It's not the media, it is how people think things are going for them. (the media was not positive on Trump in 2018, 2019)
Posted on 03/31/2026 8:57:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Recent press reports and opinion poll results declare the U.S. economy is in worse shape than it was in 2021 through 2024. This impression prevails despite very high gross domestic product growth and falling inflation in the second and third quarters of last year, in the wake of slower growth and steady inflation numbers in the fourth quarter.
An accurate gauge of the overall health of the economy is critically important considering the federal government’s assumption of authority and control over the nation’s economic well-being. A false diagnosis will lend credence to bad policy choices.
Overall, the U.S. economy is not yet where it should be, though the doom talk today is overstated and politically motivated. What is most damaging about the mismatch between today’s economic myth and reality are the false conclusions about economic policy its advocates send.
The midterm elections are the obvious context for the doomsaying about the economy. The wrong diagnosis could have long-term policy implications. The important question is what the current state of the economy indicates about economic principles and what policy course the United States should pursue in the future.
The two broad alternatives are more government intervention and economic management, or greater economic freedom. Let’s look at the numbers with that in mind.
Inflation has come down far from its mid-2022 peak of 9.1 percent (as measured by the Consumer Price Index, or CPI), to 2.4 percent. January’s headline inflation rate was the lowest since May of last year. Inflation of core consumer prices, which excludes volatile food and fuel costs, was 2.5 percent over the past 12 months, the lowest since March 2021. Reported inflation remains above the Fed’s goal of 2 percent per year.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
NO - next question ...
With 9.1 percent, a dollar goes up to 1.09. Then add 2.4 percent to 1.09 and the price is 1.12. That’s still 11.4 percent inflation in a short time. It’s a snowball effecting everything.
The premise is flawed. Inflation calculations pre-Iran are useless.
Higher energy costs are here to stay.
And many other commodities are surging in price. Futures in lumber are +13% year-to-date, polyethylene 38%, polypropylene 47%, sulfur 62%, urea 78%, all of which have yet to trickle down to end prices of finished goods.
ping
If President Trump sees the war through to victory, the economy will skyrocket. If he stops short, it’s a mess.
110% it is, Trump is a Politian...
That is the definition of a booming economy. Anything else is the enemy trying to tap down public enthusiasm so as to win the midterms. Inflation is caused by expanding the money supply. Like anything else that starts to run short the economy shifts the balance towards the energy production side. Because most oil is now American produced that means the money spent on oil will be spent by oil companies expanding production. An actual benefit because it is not going to Islamic countries whose main export seems to be people who hate the West and want to conquer it.
It is either roaring and wonderful, average or a bust.
Of course personal decisions and behaviors have a lot to do with this.
No, but that never prevents the media from bad forecasting whenever Republicans are in power.
It's not the media, it is how people think things are going for them. (the media was not positive on Trump in 2018, 2019)
The underlying structural flaw in our economy right now is that — in very rough terms — the U.S. national debt is growing at a rate of about $2.5 trillion per year while GDP grows by about $1.5 trillion per year.
No matter how you look at it, this is an ‘effing disaster.
It is insane to include Government spending in the GNP calculation! Must have been a Democrat that came up with that method of calculation. Pretty much makes the GNP a worthless statistic. One thing is clear: The cancerous entitlement machine with its inevitable fraud have been growing faster that actual increases in productivity. A simple milkman use to make enough money to have a family with a live in Mom and their own house . Not anymore .
“Futures in lumber are +13% year-to-date, polyethylene 38%, polypropylene 47%, sulfur 62%, urea 78%, all of which have yet to trickle down to end prices of finished goods.”
I don’t think any of those use oil as a major input.
Perhaps the future markets need legal reforms, say:
1. no one can sell a futures contract for more than 110% of its original price, or
2. take delivery from the US if the contract is sold for more than 110% of its original price.
“The midterm elections” were lost months ago.
MAGA isn’t happening. Congress isn’t even trying to put the necessary tariffs in place. MTG left office without submitting the necessary bills.
It’s probably not possible to get MAGA bills through Congress.
The Republican Congress can’t SAVE itself.
As the Republican Congress has failed on MAGA, the Republicans are going to lose the House and Senate.
Trump and most members of the Republican Congress are now free to act without concerns of polls, the stock market, personal or Republican Party reelection.
Perhaps federal law should require futures contracts for US source material to include this clause:
There shall be no obligation to supply X under this futures contract if this futures contract is sold for more than 110% of its original price or the futures contract doesn’t effectively include this clause.
The fruits of the US economy now go overwhelmingly to a small elite.
Congress might put a 90% income tax on futures contract profits.
There would be a massive selloff.
Lumber, no. But the others are impacted by dislocations in energy supplies.
The price controls you propose would destroy commodities commerce. Why should investors, users, and speculators risk capital when the upside is limited yet the downside is unlimited? You also assume that commodity markets are US-centric.
Another screed from the Surrender Monkey Caucus that didn’t age well. Consumer confidence went up two months in a row. This month’s jump was 4 points. Try again.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.