‘Americans say they hate the economy but act like they love it’

From CNN, “The Biden economy is a walking contradiction. Consumer sentiment is at a 10-year low, tumbling in November to levels unseen even during the height of Covid-19. A staggering 70% of Americans rate the economy negatively in an ABC News-Washington Post poll. And yet Americans are shopping up a storm, with retail sales soaring in October at the fastest pace since stimulus checks were sent out in March. Walmart, Target (TGT) and Home Depot are booming. Hiring is strong (much stronger than the government initially thought). And workers are quitting their jobs at a record pace, in large part because they are very confident they can easily find a better job. Something doesn’t add up. And that something has a lot to do with the nation’s first inflation scare in decades. … The good news is that despite elevated inflation and the supply chain crisis, Americans are still shopping. That’s crucial because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the economy.”

Of course! I expected nothing less from a f***tarded electorate. Indeed, Americans are (and America itself is) one big amalgamation of contradictions, and this is particularly true for the one aspect of society that will cripple Democrats’ chances to retain power and save American democracy. This is all because people can’t help themselves from splurge-spending as they did before the pandemic. People have more money in their wallets, and all of it just has to be spent — now! Then they simultaneously b*tch about the consequences of such spending (i.e., inflation) while continuing to spend, spend, spend. Again, inflation is the result of too many dollars chasing too few products. Plain and simple. And as long as consumers are willing to pay higher prices, then firms will continue to charge them. This is Economics 101 — apparently a life course few have taken or understand. Yet the vast majority make political election choices based on a subject they don’t fully comprehend. Fan-f***ing-tastic! I live in stupid hell! Granted, food and fuel are two goods with fairly high price inelasticity coefficients. That is to say, higher prices of these items do not significantly alter the amount demanded of them. Presumably, having to spend more on food and fuel would crowd out spending on other items, but that’s not happening either because I guess people need their new electronics. They need that new car. They need that new home. They need to eat out instead of cooking at home. They need to make more unnecessary car trips, thereby wasting more gas. They need to take that vacation. These are examples of pressures put on the demand side of the equation. Supply chain issues, which are well-known, contribute to the supply side of the equation. (Adding to the problem, I have no doubt people are not paying off their debt before they continue to spend because Americans love to carry unnecessary debt.) In short, inflation is on the rise, yet no one is altering their behavior in response. People are too stubborn and too stupid to change their habits proactively. Oh, no! Instead, they just b*tch more about inflation and blame Biden and Democrats for something that consumers are collectively perpetuating.

Not to mention that because oil prices are an input cost for everything in the consumerism chain of expenses, all it takes is OPEC+ to restrict output long enough and oil refineries to dial back capacity long enough to cause widespread and sustained inflation. Oh, and did I mention this high inflation phenomenon is worldwide? So, this is not an American thing, nor is it a Democratic governance thing. But, I guess this is all Biden’s fault despite reality. Nonetheless, people are still spending like no tomorrow — because they can and are willing to pay more. “The ironic thing about these inflation fears: A big part of the reason inflation is here today is because demand is booming as the economy recovers from Covid faster than many imagined possible back in March 2020. Inflation wouldn’t be a problem if the US economy were experiencing something like the painfully slow recovery from the Great Recession.” And then this from Politico, “Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November 1969. The drop was much bigger than economists expected. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out weekly ups and downs, also dropped — by 21,000 to just over 252,000, the lowest since mid-March 2020 when the pandemic slammed the economy.” But, whatever! Inflation! Inflation! Inflation! Nothing else matters but inflation, inflation, inflation. Did I mention the more people with money in their wallets thing? People need to get a f***ing G.D. grip, and the MSM should find another daily topic.

All in all, the economy is improving fast, but leave it to Americans to b*tch about a recovering economy. And I have no doubt voters will reward RepubliKKKlans as a result. Un-f***ing-believable. Welcome to stupid America! Never dumber than when it comes to understanding the economy and the world, more generally, in which they live and, worse still, make political decisions based on faulty reasoning.