Consumers Know Prices, Trade As Two-way Street and Big Brother Grasps Control Even More
Steve Dittmer | AFF Sentinel
Colorado Springs, CO
Originally sent to subscribers 04/17/24
A few days ago, we commented that economists puzzling over consumers’ lack of appreciation for the current lower inflation rate compared to the nine percent at the peak, didn’t understand the average consumer’s struggle with prices and household budgets.
Now, a couple MIT experts have backed us up, explaining that consumers have a “broader time horizon,” feeling the cumulative price increases from the beginning of 2021 to January 2024. The CPI overall went up 17.96 percent over that time frame.
“Economists might argue that consumers should be satisfied because their wages rose…” but the MIT fellows pointed out the rise in wages was 15.3 percent, meaning the average consumer is still behind the eight ball. Any pandemic help from the government is gone and many more people are looking for a tip at checkout (“What Economists Miss About Inflation,” Wall Street Journal, 04/13-14/24).
Which goes to show that many economists are better number crunchers than psychologists. In presentations to cattlemen’s groups, we’ve always shared our view that economics is really the study of human behavior.
Many comments have been made about Donald Trump’s mention of a 10 percent across-the-board tariff on imports. What is usually left out is that the discussions have mentioned reciprocal trade, i.e. countries that put tariffs on our products would get a reciprocal tariff from the U.S. If we had a trade agreement with the other country, that would avoid tariffs.
Trump and his advisors still regard tariffs as a tool to extract fair deals from other countries, not just a way to restrain trade and restrict availability of goods for Americans.
Some of the discussion about trade followed Trump’s reference to China building EV factories in Mexico creating a “bloodbath” for U.S. automakers. China is planning to build EVs in Mexico to avoid U.S. tariffs on its EVs. Trump said he would not allow such an end run, finding a way to put tariffs on those vehicles. Elect Biden and China will flood the U.S. with cheaper EVs just when U.S. automakers have bet the farm on EVs, was Trump’s point.
We’ve seen another interesting trend. China’s shipment of ocean-going containers to Mexico has exploded recently by the thousands, apparently as another move to get around U.S. tariffs designed to thwart dumping. Growth in China’s shipments went from 3.5 percent in 2022, to 34.8 percent in 2023 to 60 percent year/year in January 2024, amounting to 117,000 containers (Xeneta’s shipment tracker). Both container and air cargo traffic, especially into one cargo only airport, is indicating Mexico has emerged as a goods back door into the U.S.
Leave No Stone Unturned Department
Biden’s Executive Order (E.O.) 14019 of 03/07/21 includes direction to all federal agencies to do the most they can to promote and enable voter registration, distribute information and, in some cases, enable mail-in voting. The E.O. begins with an extensive history of voter suppression efforts in the South over 55 years ago.
Elections are supposed to be run by the states. The E.O. explains that federal agencies can only become voter registration agencies at a state’s request. Under the E.O., to help underserved communities, each federal agency will evaluate opportunities, and to the “greatest extent possible, “ formally notify states that it would agree to designation as a voter registration agency.”
The effort extends for “all eligible individuals in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, including Probation and Pre-trial Services and facilitate voting by mail.”
The order has been challenged by Pennsylvania legislators, was dismissed in a lower court but is being appealed to the SCOTUS. The suit contends the E.O. is a federal effort targeting key demographics for the President’s party.
In addition, Biden’s Office of Personnel Management has issued a new rule making it harder to fire some of the 2.2 million federal employees by re-classifying their status. The aim is to protect federal employees from any possible efforts by a second Trump administration to reform the federal bureaucracy.
Sports Illustrated used to have a feature column called the latest “Signs of the Apocalypse.” Ever get the feeling these days that it’s hard to keep up with the signs, at least the ones pointing to a socialist, authoritarian, Big Brother government running our lives.
The above is one example. The SEC was one of those seldom-mentioned federal agencies, until they wanted to force everyone in, or dealing with, a publicly-traded company to confess to their GHG sins.
Now, they are working on an Orwellian scheme to peer at every stock you buy and what your portfolio looks like. Sound fantastical?
Well, under the current administration, if they can imagine it, they’ll try it. Try to stop them in slow-moving, often liberal courts.
The SEC is rolling out a massive “Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT)” that monitors in real time, the ”identity, transactions and investment portfolio” of everyone who invests in the stock market.
Given their lack of understanding of the accomplishments of the cattle marketing system and their hatred of packers and bias against GHG-emitting ruminants, wonder if they would try that on every livestock sale?
Unless you are an accounting type, just the word “audit” strikes fear into your heart. And, of course, we just know that none of the 3,000 SEC employees and contractors or 20 some regulatory agencies that would have access to this data would EVER leak anything to the IRS. Like the returns that were leaked to Pro Publica, the leftist media outfit a couple years ago.
And Donald Trump’s tax returns just magically appear one day on the desk of the New York Times.
Some vigilant folks have filed suit already. More soon.
Next time: More details on CAT.
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