Article Snip: "...careful look at the labor market now will suggest that hiring has just ground to a halt...The problem is that the Fed badly misread how long high inflation would linger...In December, the core inflation print notched an annual 3.2% increase. "They've never missed in that direction by that magnitude ..."
Reference: www.businessinsider.comTuesday, January 23, 2024
The Biden Years | The US may have tiptoed around a recession last year, but it won't be so lucky in 2024
Monday, January 8, 2024
The Income Gap Jeopardizing Retirement for Millions
Title: The Income Gap Jeopardizing Retirement for Millions
Article Snip: "...the inequities between the very bottom and the top of income distribution,” said Jack Chapel, the lead author of the study, an economist and doctoral candidate... “We wanted to look at the middle class, where people are struggling.”
Drawing on data from the national Health and Retirement Study between 1994 and 2018, the researchers found “a bifurcation” among Americans in their mid-50s, he said.
In effect, they now divide into two middle classes: the ..."
Friday, December 29, 2023
For Three Years Biden Has Forgotten Social Security Retirees While Favoring Illegals
Title: Biden's 2020 Promised Lies for Social Security That Never Happened
Article Snip: "He would expand some benefits while not reducing any, reducing economic hardship. ...Biden would raise benefits for long-term low-wage workers, widow(er)s from dual earner-couples, caregivers, government workers, and long-term beneficiaries. My colleagues and I have long argued for increasing Social Security benefits for people..."
Reference: www.taxpolicycenter.orgTuesday, October 31, 2023
How About Social Security Recipients Joe? Biden Backed UAW Workers 25% Pay Increases While Veterans and Social Security Recipients Struggle to Survive
Article Title: Biden speaks with UAW head after tentative deals struck with Big Three
Article Excerpt: "Biden, who had appeared with striking autoworkers in Michigan in September, called it a “hard-fought agreement” that was reached after weeks of “good faith” negotiations. ...members, would include a 25 percent general pay increase over the course of a four-year contract, increased retirement benefits and more paid leave. ..."
Reference Source: www.valleycentral.com
Friday, September 8, 2023
Send Joe Biden into retirement
Title: Biden is pursuing the most anti-business economic policies since FDR
Article Snip: " The economy was reeling at a 6.5% annual growth rate. That was given to him on a silver platter by Donald Trump. Today, the economy is actually reeling at a 1% growth rate. Boss Biden gets another Bottomless Pinocchio. How about "unleash prosperity"? Now, that would be my kind of slogan or, how about, "a rising tide lifts all boats"? Trouble with Joe Biden is he's a stick-in-the-mud class warrior. Middle, lower, upper… diversity, equity, inclusion, woke… it's all left-wing gibberish. Biden says his "middle-out, bottom-up, whatever-that-means" is "working." Sure it is, Joe... A couple of new polls out today. YouGov just said 29% of voters approve of his inflation policy, while 61% disapprove. Overall, a recent AP/NORC (University of Chicago) poll says 34% of voters approve of Biden's economic policy — 34%. So, we have a disconnect here between rhetoric and the reality. Or, in terms of "middle-out, bottom-up," real hourly earnings, a.k.a. middle class wages, are falling 3% at an annual rate. Or, real average weekly earnings are dropping at a 5% annual rate. Or, for the bottom quartile of income earners, which is $38,000 a year or less, they've declined by 2.3% under Joe Bidenomics. "
Reference: www.foxbusiness.comFriday, August 25, 2023
The Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2024 will be a paltry 3%, analysts estimate — a dramatic drop from 8.7%. But here's one unexpected factor that could bump it higher
Article Snip: "“A major storm impacting the Gulf Coast and nearby refineries will likely lead to a spike in gas prices for a few weeks,” AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross told CNBC. Such circumstances could affect the 2024 COLA. “The COLA estimate will go up if the price of gasoline jumps considerably,” Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), told the news outlet. “The COLA estimate might go down if gas and oil prices drop.”..."
Reference: yahoo.comFriday, August 18, 2023
Bidenomics | U.S. Mortgage Rates Jump to Highest Level Since 2002
Title: Bidenomics | U.S. Mortgage Rates Jump to Highest Level Since 2002
Article Snip: "The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has climbed above 7 percent, making it harder for buyers to afford homes, which are already in short supply. ...mortgage rates began abruptly rising last year, when the Federal Reserve started lifting interest rates to rein in rapid inflation, the housing market has stagnated, as owners with low mortgage rates have been unwilling to put their homes up for sale. In June, sales of existing homes fell nearly 19 percent from the year before, according to the National Association of Realtors. ..."
Reference: www.nytimes.comTuesday, February 21, 2023
‘This is not the retirement I envisioned.’ How retirees are getting hit by inflation
Title: ‘This is not the retirement I envisioned.’ How retirees are getting hit by inflation
Article Snip: "One common refrain was the shock of dealing with the huge jump in food prices – especially on meat, fruits and vegetables. Food prices have seen their largest annual increase in 41 years. And the cost of groceries jumped 10.8% between April 2021 and April 2022. But of course, inflation’s reach goes far beyond the supermarket. Here’s how these retirees say they are coping...her rent will be increased by $200 a month – a 14% jump...Her expectations for retirement were very different than her present reality. “I didn’t expect the level of stress financially. I truly didn’t. I worked for 50 years. ...electricity and natural gas commonly used for heating and cooling homes, was up 30.3% year-over-year. Plans to buy a new car are also tabled. “The starting price for a new Jeep is $15,000 more than my house cost..."
Reference: www.cnn.comTuesday, January 9, 2018
Gotcha, Sorry, We Need Your Social Security to Pay for Medicare
Title: January surprise of vanishing Social Security COLA
Article Snip: "...most Medicare beneficiaries will pay $134 per month for Part B, which pays for doctors' fees and outpatient services. That's a $25-per-month increase over the 2017, nearly wiping out the Social Security COLA for many retirees..."
Reference: www.investmentnews.comMore Reading: (From Medicare.gov) If you're in a Medicare Advantage Plan or other Medicare plan, you may have different rules, but your plan must give you at least the same coverage as Original Medicare. Some services may only be covered in certain settings or for patients with certain conditions.
After Huge Corporate Tax Cuts, GOP to Attack Medicare, Social Security
Title: After Tax Cuts, GOP Leaders Turn Buzz Saw to Medicare, Social Security
Article Snip: "...Top officials in the Republican Party have suggested in recent days that they will pursue major entitlement reform following the likely passage of massive tax cuts in the near future. Those officials, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL)..."
Reference: www.thedailybeast.com