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I mean, inflation doesn’t just happen overnight. It’s a reaction to spending and interest from the last half decade. The Biden admin sure isn’t handling the situation adroitly, but no admin ever will call a recession a recession because a) it looks bad for them and they want to be re-elected, and b) calling it a recession can damage public confidence, which can compound the problem. A market that has no confidence doesn’t invest, which can lead a recession to spiral into a depression . It’s just bad business.

Buuuut I guess if you want to make it abundantly clear you’re a partisan hack who gives the Republican Party a free pass for their own spending binges, this was a way to do it by making this article a straight up “vote R” piece than actually breaking down the recession, this was a way to do it.

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

Make Brandon a lame duck by taking both majorities in the House and Senate.

Shut down the Marxist March to ruin this country.

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Some factual statements here but loses credibility by way too much partisan rhetoric. You can do better Marc. For example, anyone who understands economics can see Dem overspending has contributed to US inflation. However, its hugely wrong to singularly blame this reason - one MUST also acknowledge the global forces contributing to US inflation. And one must acknowledge the contribution of QE (excess printing of "free" money by the Fed) to inflation. Your writing style has evolved into partisan banter, thereby losing credibility. Unless your goal is to create only a right-wing partisan readership - this is where you are headed. No better than all then all the left-leaning partisan bubble information sources. And I'm a fiscal conservative! But smart enough to recognize your evolution into partisan banter using cherry-picked information... You can do better Marc - don't try to fool the educated readers!

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

I agree for the most part, but I don't think you can solely blame the present administration.

This is a longstanding problem that Congress owns. We no longer elect representatives who understand that their decisions affect the daily lives of real people. We are manipulated into voting for phantoms who don't really exist - "statesmen" who make decisions based on polling rather than principle, "heroes" who demand we sacrifice but recoil at any personal inconvenience, and "leaders" who have no ideas, no integrity, and no backbone.

Ultimately, the fault lies with us. We must demand honest government and we must be prepared to sacrifice and serve in order to see it happen. We must decide to fix our own problems and reject help and interference by people we don't know who don't understand our situations. We must realize that government does not have power that we don't grant it and insist that the power we do grant it be used sparingly, judiciously, and lightly.

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

Very well said and articulated Marc! And, to address some of these "oversimplification" comments, I just wonder what part of funneling more money into the economy results in inflation do they not understand? Has been a simple and straightforward fundamental of economics for a few centuries now...Oh, but I forgot, this administration has the genius to transform historical experience, facts and even definitions!

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I am not an economist but it seems to me you are over simplifying things. First of all, Trump pressed hard on the fed and they lowered the prime rate a full point in the six months going into the election. At the time I remember thinking he was trying to help his chances for re-election without caring about feeding a surging economy.

We are in unique times. Putin’s war has increased the price of oil and gas and that has nothing to do with the amount of money in our economy. The pandemic has been super transformative changing who works and how, and screwing with workforce availability and the supply chain causing companies to overpay for labor and raw materials. Again, nothing to do with the amount of money in our economy. The fed is trying to correct inflation by raising the interest rate but I fear that will prove to be the wrong tool for the job.

During the pandemic, we had so many people in real financial trouble. Biden really didn’t have a choice but to reach out to them with help. Some of what was done was right in any economic situation. The Child Tax Credit should still be going today.

We have a bunch of further work to do including all the infrastructure work that only the federal government can do. Climate change is real and really scary. We need to get going on renewable energy before it is too late. Image what is going to happen when people from central America start a mass migration to our doorstep because their area of the world is no longer habitable.

I appreciate people like you thinking about the economy. It is a massively complex animal and never more than now. I would like to see you talk about it with more context. I certainly don’t have the answers but it drives me absolutely CRAZY that the Republicans in congress do nothing but say NO. Where are their ideas? Where are their solutions? They are holding us back and need to come to the table if we are going to survive this.

Thoughts?

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

This is one of the reasons I support https://conventionofstates.com/

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

How is anyone surprised about any "type of communications dishonesty from the White House" under this administration?

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

I don't know what scares me more, the current administration believes we are stupid, or the folks making decisions are.

These folks obviously don't go to grocery stores, buy gas, go to the cleaners.

All my services(pest control, etc.) have increased by 12% on average. I am sure there is serious gerrymandering of the numbers to show 9.1%.

We need to demand a real plan, like reducing the head count in federal agencies by the percentage of inflation, balancing the budget, dramatically reducing foreign aid. Only the government can print money, the rest of us have to work for it.

The only solution is for everyone to vote out of office the people that voted for this deficit spending

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

Thank you!!!! I am so happy to read your post!! I am struggling so much all due to Covid. I was at the office while everyone rudely sat on Teams meeting from their backyard, their living room, in their Halloween Costumes. I was asked what my costume was by our Executive Director, while he was in one of two of his homes. I wasn’t wearing one, I was working!

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

Thank you, Marc. Great take on our current situation.

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Aug 4, 2022Liked by Marc Cenedella, Author

Thank you, Marc!

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A global pandemic, snarled supply chains, and war in Europe among numerous real factors affecting economies both here and abroad. It's easy to sit back and blame the current administration, but much more helpful to offer policy ideas and solutions. I see none here, nor has the Republican Party as a whole offered any. In fact, their most recent platform was notable for being a a blank page.

In place of policy or practical answers, Republican pols have doubled down on fear and resentment-fuelled themes designed to inflame their base and promote false claims about stolen elections.

Are you cool with that? Ambition--whether American or not--can be a good thing. Unprincipled ambition, however, never is.

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From the first sentence of this edition of a newsletter, Mr. Cendella makes grand claims and tries to make complex ideas simple. Too much money he says to encompass a variety of economic conditions. Is printing money to pay debts because there is no money the same condition as the fed having a gentler rate of lending money to (as Mr. Cendella insists on) giving financial support during a pandemic related massive job loss? And is all of this still the same as a economic situation in which there is a combination of pandemic related supply chain issues and politically caused energy shortage?

I've been bothered by claims like these lately. Back in the "golden age of America" according to conservatives and certain lefties alike, the post-war period. Most white males older than a teenager earned a wage that permitted them to support a family, which generally consisted of more kids than now and a SAHM, often it also permitted them to buy a house and car, save a bit for retirement and maybe send those kids to (a much cheaper) college, all while paying more taxes than we do now. Yet inflation was fairly stable.

Given that now two working adults can't always make ends meet, housing takes up a huge portion of everyone's daily expenses and even middle class people don't seem to have saving, how can we say that we are more awash in money. All the pandemic bonus did was keep those workers who had to stay home without pay afloat (sort of).

So what gives? If paying a living wage then didn't ruin us? Why would this blip harm us now? It isn't as if money knows if it given by the government/earned.

Of course as I mentioned (to some people's bristling I know) the people who earned a living wage were only white males. Women were paid nothing no matter their color and Black people of both sexes the same. So if we are really convinced that the pandemic money ruined everything, I can only assume the economic implication is that to keep inflation down we need an underclass earning nothing to level it all out and permit the middle class to have a nice life without inflationary worries.

I think Mr. Cendella it is more becoming and moral to believe as I do (and Mr. Krugman partially discusses though you've simplified his views) that energy prices and supply chain issues are having a strong effect on prices. Otherwise what you are advocating to have a permanent underclass in order to keep inflation down AND a refusal of the government to help those who lost also 'because of inflation'. To which I think those people might ask, are you having a laugh at us?

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All administrations, as well as corporations, spin some. No one should be shocked at this even if it is an undesirable characteristic. However, your disingenuous indignation is telling, juxtaposing supposed "childish criticism of anybody who realistically points out our problems" to the prior administration. And, no one serious is blaming gas station owners for high gas prices- that causation clearly lies elsewhere. No one should buy what what you're selling without more critical analysis and no one should vote for a candidate without more serious consideration of an entire body of work and the effects and consequences of actions and deliberation decisions to not act.

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Yeahhh...Commitment to America. Bring back the responsible party that has consistently reduced debt, reduced deficits, made America strong and prosperous.

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