Real Average Hourly Wages Continue to Decline as Inflation Destroys Economy and Now Hours Worked is Contracting


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 13, 2022 | Sundance

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released the September wage report [DATA HERE] delivering worse economic news for workers.

Real wages are dropping at a historic rate as inflation continues to rise and as a result wages buy less.

[BLS] “Real average hourly earnings decreased 3.0 percent, seasonally adjusted, from September 2021 to September 2022. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.9 percent in the average workweek resulted in a 3.8-percent decrease in real average weekly earnings over this period.” (link)

REAL WAGE CHART:

As the Biden economic/energy policy and Federal Reserve monetary policy merge together, the economy shrinks.  As the economy shrinks, fewer goods and services are purchased.  As less consumer goods are purchased, employment hours drop.  As employment hours drop, wages decline.

Declining wages combined with increased inflation forms the perfect storm against middle-class and working-class families.  This dynamic means lowered income and higher prices for essential goods and services like food, fuel, energy and housing.  It’s not difficult to see why this is happening.

The declining wage rates, and the more substantive drop in real wage rates due to massive inflation, are specifically hitting the lower tier of the working class harder.  Yet despite this, Biden is intent on importing even more economic migrants to put even more downward pressure on wages for the working class.

These are very real outcomes of policy.  Working class Blacks and Latinos will feel this even more, yet this is the special interest group that Democrats claim to support.  The reality is exactly opposite from the narrative sold by the Biden administration.

The Democrats know this. These outcomes are not accidental; they are a feature not a flaw in their policy.  This is why they need to keep spending to retain the ruse.

There’s no way around this.  Despite the pundit and financial class selling a counter-narrative, home prices will crash, and unemployment will go up.  I know this is directly against the current talking points, but the statistical reality is clear.

CTH was the first place who said a year ago that home sales will plummet, that is starting to happen right now.  There’s no way for it not to happen, the big picture tells us why.

Biden authorizes expanded spying on American citizens


One America News Network Published originally on Rumble on October 12, 2022 

The White House has quietly issued an order that would remove rules preventing the government from spying on American citizens. One America’s Chief White House correspondent Chanel Rion has more from the White House.

Noncitizens Encouraged to Vote


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Oct 13, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

This is yet another reason why voter identification is crucial. We show identification at the airport, DMV, and even at the doctor’s office. There is absolutely no reason that we should not prove our citizenship via identification when we vote on policies that impact the direction of our country. Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office “accidentally” sent 30,000 registration notices to noncitizens.

It just so happens that they sent out the registration notices in both English and Spanish. Griswold swears it was a mistake and that they will contact those who mistakenly received the notices. However, would they be turned away from the booths on election day?

Colorado, and at least 18 other states, issue driver’s licenses to non-citizens. Colorado also uses the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) records to register voters automatically.

Oddly enough, Griswold is promising to fix the election process. “I will work to increase voter participation and to make elections more accessible and secure. That’s why I plan to expand automatic voter registration to increase voter registration and participation in our democratic process,” she states.

The chaos surrounding the upcoming November mid-terms is just beginning.

Leading Edge of Field to Fork Inflation Starts to Arrive in September Producer Price Index


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 12, 2022 | Sundance 

The “Producer Price Index” (PPI) is essentially the tracking of wholesale prices at three stages: Origination (commodity), Intermediate (processing), and then Final (to wholesale). Today, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released September price data [Available Here] showing another 8.5% increase year-over-year in Final Demand products at the wholesale level.  However, that’s not the bad news in this data.

While the overall September PPI was higher than expected at 0.4%, the Final Demand Producer Price for food products in September was a whopping 1.2% (14.4% annualized).

The BLS notes the driver by saying, “a major factor in the September increase in prices for final demand goods was a 15.7-percent advance in the index for fresh and dry vegetables. Prices for diesel fuel, residential natural gas, chicken eggs, home heating oil, and pork also moved higher.”

That’s a 15.7% increase in price, in one month, for fresh and dry vegetables.  Annualized that’s a rate of price increase of 188.4% for vegetables.   Remember the warning about farm costs (energy, fertilizer, fuel) driving field to fork inflation at harvest?  This is the leading edge of that third wave of food price increases.

I have modified BLS Table-2 to focus specifically on food costs.  The data is on left.

You will note that ‘row crops’ are the big drivers along with grain and seed products.  This is exactly as we predicted it would be because those specific farming costs are the ones with greatest increase from energy, fuel, fertilizer, weed and insect control, and diesel costs.

All of those higher costs have been growing in the fields and will now surface at harvest.   The higher farm costs transfer from the field to the fork via the food supply chain.  This is only the leading edge of the price increase.

In October 2021 we first warned of the food price increases coming in distinct waves.  The first was Jan, Feb and March 2022.   The second wave was May through July 2022.  This third wave will be bigger than the first two and starts arriving this month, October 2022.

People laughed at me when I said in late 2022 eggs were going to reach .50¢ EACH ($6/doz).

Well, in September the price of fresh eggs jumped 16.7% in a single month.  That’s an annualized rate of price increase for eggs over 200%.

With hindsight you can clearly see the three waves of food price increases (BLS Table A):

Get ready and shop smart.

The October, November and December price increases in the grocery store are going to make the prior fresh food increases look small, as the full increased costs of farming operations starts to arrive at the supermarket.   Unfortunately, this will coincide with a wave of gasoline price increases, and the prices of natural gas are already skyrocketing.

.

America Quietly Prepares for Nuclear War


Armstrong Economics Blog/War Re-Posted Oct 12, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

I mentioned in a prior post that the US was purchasing anti-radiation medication. The media is urging the public not to fear as this is simply a precaution. Yet, the US would not have shelled out $290 million on a drug if the intelligence agencies did not fear the potential of a nuclear attack.

The US Department of Health and Human Services downplayed the severity and said that this is part of its “long-standing, ongoing efforts by the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to better prepare the U.S. for the potential health impacts of a wide range of threats to national security.” Of course, Joe Biden fanned the flames of panic by stating there was a risk for a “nuclear Armageddon” not seen in 60 years. “We have not faced the prospect of Armageddon since Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Biden said. Obviously, no nuclear weapons were used then, and America is the only nation to have used one during war. However, the US is certainly taking the threat of nuclear war with Russia seriously.

The government is purchasing a drug called Nplate that was approved by the FDA in 2021 to treat radiation syndrome. “Nplate is indicated to increase survival in adults and in pediatric patients (including term neonates) acutely exposed to myelosuppressive doses of radiation,” the company notes. Although not a worthy source, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that Acute Radiation Syndrome (ARS) occurs in four stages.

The four stages of ARS are:

  • Prodromal stage (N-V-D stage): The classic symptoms for this stage are nausea, vomiting, as well as anorexia and possibly diarrhea (depending on dose), which occur from minutes to days following exposure. The symptoms may last (episodically) for minutes up to several days.
  • Latent stage: In this stage, the patient looks and feels generally healthy for a few hours or even up to a few weeks.
  • Manifest illness stage: In this stage the symptoms depend on the specific syndrome and last from hours up to several months.
  • Recovery or death: Most patients who do not recover will die within several months of exposure. The recovery process lasts from several weeks up to two years.

It is peculiar that the drug was approved for radiation a year prior to the war breaking out in Ukraine. The drug has never been tested on humans, and the results are not guaranteed. They certainly were not testing monkeys with a radiation dosage even close to that of a nuclear weapon. Of course, this was another NIAID-funded research project. They were testing mRNA drugs and COVID vaccines before the pandemic began too.

“In the study, 80 monkeys exposed to a life-threatening dose of radiation were randomly assigned to receive a single injection of either romiplostim or placebo one day after radiation exposure. All animals were given standard supportive care, including fluids, anti-ulcer medication, anti-nausea medication, pain medication, and antibiotics. After 60 days, 29 of 40 monkeys in the romiplostim group had survived compared to 13 of 40 in the placebo group.”

How could they top the fear-mongering of COVID-19? Nuclear war. Stay inside because of radiation and take your shots to survive. The nuclear Armageddon could occur at any moment! After 2020, anything is possible.

Tulsi Gabbard is Right – The Democratic Party is a Cabal of Warmongers


Armstrong Economics Blog/Politics Re-Posted Oct 11, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Tulsi Gabbard, former representative for Hawaii’s second district, announced that she is fleeing the Democratic Party in a video that has made waves across the internet. The Democratic Party has radically transformed to “a cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness,” Gabbard said. The party has altered its views to such a far-left point that their ideals are no longer based in democracy.

“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, demonize the police and protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, are dragging us ever closer to nuclear war.”

The Democratic Party has indeed undermined the entire Constitution with an aim to remove all our freedoms under the guise of “equality,” while the powerful elites who run the nation prosper and are immune from their own laws. The “cowardly wokeness” has certainly racialized every issue in an attempt to DIVIDE us. The Treasury just created a racial equality board, banks have said they would begin issuing special mortgages for people of color, and even Kamala Harris said that whites would be the last to receive aid after Hurricane Ian. The true enemy is not your neighbor but the state.

We are no longer energy independent due to woke climate change policies. There would not be an energy crisis in America had Biden not taken office—illegally. Countless government funds are placed into “climate initiatives” that never see the light of day.

Similar to dictatorships that have abandoned faith, Americans are demonized for their spirituality. They closed our churches during COVID in an attempt to separate the people. The fake Catholic president supports abortion, as does the fake Catholic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Christians are portrayed in the media as closed-minded and ignorant.

The borders are open with more illegals coming in than ever before at the expense of the taxpayer. They are deliberately allowing the borders to remain open as nothing has been done to curb the influx. Criminals are indeed protected above law-abiding citizens. This is why they want to remove the Second Amendment and confiscate our guns, one prohibition at a time. Democratic cities are overrun with homelessness, crime, pollution, and drugs. We have an opiate epidemic that is killing off millions. The police are unable to prevent crimes because Democrats have passed laws prohibiting them from arresting criminals, as law-abiding citizens suffer the consequences.

As a former Army Reserve officer who was deployed in Iraq from 2004 to 2005, and served in Kuwait as an Army Military Police platoon leader from 2008 to 2009, Gabbard has seen the aftermath of warfare firsthand. America has no concern for its own borders, but is willing to risk the lives of millions to protect Ukraine’s border. We now face the prospect of nuclear war due to incompetent politicians who have made massive decisions without the vote of the people. Everyone swore Trump would start World War III, but he actually kept America out of international conflicts. Obama attempted to bring America into the war in Syria, and now his minion Joe is upping the ante.

Gabbard continued:

“I believe in a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unfortunately, today’s Democratic Party does not. Instead, it stands for a government of, by, and for the powerful elite.

I’m calling on my fellow common sense independent minded Democrats to join me in leaving the Democratic Party. If you can no longer stomach the direction that so-called woke Democratic Party ideologues are taking our country, I invite you to join me.”

Look at what has become of our beautiful nation in less than two years. Biden was handed one of the strongest economies in American history and has since erased all progress. The outlook for America looks bleak. Can anyone honestly say that they are better off under Biden? The two-party system cannot work when each spectrum is pushed further to an extreme. It is time for reform.

Florida Surgeon General Silenced by Twitter – Young Men are Dying from COVID Vaccine


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Oct 11, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo posted a warning on Twitter only to have the platform silence him. It is his responsibility to inform the public of potential health hazards. There should be a crackdown of Twitter for stifling free speech. The surgeon general’s tweet was reinstated after the weekend amid backlash. Hopefully, their desperate attempt to silence the truth backfired and brought more awareness to the problem.

The Florida Health Department examined those who had mysteriously died within 25 weeks of receiving the COVID vaccine. The guidance link provided by Dr. Lapado urges healthcare providers to examine the risks associated with these mRNA vaccines.

“The Florida Department of Health (Department) conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety. This studied mortality risk following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. This analysis found there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. Individuals with preexisting cardiac conditions, such as myocarditis and pericarditis, should take particular caution when considering vaccination and discuss with their health care provider.”

These findings are extremely alarming, and the surgeon general recommends AGAINST COVID-19 vaccinations for men between 18-39 years of age. An 84% increase in cardiac-related deaths is astounding and a true eye-opener of how deep the cognitive dissonance is embedded in society, as NO ONE is discussing this matter. People are more concerned about Twitter removing the tweet than the actual content. The guidance continued:

“Based on currently available data, patients should be informed of the possible cardiac complications that can arise after receiving a mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group.”

Men over the age of 60 experienced a 10% increase in cardiac-related deaths as well. They are also recommending against the use of these dangerous vaccines in healthy children under 17. We should have already reached herd immunity long ago. The risks associated with the vaccine far outweigh the benefits (if there are any benefits). Healthy young men should not be dying from heart failure – the COVID narrative must end.

The Madman of Ukraine in High Heels


Armstrong Economics Blog/Ukraine Re-Posted Oct 10, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: Hi Martin
It is obvious that Zelensky does not have a brain and is being controlled by outside forces. Is it Schwab or is he just a front also? You probably know more than what is going on than anyone else including intelligence.
Thank you
All the best
MW

REPLY: I cannot say everything without compromising some sources. These people have played a dangerous game. Putin never intended to wage war on Ukraine. He was there to do what he said, protect the Russian population in the Donbas and Crimea, which have NEVER been occupied by Ukrainians. Zelensky should go back to dancing in high heels and leave the real world to serious people.

This launching of 83 missiles is the biggest attack on Kyiv since the war began. That in itself proves he was never trying to conquer Ukraine. This propaganda is all strategically being put out to create war. Europe needs this because it can no longer fund itself on the same basis of endless borrowing with no intention of ever repaying the debt. The failure to have consolidated the debt from the outset is tearing Europe apart. These people think (1) they can defeat Russia and chalk one up for climate change since 50% of Russia’s GDP is energy, and (2) a war will allow them all to default and create another Bretton Woods while reducing the population. These are real objectives.

Putin never struck Kyiv because that was the home of the Russ, where the Russians began. Only the destruction of Kyiv in 1240AD by the Mongold resulted in them settling in Moscow. Kyiv to Putin was more or less like London has been to the United States. This attack on Kyiv is what I have been warning about. Putin has been criticized by the hardliners for being too soft on Ukraine. They are not as nostalgic about Kyiv as Putin has been.

The West is pushing Russia and they will get what they want – war. This is just insane. The Ukrainian people need to overthrow Zelensky – NOW! He is not putting their best interests first. It has been confirmed he has already stashed more than $100 million offset and he will fly away on a private jet leaving the death and destruction behind. Maybe then he will change his shirt.

In the meantime, Russia can take down the power grid of Europe with a handful of missiles. Without alternatives, Europe’s current energy shortfall will worsen this winter. If Russia attacks the satellites, without GPS, most people will be lost today. Things can get really messed up without nuclear war.

Report, Durham Wrapping Up


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on October 10, 2022 | Sundance 

After several days of research interviews in a locked down and closed Washington DC, in the spring of 2020 I sat alone in a hotel room and pondered how to boil down the essence of the most critical information into one question.

Multiple days of questions and contacts accompanied three years of background research and 600+ pages of retrieved open-source citations sat on the table in front of me.  The exact same material was organized into two assemblies.

•The first set was organized in the timeline for when the documents were released or became public.  •The second set was the result of taking the documents and putting them into the chronological order of when the events took place.   As I stared at it, the answer became obvious…

Ask people a simple question, “what was the purpose of former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s two-year probe?

Returning to those same discussions and going back into the individual silos, that new question was asked, “what was the purpose of Mueller?”

The responses showed the reality.

Every single person in Washington DC, across the broad spectrum of institutions from all branches – including media, would speak plainly that Mueller’s team objective (from May 2017 to April 2019) was to use the authority of his appointment to block any review of the preceding events he was presumably investigating.

Yes, in private conversation everyone stated a similar core truth, Mueller was the tool for DC to protect itself against accountability.

That reality was a bitter pill to swallow, because accepting that common response in private stood in contrast to those same voices talking publicly about the honor and respect of Robert Mueller.  The charade was clear.

Publicly everyone stated Robert Mueller and his team were embarked upon a valid enterprise.  However, privately everyone acknowledged Robert Mueller and his team were operating to cover-up the prior corrupt activity of the DOJ, specifically the DOJ National Security Division, and FBI – specifically the FBI counterintelligence operation.

Despite my having researched, discovered and assembled irrefutable evidence of the depth of corruption; it was challenging to accept that no one would openly confront it.  I was, like most at the time, naive to just how systemic and entrenched the problems had become during the Obama era.

Thankfully, there was a protection around me, and I was directly warned not to take anything to the FBI.  I think the last three years have provided multiple citations for what would happen to anyone who would confront main justice corruption by reaching out to the FBI.  Approximately 8 months after my own experience I delivered that same warning message forward.  Two years later the recipient of my 2020 warning has become a target, exactly as feared.

The way DC officials, politicians and the bureaucrats who oil the machinery, created this modern system of usurpation is outlined in the construct of The Fourth Branch of Government.

Four modern pillars of national security maintain the superseding branch that stands above the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches.  They are: (1) The DOJ-NSD; (2) The Dept of Homeland Security; (3) The Office of the Director of National Security, and (4) the FISA court.  Each of these institutions uses the shield of national security to protect themselves from oversight.

You can clearly see how the Fourth Branch operates when you look at the recent judicial branch deferment to the DOJ-NSD on the issue of President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago documents and the classification argument.

The courts defer everything under the auspices of “national security,” thereby making their judicial ability to check the executive ineffective.  The congress also defers their oversight role under the auspices of “national security” by refusing to conduct legislative oversight.  This ‘national security’ dynamic is an outcome of how the post 9-11 Patriot Act was put into place.  The DHS and ODNI were created in this process, and later came the DOJ-NSD as created by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Taking the new surveillance state apart would require removing the pillars that hold the Fourth Branch of Government in place.  No one is discussing such a necessary deconstruction effort; instead, everyone is pretending the anti-democracy issue is not critical and weakening the constitutional republic ever day it exists.

Back to Mueller…. When the entire town knows the true motive for Mueller’s investigation to exist, yet no single person will state it publicly, you look at the people claiming the virtue of Mueller with new eyes.   It wasn’t just democrats, there were/are abundant republicans proclaiming the virtue of Robert Mueller et al.

Every time I watched former AG Bill Barr talking about Special Counsel Robert Mueller, it was crystal clear Bill Barr was the application of Bondo over the corrupt and rusted DC justice system.  As a result, the appointment of John Durham needed to be accepted through the same prism of intent.

Bill Barr was the Bondo work, and John Durham would apply the shiny coat of paint.

The corrupt and useless shell of Main Justice would be covered up and the polished image sold to the public.  However, depending on where you stand, fortunately or unfortunately the public isn’t buying it.  As each day passes more people are aware of the problem.  DC denial runs rampant against the reality of We The People seeing the fraud.

[…]  Mr. Durham is completing a several-hundred-page report he will submit to Attorney General Merrick Garland at the end of his tenure, according to people familiar with the matter. His office has relayed to a defense attorney they don’t expect to bring charges against another person who was a focus of the investigation. (read more)

HUGE: The Feds Now Have Enough Information To Charge Hunter


Dinesh D’Souza Published originally on Rumble on October 7, 2022 

This could be big if the Fed’s are honest