While the Biden administration tries to paint the image that inflation is under control, the truth is that even if things finally seem to be easing for a moment, the irreversible damage that has been done will continue to harm American families financially for years to come. .
A recent piece from CNBC says that while inflation appears to be cooling, the impact on basic prices like fuel and groceries will continue to linger:
In the past few months, many of the key factors that fueled four-decade highs in inflation have begun to fade. Shipping cost is reduced. Cotton, beef and other commodities are cheap. And shoppers found deep discounts online and at malls during the holidays, as retailers tried to clear through excess inventory. The Labor Department said consumer prices fell 0.1% in December from the previous month. It marked the biggest monthly decline in nearly three years.
But cheaper freight and freight costs don’t immediately trickle down to consumers, partly because supplier contracts set prices months in advance.
Combined with the problems suppliers face from the 2020 pandemic and increased labor costs, consumers will be left to bear the burden going forward.
The question that remains is, now that Americans can have a moment to breathe (before they face the tax man this season), what does their economic landscape look like going forward? Are better days ahead or is the future an eternal disaster?
New thread:
Imagine if your boss told you to work for free from January 1st to April 15th.🤔
And when April comes, you learn that you have to work for free for another month.🤔
That, my friends, is federal income taxes and inflation in 2022. 1/20
— Scott T. Parkinson (@ScottTParkinson) January 24, 2023
RELATED: Feds Borrow $4 Billion a Day in 2022, Total $10K Per Household
Millennials may continue to struggle to get ahead
Support conservative voices!
Sign up to receive the latest Political news, insight and commentary delivered straight to your inbox.
Today’s youth are burdened with trying to dream of a middle-class lifestyle while facing severe economic challenges that the previous two generations did not have to face.
A Fidelity article published in July 2022 highlighted the stark differences in spending habits between millennials and their parents and the unique challenges they face.
“For the first time in their lives, millennials are feeling the effects of rapid inflation—and in some cases being forced to reevaluate their plans for the future,” the authors write.
The authors point out that younger consumers are “more likely to buy used cars because they are cheaper than new cars.” While this may seem like a generic, cost-effective decision, he notes that “used car prices are up more than 37% in 2021” and have continued to rise ever since.
Millennials are increasingly likely to rent rather than buy homes, especially in our current, ultra-competitive home buying market where most of them are priced. With that said, it’s not very helpful that in the last several years since the pandemic, rents have increased by an average of 18% nationwide.
At the surface level, critics say, millennials, which include those born between 1981-1996, now boast an average net worth of $76,000 as they reach their prime working years. However, Millennials are doing relatively better than those born in 1997 or later.
A Yahoo! According to Molly Ward, a certified financial planner from Equitable Advisors, a report from December indicated that “Millennials earn more money than any generation at their age, but have less wealth due to wage increases outpacing the cost of living.”
“Also, with boomers, when they married young there were two wage earners in the household, so the net worth goes up,” Ward said. “Millennials are often living on one salary because they are not marrying or marrying younger.”
I was checking hourly wages for jobs I had 20 years ago and adjusted them for inflation. Geez. Youngsters are making a splash. They are making 25% – 35% less in inflation adjusted dollars than we did at their age.
— Cernovich (@Cernovich) January 24, 2023
RELATED: Yes, They’re Coming for Your Gas Stoves — And They’ve Already Started
Central banks are backing up as gold signals distrust in the dollar
How have the world’s central banks fared in these turbulent times? Also, while they were printing money at a rapid pace, devaluing our purchasing power and killing our savings, they were buying gold at alarmingly high rates.
In an article published this week by Daniel LaCalle from the Mises Institute, LaCalle cautioned against the gold buying activities of central banks around the world.
“In 2022, central banks will buy the largest amount of gold in recent history,” Lacall says. “According to the World Gold Council, central bank gold purchases have reached levels not seen since 1967. The world’s central banks bought 673 metric tons in one month, and in the third quarter, the figure reached 400 metric tons.”
“It’s interesting because central banks’ flows from 2020 are at best net sales.”
LaCal says there are many factors to this rush in gold buying. Factors obviously include the severe inflation of the US dollar, after all the world reserve currency, but also China’s efforts to wean their economy off the dollar, the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on the rest of Europe, and the falling value. Our own bond market.
“So, why do they buy gold?” He asks. “Because a new paradigm in policy will inevitably emerge as a result of the disastrous economic and monetary consequences of years of excessive easing, and neither our real earnings nor our deposit savings will benefit from it. Given the choice between ‘sound money’ and ‘fiscal repression’, governments will force central banks to choose ‘fiscal repression’. urge
“The only reason central banks buy gold is to protect their balance sheets from their own monetary destruction programs; they have no choice but to do so.”
Food on Inflation:
– June. 2021: Inflation is temporary, returning to 2.0%
– January 2022: Inflation to 2.0% in 2022
– May 2022: Inflation to 3.5% in 2022
– July 2022: Inflation is out of control
– January 2023: Inflation to 3.5% in 2023
Meanwhile, inflation stood at 6.5%.
— Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) January 25, 2023
Now is the time to support and share sources you trust.
Political Insider was ranked #3 on FeedSpot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites”.