The EU isn't most countries but in any case, my understanding is that economists relate inflation to GDP and most economists think that a certain amount of inflation is a good thing. It gets complicated when you talk about the Euro with different countries and different GDP but the same currency. I don't pretend to understand it all. In any case, the government does not completely control the economy and generally should try to be a stabilising influence and act with as light a hand as possible to do so, imo. You are criticising them for taking measures to reduce inflation by saying the government didn't do enough. If I recall, the us has a federal reserve that conservatives love to hate to shield part of the monetary policy from political pressures. And the republicans have been the champions of blowing out the debt since Reagan
The Fed and the US Government are two separate entities and have different effects on the economy. In the case of the .gov's involvement the past three years has been too much, not too little. The Fed has done what it always does. Nothing at the right time. The narrative that this inflation was only transitory was faulty at best and deliberately misleading at worse. The .gov's increase of economy strangling regulations (DEI and environmental investment regulations immediately comes to mind) which other than the spike in energy costs which were a direct result of policy, contributed most to rising costs or inflation. The Fed waited too long to increase interest rates. And now is about to mess up the rate cuts by cutting too soon. We are teetering between a hard and soft landing. The temptation to do so during an election year is very hard to resist because it usually gives a economic boost to the incumbent.
The Debt. One of the reasons the Fed waited so long to increase rates was would it do to financing the Debt. He we are now and the interest cost on the Debt is now bigger than the Department of Defense's annual budget. How long can we afford to finance this ? It don't look good from where I sit and I think I have a pretty good understanding of these things.
I am working really hard to have all my cards paid off by the end of the year and be debt free other than the car note which has about another three years to go. At 0.99% fortunately. I could pay off the cards right now but they are at 0.00% and the payoff money is earning 5%. So I'll wait until the free ride is over and then pay them off. Then I get to play the game with table stakes the rest of the way.
The US national debt has soared to a staggering $34.5 trillion (â¬32.3 trillion), nearly three times that of the entire eurozone, accounting for 122% of its gross domestic product (GDP) versus the eurozone's 87%.
The EU isn't most countries but in any case, my understanding is that economists relate inflation to GDP and most economists think that a certain amount of inflation is a good thing. It gets complicated when you talk about the Euro with different countries and different GDP but the same currency. I don't pretend to understand it all.
In any case, the government does not completely control the economy and generally should try to be a stabilising influence and act with as light a hand as possible to do so, imo. You are criticising them for taking measures to reduce inflation by saying the government didn't do enough. If I recall, the us has a federal reserve that conservatives love to hate to shield part of the monetary policy from political pressures.
And the republicans have been the champions of blowing out the debt since Reagan
The US national debt has soared to a staggering $34.5 trillion (€32.3 trillion), nearly three times that of the entire eurozone, accounting for 122% of its gross domestic product (GDP) versus the eurozone's 87%.
Using the handy dandy dollar calculator down below set in 1971 dollars (when the US left the gold standard) :
In the 4 years Trump was in office (2017 - 2020) , the dollar lost 39 cents in value. 10 cents per year.
In the 4 years Biden has been in office (2021 - 2024), the dollar has lost $1.17 in value, so far ... 29 cents per year ...
So much for the Inflation Reduction Act, which Harris is touting as a real boost to American's lives and standard of living.
The US, like almost every country in the world is swimming upstream on this one and in terms of dollar value/inflation doing much better than almost everyplace else. How bad would it have been without the administration taking an active role in mitigating the effects? You basically are saying don't do anything because inflation still exists.
It seems like not that long ago when I could go to a grocery store with $10.00 in my pocket and come home with a bag of coffee, a pound of bacon, a pack of chicken breasts, and a 12-pack of beer - nowadays they have security cameras everywhere.
Is that a rooster in your pants or are you just glad to see me-
It seems like not that long ago when I could go to a grocery store with $10.00 in my pocket and come home with a bag of coffee, a pound of bacon, a pack of chicken breasts, and a 12-pack of beer - nowadays they have security cameras everywhere.
Location: No longer in a hovel in effluent Damnville, VA Gender:
Posted:
May 3, 2013 - 9:22am
Back when I was in High School in the 60s I remember my Dad celebrating getting a raise to $22k a year and the mortgage payments with T&I were $111/month. $22k was probably like $100k or more now.
Set the wayback machine for the early 60's.
