It must be frustrating for President Biden to try to convince Americans that they are doing better than they feel they are doing. After all, the stock market is doing well, there is strong job growth and it’s easy to get a raise. But people are really obsessed about inflation and nothing Democrats say is going to change their minds.
The stock market is booming. Job growth is high. It’s never been easier to find a job already get a raise. But inflation is bumming out the business community and their conservative allies.
You have heard the rest, now here are the best political analysts in America! Cartoonist-hosts Ted Rall and Scott Stantis unravel the mystery of why Joe Biden’s poll approval numbers continue to tank despite the economy not really being that bad, grizzly prospects for the Democrats in the midterms and 2024, Russian saber-rattling along the border with Ukraine and whether we should get involved, as well as feeling seriously bummed about Christmas time and holidays in general. Plus: flamethrower drones!
Conventional economic wisdom harbors a great fear of inflation. But deflation is even worse. It is entirely possible that the economy will seize up again as people decide to stay home and away from stores during the rise of the omicron variant.
Inflation worries are pushing down approval ratings for President Biden and the Democrats. But this might be one of those cases of two wrongs making a right. Or maybe three. You can’t really spend extra money on higher prices if there’s no one around to sell you a product, or if the product is still stuck on a container ship somewhere.
Even if Joe Biden’s proposed economic stimulus package were to pass intact, it is way too small to have an impact and truly help out. In comparison, it is less than 1/4 per capita relative to unemployment than the package that failed under Barack Obama. This is a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. And that’s before the Republicans get to it.
President Donald Trump appears to be plotting a coup d’état to keep himself in office despite having lost the election. What exactly will that mean?
Tens of millions of people have lost their jobs, tons of businesses have gone under but the best the government can offer is a single $600 stimulus check. If they are going to be so lame, can we?
Nothing about the Year of COVID was normal. The same goes for the year-end holidays, when hundreds of thousands of Americans were forced to celebrate alone.
If nothing else, the political and economic collapse of the United States means it no longer has much stomach for lecturing other countries.
