Pete Buttigieg Admits High Gas Prices are Intentionally Part of the Biden Strategy to Push People to Electric Vehicles


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 15, 2022 | Sundance 

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a cabinet ideologue with zero experience in business or transportation, appears in the news admitted the high price of gasoline is part of the Biden energy agenda to push people into purchasing electric vehicles.  You’ll have a higher car payment, but you won’t pay for gasoline.  WATCH:

Biden Fist-Bumps Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman During Greeting in Saudi Arabia


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 15, 2022 | Sundance

After calling Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (aka MbS) a “pariah” for killing CIA operative Jamal Khashoggi, a Qatar-based Brotherhood member who was working under the CIA cover of a Washington Post press credential, Joe Biden now greets MbS in Saudi Arabia with a fist-bump.  WATCH: 

It is pretty clear from the way Biden was prepping for the introduction, that a fist-bump was agreed between both teams.

Wells Fargo Proactively Cuts Profit in Half to Save Funds for Predicted Loan Losses


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 15, 2022 | Sundance

This shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Most banks and financial institutions are being very careful right now as they prepare for the consequences of consumers running out of money.  All banks are securing reserve accounts in anticipation of defaults increasing.

July 15 (Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co said on Friday its second-quarter profit nearly halved as the bank set aside more funds to cover potential loan losses, while its mortgage lending business came under pressure from higher interest rates.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank reported profit of $3.1 billion, or 74 cents per share, compared with $6 billion, or $1.38 per share, a year earlier. Its total loan loss provisions were $580 million in the quarter, including a $235 million increase due to loan growth.

Under an accounting standard that took effect in 2020, banks must factor the economic outlook into loan loss reserves. Last year, the bank had released $1.6 billion from its reserves for loan losses as the economy rebounded from the pandemic.

Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo told reporters that retail and business customers remain strong, but the bank is prepared for a potential economic downturn.  “Things will probably get worse, but that’s already included in the overall scenario analysis and the allowance level we have for the quarter,” Santomassimo said.

[…] Big bank executives have sounded cautious so far this earnings season, with JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Chief Executive Jamie Dimon likening the macroeconomic environment to a coming “storm.” (read more)

Cunning Senator Manchin Tricks West Virginia Voters, Senator Stalls $500 Billion Green New Deal Energy Legislation, Democrats Demand Removal from Chair of Energy Committee


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 15, 2022 | Sundance 

Joe Manchin didn’t completely torpedo the $500 billion in Green New Deal climate change spending, but he did stall it for a month saying he would not support the climate change spending until he sees July’s inflation numbers in August, which should be a warning.

If you think carefully about it, it’s a classic Manchin head-fake.  The July and August inflation numbers, to be released in August and September respectively, are almost guaranteed to be lower than June.

July/Aug are the two months we are in right now where inflation is hitting a plateau.  Gasoline prices are dropping due to a drop in demand. This is the period before prices start rising again in September and October when the energy farming costs start to roll out with the next harvest.

Senator Manchin isn’t stupid; in fact, he is quite Machiavellian, he knows this… thus, his position.

Manchin can give the illusion of prudence, but he knows the July inflation rate will show a decrease for two reasons.

First, in the month-to-month comparison, July will not carry the same scale of gasoline and energy increases as June.  Second, in the year-over-year comparison, July ’22 will be comparing to July 2021 when prices already started skyrocketing.  Bottom line, July inflation will give the illusion of dropping, which gives Manchin a shield to support the spending…. and he will.

WASHINGTON DC – Joe Manchin is forcing Democrats into a brutal choice: Take a deal now to lower the costs of health care premiums and prescription drugs, or try to negotiate a larger bill in September that includes climate and tax reform with no guarantee it will pass.

The West Virginia Democrat said Friday that he wants to see another month of inflation numbers before considering legislation that might increase taxes on some higher-income Americans and plow hundreds of billionsof dollars into the energy sector. On Thursday Manchin “unequivocally” rejected July or August approval of Democrats’ proposed energy investments and tax increases in a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, according to a person briefed on the meeting.

[…] Democrats are reeling after Manchin’s communication to Schumer indicated that climate change and tax provisions are unworkable for any party-line bill considered this summer. Fury is building within the party, with Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) questioning whether Manchin should continue to chair the Senate’s Energy committee.

[…] Manchin had sought to shave down an energy package originally set at more than $500 billion to $300 billion or less. He balked privately at sending money to the EV industry and the Direct Payment program. (Read More)

While you won’t see a single MSM analyst, financial pundit or mainstream political commentator point out what Manchin is doing, his strategy is cunning.

Right now, conservatives are calling Manchin a hero for blocking the GND spending while progressives attack him.  This gives the impression that he is a centrist, above the fray, and wise in his outlooks toward the economy and budgeting.   However, it’s a ruse.  Joe Manchin knows, just like you do, that the next inflation report will be much lower.  He is positioning to support the climate change spending in September.

Watch.

Bookmark this.

The scheming strategery of Joe Manchin is as predictable as the scheming strategery of Mitch McConnell.

The two wings of the UniParty duck seem still on the surface.  This type of ploy is exactly how DC is able to operate, paddling forward furiously, just below the surface; and almost no one can see what is happening.

Once you see the strings on the political marionettes, you can never return to that moment in the performance when you did not see them.  However, because too few people see them, almost everyone congregates in the lobby during the mid-term intermission asking, “hey, when did Texas become dependent on windmills?

The Biden Economy is So Bad, Even His Gatekeepers Now Admit Biden Has Broken All Records for Bad Economic Outlooks


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 14, 2022 | sundance

CNBC is the Biden defense team for media broadcasts of anything related to the economy.  As a result, you know things are bad when CNBC broadcasts that Joe Biden’s economy has the highest level of dissatisfaction in the history of their surveys.

Steve Liesman was given the task again to share the horrible results. WATCH:

Producer Price Index Hits Peak 11.3 Percent Inflation Driven by Biden Energy Policy – Service Prices Now Indicate Recession


Posted originally on the conservative tree house on July 14, 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 June price data [Available Here] showing another 11.3% increase year-over-year in Final Demand products at the wholesale level.

Overall, the wholesale inflation rate is being driven by energy prices.  The June calculation shows exactly that problem with energy prices embedded in goods driving 10% of the price increase.  However, there is some good news in the short-term for July and August, as the intermediate and raw material costs are leveling off temporarily.  Unfortunately, that raw material price plateau is almost certainly the result of a drop in demand.

CTH has modified Table-A and Table-B to take out the noise.

The June inflation rate for final demand goods (2.4%) is driven mostly by higher energy prices (10%).  Energy costs are passed along through every stage of the supply chain contributing to an overall wholesale price increase of 2.4% in June, 11.3% year-over-year.

Notice the slight drop in final demand services; that is important.  What we are seeing is a contraction in the service economy overall, as the service sector -which includes restaurants- cannot pass along the scale of energy price increase to customers. People are changing their spending habits – service demand overall is dropping.

Additionally, the producer price index gathers data from inside the supply chain, backwards from the final stage (wholesale) into the intermediate stage (various processing) and also raw material prices.   Here is where things are getting interesting, and now I can make some direct forward predictions.

I modified Table-B so you can see how the supply chain for goods is responding to both: (A) energy prices, and (B) consumer spending.  You can click on the graphic to expand the image and spend some time on it if needed.

You can see from the left side of modified Table-B that both levels of intermediate goods were heavily impacted by energy prices.  “Intermediate” processed goods rising 2.3% in June, 22.2% year-over-year.  Intermediate unprocessed goods (raw materials) rose 9.5% in June, 58.0% year-over-year.

However, if you subtract the massive June energy costs, you will note the intermediate price of nonfood processed goods significantly dropped to 0.2% in June.  And if you subtract the energy costs, you will notice the raw material prices for nonfood durable goods actually declined 2.2% in June.

Here’s what is going on…

The inflationary impact of Joe Biden’s Green New Deal energy program is running into the inability of consumers to pay for the price increases it creates.  That is what is causing the demand side drops in retail economic activity on Main Street.  We all know this.

As a result of these high prices, there is less internal demand within the supply chain for both goods and services.  Inventories are climbing and the demand for raw materials to produce durable goods is now declining.  Subtract the energy costs and nonfood prices are dropping. The decline is a raw material demand outcome.

June energy prices were extremely high.  That’s driving the current PPI price outcome at all stages; but behind that issue is low manufacturing activity.

Remember, two months ago we said food prices would plateau in July and August.  This PPI report shows the entry into that plateau.  However, there is a problem on the horizon that is not measured in this data.

The high energy costs to farmers (fertilizer, diesel, oil, energy, etc.), a cost already seeded (forgive the pun) is right now in the fields…. waiting…. sitting somewhat dormant and ignored by the statisticians… but that higher origination price is growing and lurking….

When the farming harvests take place, those higher field costs will enter the supply chain again and end up finding their way, via wholesalers and supermarkets, to your fork.  Big Ag is going to maximize this opportunity.

Farmers will not be the ones benefitting.

♦ For the next two months the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index will show inflation stability and possibly even price declines.

Those reports will come out in August (for July) and September (for August) and will give the impression that inflation has moderated, and the Fed has been successful.  However, in/around Sept and October the harvest cost will hit the stores.  At that point, energy prices -already high- will take a backseat to the rate of inflation driven by massive increases in food prices.

Oct, Nov and December, all the way through the winter, will be painful at the grocery stores and supermarkets.   Also, restaurants this fall and winter, are going to get hit hard as their suppliers start to deliver food at much higher prices.  Those people in the food service industry need to prepare now for what is looming.

Everything I just described above is happening at the same time as consumer demand for durable goods and non-essential services is dropping.  The current economic activity on Main Street is tepid at best.  Housing values have peaked along with rents.

Every element of the U.S. economy is now entering a phase where success or failure in a Main Street business is directly connected to the customer being able to afford the product or service.

Two-thirds of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is driven by consumer spending.  Our borders are open, our wages are flat, our prices are high, our discretionary spending is contracting.  Our manufacturing and service driven economy will contract, and we are two months away from food stability, prices, affordability and potentially scarcity, being the primary focus of everyone.

FUBAR

Prepare your affairs accordingly.

70% of 10-Year-Olds Cannot Read After Lockdowns


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jul 14, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

Children suffered the worst long-term consequences of the lockdowns. “The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update,” found that an alarming 70% of middle and lower-class 10-year-olds across the globe cannot read. There is no greater freedom than knowledge, and reading comprehension is essential to our modern-day existence. “Only the richer segments of the population—those with broadband connectivity, access to devices for the use of each family member, a place to study, availability of books and learning material, and a conducive home environment, among other conditions—were able to maintain a reasonable level of education engagement,” the study cited. We are now in the midst of an education crisis where children have fallen perhaps too far behind to catch up with their peers.

Latin America, the Caribbean, and South Asia saw the most notable declines in learning as schools there completely closed and many did not have access to online education. Sadly, many of the organizations that pushed for the lockdowns and school closures, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, would like to step in to help re-educate these children. They will try to reshape an entire generation of vulnerable children as they see fit. “Fighting this learning crisis is the challenge of our times if we do not want to lose this generation of children and youth,” the report said.

“COVID-19 has devastated learning around the world, dramatically increasing the number of children living in Learning Poverty,” said Jaime Saavedra, Global Director for Education at the World Bank. “With 7 in 10 of today’s 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries now unable to read a simple text, political leaders and society must swiftly move to recover this generation’s future by ensuring learning recovery strategies and investments.” They are calling this phenomenon “learning poverty,” but the issue was not based on class. This drastic decline in reading comprehension is a direct result of lockdowns and school closures.

The report tries to claim that “learning poverty” was prevalent before the lockdown, but there is no denying that allowing children to miss 273 days of school in certain areas of the world caused this problem. The report says learning poverty violates children’s right to education, but the lockdowns and tyrannical crackdown on a largely unlethal virus harmed ALL children across the globe.

So now, children risk losing $21 trillion in lifetime earnings, equivalent to 17% of global GDP. Our model has been targeting 2030 for many years as a major turning point. Unsurprisingly, this report claims that if we follow the guidance of the same agencies who forced school closures, we can attain a newly indoctrinated, I mean educated, population by 2030.

Biden on Crack and Mass Incarceration


Armstrong Economics Blog/Corruption Re-Posted Jul 14, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

As if we needed more proof that the elites are beyond the law — disgraceful. Listen to the words coming out of Joe Biden’s mouth juxtaposed to a video of his son weighing crack cocaine in a filthy hotel. The sweet “Uncle Joe” image that Obama created for this man is a lie. As senator of Delaware, Joe Biden implemented strict laws to punish drug addicts, specifically those addicted to crack cocaine. He did this to target African American communities where crack was more prevalent due to a three-letter agencies’ involvement (a post for another time, perhaps).

Biden championed the 100-to-1 crack/powder disparity where those in possession of crack would receive 100 times the penalties for carrying the same amount of powder cocaine. He is the man responsible for the US creating the role of “drug czar,” as he championed being tough on crime throughout his career until he reached the White House.

Biden opened the doorway for civil asset forfeiture in the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, which gave the government permission to seize the assets of anyone suspected of drug trafficking. Similar to conspiracy, no actual crime needed to be committed.

A report from the American Civil Liberties Union, “Cracks in the System,” found that the 100-to-1 rule disproportionally targeted African Americans and contributed to mass incarceration:

“In 1986, before the enactment of federal mandatory minimum sentencing for crack cocaine offenses, the average federal drug sentence for African Americans was 11% higher than for whites. Four years later, the average federal drug sentence for African Americans was 49% higher.”

Those with minor possession of crack cocaine, much smaller than anything his son has purchased, faced numerous years behind bars without a fair trial and were treated as criminals rather than addicts with a physical and mental health problem. The media wants us to sympathize with Hunter Biden for his rough past, but no one sympathized with the countless people locked away under “Pedo Pete’s” laws. Biden was also responsible for helping Bill Clinton pass the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which encouraged the death penalty for suspected traffickers and banned certain people from legally possessing weapons. The law most famously included the “three-strike” rule that locked people away for life after three offenses. Bill Clinton later apologized for that ruling, but Joe Biden did not.

What changed Biden’s mind? He has recently come out to decry the harsh rules he implemented and is notoriously light on crime. Well, his daughter Ashley was arrested for marijuana possession in 1998 in Louisiana. Ashley was never convicted of a crime, and her father went on to claim in an ABC interview as far as 2010 that marijuana was a gateway drug. “I still believe it’s a gateway drug. I’ve spent a lot of my life as chairman of the Judiciary Committee dealing with this. I think it would be a mistake to legalize,” then Vice President Joe Biden said.  Let us not forget that he ran campaign ads before the US 2020 Presidential Election to repeal any marijuana-related restrictions that “unfairly targeted minorities.”

Biden is one of the most hypocritical politicians in modern history. He went from championing destroying already ruined lives with unforgiving laws to spending US taxpayers’ dollars on providing addicts with free drug paraphernalia. He defunded police agencies at a time when the opiate epidemic was killing more young lives than ever before. Under the very laws he created, he technically helped his son purchase crack and, therefore, should be investigated, albeit this only scratches the surface of the crimes he has committed through his son.

Hunter Biden and the entire Biden crime family are blatantly above the law. Crack smoking is one of the least offensive activities exposed in Hunter’s laptop from hell. He will never be investigated, and Biden will never feel sorry for the countless lives he has ruined.

NYT Democrat Voter Poll Shows Base Do Not Want Biden Reelected, Biden Leaves Town and California Governor Gavin Newsom Shows up at the White House


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

Democrats are historically known for the optics of their politics.  With that in mind, is it coincidental that California Governor Gavin Newsom, one of the leading people that leftists want to see run in 2024, shows up to tour the White House the day after Joe Biden leaves town?

Considering the recent article from the New York Times outlining how most democrats do not want to see Joe Biden run for reelection, the timing seems rather conspicuous. {Direct Rumble LinkWATCH:

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Gavin Newsom is turning California into Somalia, so it would make sense for him to be the next one in line to continue the chaos.

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(Discussion Poll pdf Here)

World Bank: The Poor Will Suffer From Carbon Taxes


Armstrong Economics Blog/Energy Re-Posted Jul 13, 2022 by Martin Armstrong

The World Economic Forum is praising Denmark for implementing the world’s strictest carbon tax laws. Companies will soon be forced to pay $159 for every tonne of CO2 emitted, marking an additional $53 per tonne. The government claims this will cut CO2 levels by 3.7 million tonnes in just one year.

“This incentivizes companies to clean up for themselves,” the WEF reported. In the midst of an extreme energy crisis, punishing energy suppliers will undoubtedly backfire. These costs will be passed along to the already struggling consumer. Even the World Bank admitted that the poor will suffer from the carbon tax.

The World Bank stated on its blog:

“There are good reasons why governments may not want to use carbon taxes, and one of them relates to their welfare impacts. For example, a carbon tax on fossil fuels is often regressive in its impact- hurting poorer people relatively more than richer ones. Even when it might be progressive, poorer people still suffer a welfare loss when prices rise, making their consumption basket more expensive.”

Furthermore, they admitted that the carbon tax “aims to restructure economies by raising the cost of a critical resource – the juice that makes it run.” Precisely. We NEED fossil fuels right now, there is no other viable alternative available to provide energy to the world. Since nations have succumbed to the climate change agenda, they have lost their energy-independent status. Europe shot itself in the foot by eliminating any diplomatic relations with their number one supplier of gas for a country that they did not acknowledge prior to February 2022.

Other nations with the ability will drill and sell oil to those under WEF leadership at a premium. India is already buying Russian oil at a discount, refining it, and selling it to the US for a premium. This is more than just bad business as it is a clear attempt to cut off a “critical resource” to “restructure economies” as seen fit by the WEF.