The Associated Press reports the U.S. economy may be poised for the fastest growth since 1984, but many Americans are not feeling all that confident about the economy, according
to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Republican lawmakers have attacked the Biden administration over inflation as the country reopened from the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the report, fewer than half, 45%, judge the economy to be in good shape, while 54% say it’s in poor shape. Views are similar to what they were in AP-NORC polls in June and in March, despite increases in vaccinations and the flow of aid from Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. The results suggest that Americans not only filter their thoughts about the economy through their politics but also see uncertainty as the country is still 6.8 million jobs below pre-pandemic levels.
John Novak, a 52-year-old school maintenance worker from Hudson, Wisconsin, is tired of seeing higher gasoline prices and six-month waits to buy a refrigerator. He blames the size of the aid package reported Josh Boak and Hannah Fingerhut.
“Everything just costs more, and no one’s really making more other than if you get government money, which I did get some, but I’d rather have prices lower,” said Novak, who voted for President Donald Trump last year. “It’s a tough spot. We’re kind of coming out of this pandemic and then when you pour too much money in you just can’t get enough of what you want.”
According to a Gallup survey, investors’ 12-month outlook for inflation grew worse in the second quarter. In addition, 72 percent of investors expect inflation to last for a sustained period and one in four reported changing their investments because of inflation fears.
And as our friends at the Epoch Times reported, it isn’t just working guys who voted for Trump who are worried.
While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testified that hitting the Fed’s goals was still a way off, and he believed the current bout of inflation was “transitory,” consumer prices continued to rise at the fastest pace since 2008. Inflation rose 5.4 percent from a year ago, as supply bottlenecks and ongoing recovery in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic continued to lift prices.
Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, (and a major anti-Trump, pro-Biden figure) is convinced that inflation isn’t temporary, as he believes deglobalization will lead to “systematically more inflation” in the future, reported Emel Akan of the Epoch Times.
“It is my view that inflation is going to be more systematical,” Fink told CNBC on July 14. “I believe it is a fundamental, foundational change in how we navigate economic policy.”
The focus that shifted from globalization to national security during the Trump administration will continue, according to Fink.
“Post-World War II, our economic policy was based on consumerism,” he said, adding that this policy enabled Americans to buy cheaper goods.
“In the last five years, we’ve navigated away from that foundational belief, and now we are saying jobs are more important than consumerism,” Fink said, noting that Washington is now focusing more on national security matters, as well as bringing back manufacturing.
We would like to ask Mr. Fink how you can have American consumerism without American jobs, since he is a major proponent of using capitol raised in America for investing in Communist China, but that must be saved for another column, or perhaps a book.
JPMorgan Chase executives are bullish on the U.S. economy, but they believe the strong rebound will continue to fuel inflation.
“I don’t think it’s all temporary,” JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon said on July 13 during an earnings call with analysts. “But that doesn’t matter if we have very strong growth.”
Dimon believes strong consumer demand, record-high job openings, and soaring wages will continue to boost economic growth.
“You may have growth in the second half this year that’s stronger than it’s ever been in the United States of America,” he said.
Hence, he predicts that inflation “will be a little bit worse” than people think, and investors are growing more pessimistic about the spikes in consumer prices.
The toll-free Capitol Switchboard is (1-866-220-0044) we urge CHQ readers and friends to contact their Representative and Senators, tell them inflation is growing out of control and spending as much as $6 trillion more will only drive the inflationary spiral faster.
inflation
economic growth
fiscal policy
national debt
unemployment rate
Biden relief package
gas prices
Donald Trump
Consumer prices
Larry Fink
globalization