mookiemcgee wrote:If you want me to 'bend' a little bit. I'd be willing to admit that 'democrats' (in congress) are certainly partially to blame, but Joe Biden truly isn't. We can argue over the causes, but virtually none of the causes of inflation cause it to go up 'overnight'. They take years to foment, and if you want to blame Joe Biden I would only be willing to accept as valid the argument that VICE PRESIDENT Joe Biden may have had something to do with inflation now, but president Joe Biden simply isn't a 'cause'.
I don't care who 'most Americans' and the '(right wing) mainstream media' are blaming, particularly if they aren't basing their argument on whats actually going on in the world and the economy.
And for the record, I'd totally f*ck the shit out of Tulsi Gabbard. I'd be honored to participate in giving her fraternal or identical twins (her choice). I'm not going to go hunt for it, but I said sometime over the last few years in this forum that I would have much much preferred her as a vice president to Kamala.
I have said already:
1) (and perhaps twice in this thread) that the President gets too much credit and too much blame for economic successes and failures.
2) The Economy is very complex.
3) The monetary policies is what "The Fed" (The Federal Reserve) controls; it controls the money supply.
4) The fiscal policies (spending at the Federal level) is controlled by Congress and the President.
5) What any ONE person thinks is not as important as the collective opinion is for those who watch the polls and for the pols (Politicians) use to make key decisions. And the most important poll is the one each election cycle. And at this TIME, President Biden (rightly or wrongly) gets blamed for inflation.
NOW on to new ideas:
The M2 graph that HitRed cites and shows is important. The Fed increased the money supply to counter the effects of closing KEY parts of the US Economy during the COVID lockdowns. It had the INTENDED and Desired effect to pump up the Economy when it could have gone into a major recession due to ALL the BUSINESSES and government entities AND Employees NOT working and not spending money as they normally do (gasoline to get to work, lunch out, new clothes to wear to the Office or to work, etc., etc.)
The time after the lockdowns ended was the time to ease OFF the accelerator. Trump was not pushing for that as a good Economy helped his Re-election bid. AND the Democrats NEVER see a bad spending bill if they can pass one. There was NO ONE putting on the brakes on the US Economy. Now the impact of ALL that monetary and fiscal stimulus has had TOO MUCH impact and the Pendulum has swung toward INFLATION big time. AND the Democrats want to KEEP spending.
Hence I said that the Democrats are adding gasoline to the fire.
by jusplay4fun on Tue Nov 23, 2021 8:32 pm:
17) Hence Democrats "Throw Gasoline" (that we have in short supply) onto the "fires of INFLATION" and making that WORSE. {This is my own statement and I did not get that from a right wing website. I do not even read that type of GARBAGE.}
ALL this makes inflation worse and now BIDEN gets the Blame for the worse inflation in some 30 years.
NOVEMBER 24, 2021
Inflation has risen around the world, but the U.S. has seen one of the biggest increases
Americans who have been to the grocery store lately or started their holiday shopping may have noticed that consumer prices have spiked. The annual rate of inflation in the United States hit 6.2% in October 2021, the highest in more than three decades, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Other inflation metrics also have shown significant increases in recent months, though not to the same extent as the CPI.
Understanding why the rate of inflation has risen so quickly could help clarify how long the surge might last – and what, if anything, policymakers should do about it. The recent acceleration in the rate of inflation appears to be fundamentally different from other inflationary periods that were more closely tied to the regular business cycle. Explanations for the current phenomenon proffered to date include continuing disruptions in global supply chains amid the coronavirus pandemic; turmoil in the labor markets; the fact that today’s prices are being measured against prices during last year’s COVID-19-induced shutdowns; and strong consumer demand after local economies were reopened.
At 5.3%, the U.S. had the eighth-highest annual inflation rate in the third quarter of 2021 among the 46 countries examined, narrowly edging out Poland. The increase in the U.S. inflation rate – 3.58 percentage points between the third quarter of 2019 and the third quarter of 2021 – was the third highest in the study group, behind only Brazil and Turkey, both of which have substantially higher inflation rates in general than the U.S. does.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/24/inflation-has-risen-around-the-world-but-the-u-s-has-seen-one-of-the-biggest-increases/And one must understand the Role of the Fed:
What is the purpose of the Federal Reserve System?
The Federal Reserve System, often referred to as the Federal Reserve or simply "the Fed," is the central bank of the United States. It was created by the Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act into law. Today, the Federal Reserve's responsibilities fall into four general areas.
Conducting the nation's monetary policy by influencing money and credit conditions in the economy in pursuit of full employment and stable prices.
Supervising and regulating banks and other important financial institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nation's banking and financial system and to protect the credit rights of consumers.
Maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that may arise in financial markets.
Providing certain financial services to the U.S. government, U.S. financial institutions, and foreign official institutions, and playing a major role in operating and overseeing the nation's payments systems.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/faqs/about_12594.htmAnd note further that the twin goals of full employment and stable prices actually are (basically) two sides of a dynamic Equilibrium in the US Economy.
Understand what the Fed has done in recent years:
What Is Quantitative Easing (QE)?
Quantitative easing (QE) is a form of unconventional monetary policy in which a central bank purchases longer-term securities from the open market in order to increase the money supply and encourage lending and investment. Buying these securities adds new money to the economy, and also serves to lower interest rates by bidding up fixed-income securities. It also expands the central bank's balance sheet.
When short-term interest rates are either at or approaching zero, the normal open market operations of a central bank, which target interest rates, are no longer effective. Instead, a central bank can target specified amounts of assets to purchase. Quantitative easing increases the money supply by purchasing assets with newly-created bank reserves in order to provide banks with more liquidity.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Quantitative easing (QE) is a form of monetary policy used by central banks as a method of quickly increasing the domestic money supply and spurring economic activity.
Quantitative easing usually involves a country's central bank purchasing longer-term government bonds, as well as other types of assets, such as mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
In response to the economic shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 15, 2020, the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a quantitative easing plan of over $700 billion.1
Then, on June 10, 2020, after a brief tapering effort, the Fed extended its program, committing to buy at least $80 billion a month in Treasuries and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities, until further notice.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/q/quantitative-easing.aspand, finally, for now,
I agree with Mookie on one KEY POINT:
that Tulsi Gabbard is very attractive..! 
