We reported in late July that the Biden administration was refusing to use the “R” word (recession), after the U.S. economy shrank for the second month in a row. But the Federal Reserve bank and its chairman Jerome Powell swung into action, announcing mere days later they were raising the interest rate by the highest percentage in a while — 0.75 percent — in hopes of cooling consumer spending.
But despite all signs pointing to the country suffering from a recession, Democrats are still unable or unwilling to admit it. Here’s just the latest example: Progressive Democrat Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren are “worried” … that the Fed will “tip this economy into recession,” as she said on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash Sunday:
Warren said:
I am very — I am very worried about this, because the causes of inflation, things like the fact that COVID is still shutting down parts of the economy around the world, that we still have supply chain kinks, that we still have a war going on in Ukraine that drives up the cost of energy, and that we still have these giant corporations that are engaging in price gouging, there is nothing in raising the interest rates, nothing in Jerome Powell’s tool bag that deals directly with those. And he has admitted as much in congressional hearings when I have asked him about it. Do you know what’s worse than high prices and a strong economy? It’s high prices and millions of people out of work. I’m very worried that the Fed is going to tip this economy into recession.”
She seems to be misunderstanding the problem; of course the Fed Chair raising interest rates doesn’t “deal directly” with the laundry list of things she says cause a recession — because they don’t cause a recession. And let’s remind the senator that COVID doesn’t “[shut] down parts of the economy around the world.” That would be those nation’s leaders, including the CCP, doing that. Regardless, the U.S. has no control over what another country decides to do. Naturally, she has to take a swipe at the evil corporations, as any dutiful leftist must at every opportunity.
Also, can we dispense with the excuse of the war between Ukraine and Russia as a boogieman for inflation? It’s getting old.
In the same interview, Warren seems oblivious to the effect giveaways like the Biden executive order on student loan forgiveness have had and will continue to have on wrecking the economy:
Her full answer to Bash’s question:
I am so happy to see what has happened. I recognize that, right now, hardworking families, middle-class families, working-class families have gotten some real relief. Think about it this way. Most of the relief that the president has given — remember, the majority of people are going to get $20,000 in student loan debt relief; 40 percent of the folks who have student loans do not have a college diploma, four-year diploma. These are people who are truck drivers and who are nail technicians and nurses’ aides. They are actually going to get their debt canceled out. And that means they’re going to be able to build stronger futures for themselves and for their children. This is about America investing in people who work hard, who play by the rules, and who just need a government on their side. And Joe Biden has done what Joe Biden does best. He has delivered for working families.
Let’s break the numbers down. If 40 percent of these borrowers are not, as Warren calls them, “folks” with a bachelor’s degree, that means 60 percent are. I’m not math whiz, but I’m pretty sure that’s a majority of the people benefiting from this handout.
But is it really a surprise that, whether it’s on the recession and the Fed’s actions, she either misspeaks or twists the real numbers on this? That’s how neo-Marxists like Warren think. And the larger issue is this: If someone doesn’t understand the problem, how exactly can they come up with a solution?