“There’s nothing inevitable about a recession,” said a foolishly optimistic Joe Biden. But after two short years in office, Biden has become a lone president crying in the Capitol Hill wilderness. Skepticism has even his once closest political allies turning loose of his coattails. If the old coot can’t come up with anything better than punching consumers in the nose by raising interest rates, they’d rather distance themselves for the sake of their careers.
The U.S. is battling its worst inflation rate in 40 years. Throughout the economic spectrum, from the bullet-sweating brokers on Wall Street to the hallowed halls of the White House, whispers of a full-blown recession on the horizon have turned into roars of desperation. In its efforts at winning the economic war, the Federal Reserve has donned full body armor as it recklessly keeps firing away at one wallet after another, taking no prisoners.
As the Feds are hiking rates, retailers have had no choice but to raise the cost of the goods they’re having to pay more for. As a result, the S&P 500 stock index has fallen to its lowest level since 1970.
Consumer confidence is non-existent as leading economists are warning to buckle up. They say a recession is in fact inevitable, and that it’s coming any day now.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell understands where economic priorities need to lie. He said that if declaring a recession would better control inflation that he’d be willing to consider the option, but, “the bigger mistake to make,” he said, “would be to fail to restore price stability.”
Powell’s statement clearly indicates how he knows a recession is coming and it couldn’t happen at a worse time than when Democrats are hoping for big wins in this year’s congressional elections.
Research director at the Economic Policy Institute, Josh Bivens, alluded to consumers being blindsided. “Everyone is screaming about inflation, but people would really hate a recession too. The mood could get a lot more [sic] sour.”
A contracting economy, or recessionary, would stab working stiffs in the back by bringing a tsunami of layoffs and forced pay cuts. Bivens said that if this happens it can only mean one thing. The Fed screwed up.
Here’s the pudding. Democrats are bracing for a recession as Republicans are sounding their trumpets. Wall Street analysts have begun equating the impending recession in their near future forecasts. Business leaders are no longer pretending it won’t happen. They’re strategizing over how they and their employees are going to survive, versus tossing in the towel and ending the pain.
A few Democrats are still holding onto the hope that the Central Bank might grab the bull by the horns. They could slow down growth which would eventually begin to tame a recession, with ‘could’ being the key word. Others worry that the time for that has long since passed. It would take the time that the economy doesn’t have.
In a by gosh by golly statement, Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said, “A recession would be really problematic for the American people. Boy, are we ever a long way from a recession though.” Well, Jim. Just about every leading economist, every politician in D.C., every Wall Street broker and analyst, and the American public that’s having to dig deeper every day, disagree. It’s coming, and it’s coming really soon.
