One way I cut my expenses in “inflationary times” is to drop my subscriptions to WaPo and NYT (and use that money for outstanding writing at Substack. 😉
Why aren't they making a bigger deal out of businesses that are using "inflation" as an excuse to raise prices? Meaning they don't need to raise them, but they are because they can...because inflation.
And since you're getting started with Christmas songs Eric I am going to share my favorite one here. For those who have never experienced Robert Earl Keen you're in for a treat 😂 https://youtu.be/P37xPiRz1sg
I have to say that while people aren’t buying the inflation part, they do appear to be eagerly embracing the supply chain ‘drama’(?) Went out with an R friend Friday and it was mentioned/emphasized multiple times throughout the afternoon.🙄 Never in context of the global situation, not much detail - always framed as a D weakness.
Something’s gotta fill the vacuum I guess?!… (Thx for normalizing rooting against the country, FG) :/
Also - CNN ratings down 73%??! Thx for the context - THAT should run as a *note* after every ‘gas on a fire’ article they run. Infotainment, indeed…
I might be confirming my bias, but I’ll take a chance: when I go to my local indie coffee shop that has daily of the Seattle Times and NYTimes available for anyone to read, the section that is untouched is Business (Sports is mauled, btw).
I really don’t think that most of us average Joes understand economics (and it is most definitely not a science) and skip over economic stories. That said, if inflation was truly hitting Joe Sixpack in such a way that s/he felt it, then maybe these stories would have more traction.
I went to the grocery last night, and there were some gaps in the shelves but the stockers were filling them. One told me that they got clobbered at Thanksgiving and ran out of stuff then, but it was normal. “Come back tomorrow, we’ll be back to normal.” Unsold turkeys were on sale, btw.
I avoid most televised news. I read the news and make my own decision as to what is worth believing and what isn’t. I do notice there is a lot of opinion written about Biden and politics rather than facts. The sad part is that it is not labeled as such and it should be. People are freaking out about inflation right now. Inflation happens no matter who is in the White House. Republicans act like prices don’t go up when they are in charge. Democrats don’t speak up and the media doesn’t talk about the hypocrisy.
I've noticed my supermarket trips cost a little more at the checkout counter. So, I adjust the number of luxury items I buy as opposed to necessities. If it's like $20 more - I can afford it. However, I'm frugal anyway so I make due. As for Christmas - honestly, they should be happy they got a card.
This is anecdotal, of course, but last week I read an article that said that there was inflationary pressures on purchasing...(wait for it)... yachts. Seems that there is a backlog of orders and not enough people to make them.
When the ruling class —who own hedge funds that own the press— are inconvenienced, well, they have to fire the mail room clerk, in this case Joe Biden.
I am so angry and frustrated by the relentless, clearly deliberate effort by the mainstream media to drive down Biden’s approval ratings that I am afraid I will stomp myself into the ground a la Rumpelstiltskin. However I disagree with Eric that the public isn’t buying the media’s inflation spin. Just because they are still spending doesn’t meant they aren’t buying the storyline that inflation is a big problem due to excess spending that will last and threaten our economy. In fact there is evidence that this is the case. According to the NY Times’s Upshot:
“ Americans Are Flush With Cash and Jobs. They Also Think the Economy Is Awful.
The psychological effects of inflation seem to have the upper hand”
Recent polls are showing that both Republicans and Democrats “….give ratings about as low as they did in the early 2010s, when unemployment was much higher and Americans’ finances were a wreck.”
The article goes on to explain why inflation has such a negative effect on people’s perception of the health of our economy even when they are personally doing well. Of course there is no mention of the fact that the media’s obsessing over inflation while ignoring good economic news is a big driver of that perception.
There is no sense of self-reflection in that article about why the public’s perception is so far off. It should be shocking that the public rates the economy about as low as they did in 2010, a time when our economy was actually terrible. Objective journalists would look in the mirror anytime they see evidence that public opinion doesn’t match reality.
I am willing to bet that the media’s hyping of crime stories — I have seen several stories implying that smash and grab attacks are widespread across the country — is also having an effect. Yes crime is up but crime rates are still way below what they were in the 80s and 90s.
Are these inflation pieces pushed by editors despite pushback from critics such as Eric’s/ours? It seems to me that consumers are busy living their lives, not reading the fine print in newspapers, nor hearing from honest media sources. If this is the case, all we can do imo is to continue to beat the drum, cancel subscriptions, rant on platforms of choice, hammer politicians, call out the lies and the dangerously negative impact msm is having on our country’s present and future. If money is all the msm covets, we have to hit them in the pocketbooks. Money talks....usually.
Great piece, Eric. Without you validating what I'm seeing in the media coverage of Biden's presidency, I would think I'm delusional.
The two things they clutch their pearls over, for no reason, are inflation and the midterms, neither of which are in danger - that is, unless the media causes that danger by endlessly harping on "Dems face crisis" and "Biden policies cause rifts and infighting among Dems" types of coverage. Meanwhile, we're treated to Republican malfeasance, dirty politics and extremism - all normalized and not nearly as important as Biden and his "plummeting" popularity.
What's interesting is that except for the consumer spending, Washington Post readers seem to believe that inflation is killing the economy and that we're on the verge of a depression. Twice I have read comments that claim "people are hurting" but when I respond by asking for examples, I get nothing. The media could very well throw the elections in favor of the GOP; it wouldn't be the first time.
I have to disagree with Eric’s claim that the inflation BS in the media isn’t having traction with the masses. IIRC, polling shows that it does. In turn, this might explain the increase in buying: to buy now before prices go up. And I’m sure that supply chain fear is also contributing; again, buy now because the replacement shipments aren’t coming or whatever.
Too, it has to be noted that mainstream economics reporting is incredibly dishonest and has been such for decades. BTW, Prof. Krugman says that the 70s inflation cycle fear of which is apparently fueling the ruling class’ anxiety was a historic anomaly.
All that notwithstanding, the primary factor in the reporting failures Eric notes is the mainstream need to bash the Democrat. If facts have to be distorted or made, so be it.
One way I cut my expenses in “inflationary times” is to drop my subscriptions to WaPo and NYT (and use that money for outstanding writing at Substack. 😉
Why aren't they making a bigger deal out of businesses that are using "inflation" as an excuse to raise prices? Meaning they don't need to raise them, but they are because they can...because inflation.
And since you're getting started with Christmas songs Eric I am going to share my favorite one here. For those who have never experienced Robert Earl Keen you're in for a treat 😂 https://youtu.be/P37xPiRz1sg
Great piece! Thx for all the NYT receipts…
I have to say that while people aren’t buying the inflation part, they do appear to be eagerly embracing the supply chain ‘drama’(?) Went out with an R friend Friday and it was mentioned/emphasized multiple times throughout the afternoon.🙄 Never in context of the global situation, not much detail - always framed as a D weakness.
Something’s gotta fill the vacuum I guess?!… (Thx for normalizing rooting against the country, FG) :/
Also - CNN ratings down 73%??! Thx for the context - THAT should run as a *note* after every ‘gas on a fire’ article they run. Infotainment, indeed…
I might be confirming my bias, but I’ll take a chance: when I go to my local indie coffee shop that has daily of the Seattle Times and NYTimes available for anyone to read, the section that is untouched is Business (Sports is mauled, btw).
I really don’t think that most of us average Joes understand economics (and it is most definitely not a science) and skip over economic stories. That said, if inflation was truly hitting Joe Sixpack in such a way that s/he felt it, then maybe these stories would have more traction.
I went to the grocery last night, and there were some gaps in the shelves but the stockers were filling them. One told me that they got clobbered at Thanksgiving and ran out of stuff then, but it was normal. “Come back tomorrow, we’ll be back to normal.” Unsold turkeys were on sale, btw.
I avoid most televised news. I read the news and make my own decision as to what is worth believing and what isn’t. I do notice there is a lot of opinion written about Biden and politics rather than facts. The sad part is that it is not labeled as such and it should be. People are freaking out about inflation right now. Inflation happens no matter who is in the White House. Republicans act like prices don’t go up when they are in charge. Democrats don’t speak up and the media doesn’t talk about the hypocrisy.
I've noticed my supermarket trips cost a little more at the checkout counter. So, I adjust the number of luxury items I buy as opposed to necessities. If it's like $20 more - I can afford it. However, I'm frugal anyway so I make due. As for Christmas - honestly, they should be happy they got a card.
Meanwhile DeJoy is still at it delaying the mail so he can get his pals in the press to blame Joe for that as well.
This is anecdotal, of course, but last week I read an article that said that there was inflationary pressures on purchasing...(wait for it)... yachts. Seems that there is a backlog of orders and not enough people to make them.
When the ruling class —who own hedge funds that own the press— are inconvenienced, well, they have to fire the mail room clerk, in this case Joe Biden.
I am so angry and frustrated by the relentless, clearly deliberate effort by the mainstream media to drive down Biden’s approval ratings that I am afraid I will stomp myself into the ground a la Rumpelstiltskin. However I disagree with Eric that the public isn’t buying the media’s inflation spin. Just because they are still spending doesn’t meant they aren’t buying the storyline that inflation is a big problem due to excess spending that will last and threaten our economy. In fact there is evidence that this is the case. According to the NY Times’s Upshot:
“ Americans Are Flush With Cash and Jobs. They Also Think the Economy Is Awful.
The psychological effects of inflation seem to have the upper hand”
Recent polls are showing that both Republicans and Democrats “….give ratings about as low as they did in the early 2010s, when unemployment was much higher and Americans’ finances were a wreck.”
The article goes on to explain why inflation has such a negative effect on people’s perception of the health of our economy even when they are personally doing well. Of course there is no mention of the fact that the media’s obsessing over inflation while ignoring good economic news is a big driver of that perception.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/06/upshot/inflation-psychology-economy.html
There is no sense of self-reflection in that article about why the public’s perception is so far off. It should be shocking that the public rates the economy about as low as they did in 2010, a time when our economy was actually terrible. Objective journalists would look in the mirror anytime they see evidence that public opinion doesn’t match reality.
I am willing to bet that the media’s hyping of crime stories — I have seen several stories implying that smash and grab attacks are widespread across the country — is also having an effect. Yes crime is up but crime rates are still way below what they were in the 80s and 90s.
LMAO at 19th Century Fox blaming Joe for the..."Santa Shortage".
Now who wouldn't want to play Unmasked Santa where anti-vaxers aren't wearing masks and letting Covid mutate out of control?
Are these inflation pieces pushed by editors despite pushback from critics such as Eric’s/ours? It seems to me that consumers are busy living their lives, not reading the fine print in newspapers, nor hearing from honest media sources. If this is the case, all we can do imo is to continue to beat the drum, cancel subscriptions, rant on platforms of choice, hammer politicians, call out the lies and the dangerously negative impact msm is having on our country’s present and future. If money is all the msm covets, we have to hit them in the pocketbooks. Money talks....usually.
Great piece, Eric. Without you validating what I'm seeing in the media coverage of Biden's presidency, I would think I'm delusional.
The two things they clutch their pearls over, for no reason, are inflation and the midterms, neither of which are in danger - that is, unless the media causes that danger by endlessly harping on "Dems face crisis" and "Biden policies cause rifts and infighting among Dems" types of coverage. Meanwhile, we're treated to Republican malfeasance, dirty politics and extremism - all normalized and not nearly as important as Biden and his "plummeting" popularity.
What's interesting is that except for the consumer spending, Washington Post readers seem to believe that inflation is killing the economy and that we're on the verge of a depression. Twice I have read comments that claim "people are hurting" but when I respond by asking for examples, I get nothing. The media could very well throw the elections in favor of the GOP; it wouldn't be the first time.
I have to disagree with Eric’s claim that the inflation BS in the media isn’t having traction with the masses. IIRC, polling shows that it does. In turn, this might explain the increase in buying: to buy now before prices go up. And I’m sure that supply chain fear is also contributing; again, buy now because the replacement shipments aren’t coming or whatever.
Too, it has to be noted that mainstream economics reporting is incredibly dishonest and has been such for decades. BTW, Prof. Krugman says that the 70s inflation cycle fear of which is apparently fueling the ruling class’ anxiety was a historic anomaly.
All that notwithstanding, the primary factor in the reporting failures Eric notes is the mainstream need to bash the Democrat. If facts have to be distorted or made, so be it.
What a great thread! We have some awesome contributors here. Really enjoying this discussion you guys!
America is, if nothing else, full of voracious consumers. Memo to Media: "Nobody's listening, my friends." (Miss World, Hole)
Eric, is there a way to block spam on comments like the work from home crap from “JeanneETorrez” bot?