Trump did sexually abuse.

Thanks Norah. Interesting.

Republicans Say Spending Is Fueling Inflation. The Fed Chair Disagrees.

Jerome H. Powell has said that snarled supply chains, an oil shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and shifts among American consumers are primarily behind rapid price growth.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news
“Fiscal impulse is actually not what’s driving inflation right now,” Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, said on Wednesday.

---T.J. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times (we read NYT, many don't)

---By Jim Tankersley, March 23, 2023

WASHINGTON — The chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome H. Powell, has repeatedly undercut a central claim Republicans make as they seek sharp cuts in federal spending: Government spending is driving the nation’s still-hot inflation rate.

Republican lawmakers say spending programs signed into law by President Biden are pumping too much money into the economy and fueling an annual inflation rate that was 6 percent in February — a decline from last year’s highs, but still well above historical norms. Mr. Powell disputed those claims in congressional testimony earlier this month and in a news conference on Wednesday, after the Fed announced it would once again raise interest rates in an effort to bring inflation back toward normal levels.

Asked whether federal tax and spending policies were contributing to price growth, Mr. Powell pointed to a decline in federal spending from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“You have to look at the fiscal impulse from spending,” Mr. Powell said on Wednesday, referring to a measure of how much tax and spending policies are adding or subtracting to economic growth. “Fiscal impulse is actually not what’s driving inflation right now. It was at the beginning perhaps, but that’s not the story right now.

Instead, Mr. Powell — along with Mr. Biden and his advisers — says rapid price growth is primarily being driven by factors like snarled supply chains, an oil shock following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and a shift among American consumers from spending money on services like travel and dining out to goods like furniture.

Mr. Powell has also said the low unemployment rate was playing a role: “Some part of the high inflation that we’re experiencing is very likely related to an extremely tight labor market,” he told a House committee earlier this month.

But the Fed chair’s position has not swayed congressional Republicans, who continue to press Mr. Biden to accept sharp spending reductions in exchange for raising the legal limit on how much the federal government can borrow.

“Over the last two years, this administration’s reckless spending and failed economic policies have resulted in continued record inflation, soaring interest rates and an economy in a recessionary tailspin,” Representative Jodey C. Arrington, Republican of Texas and the chairman of the Budget Committee, said at a hearing on Thursday.

Republicans have attacked Mr. Biden over inflation since he took office. They denounced the $1.9 trillion economic aid package he signed into law early in 2021 and warned it would stoke damaging inflation. Mr. Biden’s advisers largely dismissed those warnings. So did Mr. Powell and Fed officials, who were holding interest rates near zero and taking other steps at the time to stoke a faster recovery from the pandemic recession.

Understand Biden’s Budget Proposal
President Biden proposed a $6.8 trillion budget that sought to increase spending on the military and social programs while also reducing future budget deficits.
Recapturing a Centrist Identity: Biden has made curbing the budget gap one of his centerpiece promises. The move is part of a wider shift that sees the president speaking more to the concerns of the political middle.
Reducing Deficit: Instead of talking about hard choices and freezing spending, the president has pledged to defend popular federal programs and rely on taxing corporations and high earners. That represents a break with the past.
A Missing Plan for Social Security: Like the president’s previous budgets, his new proposal makes no mention of the program, which he promised to shore up during his 2020 campaign.
Economists generally agree that those stimulus efforts — carried out by the Fed, by Mr. Biden and in trillions of dollars of pandemic spending signed by Mr. Trump in 2020 — helped push the inflation rate to its highest level in 40 years last year. But researchers disagree on how large that effect was, and over how to divide the blame between federal government stimulus and Fed stimulus.

One recent model, from researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the University of Maryland and Harvard University, estimates that about a third of the inflation from December 2019 through June 2022 was caused by fiscal stimulus measures.

Much of that stimulus has already made its way through the economy. Spending on pandemic aid to people, businesses and state and local governments fell sharply over the last year, as emergency programs signed into law by Mr. Biden and the former President expired. The federal budget deficit fell to about $1.4 trillion in the 2022 fiscal year from about $2.8 trillion in 2021.

The Hutchins Center at the Brookings Institution in Washington estimates that in the first quarter of 2021, when Mr. Biden’s economic aid bill delivered direct payments, enhanced unemployment checks and other benefits to millions of Americans, government fiscal policy added 8 percentage points to economic growth. At the end of last year, the center estimates, declining government spending was actually reducing economic growth by 1 percentage point.

Still, even Biden administration officials say some effects of Mr. Biden’s — and Mr. Trump’s — stimulus bills could still be contributing to higher prices. That’s because Americans did not immediately spend all the money they got from the government in 2020 and 2021. They saved some of it, and now, some consumers are drawing on those savings to buy things.

Increased consumer spending from savings could be pushing the cost of goods and services higher, White House economists conceded this week in their annual “Economic Report of the President,” which includes summaries of the past year’s developments in the economy.

“If the drawdown of excess savings, together with current income, boosted aggregate demand, it could have contributed to high inflation in 2021 and 2022,” the report says.

Some liberal economists contend consumer demand is currently playing little if any role in price growth — placing the blame on supply challenges or on companies taking advantage of their market power and the economic moment to extract higher prices from consumers.

High prices “are not being driven by excess demand, but are actually being driven by things like a supply chain crisis or war in Ukraine or corporate profiteering,” said Rakeen Mabud, chief economist for the Groundwork Collaborative, a liberal policy organization in Washington.

Other economists, though, say Mr. Biden and Congress could help the Fed’s inflation-fighting efforts by doing even more to reduce consumer demand and cool growth, either by raising taxes or reducing spending.

Mr. Biden proposed a budget this month that would cut projected budget deficits by $3 trillion over the next decade, largely by raising taxes on high earners and corporations. Republicans refuse to raise taxes but are pushing for immediate cuts in government spending on health care, antipoverty measures and more, though they have not released a formal budget proposal yet. The Republican-controlled House voted this year to repeal some tax increases Mr. Biden signed into law last year, a move that could add modestly to inflation.

Republican lawmakers have pushed Mr. Powell on whether he would welcome more congressional efforts to reduce the deficit and help bring inflation down. Mr. Powell rebuffed them.

“We take fiscal policy as it comes to our front door, stick it in our model along with a million other things,” he said on Wednesday. “And we have responsibility for price stability. The Federal Reserve has the responsibility for that, and nothing is going to change that.”

---Jim Tankersley is a White House correspondent with a focus on economic policy. He has written for more than a decade in Washington about the decline of opportunity for American workers, and is the author of "The Riches of This Land: The Untold, True Story of America's Middle Class."

And Rees Mogg professes to be a man of faith. As are a lot of Americans who support Trump. It’s beyond my comprehension.

Chocolatelovinggran

Merciful heaven Dickens - you couldn't make it up, could you? Could such a t-shirt be offered as a defence in court for a predatory sexual offender who interpreted the slogan to include him, and acted upon it I wonder?!

My goodness - that's a thought, isn't it!

Prosecution: You subjected this woman to a degrading act of sexual abuse by grabbing her genitals.

Accused: But she was wearing a T shirt with an open invitation to do just that.

Prosecution: Yes, but you are NOT the PRESIDENT!

The fact that there's even a possibility that this man will win the 2024 Presidency - that his indictment has, in fact, improved his chances (according to some sources), makes me utterly despair. And we have Rees-Mogg defending him.

I am horrified by what Trump is saying, but more horrified by those who support him, hopefully he will be wearing an orange jumpsuit by the time of the next Presidential election process, but I have no doubt his supporters will see this as a conspiracy. Obviously, I am not American, but watching from afar, it looks like the American have poor choices for their next President, and the choice they make will affect us all.

Of course it is. If our inflation rate was low compared to other countries, don’t you think the government would be crowing about it?

Of course they would!

Whitewavemark2

You need to live In the U.K. - our inflation is worse than the USA and our energy bills are off the scale.

I didn't realize it was a competition.

Inflation is up everywhere and it affects everyone it touches negatively.

It’s almost impossible to understand the appeal of Trump unless we are prepared to sink to his level. By that, I mean making abusive comments about his base supporters. Like - they’re not very bright, lack education, they abuse women, women are damaged and accept abuse because it’s no worse or not as bad as what they’re used to. And they’re largely racist white supremacists.

Merciful heaven Dickens - you couldn't make it up, could you? Could such a t-shirt be offered as a defence in court for a predatory sexual offender who interpreted the slogan to include him, and acted upon it I wonder?!

Chocolatelovinggran

I continue to be astonished by his female followers. Are they OK with him "grabbing " their "pussy? Or their that of their daughter/ granddaughter/ sister/friends? This man with his hideous and dangerous views surely has no place in the White House. He wouldn't be offered a cup of tea in mine - ( small semi by the sea, since you ask)

Are they OK with him "grabbing " their "pussy? Or their that of their daughter/ granddaughter/ sister/friends?

There are T shirts for sale with the logo "you can grab my pussy anytime Mr President".

I saw photo's of two women at a Trump rally - middle-aged women with MAGA caps, and those very T shirts... bright red with black logos.

usapremiumgift.com/product/you-can-grab-my-pussy-anytime-mr-president-shirt/

So, yes - some obviously are not only OK with it - they're endorsing it.

And the verdicts on his sexual abuse judgement are coming in fast and furious from his supporters. "Well, it wasn't right, but show me a politician that hasn't done something bad".

I've given up being shocked. One has to acknowledge that some people are so in thrall to the cult of Trump, that they are more than willing to debase, and prostitute, themselves to the 'great' man. He's a God in their totally uncritical eyes. There isn't an excuse yet known that can't be used to excuse this immoral narcissist.

I continue to be astonished by his female followers. Are they OK with him "grabbing " their "pussy? Or their that of their daughter/ granddaughter/ sister/friends? This man with his hideous and dangerous views surely has no place in the White House. He wouldn't be offered a cup of tea in mine - ( small semi by the sea, since you ask)

Whitewavemark2

The latest idiocy from Trump.

At a Town Hall hosted by CNN.

He is willing to default on the debt causing massive economic outfall to the USA

He refuses to take Ukraines side in the war or say that he doesn’t support Putin.

Refused to say that he would not take the side of the anti-abortionists..

Is considering pardoning the January 6th rioters.

Still reckons the 2020 election was fraudulent.

And still they vote for him.

This is the scary part. That he will still get enough votes to at least make it an election, possibly even win.

His own party wants to move on from him, but there is a huge part of the US population who are as rabidly obtuse as he is. People like to dismiss him and the angry bigots who voted for him. But they cannot be ignored. Their voting power is a force to reckon with, unfortunately.

The USA’s standing as leader of the Western world, democracy that the rest of the world look up to… etc., etc., has taken a massive knock since trump was POTUS. If he is re-elected, I am not sure what will become of them.

You couldn’t make it up.

The latest idiocy from Trump.

At a Town Hall hosted by CNN.

He is willing to default on the debt causing massive economic outfall to the USA

He refuses to take Ukraines side in the war or say that he doesn’t support Putin.

Refused to say that he would not take the side of the anti-abortionists..

Is considering pardoning the January 6th rioters.

Still reckons the 2020 election was fraudulent.

And still they vote for him.

lylelyle you make some good points, and I agree.

You need to live In the U.K. - our inflation is worse than the USA and our energy bills are off the scale.

lyleLyle

Grannygravy13,

Fentanyl and the unemployment rate have nothing to do with each other, despite whatever reaching programme you saw. I’ve lived in the US for decades. Bad policies by incompetent politicians have everything to do with the crumbling economy. The US has not recovered from the incompetence that was the Covid handling by this sexually assaulting maniac. Biden is clueless and doesn’t have a strong team around him. The drug problem in the US is a decades long issue that cannot be blamed as the culprit here. Fentanyl is the relatively new kid on the block. Before that it was heroin and crack-cocaine. Drugs are a symptom, not the source.

Standing ovation. This is 100%.

And Biden isn't injecting money into the economy. Interest rates have to rise to curb inflation. Inflation is what causes people to not be able to pay their rent and groceries.

I just got groceries today. My teens favorite snack was $3.00 more then it was when I bought it a month ago.

LyleLyle - your comments about my character and opinions say far more about you than they do about me. Love your name by the way LyleLyle the Singing Crocodile.

Iam64

Kissngate, victim blaming is never a good look. Trump openly said being rich n famous means he can grab pussy, ‘they’ll let you do anything’
Your criticisms of the victim - not screaming, not recalling the exact date, admitting flirting etc - none of this excuses the sexual predators behaviour

Quite.

Frankly, I'd not recall an exact date. Can't 'be wrong' if no date is given, defense can't 'find a diary entry' for a wrong date either.

Kissngate, victim blaming is never a good look. Trump openly said being rich n famous means he can grab pussy, ‘they’ll let you do anything’
Your criticisms of the victim - not screaming, not recalling the exact date, admitting flirting etc - none of this excuses the sexual predators behaviour

kissngate

Firstly I don't like Trump at all however I'm going to throw a spanner in the works. Yes she won £4m for defamation however the charges against him were vague. She went voluntarily with him into a lingerie cubicle in a large department store closing the door behind her. She couldn't say what year it took place (1995 or 1996) never mind what month or day. She admits she was flirting with him and they kissed. However she then said he raped her it wasn't consensual. She didn't scream or shout out loud nor did she say anything afterwards. She mentioned it to two friends a few years ago and only managed to sue him because the state changed the law last year. She won the case mainly on libel because when she wrote in a magazine article about it he denied it and made fun of her. A very unpleasant man but I'm not sure about the rest.

Thank God your opinion didn’t count for anything. The man admitted he thinks his celebrity status gives him and other powerful men the right to assault women.

A woman has a right to say no at any point whatsoever. You think trying to shame her makes her less of a victim? It says as much about you as this case does about Trump. Nothing good. She isn’t the one looking bad here.

Katie59

It was a political decision with no consequences, if I had been on the jury I would have believed that he most likely did “sexually abuse” the woman, that is entirely credible and he deserved the penalty which means nothing to him

The “Rape” accusation is not credible, nor that it ruined her life, the woman could not even say for certain which year it was 30yrs ago.

Some of you are saying that EVERY accusation is automatically fact which is a very long way from reality.

Politics has nothing to do with it. It’s sick that you admit he sexually abused her right after minimizing this to politics. As I said, the women-hating attitudes are dying out and you can stay in the past all you like.

You don’t know anything about that woman’s personal struggle to declare her life wasn’t ruined. No one has a right to determine that for her, jury or not.

As for what SOME of “us” are saying, your position is so weak that you have to invent a point to argue. That says everything.

Maybe the fact that he boasted on camera that he carried mints with him because he never knew when the opportunity would arise in which he could kiss someone went against him.Even that, imo should have been enough to stop people voting for him. But his supporters seem to suffer from selective deafness when it comes to his transgressions.