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The Economy Is Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place With Nowhere Good to Go
PJ Media ^ | 03/17/2023 | Athena Thorne

Posted on 03/17/2023 7:25:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

The insanity of the COVID-19 shutdowns was a gift that just keeps giving. No one should have been shocked to discover that throwing people out of work en masse (Mistake #1) crashes economies. But Democrats were able to ride the chaos into office, and they used their Washington power to hand out grants and cheap loans willy-nilly, “rescuing” us by flooding the economy with extra trillions of dollars unanchored to anything of any particular value (Mistake #2). No one should have been shocked to see the rampant inflation that ensued and still torments all but the very wealthy today.

Traditionally, the Federal Reserve System raises interest rates to tame inflation by tightening the money supply back up. The downside is that this move also suppresses growth and can sometimes tip an already weak economy into a recession. The dream is always to achieve a “soft landing” after a major economic upset, in which inflation comes down without the higher rates crushing the GDP. But most of the time, this remains just a dream. And that is proving to be the case now.

For one thing, employment levels have yet to return to pre-shutdown levels. “President” Biden can brag about low unemployment all he wants, but the truth is that fewer working-age people bother to work than before — just 62.5%. This chart from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tells the story:

The implacable rate-raising by the Fed has prevented businesses from investing and growing. Coupled with persistent inflation, some of them even have trouble making payroll. Steadily climbing rates also played a role in the bank collapse rollercoaster we’ve been riding since last week.

(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Society
KEYWORDS: economy; inflation; recession
In a panic to prevent the dominoes from falling on its watch, the administration turned to its favorite cure-all: throwing money at the problem.
1 posted on 03/17/2023 7:25:27 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

But Biden said that the economy is going...somewhere.


2 posted on 03/17/2023 7:27:52 AM PDT by Moorings
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To: Moorings

This ain’t no upwardly mobile freeway....oh no, this is The Road to Hell.


3 posted on 03/17/2023 7:28:54 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Moorings

“...But Biden said that the economy is going...somewhere....

FJB
The Liar en Thief is totally despicable.....a pedoPIG.


4 posted on 03/17/2023 7:30:53 AM PDT by lgjhn23 ("On the 8th day, Satan created the progressive liberal to destroy all the good that God created...")
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To: SeekAndFind

unanchored to anything of any particular value


Right there is the essence of wealth from the Wealth of Nations.

the definition of wealth is it generates more wealth.

Consumption activity like wokeness does not generate wealth, it consumes................................


5 posted on 03/17/2023 7:34:09 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: SeekAndFind

Interesting highest cd rates are for 18 months from now. Something going to happen then?


6 posted on 03/17/2023 7:46:37 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: SeekAndFind

But Comrade Dr Fow-Chi said "Two weeks to flatten the curve"!

7 posted on 03/17/2023 7:48:14 AM PDT by The Sons of Liberty (Ultra MAGA in Biden's Post Constitutional United Socialist States of Amerika!)
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To: SeekAndFind
... but the truth is that fewer working-age people bother to work than before -- just 62.5%.

This reinforces my view that the underlying economic forces influencing our situation are primarily deflationary in nature, not inflationary.

The labor force participation rate isn't so low because so many able-bodied adults are sitting around doing nothing. The definition of "working-age people" in those U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics includes everyone over the age of 16 who is not institutionalized. The biggest factor in the low labor force participation rates is the RETIREMENT of older Americans on a very large scale.

This is a demographic issue, first and foremost.

8 posted on 03/17/2023 7:48:35 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I've just pissed in my pants and nobody can do anything about it." -- Major Fambrough)
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To: SeekAndFind

They didn’t “ride into office, the bloody well STOLE the hell out of it and everyone knows it.

It’s called a coup.


9 posted on 03/17/2023 7:55:03 AM PDT by cld51860 (We’re doomed.)
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To: dfwgator

Please see my tagline.


10 posted on 03/17/2023 7:55:43 AM PDT by Chgogal (Welcome to Fuhrer Biden's Weaponized Fascist Banana Republic! It's the road to hell.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The bush/mccain depression level event is finally playing itself out....

The lesson learned from the great depression is:
Don’t try to stop or fix it.
Do nothing.
Let it finish itself out.
It’s gonna hurt, but we will come out on the other side stronger than ever


11 posted on 03/17/2023 8:01:03 AM PDT by joe fonebone (And the people said NO! The End)
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To: cld51860

RE: It’s called a coup.

I’m afraid, that with the experience this country just had in two election cycles ( 2020 and 2022 ), this is going to be the new normal.


12 posted on 03/17/2023 8:13:52 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
I’m afraid, that with the experience this country just had in two election cycles ( 2020 and 2022 ), this is going to be the new normal.

No one had the guts to water the tree, so now the tree is dead.

13 posted on 03/17/2023 8:23:21 AM PDT by noiseman (The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.)
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To: SeekAndFind

The reflex is for government to jam its fat fingers into the situation.

The solution is for government to keep its fat fingers out of it.


14 posted on 03/17/2023 8:29:38 AM PDT by lurk (u)
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