Biden Says There are 54 States – not 50 – Get with it folks!


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Nov 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

President Joe Biden has once again raised the question if he is mentally competent to lead the nation as he pushes us into World War III. At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Biden declared that there are “54 states” in the United States despite the fact that there are only 50. Obviously, since Democrats reject any claim about his mental capacity when he signs whatever they put in front of him, so he must be assuming Ukraine is a state given all the money he sends them, Britain, and Germany for they do whatever the US instructs them to do, which merely leaves the 4th being a mystery.

The Polls Are Crazy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Nov 1, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Marty: I received an email from Barack Obama today (subject line: “My promise to you”) letting me know that I have an opportunity to support the Democrats in the upcoming election. It also said, “You are receiving this email because you supported the DNC in the past.” I’m Canadian. I’ve always lived in Canada. And I have certainly never supported the DNC. Curious marketing strategy.

JH

REPLY: I get them too. I was wondering if they hacked the Republicans, T-Party, or whoever got my email. This is not going to be an election that will ever be accepted regardless of who wins. With the polls showing still that over 70% of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction under the Biden Administration, it is hard to see how the Democrats could win anything. So, with the computer should massive civil unrest into 2023, I do not think we are headed into peace and tranquility.

Young Americans Cannot Afford to be Healthy


Armstrong Economics Blog/Inflation Re-Posted Oct 31, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The Nationwide Retirement Institute conducted a study to determine how Americans are handling rising prices. Nearly one in five respondents (18%) said they had to forego a meal or grocery shopping due to inflation. Gen Z (28%) and Millennials (23%) reported higher rates of skipping meals. Over the past year, two in five households (40%) relied on food banks.

This is having an impact on health. Around 17% said that they no longer can afford healthier food options, which are notoriously more expensive than cheap, calorie-rich junk food. Fourteen percent admitted that they canceled or postponed plans to see a doctor, and 11% skipped out on their annual physical altogether due to the costs involved. An alarming 10% said that they are unable to afford their prescription medication. The younger generations like Gen Z (17%) and Millennials (19%) said that they cannot afford mental health care.

Staying healthy has become a luxury, as 14% of respondents had to downgrade their health insurance plans. Again, Gen Z (23%) and Millennials (20%) have been forced to sacrifice more than other generations. These two generations are also priced out of the housing market and strapped with debt. They are less likely to start families and are worse off than their parent’s generation. This will create a ripple effect as people who are unable to meet their basic needs will struggle to be productive members of society.

Washington Downplays Poor Relations with Saudi Arabia


Armstrong Economics Blog/World Trade Re-Posted Oct 31, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The Davos in the Desert meeting has humiliated Washington. The president himself was unable to secure a deal with Saudi Arabia, and now America’s elite are congregating in Riyadh to discuss trade. The New York Times released an article claiming that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “duped” Joe Biden into thinking that he would increase oil production. Now, the White House is claiming that Joe’s failed visit to Saudi Arabia had nothing to do with oil.

Perhaps Uncle Joe was working on his tan? White House Press Secretary Jean-Pierre said that the situation has been “mischaracterized” and said the NYT article was fake news. “Look, we’ve also been clear that, our trip, that the President’s trip to the Middle East was not about oil,” she stated. “What the President is focused on currently and today and has been for the past several months since the war started — remember, because of Russia’s war, we have seen a spike in gas prices, so as you hear us say, Russia’s tax hike, and so, we have done everything that we can and continue to do the work — the President has — to lower the prices for the American people. That’s why you have seen gas prices go down.”

Blame is on “Russia’s tax hike” and not Washington’s inability to negotiate or maintain diplomatic relations with strategic trading partners. The NYT article claims that the kingdom promised it would “accelerate an OPEC Plus production increase of 400,000 barrels per day already planned for September” followed by an additional 200,000 bpd increase from September to December. OPEC+ decreased production by 2,000,000 bpd instead.

Due to this failed arrangement, oil prices rose right before the 2022 US midterm elections. Biden released Strategic Petroleum Reserves in response to temporarily bring prices down, as he does not want America to see the repercussions of this failed deal.

Zelensky Wants WWIII Bringing Death & Destruction to the Entire World


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Oct 30, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

With most con artists, you need to count your fingers after shaking hands. With the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, you have to make sure you still have your arm. He wears the same clothes to project he is at war raising some to hope he at least takes it off to wash. Both Germany and Japan as well as the Swiss all apologized for war crimes – but never Ukraine.

Never in all my career of dealing with governments have I ever witnessed such a bold-faced liar as Zelensky. He addressed the students and professors of Yale University, and boldly had the audacity to claim that it is in Ukraine that the global fate of democracy is being determined. The Minsk Agreement called for the Donbas to vote on their independence. Ukraine has refused to allow that ever to happen. His claim that the fate of democracy will be determined only if Ukraine can destroy all Russians is just outrageous.

“It is important for the whole world that Russia loses now – in the war in Ukraine. When we win for ourselves, we will win for other nations whose freedom is potentially under attack: the ambitions of the Russian throne are known.” 

“On behalf of the Ukrainian people, I want to thank your people for the support you provide to our defense. Thank you to your leaders – President Biden, both chambers and parties of Congress, public figures and businesses who feel how important it is for Ukrainian democracy to endure.” 

Zelensky has refused to apologize to Poland for its war crimes. The depravity of Ukrainian is far beyond any of the worst horror films ever made. It has been documented what the Ukrainians have done like cutting out a baby from a mother’s stomach and sowing her back up after putting in a live cat. Zelensky REFUSES to acknowledge what the Ukrainians carried out. The Polish Association of Memory of Victims of Crimes of Ukrainian Nationalists documented 135 methods of torture and murder practiced by Ukrainian Nazis. Poland officially called the Ukrainian actions genocide. The Ukrainians have been protected by the CIA for decades ONLY because they hated Russians. They continue to protect the Ukrainian Nazis only because they are waging war against Russia. Every country has apologized for its war crimes with the single exception of Ukraine. Zelensky is an absolute disgrace as a world leader.

All the declassified documents confirm that the American Neocons have been lying about Putin simply because they want war. They told Zelensky not to negotiate peace. Zelensky has sold his own country like Judas for a handful of silver. He has refused to negotiate any terms of peace whatsoever putting his people in harm’s way all for the Neocons who want to simply destroy Russia at all costs.

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I have the same documents that were the briefings that reveal that Yeltsin turned to Putin BECAUSE he was not a communist. Yeltsin was being blackmailed with the Bank of New York case by the oligarchs and Republic National Bank’s Edmond Safra on the one side and the communists who filed an impeachment action to remove Yeltsin on the other. Yeltsin turned to Putin because he was against reestablishing the USSR and he was not an oligarch.  Anthony Blinken has repeatedly maintained the standard propaganda that Putin has “imperial designs” to recreate the USSR. All the declassified documents from the Clinton Administration prove that is also an outright lie.

The Minsk Agreement was to allow the Donbas to freely vote on their independence. They are ethnic Russians – not Ukrainians, Zelensky promised peace to get elected and has refused to negotiate for peace and has claimed democracy depends on Uktain destroying Russia when in fact he has refused to allow the Donbas to even vote. He only wants to destroy Russia.

This is a Climate Change War. The objective is the destroy Russia, and its energy production for that is 50% of the entire GDP, and they will then transform it into their idea of a vassal state subservient to the United Nations. You do not war World War III for a tiny piece of land that has always been historically Russian. Those who want to fly their Ukrainian flags in support, look around for you are condemning the future of your family for a war that they lied about from the start just like the weapons of mass destruction.

Joe Biden Claims Current Gas Prices Lower Than When He Took Office, States Falsely Gas Was Over $5/Gal When He Was Inaugurated


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 27, 2022 | sundance 

Will big tech and social media remove Joe Biden for violations of misinformation, disinformation and malinformation?  Considering his remarks today, they should.

Reading from a teleprompter loaded with lies about the economy, Joe Biden stunningly states that gas prices are lower today than when he took office. Further claiming that gasoline was $5/gal.  {Direct Rumble Link} Nothing about any of his economic claims is true.  WATCH (1 min):

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Allowing people to return to work after the pandemic lockdowns is not “creating jobs.”  And gasoline was not $5/gal when Joe Biden took office.

U.S. GDP Grows 2.6% in Third Quarter Driven by Energy Exports and Declining Goods Imports, While Domestic Economy Shrinks


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 27, 2022 | sundance

The topline of a third-quarter GDP at +2.6% looks good [DATA HERE]. However, a look into the numbers shows alarm.  The domestic U.S. economy, as measured by Main Street creating goods and services for domestic consumption, contracted in the third quarter.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) calculation is a valuation of all goods and services created within the economy, minus the value of goods and services imported.  However, even a cursory look under the topline number shows how the import/export dynamic creates the illusion of economic growth.

In the third quarter we exported hundreds of billions worth of energy products, including massive liquified natural gas (LNG) sales to Europe, and oil sales to the global market from the strategic petroleum reserve.  We also sold billions in weapons to Europe. Those sales are calculated as exports, lifting the GDP number (Table 1).  At the same time, imports of durable goods into the United States collapsed; meaning less was deducted from the GDP.  The net import/export impact on the GDP dynamic was +2.77% (Table 2).

Meaning the third-quarter import/export dynamic alone contributed 2.7% growth to the percentage of change for the prior period.  However, the total GDP only rose 2.6%, because the actual economic value created domestically got smaller.  We made less internally, sold less internally and consumers purchased less internally.

You can see the import/export dynamic in whole dollars within Table 1:

TABLE 1 – We exported 17.2% more goods in the third quarter than in the second quarter (that’s mostly energy sales and food sales to the global market).  We imported 8.7% less goods in the third quarter than the second quarter.  That’s mostly the drop in companies ordering products from overseas for sales in the United States.  Companies imported less because inventories climbed as consumers stopped purchasing durable goods and non-essentials.

Table – 2 (modified for clarity) shows us the impact or contribution from the import/export dynamic:

In Table-2 you can see the net impact of higher exports and lower imports lifted the GDP by 2.77%.  However, the total GDP only gained 2.6% due to the other dynamics inside the economy slowing down.  The import/export dynamic alone was enough to explain the entire gain in Q3 GDP and is a function of US support of the European war economy as the US exports record number of commodities (oil and gas), as well as Joe Biden’s massive multi-billion weapon sales to Europe.

The Biden administration will use the +2.6% GDP number to claim the U.S. “recession” never existed, despite two previously negative quarters.  However, while technically the talking point may be true, the domestic U.S. economy (Main Street) is making less stuff and consumers are buying less stuff.

The savings rate is also declining.  BLS: “Personal saving was $626.1 billion in the third quarter, compared with $629.0 billion in the second quarter. The personal saving rate—personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income—was 3.3 percent in the third quarter, compared with 3.4 percent in the second quarter.”  American households are saving less because essential purchases like housing, rent, food, fuel and energy, are costing much more.

When households evaluate their checkbooks, a Biden administration claim of a growing economy falls flat – because the only part of the economy that is growing is the part that fuels the energy needs of Europe.  Main Street USA is suffering through the massive inflation that Joe Biden has created, and purchases of anything other than necessities have come to a near halt.