It took 41 years of patiently waiting, but now Jimmy Carter can shed himself of a distinction he never wanted. The peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia is no longer the worst president for the economy in the history of the United States.
That dubious honor now belongs solely to Joe Biden (or Brandon, if you prefer).
As CNBC described it, "Inflation has hit levels not seen in 40 years, and Americans’ wallets are feeling the strain. Prices are rising on everything from energy to food to shelter, costing the average American household an additional $327 per month, according to a Moody’s Analytics analysis. That’s higher than last month’s estimate of $296 per month."
The number putting Biden over the top, $327.00 per month, sounds large but it’s in the abstract. So, let’s make it more concrete. The average take-home paycheck for an American family is $2,730.00 after taxes.
Translation?
This means $327 represents a 12% monthly pay cut to the average American family.
If your boss came into your office or strolled on to the factory floor and announced an arbitrary 12% pay cut, you have the option of quitting that job and looking for a better opportunity at another company.
But what do you do when your country cuts your pay by 12%?
We’re told the inflation rate, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is 8.5% over the year. In keeping with the opposition/regime media’s lack of credibility and the federal government’s penchant for lying, that figure is way too low.
The feds recalibrated the way the CPI was calculated decades ago to make the numbers more "realistic," but what the bureaucrats meant was to make the inflation rate lower.
Today’s prices calculated using the 1980 inflation rate that gave Jimmy Carter the title (numbers from shadowstats.com) shows the accurate inflation rate to be more than double the "official" 8.5%. By the 1980 CPI, the inflation rate is almost 18%, which means the monthly pay cut is $491.00.
This is $164.00 higher than what the government claims.
Yet, the tone-deaf cheerleaders at CNBC are optimistic, "there is some good news, according to Moody’s Analytics’ senior director of research, Ryan Sweet, 'Our forecast is that March was the peak for year-over-year growth in inflation and that it will gradually moderate.'"
Let’s put that in truth-speak.
He’s saying the increase in inflation will slow down.
So instead of skyrocketing inflation, we will only have rising inflation. It does not mean a rollback in prices to 2020 levels. It means the prices will continue to increase, only slower.
What a relief.
CNBC also has advice for dealing with these inflationary times. The site says, "Think ahead. To save on gas, be strategic about the use of your car. When grocery shopping, be armed with a meal plan for the week that’s already in place."
They also want you to check grocery store ads and take advantage of specials.
If Sprouts is having a sale on gruel you won’t want to miss that.
Unfortunately, their advice doesn’t include voting politicians out of office — Republican and Democrat — who support wasteful, inflationary spending and a Federal Reserve that keeps printing money like there's no tomorrow.
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Michael is an in-demand speaker with Premiere speaker's bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.