Category Economic Collapse

Aug 27 2022

Jerome Powell Says Fed Effort to Make U.S. Economy Smaller Will Create “Some Pain” for Americans During Biden Transition to Clean Energy


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 26, 2022 | Sundance

When Chairman Powell says things are really, really going to suck as monetary policy tries to support Biden’s goals to reduce energy supplies, will people believe him?

The agenda of the federal reserve was clearly outlined today in the remarks from Chairman Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  The Fed chair is trying to manage the economic policy transition by reducing economic activity to match intentionally diminished energy supplies.  Lowering economic activity drops demand for energy. Unfortunately, as admitted by Powell today, this means a period of “some pain” for Americans as the central banks join together in an effort to lower consumption.  WATCH:

What does “some pain” mean?  It means lower incomes, higher prices, lowered standards of living and more scarce resources.   During this transition to owning nothing and being happy about it, the pain is your wealth being stripped as the economy is intentionally diminished.

We will not be able to afford much; we won’t be able to afford the foods we want; we will not be able to purchase anything except the essentials, and those essentials will cost much more; we won’t be able to vacation, travel, or enjoy recreational activities; we won’t be able to afford any indulgences; but at the end of the process, we will learn to live more meager existences based on lowered expectations needed for sustaining the planet.   Pay no attention to the elites who don’t have those concerns, comrade.

[Transcript] – POWELL: “At past Jackson Hole conferences, I have discussed broad topics such as the ever-changing structure of the economy and the challenges of conducting monetary policy under high uncertainty. Today, my remarks will be shorter, my focus narrower, and my message more direct.”

“The Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) overarching focus right now is to bring inflation back down to our 2 percent goal. Price stability is the responsibility of the Federal Reserve and serves as the bedrock of our economy. Without price stability, the economy does not work for anyone. In particular, without price stability, we will not achieve a sustained period of strong labor market conditions that benefit all. The burdens of high inflation fall heaviest on those who are least able to bear them.

Restoring price stability will take some time and requires using our tools forcefully to bring demand and supply into better balance. Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth. Moreover, there will very likely be some softening of labor market conditions. While higher interest rates, slower growth, and softer labor market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to households and businesses. These are the unfortunate costs of reducing inflation. But a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain.

The U.S. economy is clearly slowing from the historically high growth rates of 2021, which reflected the reopening of the economy following the pandemic recession. While the latest economic data have been mixed, in my view our economy continues to show strong underlying momentum. The labor market is particularly strong, but it is clearly out of balance, with demand for workers substantially exceeding the supply of available workers. Inflation is running well above 2 percent, and high inflation has continued to spread through the economy. While the lower inflation readings for July are welcome, a single month’s improvement falls far short of what the Committee will need to see before we are confident that inflation is moving down.

We are moving our policy stance purposefully to a level that will be sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent. At our most recent meeting in July, the FOMC raised the target range for the federal funds rate to 2.25 to 2.5 percent, which is in the Summary of Economic Projection’s (SEP) range of estimates of where the federal funds rate is projected to settle in the longer run. In current circumstances, with inflation running far above 2 percent and the labor market extremely tight, estimates of longer-run neutral are not a place to stop or pause.

July’s increase in the target range was the second 75 basis point increase in as many meetings, and I said then that another unusually large increase could be appropriate at our next meeting. We are now about halfway through the intermeeting period. Our decision at the September meeting will depend on the totality of the incoming data and the evolving outlook. At some point, as the stance of monetary policy tightens further, it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases.

Restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive policy stance for some time. The historical record cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy. Committee participants’ most recent individual projections from the June SEP showed the median federal funds rate running slightly below 4 percent through the end of 2023. Participants will update their projections at the September meeting.

Our monetary policy deliberations and decisions build on what we have learned about inflation dynamics both from the high and volatile inflation of the 1970s and 1980s, and from the low and stable inflation of the past quarter-century. In particular, we are drawing on three important lessons.

The first lesson is that central banks can and should take responsibility for delivering low and stable inflation. It may seem strange now that central bankers and others once needed convincing on these two fronts, but as former Chairman Ben Bernanke has shown, both propositions were widely questioned during the Great Inflation period.1 Today, we regard these questions as settled. Our responsibility to deliver price stability is unconditional. It is true that the current high inflation is a global phenomenon, and that many economies around the world face inflation as high or higher than seen here in the United States.

It is also true, in my view, that the current high inflation in the United States is the product of strong demand and constrained supply, and that the Fed’s tools work principally on aggregate demand. None of this diminishes the Federal Reserve’s responsibility to carry out our assigned task of achieving price stability. There is clearly a job to do in moderating demand to better align with supply. We are committed to doing that job.

The second lesson is that the public’s expectations about future inflation can play an important role in setting the path of inflation over time. Today, by many measures, longer-term inflation expectations appear to remain well anchored. That is broadly true of surveys of households, businesses, and forecasters, and of market-based measures as well. But that is not grounds for complacency, with inflation having run well above our goal for some time.

If the public expects that inflation will remain low and stable over time, then, absent major shocks, it likely will. Unfortunately, the same is true of expectations of high and volatile inflation. During the 1970s, as inflation climbed, the anticipation of high inflation became entrenched in the economic decisionmaking of households and businesses. The more inflation rose, the more people came to expect it to remain high, and they built that belief into wage and pricing decisions. As former Chairman Paul Volcker put it at the height of the Great Inflation in 1979, “Inflation feeds in part on itself, so part of the job of returning to a more stable and more productive economy must be to break the grip of inflationary expectations.”2

One useful insight into how actual inflation may affect expectations about its future path is based in the concept of “rational inattention.”3 When inflation is persistently high, households and businesses must pay close attention and incorporate inflation into their economic decisions. When inflation is low and stable, they are freer to focus their attention elsewhere. Former Chairman Alan Greenspan put it this way: “For all practical purposes, price stability means that expected changes in the average price level are small enough and gradual enough that they do not materially enter business and household financial decisions.”4

Of course, inflation has just about everyone’s attention right now, which highlights a particular risk today: The longer the current bout of high inflation continues, the greater the chance that expectations of higher inflation will become entrenched.

That brings me to the third lesson, which is that we must keep at it until the job is done. History shows that the employment costs of bringing down inflation are likely to increase with delay, as high inflation becomes more entrenched in wage and price setting. The successful Volcker disinflation in the early 1980s followed multiple failed attempts to lower inflation over the previous 15 years. A lengthy period of very restrictive monetary policy was ultimately needed to stem the high inflation and start the process of getting inflation down to the low and stable levels that were the norm until the spring of last year. Our aim is to avoid that outcome by acting with resolve now.

These lessons are guiding us as we use our tools to bring inflation down. We are taking forceful and rapid steps to moderate demand so that it comes into better alignment with supply, and to keep inflation expectations anchored. We will keep at it until we are confident the job is done.” [Transcript End]

Aug 25 2022

Horrific Biden Consequence, 20 Million American Households Behind on Electricity Bills, Pending Shutoff


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 24, 2022 | Sundance

Long-term CTH readers might remember in 2014 when President Obama claimed U.S. families had been paying too little for electricity for too long.  As soon as Joe Biden took office, he began implementing the Green New Deal energy policy that, (a) directly forces higher costs for energy; and (b) is now creating massive problems.

In July I noted my own electricity bill had jumped 28% in a single month.  That bill was followed by another almost identical increase this month.  A review of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for July [Data Here] shows that nationally the same thing is happening.  The year-over-year electricity price has increased 15.2%. However, worse still, the July increase alone was 1.9%, which figures to an annualized rate of 22.8%.

When the growth rate of monthly increase is exceeding the year-over-year result, that means future higher prices are coming.  This is a serious problem that cannot be overstated. Already struggling with a doubling of gas prices, massive food price increases at the grocery store and the pain of all costs for goods far outpacing any rate of wage increase, this type of uncontrollable increase in price of electricity is going to hit the middle class hard.

Steve Cortes calls this the backside of the Biden created inflation hurricane.  The backside of a hurricane is the worst because it hits from the opposite direction upon already weakened infrastructure.

The hurricane metaphor is apt because any increase in energy costs will be accompanied by the simultaneous arrival of another wave of food inflation, as the massive increases in field and crop prices start to feed into the food supply chain headed to our forks next month.

Making matters that much worse, Bloomberg is now reporting that 20 million households are now behind in their utility bills, specifically electricity bills, and the moratorium on shut offs has ended.  [Paywall Article]  Steve Cortes has written about the issue on his substack [Here].

One in six U.S. households, that is tens-of-millions of Americans, are now facing having their electricity turned off due to lack of payment.  It is certainly understandable how this horrific outcome would happen. Joe Biden’s energy policies are destroying working class families with unsustainably higher prices.

20 million households is a catastrophic level of utility default.  This is a serious issue with major social implications created by the desperation of those families.  Middle- and lower-income families cannot survive this level of financial pressure.

.

Rents are behind. Mortgages are behind.  Car payments are behind. And now this report on utility bills.

Steve Cortes appeared with Steve Bannon to discuss {Direct Rumble Link} – WATCH:

Aug 24 2022

The Solution


Armstrong Economics Blog/Economics Re-Posted Aug 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Aug 24 2022

Coinbase Crackdown


Armstrong Economics Blog/Cryptocurrency Re-Posted Aug 24, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Comment: I use Coinbase to hold some crypto. They sent me an email saying that my account that I had for years would be limited to withdrawals only if I do not give them updated government ID and download the latest version of the application. I use this on my PC and do not have the application. I worry they’ll take what is left of my failing cryptos. Luckily I only put “play money” into these holdings but I imagine others will experience losses and frozen accounts in the near future. The deadline they gave me was October – not sure if that is for all. I messaged out to Coinbase for help updating my account but cannot fully verify it after many tries.

Reply: Government hates cryptocurrency. They have always been concerned about their ability to squeeze out every last penny in taxes from crypto. I am not surprised that Coinbase is emailing users for additional documentation days after the Inflation Reduction Act was passed. With nearly 88,000 new IRS agents, there will certainly be teams of hundreds or thousands of accountants who will analyze all crypto holdings.

The initial idea behind the creation of crypto has been lost. I warned in March on our private blog on Socrates that cryptocurrencies may be suspended altogether one day. Biden could sign an Executive Order to regulate cryptos because countries like Russia can use it to circumvent sanctions. Not only is Biden authorizing the regulation of digital currencies, but he is also instructing to move forward with a central bank cryptocurrency. Once that is done, all other cryptocurrencies will be seized and folded into the government’s crypto. There will be no competition.

Aug 23 2022

Bye, Bye Fauci… Trish Regan Show S3/E147


The Trish Regan Show Published originally on Rumble on August 22, 2022 

#TrishRegan #Fauci #Fed
Markets are waiting on Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole this Friday…and any way you slice it, it won’t be good for the economy or for Wall Street. Powell messed up bigtime and the American economy is stuck paying the price. On the bright side, Anthony Fauci is (finally) retiring! Join me for a look at today’s headlines.

Aug 23 2022

The coming Civil War


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest Re-Posted Aug 23, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

COMMENT: There has been and is increasing talk in all media of a coming ‘civil war’. Your article ‘Bidenomics & Vilification of Trump’ well explains the intentional polarization of the public and clearly states this will only end very badly.

The CW of 1861 Blue vs Grey, North vs South was a war of geography – of brother vs brother if one lived in a Blue state and the other in a Grey state. Armies were formed and deployed based on geography as much as ideology.

Now we have talk of a civil war between ‘patriots’ DJT supporters versus I guess the rest of everyone else, or so it is threatened to be by the media pundents and alarmists. But Martin, this smells like a classic psychological operation employing all of the media and a tiny element of probably paid for) violent extremists who like to dress in all black.
But how many Karen and Kens (Ds) are there that would actually take up arms because they don’t like Trump? How many because they love their electric cars? Will they begin shooting neighbors because of global warming?

The D politicians have never been able to provide any positive based reasons why they should be elected – only that they are anti-opponent – that might get a few votes but will not create an army. Your neighbor may be a liberal voter but is he armed and ready to start killing for these reasons? I think not.

Except for the DS/WEF/Globalists gang and probably a number of their armed 3 letter agencies. They control the media, have the jails, and the domestic physical enforcement personnel. They can use the media to try and create chaos, to cause false flag events in their favor, and shape public thought, and intern “create a media based CW”. A Wag The Dog CW.

They are the opposition – the enemy – the real danger. Do their combined numbers who could and actually would take up arms against the pubic even come to 1% of the nation? I doubt it.
Have a CW against this 1% and you could call it “the most civilized war a civilized society could possibly have”. IMO, this should be done by the professionals as soon as yesterday. Gitmo and military justice for treason.

Glenn

REPLY: History whispers to us from the past because the one thing that is constant has always been Human nature. It really does not matter whatever the issue might be. Perhaps the most dominant reason has often been religion. Nero used that to blame the Christians for burning down Rome. The Diocletianic or Great Persecution was the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. This again was not out of personal hatred of Christians. This was after the Monetary collapse of Rome during the 260-268AD time frame. Diocletian (284-305AD)  persecuted the Christians because the general belief was that the gods were causing Rome to collapse BECAUSE of the Christians who were disrespecting the gods.

There was another religion rising known as the Manicheans. Diocletian issued an edict in 302AD against them as well for the very same reason – they were offending the gods who were punishing Rome. They were founded in the Persian Empire known as the Sassanid Empire and were followers of the prophet Mani (216-c.276). This became another widespread religion that infiltrated Rome, India, and China. It was based on a dualistic theology in which the theory was that the universe was divided between the divine plane of light and our own material plane of darkness. The Father of Greatness was not omnipotent, but he ruled the realm of light. Its opposite, the material realm, was controlled by the King of Darkness. These two forces did battle on both a cosmic and a personal level. Thus, within each individual soul, there was a battle. Manichaeism was clearly influenced by several other religions including Buddhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism.

So, no matter where we look in history, there is this eternal conflict between two ideas – left v right. The media is fueling the hatred of Trump and as we can see the new strategy is to hate Republicans for the November election when Trump is not running. But they are portraying him as evil and he now controls all Republicans so you better vote Democrat. That is the message being sent out all over.

Here is a coin of Postumus who led the separation of Spain, France, and Britain to exist the Roman Empire. First, he was not trying to be another general who conquered Rome. He was pushing for separation and his coinage declare that he was “restoring” the region to sanity and safety. This is the most likely way we will see the United States split as is the case in Europe which will probably precede. I do not see armed armies leading the charge, nor do I see your neighbor picking up a gun and storming your house because you are the evil opposition. They will probably not speak to you and that is how it will begin.

Armies are created by the rulers. They demonize their opponent to get the people to be willing to die on the battlefield for some noble cause. The US Civil War was promoted on religious grounds. There were slave owners who abused their slaves and beat them and the majority did not. The worst part of slavery was they could sell your wife or child. That was different from serfdom where you went attached to the land and could not be sold individually. The South fought over state’s rights which they want to deny today, but economically, slaves were valuable. It all began with indentured servants which were people in England sold to a plantation owner for their sentence of 2 or 5 years for a misdemeanor crime. That is why the Constitution forbids indentured servitude.

Ending slavery was taking away the workforce and it mean economic destruction. The vast majority of soldiers who fought for the South were not slave owners. They fought against Federalism that was dictating what their economy should have been. The vast majority of solider in the Confederate Army did not have the wealth to own slaves. They were very expensive. Historically, the US will split along the same lines. The middle of the country will join with the South up to Montana. This will divide the nation into three parts as what took place in Rome. The Pacific States will be California, Oregon, and Washington. I am surprised that the Washington States has not moved to rename itself Wokeville since George Washington inherited enslaved people at the early age of eleven and was therefore a slave owner. Thomas Jefferson also inherited slaves with his wife. They have removed his statues in NYC already! The man who wrote the Declaration of Independence.

I would not expect the separation to come by force of arms. We will see this rise to a voting issue on both sides. Already on the 2022 ballot will be a question to secede from the United States in Texas and California. There are people talking about it here in Florida. The more Washington tries to impose its dictates on the States, we will see the rise in calling for secession from US. This was to be a union that retained state sovereignty. That was the US civil war and it will be again – just a different issue from slavery to economic slavery, climate mandates, vaccine mandates, and who knows what’s next – chip implants?

Aug 23 2022

The Biden Administration Urges Struggling Families to Buy Solar Panels


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Aug 23, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Similar to Pete Buttigieg’s braindead suggestion to simply buy an electric vehicle to combat energy inflation, the White House is now offering another solution for Americans crippled by inflation – stop being poor. While they did not say these words verbatim, their ideas behind taming inflation among low and middle-earning Americans are completely out of the realm of reality. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm patted the Democrats on the back for passing the Inflation Reduction Act.

“If you are low income, you can get your home entirely weatherized through the expansion from the bipartisan infrastructure laws, a significant expansion — you don’t have to pay for anything,” Granholm said, toting government rebates. Solar panels can run anywhere from $15,000 to $25,000 for an initial setup. Is this something people with little disposable income can afford? How about the growing number of renters who do not have this option even if it were “free.”

Granholm offered more belittling advice for the middle class. “If you are moderate income, today you can get 30% off the price of solar panels. Those solar panels can be financed, so you don’t have to have the big outlay at the front … it’s a significant incentive.” Oh wow, a 30% discount and only a six to 12-month wait for the tax credit! Forget about basic shelter costs and food, go ahead and finance expensive solar panels as your family starves on the streets.

This administration is completely out of touch with the needs of the American people. They have done absolutely nothing to lower energy inflation and are now gas lighting the people to believe WE can do more to combat prices not seen in 40 years.

Aug 23 2022

Lockdowns 20X Deadlier Than COVID


Armstrong Economics Blog/Disease Re-Posted Aug 23, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health published a study that found the lockdowns were deadly. In fact, the lockdowns were 20 times more deadly than COVID. The lockdowns were a mass human experiment. There was no evidence that indicated this method would be effective. We saw the impact that the lockdowns had on the global economy, but their effects on the human mind are now coming to light.

“The comparative analysis of different countries showed that the assumption of lockdowns’ effectiveness cannot be supported by evidence—neither regarding the present COVID-19 pandemic, nor regarding the 1918–1920 Spanish Flu and other less-severe pandemics in the past. The price tag of lockdowns in terms of public health is high: by using the known connection between health and wealth, we estimate that lockdowns may claim 20 times more life years than they save. It is suggested therefore that a thorough cost-benefit analysis should be performed before imposing any lockdown for either COVID-19 or any future pandemic.”

Forcing people into isolation is a tactic used in prison for punishment. Everyone’s mental health suffered as life as we knew it simply halted. People lost their livelihoods, were unable to see loved ones, and were forced to tip toe around society when they emerged for essentials. Kids fell behind in school and socialization. One of the most deadly aspects, however, was the way healthcare facilities managed COVID patients.

“The lockdown policies had a direct side effect of increasing mortality. Hospitals in Europe and USA were prepared to manage pretty small groups of highly contagious patients, while unprepared for a much more probable challenge—large-scale contagion. As a result, public health care facilities and nursing homes often became vehicles of contamination themselves—to a large extent because of the lockdown-based emergency policy implementation.”

Governor Cuomo of New York tried to hide the deaths that occurred in nursing homes. Over 9,000 infected patients in New York alone were discharged from hospitals and sent into nursing homes. This resulted in thousands of unnecessary deaths. No one was ever held responsible for that decision.

“Another comparison can be made if we remember that the average age of people dying of COVID-19 was around 80, with 3–6 QALY per death lost. Therefore, 500,000 QALY are equivalent to roughly 100,000 COVID-19 deaths. Even if we assume that lockdowns saved 1.5 daily deaths per million [20] for a whole year (365 days), after multiplying by 9.2 million (population of Israel) we arrive at about 5000 lives saved—just about 5% of the lockdowns’ human cost. In other words, it can be estimated that even if the lockdowns saved some lives, in the long term they killed 20 times more.”

There is no evidence to suggest that the lockdowns were effective. Even if the lockdowns worked as intended, they directly caused more deaths than they were intended to prevent.

Aug 22 2022

Unvaccinated Mothers Forced to Pay Back Maternity Leave in BC


Armstrong Economics Blog/Canada Re-Posted Aug 22, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Mothers (also known as “birthing people” to the woke) in BC are no longer entitled to maternity leave unless they cave and take the vaccine. This is the very vaccine that has provenly caused issues in fertility and comes with a plethora of side effects. The vaccine does absolutely nothing to prevent transmission and infection. But the government is so eager to retain power under the guise of COVID while pushing forth the Great Reset that they are continuing to force the public into dangerous situations.

“The vaccination policy stipulates that BC Public Service employees who do not receive two doses of vaccination against COVID-19, or refuse to disclose their vaccination status, and do not have an approved exemption request, are to be placed on a leave without pay for a period of at least three months, after which they may be terminated,” the BC government writes on their website. The province required employee mandates on November 8, 2021.

The government offers around 80% salary compensation for mothers on leave. How else do they expect women to exist in the workforce (looking at you, America)? Any mother who disobeyed the vaccine mandate and did not receive an exemption may be forced to forfeit their maternity pay.

The COVID hysteria may have ended, but the tyranny continues. Canadians are continually losing their jobs for making independent health decisions. What will happen when they mandate more boosters? The collective must rebel against such tyranny.

Aug 22 2022

A Potential Republican Club Midterm Strategy – Nationalize the January 2021 Georgia Outcome


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on August 22, 2022 | sundance 

Acceptance is the first step.

  • If we accept or acknowledge the RNC and DNC are private corporations, existing like all other corporations to the fulfilment of their for-profit charter, to make money; and
  • If we accept or acknowledge their business model is structured around people and businesses giving them money; and
  • If we accept or acknowledge that in the process of raising money their interests may or may not align with the goal of those contributing to the business; and
  • If we accept the history that Mitch McConnell and the RNC worked purposefully to remove the influence of the Tea Party; then
  • This factually accurate statement from Steve Deace takes on a new meaning:
  • (LINK)

[…] “the GOP (club) would rather lose to Democrats than lose control of the [club] to it’s base.”  Electability boils down to the right kind of approved candidate.

That is an accurate context for this midterm election cycle. Factually, the income stream for the RNC improves if they have the ability to campaign against the opposition club.  The larger the outrage, the more substantial the fundraising.  The corporation makes more money in defeat, or in the minority, than it does when it wins or holds majorities.

As a result, there is a disconnect between the financial incentive of the corporation and the expressed intent of the corporation. When the RNC club wins, they have a more difficult time raising money, because people who previously contributed are now looking for results.

Combine that business model reality, with the accurate statement from Steve Deace about the club perspective of MAGA, and you begin to see the weird dynamic that surfaced in Georgia in the first week of January 2021.  Did the club want to win the two senate races?  Or was the club content to let deflated Trump voters see a lackluster club response to the 2020 election issues in Georgia, a frustration which led to wins by the opposition?

The same dynamic is established now.  Senator Mitch McConnell and the GOP club corporate donors are not happy with the unapproved candidates winning many of the 2022 primary contests.  They are not hiding their disdain, nor are they hiding their shift in midterm expectations as a result of their desire to see the unapproved republican candidates defeated.

However, there is a more looming scenario that we have been discussing.

As we have seen from their non-response to the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the GOP club would not be disappointed to see the DOJ take down Donald Trump prior to the midterm elections.

In a national version of the Georgia result, there would likely be widespread voter anger and frustration, if the DOJ indict President Trump and the republican leadership pull the Ron DeSantis routine and stay hidden and silent.

The GOP gets rid of the issue of Donald Trump, and a 25% drop in MAGA voter turnout – the result of anger and disenfranchisement – leads to overwhelming victories for Democrats in the midterms.  The result, both Donald Trump and MAGA are essentially removed from the RNC/GOP structure.  Nothing would make that group happier than to return to the status quo of controlled and approved party candidates.  [Insert Ron DeSantis here]

In the biggest of big pictures, the important issues for the club to control surround trade, finance and economic policy.  There are trillions at stake. The multinationals and Wall Street in general would both benefit from the elimination of a political movement based on America-First national economic policy (ie. Main Street USA).

The common bond amid all of the diversity within the Trump coalition is the working-class economic connection.  No other republican politician of significance has any national economic outlook unfavorable to the multinational corporations who finance the club priority.  The only economic nationalist in the republican party is Donald Trump.  Remove him and the America-First policy is removed with him.

Let us also not be naïve or intellectually dishonest with each other.  The decision on whether to indict or not indict Donald Trump is going to be made by Democrats and Republicans alike.  Personally, I worry that decision has already been made, sometime around early June when the DOJ first inspected the documents at Mar-a-Lago, as part of a larger collaborative midterm strategy, noted above.

The picture would essentially be, have the DOJ remove Donald Trump; have the republican leadership do nothing except express faux outrage at the outcome; and then watch as a blue wave midterm election benefits both Democrat and Republican clubs.

Democrats advance their radical agenda, republicans gnash their teeth and fundraise off the radical agenda, and the 2024 presidential candidates pull out the fainting couches, gasp in horror, bewilderment and outrage over the events, while reminding the republican base that supporting law enforcement, and following the constitution, means sitting quietly and voting harder…

…. cue Ron DeSantis.