Inflation is soaring. It appears we’re are headed for a dramatic interest rate hike. Then there is this news which came out of Phoenix today. There is a dramatic rise in people using food banks to help feed their families. Many are first time food bank users who are currently employed. I am unable to provide a link right now but this quote was from abc15, a local AZ news station:
The Phoenix food bank's main distribution center doled out food packages to 4,271 families during the third week in June, a 78% increase over the 2,396 families served during the same week last year, said St. Mary's spokesman Jerry Brown.
I just signed up on the predictions subscription page. Are there any predictions about where the economy/housing market will be in the spring of 2023? I didn't see any, so I was just checking. Thanks! :)
There are 2 relevant ones for that time frame. I see, one from the September 2022 RTFN and one from the Oct 2022 RTFN.
Here is a link to some older predictions which are for the whole year 2023 which may work also which is available to anyone on the forum.
In general, there are some interesting older predictions in the predictions thread worth checking out. You might need to dig a bit but lots of interesting information.
Can someone with knowledge of such things, please explain why everyone is dumfounded over the unexpectedly high jobs growth report today? So dumbfounded that "experts" don't know how to react? I understand it was stunning, but why is it causing the reactions of such bewildering...concern from the people who have comprehensive and authoritative knowledge about these issues.
What am I missing? The only things I am gleaming (and who knows if I am understanding any of this at all) seem counter intuitive.
So, we actually don't want large job growth? An apparently strong economy is...bad? Interest rates keep rising with the hope that the economy will slow (because a strong economy produces inflation) and the plan is totally not working?
Also, there doesn't appear to be a backup plan because well, the stunning jobs growth was never supposed to happen.
Does anyone know whether the experts are considering whether inflation is also related to:
1- Russia's war against Ukraine and war related food/oil global supply chain consequences
2-Playing catch-up with covid supply chain and related issues.
3-Bird Flu (eggs)
4-Climate Crisis and Natural Disasters causing food scarcity and material shortages.
I welcome knowledge from anyone with a background in economics or related field because there appears to be such confusion right now, the media is even confused.
I am linking to CNN because they were the most COLORFUL with their additive use, but other outlets who reported on the topic were also trying to find their own words. Perhaps as the day goes on more words will come.
https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/stock-market-news-today-jobs-2323/index.html
@lovendures Not to say that I'm an expert in economics (I'm not), but frankly, I'm as puzzled as you are. My speculative take on it is that they are looking at it as a zero-sum game. If regular people are thriving, that must mean that less money is going to the elites (which is, of course, a tragedy! 🙄), and they want every penny they can get their grubby little hands on. Also, if people are happy and comfortable, it's far harder to control them with ridiculous rhetoric.
It could also be the simple fact that they think their "top-down, trickle down) system is best, and now that they're being proven wrong, publicly, and in spades, they're world-view is being challenged.
@lovendures as I follow Heather Cox Richardson on substack ... I also follow Robert Reich... https://robertreich.substack.com
It helps me understand that the current response is all wrong for most Americans ...and they are doing their damnedest to keep the trickle down trickling to nothing it seems.
I saw the obscene profits posted by the oil companies on the news : https://www.cbsnews.com/news/exxon-chevron-shell-conocophillips-record-profits-earnings-oil-companies-most-profitable-year/
Yet " We must stop inflation... stop raising wages! Make cuts to Social Security and Medicare!! Blah blah blah"
They are killing us with their song ... slowly.
@fnwilliamson Hi Nathan, Welcome to our forum. Would you care to explain a bit about your worry, like break it down a bit?