Free Republic

On Friday’s edition of NBC’s “MTP Now,” NBC News White House Correspondent Mike Memoli stated that “the Biden team has seemed to concede that there’s nothing they’re going to be able to do to fix the inflation problem” and are trying to reframe things to a “stylistic” argument. Memoli said, “Every single demographic, every poll shows the number one issue, cost of living, inflation. And the Biden team has seemed to concede that there’s nothing they’re going to be able to do to fix the inflation problem. So, they’re trying to make this a whose side are you on, who...

The prices are just too damn high.Earlier this month, McDonald’s made a reassuring announcement — the return of its $5 value meal. This pocket-friendly deal includes a choice of sandwiches, a four-piece order of McNuggets, medium fries, and a drink. Not to be outdone, Burger King is also stepping up with its own $5 Your Way Meal, featuring a sandwich, chicken nuggets, fries, and a drink. And of course, Wendy’s weighed in first with its $3 breakfast meals, then with its 1-cent bacon cheeseburgers. These affordable options are a welcome respite for consumers amidst the rising fast food prices. Although...

The U.S. economy grew less than previously thought in the first three months of the year, expanding at an annual pace of just 1.3 percent, revised government data showed Thursday. The downward revision was primarily driven by data showing that consumer spending grew by significantly less than previously estimated. This was the smallest expansion in gross domestic product in almost two years. The prior estimate had the economy growing at a 1.6 percent pace in the first quarter. Consumer spending grew an an annualized pace of two percent in the first quarter, the new figures show, down from the previous...

Alarmed that concern over the poor results of Bidenomics for the average American "could persuade enough voters to reject the people's democracy that our Party has been trying to establish in this country" House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) made an impassioned plea to voters "to stay the course with President Biden and give Democrats solid majorities in the House and Senate." Jeffries said "restoring the right of abortion granted to women by the US Supreme Court in its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling is our key talking point. In its 2022 Dobbs ruling the Court negated this universal right...

The thrill is gone …from the US mortgage market. Mortgage applications decreased 5.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 24, 2024. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, decreased 5.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 6.3 percent compared with the previous week. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 1 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 3 percent compared with the previous week and...

In the aftermath of the pandemic, governments and central banks around the world over stimulated the economy with cash giveaways and ultra low interest rates. In doing so, they created bubbles in multiple asset classes throughout the world. Now, faced with inflation, governments and central banks are trying to crack down and reverse the inflationary trend. But the damage has been done. We now stand on the verge of a massive global financial crisis. One of the only questions that remains is what will trigger the crisis? By definition, no one can know what the next black swan event will...

Little by little, our standard of living has been eroding. A couple decades ago, we had the largest and most prosperous middle class in the history of the world, but now most of the country is struggling. At this point, fast food is considered to be a “luxury”, 11 million children are living in poverty, and thousands of stores are permanently shutting down all over the United States because consumers have so little discretionary income these days. We are in the midst of a historic cost of living crisis, and those at the bottom of the economic food chain are...

President Biden is facing an American public that trusts his top political rival far more on inflation and economic matters, issues that are likely to loom large in voters’ minds at the ballot booth in November. A poll released last week from the Cook Political Report, conducted with Democratic and Republican strategy firms, showed that likely voters across seven “swing states” overwhelmingly disapprove of the job Biden is doing on the economy.

A spot check of fast food prices over the past five years shows prices rising much faster than the official Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index's 21% rise. Big Macs are 88% more costly. Taco Bell burritos are up 118%, and Chick-Fil A nuggets are up 96%. Erika McEntarfer, Commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, explained that "we use a 'hedonic' adjustment factor to account for the technological improvements that make products more enjoyable. A simplistic comparison of a 2024 Bic Mac with a 2019 Big Mac fails to account for the value of the increased consumer...

As Americans struggle to keep up with the rising tide of prices and feel the squeeze of high interest rates on housing, President Joe Biden continues to claim that the economy is good. “Bidenomics” is working, there’s no recession to see here, so shut up and enjoy the drag queen performances at the White House. That narrative took a hit back in 2022, however, when America experienced two consecutive quarters of decline in gross domestic product—the traditional definition of a recession. In the first quarter of 2022, inflation-adjusted GDP declined in the U.S. by 1.6%, and it declined by an...

The American Dream in Pennsylvania has a price tag: $230,464. That’s the cost for a family of four to live “comfortably” in The Keystone State. The tally is based on the “50/30/20 Rule,” which holds that half of a household’s income should be spent on housing and necessities, a third on nonessentials like eating out and entertainment, and the rest on savings and debt. Here’s the problem: the average household income in Pennsylvania is $100,837, which falls short of the American Dream sticker price by more than a factor of two. In fact, only 10% of Pennsylvania households have an...

The cost of living defines the 2024 presidential election, with voters in battleground states favoring former President Donald Trump and prioritizing the economy over abortion — Democrat President Joe Biden’s top campaign issue — a new survey found. The Swing State Project report released on Friday, a collaboration between the Cook Political Report, GS Strategy Group (a Republican polling firm), and BSG (a Democratic polling firm), found that the state of the economy ultimately outweighs the nation’s shifting abortion landscape going into November. The project surveyed 3,969 voters in seven battleground states from May 6 to May 13. “Right now,...

Is the economy booming or busting? Depends on whom you ask. The official data is buoyant — economic growth is solid, the job market is strong, and stocks keep hitting record highs. Yet many Americans think the economy stinks. The latest gloomy indicator is a Guardian-Harris survey in which 55% of respondents said they think the economy is shrinking and 56% think we’re in the midst of a recession. Economic output, adjusted for inflation, grew by a solid 3% during the most recent 12-month period. The unemployment rate is 3.9%. And the US economy created over 3.5 million jobs in...

MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle called upon the president of Chicago’s Federal Reserve to tell viewers that they are economically far better off than they think. "We need an economic explainer," the MSNBC host said. "People are confused, they’re exhausted, but they’re also doing quite well." Ruhle, who hosts MSNBC’s "The Eleventh Hour," had been discussing a recent Federal Reserve report that "shows people are still struggling to cover day-to-day expenses, even as inflation has slowed." She noted how some major brands are responding by enticing consumers with slashed prices, "Target says it is cutting prices on 5,000 essential items, things...

Fast food is no longer healthy for your wallet. Common fast food favorites increased in price under President Joe Biden’s so-called Bidenomics. Fast food inflation has a disparate impact across racial and ethnic groups due to different levels of fast food consumption. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 42.4 percent of non-Hispanic black adults consume fast food, compared with 37.6 percent of non-Hispanic white adults, 35.5 percent of Hispanic adults, and 30.6 percent of Asian adults. The higher price tag of popular foods may be creating political problems for Biden. Thirty percent of black men and...

Data revealed by The Wall Street Journal shows the true extent of havoc Bidenomics has wrecked on the U.S. economy. Even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 40,000 points, the economy under Joe Biden‘s tenure in the White House has struggled to grow beyond a sluggish rate. Despite the seeming market success that has recently occurred under the Biden government, the numbers belie just how successful investors were under former President Donald J. Trump.

"The US government can't go bankrupt because we can print our own money." Q: "Like you said they print the dollar so why why does the government even borrow?" "Well um the uh so the I mean again some of this stuff gets some of the language that the um some of the language and concepts are just confusing I mean the government definitely prints money and it definitely lends that money which is why the government definitely prints money and then it lends that money by uh by selling bonds uh is that what they do...they they um they...

The White House is continuing to praise “Bidenomics” — the culmination of President Joe Biden’s economic policies — as a success despite reams of data and other evidence showing average Americans falling further behind in their personal finances amid high inflation, lending rates, and housing costs. Administration officials have highlighted various indicators, such as major stock indices, jobs reports, and inflation rates, to demonstrate an improving economic situation. However, this message does not seem to have strongly resonated with the American public, Just the News reports. According to a recent Harvard Center for American Political Studies (CAPS)/Harris survey, far from...

According to Kenneth Schrupp at The Center Square, a new analysis from the U.S. News and World Report agency found that California ranked “dead last” among the 50 states when it comes time to “opportunity.” In other news water is still wet.What could have possibly indicated that California wasn’t the friendliest location for anyone wanting to build a life of prosperity and freedom?Was it the state’s nearly seventy-billion-dollar deficit?Was it the mass exodus that has seen hundreds of thousands of people flee the state for friendlier locales, a trend which has resulted in a net negative for legal population and...

Joe Biden displayed just how bad his dementia really is by claiming his economic policies were successful despite millions of Americans suffering from not being able to afford the most necessary consumer goods. “We got to be steady, stay the course, and continue to produce these incredible jobs, and the job — and by the way, pay for the jobs are — are outpacing the inflation rate they’re paying. We’re — we’re going to — we’re going to be able to deal with this. Gonna take a little more time. We’re just focused on it,” Biden claimed. According to several...