Bidenomics

[Jolly]

Bidenomics, FTW!

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K How is this calculated?

3M annualized CPI 4%, up from 3.3%
6M annualized CPI 3.7%, up from 3.2%

For example
Jul 23 - 3.2
Aug 23 - 3.7
Sep 23 - 3.7
OCt 23 - 3.2
Nov 23 - 3.1
Dec 23 - 3.4
Jan 24 - 3.1

https://www.statista.com/statistics/273418/unadjusted-monthly-inflation-rate-in-the-us/

[George K]

My insurance went up about 25% from 2022 to 2023.

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in Bidenomics:

My insurance went up about 25% from 2022 to 2023.

On the positive side, some people who work for insurance companies are doing well!

Or so I've heard. Allegedly.

[LuFins Dad]

@George-K said in Bidenomics:

My insurance went up about 25% from 2022 to 2023.

Did it go down in 2020 when nobody was driving?

Automobile insurance is one of the weirdest industries. Lucas drives ~3K miles per year in a 2010 Mazda in excellent shape and under 70K miles to this point.

I drive over 25K miles per year and Karla drives over 35K miles per year. Luke’s insurance is more expensive than mine, and only slightly less than Karla’s though her car is valued 5x his…

[George K]

Age and gender might have something to do with it.

[LuFins Dad]

@George-K said in Bidenomics:

Age and gender might have something to do with it.

Absolutely, but isn’t it weird that Karla and I have never even been asked about mileage? We each drive 2-3 times the distance most adults do, you would think that would impact our insurance rates…

[Copper]

I moved from Boston to Dallas in 1977.

My car insurance, for the same coverage, went down by about 75%.

The insurance guy said car theft, old neighborhood vs new, was the reason for most of the difference.

[George K]

[LuFins Dad]

[Axtremus]

Biden is a net tax cutter:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/us/politics/biden-taxes-cuts.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fU0.c7hh.FFPYcLlWzOLM

President Biden has called for $5 trillion in new taxes on corporations and high earners. But his record so far is as a net tax cutter.

The math is straightforward. ... the tax cuts Mr. Biden has signed for individuals and corporations are larger than the tax increases he has imposed on big corporations and their shareholders.

[George K]

The cost of making popcorn:

[LuFins Dad]

@George-K said in Bidenomics:

The cost of making popcorn:

I’d suggest that he hire somebody to handle both his sourcing of ingredients and his accounting.

Prices are up, but they aren’t up as high as he’s saying.

[George K]

In January 2021, butter was $3.66 a pound. He was paying $1.80/lb.

Now, butter is $4.63/lb - and that's what he's paying.

For sugar, in Jan 2021, the cost was 68¢/lb. He was paying 46¢/lb.

Sugar now is 98¢/lb. He's paying $1.01.

[Jolly]

These guys don't shop at Piggly Wiggly.

[LuFins Dad]

@Jolly said in Bidenomics:

These guys don't shop at Piggly Wiggly.

Right. But he’s manipulating the numbers. He’s showing his wholesale cost in 21, and retail in 24. That’s not just fudging the numbers, that’s outright fraud. Letitia James would like to have a conversation with him…

[Jolly]

I'll take your word for it. I don't know enough to accurately quote those costs.

[Axtremus]

@George-K said in Bidenomics:

The cost of making popcorn:

Why no absolute number for labor cost?

[LuFins Dad]

The bitch of it is, it’s an unforced error and unneeded lie to make his point. It’s a 27% increase in butter. For the sake of this argument, let’s say that’s a universal increase on all materials. That doesn’t translate into only a 27% increase in his product price. With inflation, he’s also having to raise his wages, and to match that inflation, he has needed to raise his wages by the 20% per hour. Now I have no idea his volume and the labor costs involved per unit for his product, but you could easily see that being another 5%-7%. In addition, and this gets missed by most, if the company’s output volume stays the same and the costs have all increased dramatically, then the company must increase their profit margin to simply maintain.

[Axtremus]

Krugman:

Bidenomics Is Making China Angry. That’s OK.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/28/opinion/biden-trump-china.html

Trump made a big show of taking on China, but he was ineffective when in office and appears to have folded on TikTok when donor money was at stake. Biden talks more softly but is wielding a really big stick. Or to put it another way, Trump isn’t actually a tough guy on China; he just plays one on TV. Biden is the real deal.