For more than three decades all U.S. economic policy has been elevating Wall Street and diminishing Main Street. As a result blue-collar workers have not had wage gains keeping up with inflation for over 30 years…. Then came the era of Trump.
More than two years ago CTH began discussing the ramifications to a new emphasis on the economy outlined as a possibility of candidate Donald Trump’s economic policy outlook. Within the overall discussion we walked through the anticipated changes possible if A.) Trump won the election, and B.) Trump began instituting Main Street economic policy ahead of Wall Street policy (the past 30+ years).
We discussed the new dimension that would occur between two economic engines (Main Street -vs- Wall Street) as three decades of policy shifted. CTH outlined statistical and measurable KPI’s that would become visible in the space between the policy shifts.
Part of those discussions focused on energy costs, product costs (we explained how inflation would be weird), and importantly, wage rates. It takes several months of policy emphasis (actual outcomes), before the labor market wage rates would grow. We anticipated seeing that impact in Q2 of 2018, which is April-June 2018. Well:
(Via CNBC) […] The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that April closed with 6.7 million job openings. May ended with just over 6 million people the BLS classifies as unemployed, continuing a trend this year that has seen openings eclipse the labor pool for the first time. At some point that gap will have to close. Economists expect that employers are going to have to start doing more to entice workers, likely through pay raises, training and other incentives.
“Pressure is building for employers, and both hard data and anecdotal reports indicate that wage pressures are building,” Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors, said in a note. “With the economy still humming, employers are able to justify stronger wage increases to retain or attract talent, but it’s becoming a more challenging proposition.”
Most inflation measures are at 2 percent or more now, and are likely to continue rising. Companies are reporting record profits, but could find themselves constrained by a double-short of inflation, both from wages and rising costs due to escalating trade tensions and tariffs between the U.S. and its trading partners.
“How much might rising labor costs chew into corporate profits? How much will be passed through to customers in the form of higher prices? That remains to be seen,” Baird said. “Rising labor costs will boost take home pay, but we’re also all likely to see the effect in rising prices for goods and services.”
Those are all issues the Federal Reserve will have to weigh as well. (read more)
What’s predictably fun to watch is how leading economists and national economic influence agents continue to be perplexed as we flow through the space between these two economic engines. Deep inside this new dimension, which will last for approximately 24 months, the control agents within the Fed cannot figure out why inflation remains low, yet the economy is heating up.
They really don’t get it.
They don’t get it because they have no reference points.
The economic models of the entire last generation+ are based on the assumptions of continuing globalist economics which advances, and has advanced, the interest of Wall Street over Main Street. They were driving a “service-driven economy” message.
The investing class economy, ie. another name for a ‘service-driven economy’, has been the only source of historic reference for approximately three decades. These talking heads convinced themselves that a “service driven economy” was the ONLY economy ever possible for the U.S. in the future.
Back in January 2017 Deutsche Bank began thinking about it, applying new models, trying to conceptualize and quantify MAGAnomics, and trying to walk out the potential ramifications. They began talking about Trump doubling the U.S. GDP growth rate when all U.S. investment groups couldn’t yet fathom the possibility.
It’s like waking up on Christmas morning every day to see the pontificating Fed struggling to quantify analysis of their surrounding reality based on flawed assumptions. They simply have no understanding of what happens within the new dimension.
Monetary policy, Fed control over the economy, is disconnected and will stay that way for approximately another 12-14 months, until Main Street regains full operational strength –and– economic parity is achieved.
As we have continued to share, CTH believes the paycheck-to-paycheck working middle-class are going to see a considerable rise in wages and standard of living. How high can wages rise?… that depends on the pressure; and right now the pressure is massive. I’m not going to dismiss the possibility we could see 10 to 20% increases in year-over-year wage growth in multiple economic sectors.
Winnamins. We’ll need lots of them…
Forget minimum wage laws, they are inconsequential conversations when measured against the reality of how quickly wages rise in a free, fair, unregulated and growing economy.
Seriously, with full measure of optimism and appreciation – and tears of thankfulness that we are alive to experience it – these are exceptional times.
Centinel2012 