

And inflation continues to get worse and will continue to get worse. Unfortunately the current regime stubbornly pushes the same Build Back Better Legislation that has set us down this road.

Inflation doesn't happen simply because Congress is considering passing legislation. [deleted, FR 2, RI] BBB is completely paid for anyway, so all you're doing here is showing your ignorance on all things economic while parroting the college drop outs that run your favorite Right Wing blogs. The fact is Biden has reduced Trump's deficit by $350 billion in his first year and it is predicted to be reduced by another $1 trillion in 2022, which is a record!

[Hawkeye]

The fact is Biden has reduced Trump's deficit by $350 billion in his first year and it is predicted to be reduced by another $1 trillion in 2022, which is a record!

I can't help but think inflation helped those numbers. The more the government inflates the currency, the less debt they have to pay back. Look back through this thread and you'll see that you yourself stated and saw with your own eyes that gasoline was $3.50/gallon before Russia ever fired a shot into Ukraine. Gasoline is high because the executive orders Biden signed with the intent to make fossil fuels more expensive the moment he got into office. Your climate change alarmism is what is imposing this hidden tax upon every single American make far less than $400k per year. What saddens me the most is that most of Americans will not be able to see through your smokescreen and hand waving when they go to the polls and vote Democrat. They're literally voting themselves price increases in basic food, fuel, and every other inelastic good. It's absolutely crazy. People complaining about inflation and the price of gas are the very same people saying we need to outlaw fossil fuels in favor of more expensive and inefficient forms of energy that cost a lot more. And the worst part is that it hasn't done a damn thing to improve the environment because our competitors in China and India just pump out fossil fuel energy and products uninhibited by the expense of environmental regulations and undercut American business every time.

[Doctor Steuss]

Gasoline is high because the executive orders Biden signed with the intent to make fossil fuels more expensive the moment he got into office.

What specific executive orders made fossil fuels more expensive the moment he got into office?

[K Graham]

I can't help but think inflation helped those numbers. The more the government inflates the currency, the less debt they have to pay back.

And record low inflation during the Obama years is what helped propel the national debt, so you need to make up your mind what you want to bitch about. During Obama it was the skyrocketing debt, and you never once attributed it to low inflation or record low interest rates. Now that the deficits are being brought down dramatically you want to give all credit to inflation. This is what makes arguing so pointless with people like you. You're always going to shift your position and whine about whatever you can just for the sake of whining.

Look back through this thread and you'll see that you yourself stated and saw with your own eyes that gasoline was $3.50/gallon before Russia ever fired a shot into Ukraine.

Yes, and gasoline prices were on the rise well before Biden took office. How do you explain that? The rise in gasoline is tied to the price of crude, always. This has been explained to you ad nauseum here. Did Biden cause gasoline prices to increase in Australia, Germany, France, Spain, England, Brazil, etc? The rate of increase is roughly the same across the entire world. Don't be so naïve.

Gasoline is high because the executive orders Biden signed with the intent to make fossil fuels more expensive the moment he got into office.

Based on no evidence whatsoever. Here we see you repeating the idiotic talking points from Right Wing propaganda, but even the oil execs would laugh at this assertion.

What saddens me the most is that most of Americans will not be able to see through your smokescreen and hand waving when they go to the polls and vote Democrat.

What saddens you is the fact that most educated people vote Democrat because they're informed, whereas folks like you live in an alternate universe of Right Wing propaganda.

They're literally voting themselves price increases in basic food, fuel, and every other inelastic good. It's absolutely crazy.

What's crazy is your abject ignorance that you defend for no reason other than your need to believe voting Republican means you're somehow for the people. Laughable. No group has been guilty of voting against their own interests more than Republicans.

People complaining about inflation and the price of gas are the very same people saying we need to outlaw fossil fuels in favor of more expensive and inefficient forms of energy that cost a lot more.

Who said we need to outlaw fossil fuels? This is just another ajax moment where you invent BS from whole cloth because it feeds into your cognitive dissonance. Inflation is what it is and most educated people know it has absolutely NOTHING to do with Biden. Virtually all economists are united in their understanding as to what's causing inflation, and the fact is inflation is actually good for some people. The ones who are suffering the most from inflation are the uber wealthy and the creditors. Meanwhile wages are rising at record rates and those at the bottom are doing much better under Biden than they were during Trump. Of course I'm not so biased as to say this is because of Biden. The labor shortage was one of the silver linings caused by the pandemic and it meant companies had to pay their workers more money.

And the worst part is that it hasn't done a damn thing to improve the environment because our competitors in China and India just pump out fossil fuel energy and products uninhibited by the expense of environmental regulations and undercut American business every time.

Whatever China is doing has no bearing on our ability to reduce carbon emissions from our side. Your quip about the evils of regulations is just another idiotic talking point for which you know nothing about.