It's the economy, stupid.

[Vrede too]

US economy in 'uncharted waters' as inflation falls with low unemployment -study

GO Joltin' Joe GO! At the very least he's not screwing things up. Odd that the article never mentions him once.

[billy.pilgrim]

Interesting take on taxes is new to me

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartm ... dium=email

“Wait a minute!” I can hear you saying. “Cutting taxes on rich people makes them richer, but cutting taxes on working class people cuts their pay? WTF?!?”


The Hartmann Report

It’s labor day, so let’s look at the radically different ways income tax cuts or increases affect working class people versus the morbidly rich.

Over the past 40 years, Republicans have pulled off an incredible magic trick. They’ve convinced average working people that tax cuts benefit them when in fact the opposite is true.

It all boils down to two simple principles, which are — unfortunately — a mystery to most Americans and ignored in both our political and media discussions of income taxes.

1. Income tax cuts for the morbidly rich raise a nation’s debt but do nothing else. Reagan’s BS “trickle down” claims notwithstanding, tax cuts for the rich don’t even stimulate economic growth: they just fatten billionaires’ money bins and offshore accounts. And because tax cuts on the rich are paid for by increasing the national debt, they’re a drag on the economy. They make rich people richer, but make the nation poorer.

2. Cutting income taxes on working-class people, however, actually cuts their base pay over the long run. And, paradoxically, when income taxes on working people go up, as they did in the 1930s through the 1960s, it generally leads to pay increases! This shocking and counterintuitive reality is something no politician since FDR has had the courage to explain.

“Wait a minute!” I can hear you saying. “Cutting taxes on rich people makes them richer, but cutting taxes on working class people cuts their pay? WTF?!?”

Here’s how it works with a short story thrown in.

Some years ago I did my radio program for a week from the studios of Danish Radio in Copenhagen.

Speaking with one of the more conservative members of Parliament, I asked why the Danish people didn’t revolt over an average 52% income tax rate on working people, with an even higher rate on really high earners?

He pointed out to me that the average Dane was doing just fine, with a minimum wage that averaged about $18 an hour, free college and free healthcare, not to mention four weeks of paid vacation every year and notoriety as the happiest nation on earth, according to a study done by the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.

'“You Americans are such suckers,” he told me and I reported some years ago. “You think the rules for taxes that apply to rich people also apply to working people, but they don’t.

“When working people’s taxes go up,” he said, “their pay also goes up over time. When their taxes go down, their pay goes down. It may take a year or two or three to all even out, but it always works that way — look at any country in Europe. And that rule on taxes is the exact opposite of how it works for rich people!”

Economist David Ricardo explained this in 1817 with his “Iron Law of Wages,” laid out in his book On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation.

Ricardo pointed out that in the working class “labor marketplace,” before-tax income is pretty much irrelevant. The money people live on, the money that defines the “marketplace for labor,” is take-home pay.

After-tax income.

But the rules for how taxes work are completely different for rich people.

When taxes go down on rich people, they simply keep the money that they saved with the tax cut. They use it to stuff larger wads of cash into their money bins."

[Vrede too]

Interesting take on taxes is new to me

https://open.substack.com/pub/thomhartm ... dium=email

“Wait a minute!” I can hear you saying. “Cutting taxes on rich people makes them richer, but cutting taxes on working class people cuts their pay? WTF?!?”


The Hartmann Report

Thom Hartmann nails it again. Thanks.


Might be a good conversation starter on LNF or CPF :

Another 150K Jobs Added In October; 34th Consecutive Month of Job Growth
Unemployment still at historic lows as fears of a recession disappear

Another historic job report was released Friday showing 150,000 jobs were added in October, the 34th consecutive month of job growth, with unemployment at 3.9%.

Unemployment is under 4% for the 21st consecutive month. This is the longest period with unemployment under 4% in over 50 years. The average monthly job gain over the past three months is 204,000 jobs; steady growth indicative of a healthy economy. This report comes after the stunning news that U.S. GDP grew by 4.9% in the third quarter of this year, ahead of the 4.7% estimate....

JoltJoeJolt!

[Vrede too]

In these 22 states, you need a six-figure income to afford a typical home, analysis finds

... That’s a lot more than in January 2020, when Bankrate found buyers needed a six-figure income in just six states and the District of Columbia.

... Bankrate calculated that in the United States – where the overall median home price is $402,343, according to Redfin – “aspiring homebuyers must earn $110,841 annually to afford a median-priced home.” (A median sales price in an area is the price at which half of the homes for sale are priced higher and half are priced lower.)

Where you need the most – and least – income to snag a median-priced home

People buying on the West Coast and in the Northeast need the highest household incomes to afford a typical home, Bankrate found. The top 5 places are: California (where an income of $197,051 is needed); Hawaii ($185,829); District of Columbia ($167,871); Massachusetts ($162,471); and Washington State ($156,814).

Not too surprising, though Washington State is a bummer.

The other states where a six-figure income is needed are: Arizona ($110,271); Colorado ($152,229); Connecticut ($119,614); Florida ($114,771); Idaho ($114,386); Maine ($102,557); Maryland ($108,257); Montana ($131,357);

Nevada ($111,557); New Hampshire ($130,329); New Jersey ($152,186);

Nearly in the top 5.

New York ($148,286); Oregon ($129,129); Rhode Island ($132,343); Texas ($100,629); Utah ($133,886); Vermont ($114,471); and Virginia ($106,971)....

Where income needs have gone up the most (and least) since 2020

Six-figure incomes aside, sometimes the measure of how affordability changes over time can be seen in how much more income you need to buy the average home today than yesterday.

Compared to 2020, income needs jumped the most in Montana (up 77.7%);

Utah (up 70.3%); Tennessee (up 70.1%), South Carolina (up 67.3%) and Arizona (up 65.3%).

... there are still some deals to be had in the Rust Belt and the Midwest. For instance, Bankrate found that the income needed to buy a median-priced home rose the least in North Dakota (up 9.2%); Illinois (up 27.2%); and Kansas (up 29.3%).

The complete Bankrate analysis can be found here.

[O Really]

Washington state is a bit skewed by the greater Seattle area and west of Cascades areas. If you're willing to live somewhere like Yakima, it's a lot less.

[Vrede too]

Washington state is a bit skewed by the greater Seattle area and west of Cascades areas. If you're willing to live somewhere like Yakima, it's a lot less.

I thought of the same thing - Wow, a median that high despite the eastern wastelands. It must be truly nuts in the west.

Similarly, Montana has tons of undesirable land. Trendy spots like Missoula, Kalispell, the Bitterroot Valley, Bozeman, etc must be through the roof.

[Vrede too]

Fox's Maria Bartiromo Seems Really Frustrated By Robust U.S. Economy
The Fox Business host wondered if the economy is "too good" following the release of a Labor Department report.

Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo seemed really frustrated by good news about the U.S. economy Friday.

A new report from the Labor Department showed American employers had hired 303,000 workers in March, causing the unemployment rate to drop from 3.9% to 3.8%.

In addition, the jobless rate has come in under 4% for 26 months in a row, according to The Associated Press.

Sound like good news? Maybe, if you’re an average person who wants the country and its citizens to do well economically regardless of which party holds the White House.

But Bartiromo had a different take, and she spent part of Friday finding ways to poke holes in a report that stunned CNBC’s Rick Santelli and that CNN’s John Berman called “boffo.”

Journalist Aaron Rupar documented the Fox personality going through some things live on air and posted the clips to X, formerly Twitter.

Great US economic news is always a stomach ache for FauxNews. Comical.

... But (Conservative economist Stephen) Moore’s sycophantic suggestion that Trump is the reason for the strong report really inspired mockery.

Right-wing cope: "The economy is so good now because companies are hoping Trump will be president in nine months!"

Quite the mental gymnastics to somehow give Trump credit for this great economy

More scathing tweets at the link.

[Vrede too]

The economy hasn’t been this good in 50 years. How do we explain that to people who believe it’s terrible?

... The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May, “reflecting a booming labor market that continues to fuel the economy with workers benefiting from wages that are outpacing inflation,” the Postsaid Friday. “Job creation accelerated from the previous month, rising above the average monthly level of growth so far this year, which was already strong, after a period of cooling for part of 2023.”

“The American middle class is seeing their economic standing improved. The strong wages and improving living standards are the main takeaway from this very strong jobs report,” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist for the accounting firm RSM US, told the Post Friday.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is a lot of people don’t know it, or they don’t feel it, or they believe some bullshit about the economy. It’s hard to say. The cumulative effort, however, is a majority that appears to believe we're in a recession, according to one poll, when the opposite is true. No one has seen a better economy in 50 years. Wages are outpacing inflation. I couldn’t have written that sentence even in the boom-boom nineties....

[GoCubsGo]

The economy hasn’t been this good in 50 years. How do we explain that to people who believe it’s terrible?

... The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May, “reflecting a booming labor market that continues to fuel the economy with workers benefiting from wages that are outpacing inflation,” the Postsaid Friday. “Job creation accelerated from the previous month, rising above the average monthly level of growth so far this year, which was already strong, after a period of cooling for part of 2023.”

“The American middle class is seeing their economic standing improved. The strong wages and improving living standards are the main takeaway from this very strong jobs report,” Joe Brusuelas, chief economist for the accounting firm RSM US, told the Post Friday.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is a lot of people don’t know it, or they don’t feel it, or they believe some bullshit about the economy. It’s hard to say. The cumulative effort, however, is a majority that appears to believe we're in a recession, according to one poll, when the opposite is true. No one has seen a better economy in 50 years. Wages are outpacing inflation. I couldn’t have written that sentence even in the boom-boom nineties....

however, is a majority that appears to believe we're in a recession, according to one poll, when the opposite is true.

Thx trump.

[Vrede too]

Thx trump.

Typical RepuQs - promise the world, bad for business.

Outside the RNC, small Milwaukee businesses and their regulars tried to salvage a sluggish week

Thx trump.

[GoCubsGo]

Thx trump.

Typical RepuQs - promise the world, bad for business.

Outside the RNC, small Milwaukee businesses and their regulars tried to salvage a sluggish week

Thx trump.

Unsurprising. It's an upscale walkable neighborhood.

[O Really]

TIL that some of the soup kitchens in Chicago in the Depression, serving over 2,000 people per day, were funded by Al Capone.

[Vrede too]

TIL that some of the soup kitchens in Chicago in the Depression, serving over 2,000 people per day, were funded by Al Capone.

https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/ten ... &m=2&f=jpg

It's the Henry Ford economic model - People that aren't starving drink more.

Trump Mocked For Calling Good Inflation Report 'Kamalanomics'
The Trump campaign tried to spin what most economic experts considered to be good news into bad news ― and they did it badly!

Donald Trump’s campaign attempted to attack a good report on inflation by coining a really bad name for it.

Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed that year-over-year inflation reached its lowest level in more than three years in July. This suggests the worst price spike in four decades is fading and that the Federal Reserve might do an interest rate cut next month.

But the Trump campaign tried to spin what most economic experts considered to be good news into bad news, by ignoring the new decline and just reporting data that noted that inflation is higher than pre-pandemic....

Folks already have a hard time saying her name on their side...

it's a GOOD inflation report, god how are you people so bad at this

Dear Trump Campaign:

Just delusional stuff. Gas prices and interest rates were low because the economy cratered when COVID hit. Even before then it didn't grow as promised. Unemployment hit 16%. 100s of thouseands died needlessly. Meanwhile world leaders laughed at his idiocy. We are not going back.

Hard to say which is more bizarre:

-highlighting a good inflation report showing prices barely rising

Or

-focusing on the cost of living when your entire econ agenda (a de facto national sales tax, mass deportation, and giant tax cuts for the rich) is highly inflationary

[Vrede too]

Trump Mercilessly Mocked Over Frighteningly False Tariff Claim
The former president described his proposal to impose tariffs on foreign-made products as a tax that "doesn't affect our country."

Scott Lincicome
(@CatoInstitute Vice President (Econ/Trade), @DukeLaw adjunct ...)
Here are a few of the many studies showing that Americans paid (and are still paying) Trump's tariffs:

Does he really not understand who pays the tariff?

Trump flunks Econ 101

Honest to Pete I don’t have the energy to do this for another 4 years.

Truth.
More tweets at the link

[Vrede too]

[Vrede too]

Is US economy better or worse now than under Trump?

Interesting, more mixed than I would have guessed. Part of the answer lies in how much to credit Dolt .45 for the Covid slide. Also, I'd want a graph on deficit spending thrown in there.

[O Really]

Problem is, for some reason people seem to think that if conditions were a certain way 8-4 years ago that by re-electing a blithering idiot they can re-create those conditions in the next 4 years. Even the best coaches can't necessarily duplicate last seasons championship if you give them different players, different rules and different conference.

[Vrede too]

Problem is, for some reason people seem to think that if conditions were a certain way 8-4 years ago that by re-electing a blithering idiot they can re-create those conditions in the next 4 years. Even the best coaches can't necessarily duplicate last seasons championship if you give them different players, different rules and different conference.

A bigger problem is that the public's perception of what the conditions were 8-4 years ago has been deceptively manipulated. The economy did crash during Covid and IMO that was largely due to TRE45QN's piss poor pandemic management. Also, hyperinflation began BEFORE Biden policies could have an effect. Then, the Biden stimulus, which DonOLD is inaccurately blaming given the global hyperinflation, began with a Trump stimulus

I really really hate the constant lies Democracy becomes impossible when they're effective. Most of the attack ads on Kamala here are about inflation and their stats are largely dated

[Vrede too]

Barack Obama Refreshes Donald Trump’s Memory On Why His Economy ‘Was Pretty Good’
“Just in case everyone has a hazy memory,” the former president said at a rally for Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh.

Former President Barack Obama addressed voters who next month may be tempted to vote for his successor, former president and current GOP nominee Donald Trump, based on the state of the economy during Trump’s first administration.

Obama acknowledged Thursday at a Pittsburgh rally for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris that “some people think, ‘Well, I don’t know. I remember that economy when he first came in being pretty good.’”

Then he added, “Yeah, it was pretty good because it was my economy.”

“We had had 75 straight months of job growth that I handed over to him,” remembered Obama, under who the economy grew solidly before Trump took over and continued to develop it until the coronavirus pandemic.

“It wasn’t something he did,” Obama added. “I had spent eight years cleaning up the mess that the Republicans had left me the last time. So, just in case everybody has a hazy memory, he didn’t do nothing, except those big tax cuts.”

Those big tax cuts greatly increased the deficit, thus putting us on shakier footing for addressing a crisis like, say, a global pandemic.



Thank you, Barack.

[Vrede too]

Opinion - Elon Musk wants to ‘delete’ many Americans’ financial lifeline

Nearly every exit poll conducted on Election Day found that, more than any other issues, voters’ concerns about the economy helped to return Donald Trump to the White House and put Republicans back in charge of both houses of Congress. Americans who felt the sting of inflation and who had trouble making ends meet, as companies steadily increased prices for essential goods like groceries and clothing, voted in the hopes that a new administration and new Congress would bring relief for their families.

So it is especially surprising that one of the first federal agencies to come under scrutiny from the incoming administration is one that has returned billions of dollars to many of the same consumers who were counting on leaders in Washington to look out for their wallets.

On Nov. 27, Elon Musk — who, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, has been tasked by President-Elect Trump with running a new Department of Government Efficiency — posted on his platform X that he wants to “Delete CFPB,” referring to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency, Musk said, was part of a problem of “too many duplicative regulatory agencies” in Washington. But there are no other agencies in the federal government returning money to Americans’ bank accounts in the way the CFPB does.

Since its founding, the agency has returned more than $19 billion in cash to people who have been scammed by financial institutions, including predatory payday lenders and even some of the largest banks in the country....

It's not "surprising" at all that Elon, Vivek and TRE45QN side with fat cats, predators, cheaters and scammers vs the American people.