| Unleash Prosperity Hotline Issue #393 10/20/2021 |
| 1) Inflation Is Shrinking Take-Home Pay This week’s report on earnings and inflation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Usual Weekly Earnings Summary (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/wkyeng.nr0.htm) contains bad news for workers: Median weekly earnings in Q3 2021 were $1,003 – just 0.7% higher than a year earlier ($996). Inflation was 5.3% over the same time period. So after adjusting for inflation workers are losing $50 a week under Biden. We’ve been predicting that gas will go to $5 a gallon in the next month and food prices are expected to rise by 10% over roughly the same time period. All of this makes a mockery of the Biden admin claim that the higher inflation is a sign of a strong economy. This is like saying that obesity is a sign of affluence and good health. Worse news still for the White House: New polling finds “62% of American voters say the administration’s policies are either somewhat or very responsible for increasing inflation, including 41% of Democrats, 61% of independent voters and 85% of Republicans.” Polling Source: https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000017c-9bf3-d47e-ab7e-9ff30f360000&nname=playbook&nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nrid=0000014e-f111-dd93-ad7f-f9152af40000&nlid=630318 |
| 2) Is It Time To Mention That Dreaded S Word? Stagflation This is deeply worrisome: the latest GDP Now estimates for the 3rd quarter – July through Sept of 2021 – show growth slowing to a snail’s pace of 0.2%. That’s barely treading water and a quick slowdown from the 6% growth of the economy that Biden inherited from Trump. The combination of 5 to 6 percent inflation and near zero growth is called stagflation. When inflation ramps up, real growth stalls. Had to go back to the Jimmy Carter years to find that definition.  |
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