President Biden thread

Tweety said:

Yes, it's just what candidates and parties do to promote their agenda.  I can't blame them for that.  

I think the problem with promoting "falling inflation" is that the damage is done.  Prices are already high and people are struggling and the right is capitalizing on that mood.

https://finance.Yahoo.com/news/why-americans-unhappy-thriving-economy-163854615.html

And the left is carefully not pointing out that the the list of suspects for continued high prices would have to include the people who set the prices. There's a reason that price-fixing is a federal crime.

heron said:

Pretty good for an old faht.

Yes. The evidence certainly contradicts the pearl clutching and concerns.  

heron said:

And the left is carefully not pointing out that the the list of suspects for continued high prices would have to include the people who set the prices. There's a reason that price-fixing is a federal crime.

I think what they are fixing is their high profit margins.  If they made x billion in profit before inflation, they still want x billion after and keep the prices where they are.  Deflation is hardly ever a thing especially if their cost of supplies and labor costs remain high.  Capitalism is alive and well under the communist regime of Biden.  

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-republicans-marxists-marxism-communists-democrats-ab07d4dc6ea52de46cedac4439ec66f2

Tweety said:

I think what they are fixing is their high profit margins.  If they made x billion in profit before inflation, they still want x billion after and keep the prices where they are.  Deflation is hardly ever a thing especially if their cost of supplies and labor costs remain high.  Capitalism is alive and well under the communist regime of Biden.  

https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-republicans-marxists-marxism-communists-democrats-ab07d4dc6ea52de46cedac4439ec66f2

heron said:

And the left is carefully not pointing out that the the list of suspects for continued high prices would have to include the people who set the prices. There's a reason that price-fixing is a federal crime.

People should be smart enough to figure out for themselves that our economy is getting through the post-Covid era better than most.  Her are some countries that have low inflation rates:  Hong Kong, Bolivia, Seychesses, China, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Vietnam, Switzerland, Equador and Taiwan.  Some of these countries have low inflation because of limited money supply or a lack of credit supply.  That's no good.  IMHO, Powell has been successful.  Remember when "everyone" predicted a recession?  Somehow they have a fantasy that we will exit a world wide pandemic in the same economy we had before Covid arrived.  That's a childish ithinking.

subee said:

 

People should be smart enough to figure out for themselves that our economy is getting through the post-Covid era better than most.  Her are some countries that have low inflation rates:  Hong Kong, Bolivia, Seychesses, China, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Vietnam, Switzerland, Equador and Taiwan.  Some of these countries have low inflation because of limited money supply or a lack of credit supply.  That's no good.  IMHO, Powell has been successful.  Remember when "everyone" predicted a recession?  Somehow they have a fantasy that we will exit a world wide pandemic in the same economy we had before Covid arrived.  That's a childish ithinking.

Switzerland is more green and less dependent on fossil fuels so lower inflation there.  Bolivia had a lot of subsidies, and Vietnam is communist so not all a good comparison where our inflation rate is tied to housing and fossil fuels.  Anyway, I agree because while I'm in a very bad mood about inflation, insurance rates here in Florida and my impending retirement prospects, I still can see some positive vibes happening on the economic front.  

Tweety said:

Switzerland is more green and less dependent on fossil fuels so lower inflation there.  Bolivia had a lot of subsidies, and Vietnam is communist so not all a good comparison where our inflation rate is tied to housing and fossil fuels.  Anyway, I agree because while I'm in a very bad mood about inflation, insurance rates here in Florida and my impending retirement prospects, I still can see some positive vibes happening on the economic front.  

 

Inflation is low in Switzerland but it's still an expensive place to live.  All if these countries are vastly different but still came out of Covid about as well as we did.  But some are places no one wants to live for different reasons.  Inflation seems rather tame compared to what's going on in Fla.'s insurance.  May I ask you put of curiosity if the rates taper down the farther away you live from the water?  I'm not sure there is anyplace "far" from the water in Fla. in terms of safety from the hurricanes of today.  Retirement is scary.  I could probably afford more occasional little trips but am afraid to spend it.  It's beats working a grind of a job.

subee said:

Inflation is low in Switzerland but it's still an expensive place to live.  All if these countries are vastly different but still came out of Covid about as well as we did.  But some are places no one wants to live for different reasons.  Inflation seems rather tame compared to what's going on in Fla.'s insurance.  May I ask you put of curiosity if the rates taper down the farther away you live from the water?  I'm not sure there is anyplace "far" from the water in Fla. in terms of safety from the hurricanes of today.  Retirement is scary.  I could probably afford more occasional little trips but am afraid to spend it.  It's beats working a grind of a job.

Florida is mostly populated around its coastal areas so most of us are vulnerable.  We are divided into flood zones as designated by FEMA and certain areas are considered more at risk than others.  I live in Zone X which is considered a low risk area but yet my flood insurance on my 3-bedroom home last renewal is $3,100 for the year.  My mortgage company doesn't require flood insurance but my state-run homeowners require it  as of this year (thanks DeSantis and crew) I think as an incentive to make the state run program so expensive people will take a higher cost insurance elsewhere.  I had to go on the state run program when my insurance company was ordered to liquidate by the feds and no one was left to insure me.  

My homeowners went up $700 this past year far above the rate of inflation.  My flood insurance went up  $450, again above the rate of inflation.  The same thing is happening in car insurance.  My rate went up $240 for a six month renewal last December and up over $400 for a six month renewal from a year ago.  Again way above the rate of inflation here.  

Anyway, by now my dissatisfaction with living in Florida both on a political front and with the high cost of living has me thinking of moving elsewhere when I retire.  Also, it's really making me nervous because I wonder when it is going to stop and can I afford to retire when disposable income shrinks by hundreds of dollar a month because of insurance costs.  When I meet with my advisor again this Summer I'm going to have revise upward what I think my month expenses are and see if he thinks I can retire in three years or not.  Last year it looked good.  This year I wonder.  My account that I don't contribute too (I have a 403B at work that I put money in) still hasn't fully recovered from the crash of 2021.  

If you read this far, thanks for listening to my angst.  I think this is what Gen Z and Millennials don't get about us boomers, is that we have issues too.  Still I'm better than most.

Tweety said:

Florida is mostly populated around its coastal areas so most of us are vulnerable.  We are divided into flood zones as designated by FEMA and certain areas are considered more at risk than others.  I live in Zone X which is considered a low risk area but yet my flood insurance on my 3-bedroom home last renewal is $3,100 for the year.  My mortgage company doesn't require flood insurance but my state-run homeowners require it  as of this year (thanks DeSantis and crew) I think as an incentive to make the state run program so expensive people will take a higher cost insurance elsewhere.  I had to go on the state run program when my insurance company was ordered to liquidate by the feds and no one was left to insure me.  

My homeowners went up $700 this past year far above the rate of inflation.  My flood insurance went up  $450, again above the rate of inflation.  The same thing is happening in car insurance.  My rate went up $240 for a six month renewal last December and up over $400 for a six month renewal from a year ago.  Again way above the rate of inflation here.  

Anyway, by now my dissatisfaction with living in Florida both on a political front and with the high cost of living has me thinking of moving elsewhere when I retire.  Also, it's really making me nervous because I wonder when it is going to stop and can I afford to retire when disposable income shrinks by hundreds of dollar a month because of insurance costs.  When I meet with my advisor again this Summer I'm going to have revise upward what I think my month expenses are and see if he thinks I can retire in three years or not.  Last year it looked good.  This year I wonder.  My account that I don't contribute too (I have a 403B at work that I put money in) still hasn't fully recovered from the crash of 2021.  

If you read this far, thanks for listening to my angst.  I think this is what Gen Z and Millennials don't get about us boomers, is that we have issues too.  Still I'm better than most.

I don't know what it was like in Florida but when I started nursing in the 70's,  NYU was interviewing in groups because there were so many boomers available to work.  It doesn't change anything when you try to explain how fierce competition was for college and for jobs.  They think their angst is worst than ours.  Here in the Midwest most of my friends had kids who became engineers ( it's a Michigan thing) and they are doing well.  I don't know how much I believe all the repetitive news stories about their financial tough times, except for the idiots who took out huge loans for  French literature major.  If people can't afford where they live, they tend to move to the same places driving up taxes where they go.  I can't imagine the number of people who will have to move from Fla. because of insurance rates.  There's always Nebraska!  Our winters are a breeze compared to theirs.

subee said:

I don't know what it was like in Florida but when I started nursing in the 70's,  NYU was interviewing in groups because there were so many boomers available to work.  It doesn't change anything when you try to explain how fierce competition was for college and for jobs.  They think their angst is worst than ours.  Here in the Midwest most of my friends had kids who became engineers ( it's a Michigan thing) and they are doing well.  I don't know how much I believe all the repetitive news stories about their financial tough times, except for the idiots who took out huge loans for  French literature major.  If people can't afford where they live, they tend to move to the same places driving up taxes where they go.  I can't imagine the number of people who will have to move from Fla. because of insurance rates.  There's always Nebraska!  Our winters are a breeze compared to theirs.

 

 

A lot of people are moving from the higher priced cities to different parts of the state where they can commute or find a job somewhere else.  I know several young nurses that moved from St. Pete to areas in the counties north where they can become homeowners and get more bang for your buck.  

A lot of people still move here but apparently there is a net loss of population where I live now, by maybe only 1,000 but still a loss in an area that saw growth the last few decades that I've been here.

Gen Z has some legitimate concerns and I think their angst is real.   Although I will say they are more interested in working less and not climbing corporate ladders than my generation was.  There's a concern that middle management jobs will have a shortage in the years to come.  It might be my imagination but my Gen Z coworkers rarely seem to work overtime like older millennials and older (like me, although I'm less and less interested as I age)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/27/gen-z-vs-their-parents-how-the-generations-stack-up-financially.html#:~:text=Now%2C 31% of Gen Z,their family for financial support.

https://finance.Yahoo.com/news/gen-z-incredibly-ambitious-just-212027559.html

Tweety said:

A lot of people are moving from the higher priced cities to different parts of the state where they can commute or find a job somewhere else.  I know several young nurses that moved from St. Pete to areas in the counties north where they can become homeowners and get more bang for your buck.  

A lot of people still move here but apparently there is a net loss of population where I live now, by maybe only 1,000 but still a loss in an area that saw growth the last few decades that I've been here.

Gen Z has some legitimate concerns and I think their angst is real.   Although I will say they are more interested in working less and not climbing corporate ladders than my generation was.  There's a concern that middle management jobs will have a shortage in the years to come.  It might be my imagination but my Gen Z coworkers rarely seem to work overtime like older millennials and older (like me, although I'm less and less interested as I age)

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/27/gen-z-vs-their-parents-how-the-generations-stack-up-financially.html#:~:text=Now%2C 31% of Gen Z,their family for financial support.

https://finance.Yahoo.com/news/gen-z-incredibly-ambitious-just-212027559.html

I keep telling the young that we are dying off quickly.  Housing prices will drop soon and in some areas it's already started.  We are starting to live like people live in Europe here in the US.  Smaller is better and less is more.  

subee said:

I keep telling the young that we are dying off quickly.  Housing prices will drop soon and in some areas it's already started.  We are starting to live like people live in Europe here in the US.  Smaller is better and less is more.  

Less is still costly here.  I just saw a listing for a 700 square foot home for $260,000.  I do think the market is going to cool as interest rates drop.  These prices just don't seem sustainable alongside the insurance issues.  

Anyway back to the topic at hand, people think they are better off during the Trump years than Biden.  People don't necessarily look at explanations as to why, but just know inflation and harder times have come since Biden took office even if wages have risen and unemployment is low.

Quote

For Biden – who spent Tuesday meeting with Teamsters leaders and is headed to Wisconsin and Michigan the next two days – the critical question may be whether voters' support for key ideas in his policy agenda can outweigh their frustration with their lived economic experience during his presidency. "You are really hitting on the crux of what a lot of swing votes will be [weighing] going into the election,” said Democratic pollster Danielle Deiseroth.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/12/politics/biden-economic-populist-inflation-analysis/index.html

Yes, people forget that has prices were low 4 years ago because the campaigning president was mismanaging and lying everyday about a pandemic.  There was confusion and chaos around business closures.  People had trouble finding toilet paper.