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2024 US Presidential Election

Who will become next President in U.S. what do you think?

  • Donald Trump

    Votes: 42 60.9%

  • Joe Biden

    Votes: 27 39.1%
  • Total voters
    69
trichrider

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Veteran
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Kiss My Ring
Veteran

Moore: The Biden 'Bull Market' Is Just Bull​

by Tyler Durden
Monday, Feb 19, 2024 - 07:15 AM
Authored by Stephen Moore, op-ed via DailyCaller.com,

Biden is boasting about the recent stock market rally. He’s right that stocks have been on a tear for the last 14 months. The S&P 500 hit 5,000 for the first time in history. That’s up from 500 some 30 years ago.

Even with all our problems, the United States is the unrivaled alpha male nation. The dollar is the only currency that matters globally (the Euro and BRICS are weak little sisters), and for the first time, the U.S. economy produces far more than all of socialist Europe combined. Our Magnificent Seven Technology firms — Amazon, Apple, Google, Invidia, Meta, Microsoft and Tesla — are close to being worth more than all of the stocks combined in any other country With the exception of China.

But the Biden bull stock market story isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Most of the gains in the market have only made up for the miserable returns in Biden’s disastrous first two years in office when stocks lost almost 15 percent of their value. In other words, for the most part, the last 14 months have simply made up for the lost ground during the 2022 rout in stocks.

Yes, it’s true that in nominal terms stocks are at record highs. But one of the first rules of investing is that you need to pay attention to your after-inflation profits. If you make an investment in a widget company and in 10 years that stock has doubled in value but the price level in dollars of everything else has doubled, sorry, you’re no better off based on what you can buy with those profits.
So let’s see what has happened to stocks over the first three years of the Biden presidency — i.e, through the end of January 2024.

Over that period the price level has risen by about 18 percent. The real (inflation-adjusted) rate of return in the S&P 500 after three years of Biden is thus only 8%. This is fairly anemic and well below the average annual real rate of return since the New York Stock Exchange opened its doors, which is a three year average of more than 20%.

Biden’s performance is also much worse than the bull market under Trump. The S&P was up 36% in real terms at this time of Trump’s presidency, or more than four times better.
Trump has made the case that the rise in the stock market in recent months is a result of the higher likelihood that he will be elected in November. I don’t put too much stock in that claim. If the stock market tanks, is he responsible for that too?

However, an analysis by ace investor Scott Bessent and a member of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity economic council, finds that fluctuations in the stock market over the past year have correlated positively with the betting market odds that Trump will win. Right now he stands at just above 50 percent. This relationship could be spurious and of course by far the biggest factor that drives stock valuations is profits.

One last price of investment advice.

Investors should pay attention to the Democratic agenda if they win in November. The Biden economic plan calls for doubling the capital gains tax, taxing unrealized capital gains, and raising both the corporate tax rate and the dividend tax. That is very bad news for sure for stocks.

And that, you can take to the bank.
......

Yes, America, Bidenomics has been a nightmare that will not end.​


Bidenomics Is An American Nightmare ​


In previous generations, Americans aspired to achieve a better standard of living than their parents. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, the American dream consisted of “good jobs, a nice house, two children, and plenty of money.”
Sadly, the American dream has turned into a nightmare as our country suffers through the economic policies of President Joe Biden. He labels this economic misery, “Bidenomics,” and mistakenly believes it will help him win another presidential term.

Sorry, Mr. President, but your policies are a disaster, despite liberal media cheerleading​

Sorry, Mr. President, but your policies are a disaster and Americans are longing for the prosperity they enjoyed under President Donald Trump. The latest ABC News/Ipsos poll showed that on handling the economy, Americans trust Trump over Biden by a 43-31% margin.
Despite liberal media cheerleading and Biden’s assurances of a strong economy, Americans feel much different. Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), a U.S. Senate candidate, complained in a recent debate about the “affordability crisis” in her state. She referred to a survey that showed “$127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough.” While she is right about the “affordability crisis” facing Americans, her solution is ludicrous. Lee proposes a minimum wage of $50 per hour.
Such a minimum wage would create massive unemployment as companies would lay off non-essential workers. It would also lead to higher prices for consumers and an even higher inflation rate, which has been a persistent problem during the Biden administration.
Over the three years of the Biden presidency, overall inflation has soared 17.9%, easily outpacing the 12.8% increase in weekly earnings in that period. Thus, “real buying power” is decreasing and hard-working Americans are falling behind.

Another disastrous consequence of Bidenomics has been the rapid increase in interest rates​

In some areas, the price increases are even more dramatic. For example, gasoline prices have skyrocketed 33.1%, household energy costs are 29.5% higher, while grocery prices have increased 21.0%. With such an economic nightmare, it is no surprise that 58% of Americans disapprove of Bidenomics.
In last week’s inflation report, monthly inflation increased to 0.3%, which equates to a 3.6% annual rate. Even worse, the “core” Producer Price Index increased 0.6% in January. In the view of Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s Senior Economic Analyst, the “reports are indicating that inflation is sticking around for a while. It’s a little like the guest that won’t go away.”
Along with high and persistent inflation, another disastrous consequence of Bidenomics has been the rapid increase in interest rates. Since inflation is continuing at a higher rate than most economists predicted, it will likely result in the Federal Reserve pausing on plans to decrease interest rates. Consequently, Americans will not see the relief they desperately need on credit card interest rates and mortgage rates.
In March of 2022, the Federal Reserve started raising rates to the target range of 5.25-5.50%. While there have been no increases since July of 2023, Americans have not seen the long-promised interest rates cuts.

Most analysts are now predicting that cuts may be delayed until after the June meeting of the central bank. Another reason for the delay may be the so-called strength of the American labor market, which showed a growth of 353,000 jobs in January and a 3.7% unemployment rate.
However, an analysis of the labor market indicates there are 183,000 fewer American born workers today than in the last quarter of 2019, prior to the onset of the pandemic. The job growth of 2.7 million since that time has been entirely due to the increase in foreign-born (both illegal and legal) workers.
Another troubling statistic is that only 75.6% of American-born men without a college degree are in the labor force. This participation rate is lower than the pre-pandemic levels and has been steadily dropping since the 90% level in the 1960’s.
As noted by Steven Camarota and Karen Zeigler of the Center for Immigration Studies, “The long-term decline in the labor force participation rate of less-educated men is linked to serious social problems, from suicide and crime to drug overdoses and social isolation.”

59 million Americans of working age (16-64) are not participating in our labor force​

Overall, an astounding 59 million Americans of working age (16-64) are not participating in our labor force. These people are surviving by drawing on their savings, racking up more debt, living on government assistance or have become part of the growing number of homeless Americans.
As indicated in the recent economic reports, life in America under Bidenomics is quite a financial strain. It is hitting the millions of lower to middle class Americans the hardest.
Even fast food is no longer affordable for millions of Americans. A recent news story indicated that the cost of a “Big Mac combo meal” at some McDonald’s restaurants had jumped to $18.00. After backlash from consumers, the CEO of McDonald’s, Chris Kempczinski, admitted the company would need to pay “more attention” to “affordability” in 2024.
Unfortunately, there is extraordinarily little “affordability” for Americans who need insurance. In the last year, the cost of automobile insurance has increased 20.6% for automobile insurance. It has been increasing by at least 10% for 17 straight months.

It is not much better for homeowners’ insurance as there have been “double digit” increases in 25 states. Sadly, in some areas, especially those hit by recent natural disasters, homeowners’ insurance is not available at all.
There are many reasons for the insurance hikes, including the increasing costs for automobiles and homes and replacement parts. For owners of electric vehicles, battery replacement can be necessary for minor accidents and can be extremely expensive. Of course, the Biden administration has been pushing electric vehicles for three years as they have declared war on the domestic oil and gas industry.
Biden coupled his extreme “climate agenda” with massive federal spending, such as the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” in 2021. As explained by U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD), “This reckless bill flooded the economy with unnecessary government money, and the economy overheated as a result…from this misguided spending, we’re still dealing with the inflation crisis that President Biden and Democrats’ spending helped create.”

Yes, America, Bidenomics has been a nightmare that will not end.
 
trichrider

trichrider

Kiss My Ring
Veteran
Hiddenjems said:
They’ve both had the chance, and neither has rescheduled cannabis. Fuck them both.
Click to expand...
sorry but the President isn't able to reschedule cannabis.

that is up to Congress, the FDA, and the DEA.

and if that is your only deciding factor than it is good you don't vote.
 
Zeez

Zeez

---------------->
ICMag Donor
trichrider said:
Well son, That Leaves YOU Out!
...and progressives are progressing past fascism to full blown communism.
Click to expand...
Trichy, A little knowledge goes a long way here. I've been to "communist" countries, Lived in countries that you think are "socialist", and know people who were in countries occupied by "fascists". Facts don't seem to matter to you, but you'd be allot better off asking questions about things you really don't know Jack Shit about.

People in the US get the shittiest deal because they get ripped of on medical, Student loans for college are a huge rip off and retirement benefits suck. Working people get ripped off paying all the taxes and your boy Chump just robbed us blind by giving 8 Trillion Dollars in tax breaks to the rich which working people will have to pay for. Republicans are kicking your ass and you keep begging for more.
 
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