Inflation

I went to lunch with Bubba267 at our favorite restaurant on Friday. Usually there would be a 30-40 minute wait for a table but Friday no wait at all.

Yep we’ll see some belt tightening, gals in the clubs are gonna have a tough time of it, the old men with their portfolios are going to start lowering their expenses.

Cue the “ now’s the time to get discount extras” threads…

^ I see you’re channeling your inner Rick Dugan

Over $80 to fill the tank on my Nissan Altima yesterday.

Prediction: Dancers will raise prices in an attempt to keep their income at the same level. Second Prediction: it won’t work.

It's going to be an interesting summer. I'm not a huge fan of elbow-to-elbow crowds, so to a degree I don't mind this. Then again, there can be too much of a good thing...

^ LOL. But no, IMHO we're not quite there yet. Sure the clubs are slowing down a bit but a lot of these girls are also working vanilla jobs and the labor market is still pretty tight. If anything, right now this just seems to be motivating girls to reduce their shifts at the club. I don't think we'll see motivated service spillover in the clubs until the economic pain leads to broader slowdowns and job losses. But to be clear Drew, I would <strong>never</strong> ask a lady for a "discount" from normal market prices. My enjoyment of tough economic conditions extends only to their help in turning a NO into a YES, not in getting that YES on the cheap. That's a very important distinction dude. 😉

My last post was targeted at 25 and Drew.

^ Sorry Rick I was just kidding a bit I didn’t mean it as a slam.

In addition to fewer customers, I’ve also sensed that a higher percent of the customers are not getting dances.

The number of PL's at the club are lower. The ladies are complaining. Much less traffic on the roads too

I think the question is, is this just start of it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voOWwB2Jx4M I'm thinking this is gonna be worse than 2008 too personally. Because this time the dollar is fucked. And this fucking guy wanted to spend even more with BBB. Joe Manchin might've saved this country.

Strip club wise, let's see how those $50 dances sell. I could get a hotel for that for fucks sake.

I just booked a flight to a city that I have traveled to a lot this year. I paid about 50% more than I had on the 4 or 5 previous trips I had made there. Some of this is likely due to higher demand during vacation season but at least some of it had to be because of the cost of fuel. The IRS is going to raise the mileage reimbursement rate from 58.5 cents to 62.5 cents on July 1st. The last time this happened was 2011, another time that gas prices went through the roof.

@rick I was just kidding around, and didn’t mean you in particular, no offense meant.

Joe Manchin has the same donors as Joe Biden. He's his right hand man hence why he'll never go against or criticize him. Fuck them both and fuck republikkkans even more.

Clubs are slower now than slow season. Management is trying to raise prices on admission drinks pushing bottle service. Requiring girls to sell sections. All of this negatively impacts girls earning potential. So dancers are earning less and clubs are killing themselves off with price gouging. Same with restaurants and other businesses. It's like Lenin said. The capitalist will sell you the rope to hang him with. Their own greed is killing them off. But fuck them

Most of the “experts” are downplaying how bad this will get. These are the same experts who said inflation would be short lived. Saw a new term today. Incession. Inflation with a recession. The worst inflation is going to be food and energy. Those are already up 20%-25%. Prices may come down for some luxury and discretionary goods. I expect that real companies that make real products won’t see their stock prices drop too badly. Tech companies without a business plan for making money are already getting hammered. Hiring freezes are already in place. Massive layoffs are just a few months away. Housing will drop 30% or more in the overvalued markets like Boise, Austin, Charlotte. This won’t begin to get better until the Fed raises interest rates to the point they are higher than inflation. That would trigger a near depression that would last a year or two. Otherwise, the pain is going to be less severe but never ending.

Inflation as it's used now is just a euphemism for cash grab in a sinking unsustainable system.

One of the differences between now and the late 1970s is, back then, companies reacted to higher prices by making more goods, which resulted in more supply and lower prices. This time, energy is the core problem. The government won’t allow increased drilling. So, the supply won’t go up and prices won’t go down. And, high energy prices cause everything to be inflated. For example, fertilizer requires natural gas for production.

A client of mine and I were talking last week. He said “man management is coming down on me hard asking why sales are down.” He told them “what is wrong with you, the disposable income isn’t there this year that was available last summer and the people with money are afraid to spend because they don’t know what’s going to happen next.” Can’t argue with his assessment. Are we going to pay $9 a gallon for gas in Texas and the Midwest soon? Are 4 ears of corn going to cost $5 at Walmart soon?

You have corn in stores?

Mortgage rates jumped half a percent in the last TWO DAYS.

Yeah so much trapped equity in homes right now. HELOCs are going to come back in a big way for that last little bit of water out of the stone

===> "Hiring freezes are already in place. Massive layoffs are just a few months away." @Mark: I agree with a lot of what you said except for part of this. IMO it's going to look more like a death by 1,000 cuts. There's still a lot of excess cash floating around in personal savings accounts and government coffers that needs to be spent down before economic activity really craters. My guess is that we'll start to see more serious pain by year-end. For those of us who can manage to avoid taking our own income hits, it could be a very interesting Xmas season in the clubs, lol.

I've seen less inflation in clubs than other places. When I went to FKK Sharks, prices were same as those described in reviews from the pre-COVID days (though more services cost extra). Club Desire prices haven't budged in years except for extras, and those increased 1-2 years ago. I work from home, and don't spend a ton on gas. But I see the prices at the station down the way creep ever upward. Biggest impact is on food. That gets transported by fossil fuel-powered trucks, too. Same stuff I normally prepare costs at least 20% more. I increased my own rates for my consulting too. I know my corporate clients can afford it. Moved a lot of money into safer, countercyclical stocks. I'm still taking hits, but not nearly as bad as my friends long shit like Tesla and Amazon.

Damn - I passed by my local Chipotle today around 5:30pm - there's usually a line to order even at this time - today there was just obe person in line and just one person eating inside - def way out of the ordinary

Now that I see how pessimistic you guys are, I think it may be time to move my money from CDs to stock again. S&P 500 ended today at 3750. I'll bet it's above that by July 13.

Couple beers and a couple sandwiches at a local bar - $50 - plus $10 tip = $60. Seems like it was $40 last year. We’ll be more likely to eat takeout sandwiches now on a week night when I work late. People vote with their feet - they’ll stay home.

I went grocery shopping. What would have been around $40 before the pandemic was $150 today. Lots of things not in stick. Very few customers but extra security...

@Ski: I remember seeing that car in Providence!

'Very few customers but extra security...' So dougy, it appears that you're saying that you couldn't steal any produce today? It probably explains why your grocery bill was higher, lulz

I went to Club Rio here in Indianapolis Saturday night and it was emptier than I've ever seen it on a Saturday night. I then went over to a nearby strip club, The Pony, and it was the same thing. My stripper regular at the Pony seemed extra friendly. She asked me to sit and talk with her, laughed harder than normal at my lame jokes and said "I love you so much" at one point. I brought up inflation and she immediately started talking about how horrible it was. She's probably losing customers and is worrying a lot about making ends meet which is why I got the extra friendliness.

I am working in St. Louis right now, just finished up a work week and it was normal earnings for me. But I am seeing all over on social media that clubs are empty and girls are making less than $100 per shift. I worked in the last recession and it was good for me but I’m really unsure if I should try to just work a normal job or ride the wave til the wheels fall off….

@PSD - one advantage you have is you're somewhat mobile where a lot of dancers can't leave their home base, may well work to your advantage in the long run. Well all the accounts above of how dead places are or how much their prices have gone up are so true. I stopped by my local grocery store (upscale for my community) and there is ALWAYS a line at the self check out section. No matter if it's 7AM or 10PM there is ALWAYS A line, until today. Only 1 person checking out at the 10 kiosks. My company stopped all discounts to customers in the beginning of 2021. Shockingly very few customers complained (I had probably 2 out of 100). Those added profits we made will probably barely cover our added fuel bills. All the money we all saved during COVID lock downs are just going to be blown to survive now. UGH!

^^ this is just my normal place to go though, and my thinking would be that big cities are a safe bet but I see girls saying Dallas, Houston, the Florida metros, and Vegas are going badly. I have a friend in Vegas and she said she’s doing good but she tips the hosts $$$ for good customer hook ups.

Vegas clubs have door people and managers. What hosts does she tip? And how does the host hook her up with good customers? Even with bottles it doesn't work like that

"... All the money we all saved during COVID lock downs are just going to be blown to survive now ..." I've been hearing that credit-card-debt is at it's highest-levels in 10-years - one would assume it's people using CCs to-make-ends-meet given how much inflation is eating into their disposable-income - or related to inflation, just how expensive shit has gotten - I've def seen my monthly CC-bill be significantly higher over the last few-months and I'm def not buying more shit than I usually do, I may even be buying less yet my CC-bills have been consistently, and significantly, higher, over the last few-months.

Icee I beg you, please understand I have credibility for what i say as I have worked at Sapphire for more than 5 years, I have also worked at Crazy Horse, Olympic Garden, and Rhino. There is a host in every VIP area just for 15 minute and 30 minute and hour long dance booths, because alcohol is sold there. There is a host for skyboxes. There is a host for scheduled parties and VIPs who are coming in. There is a host for people who are brought from the strip in limos. Dancers in upscale clubs do not always sell the rooms. So if you take care of the hosts and bottle girls and servers who bring you to a customer they will continue to help you and even call you to come in when a good group is coming in, or when a customer says “I like blondes” they will page you first to come to the room. In any dance are besides the floor dances we have to pay a portion to the hosts for the house and for alcohol so there are MANY hosts. Tipping all the people who help you is a great practice, it is definitely a thing and this is why I say men know only a small percentage of how stripping works.

Hey PSD I think I did a skybox at Sapphires with you about 4 years ago. More Great News! https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/big-short-investor-michael-burry-120347737.html

Buy da shit coinz now!

PSD is rite. Shit up icee

Why/how do you think you did a skybox w me…?

For much of the last 10 years, companies could easily borrow money at close to 0%. One byproduct of that was they could afford to overstaff. As a result, productivity has been relatively poor. Now that borrowing is more expensive, companies are reconsidering staffing levels and unprofitable components of their business. Layoffs are definitely coming.

Many people refinanced their mortgage to something like 3%. As a practical matter, they cannot move because that would mean taking on a mortgage at more than double the interest. Just one example of the way inflation upends our lives.

Vip areas are staffed by bouncers and floor staff. And yeah they can recommend a girl who greases their palm. Its not as glamorous as you make it seem.

Also an expensive tourist trap doesn't mean upscale

Ok so 30 minutes ago there’s no such thing and now that I explain it so you can understand, my explanation makes the logistics of a superclub—just HOW IT WORKS—sound *too nice.* Mmkay got it.

I would have thought they're be lots of flush PLs in East Texas because of oil prices.

^ All the while the arabs are pumping your ass through your glory hole, DIPSHIT!

Then, there is the bizarre situation in Europe where they are effectively at war with Russia while funding Russia’s army through energy purchases.

“ Why/how do you think you did a skybox w me…?” That was a joke! But you’d be one of the few that would make me dumb enough to drop that kind of money at Sapphires.

Regarding the economy, and how it may or may not affect our strip club hobby, I still go back to my marina example. The guys with the most expensive boats and FU money do not seem to be affected by the price of fuel. It’s just the rest of us who have had to stay parked at the dock the last few months- instead of paying thousands $ to fill the tank.

^. I think IKB is pretty much on the mark. Personally, I’m in the “rest of us” category he referred to. While my personal decisions aren’t necessarily reflective of general behavior, I know I’ve cut back on my discretionary spending largely because I’d rather keep extra cash on hand right now due to inflation and the seeming volatility in economy in general. I got carownersvirus a while back and seem to still have the long version of it. Normally, I feel fine but the symptoms are panic and anxiety near gas pumps. It’s as much a psychological thing as a strictly financial thing but it makes me think twice before I make any fun expenditures. I still get to strip clubs at times just as I still stock up on the hot fishing lures or take in a baseball game. I just haven’t done as much of that in 2022 and don’t plan to.

If it hasn’t already, the peak is right around the corner and prices will no longer rise. They’ll stay elevated and this will be the new normal everyone adjusts to, and the balance will come back to center. Very necessary process with so many young unemployed people being gifted cash for simply having a pulse. Those people Now realize you have to get out there and do something if you want to get something.

Where are people getting consistent cash for doing nothing? These prices aren't sustainable unless wages go up drastically. You can't have a consumer society without consumers Some of you are weirdos who fanboy price gouging and business sector profits but bitch and shine about hookers charging too much

There are two primary causes for the mess we are in. First, we have record government debt, paid for by printing money. The debt will continue to rise and the printing press will continue to run. In fact, as interest rates rise, servicing this debt will become nearly impossible. Inflation is always caused by too much money chasing too few goods. Second, we have regulated the US energy industry almost out of business. That causes high energy prices and a reliance on expensive foreign oil. High energy prices raise the price of everything. Importing oil raises debt. Until someone ( like Biden ) addresses these two issues, we are stuck with high inflation and the resulting recession. So, unless Biden has a road to Damascus epiphany, the peak is not around the corner.

===> "If it hasn’t already, the peak is right around the corner and prices will no longer rise." You obviously missed the most recent Producer Price Index readings, which registered at an annualized 10.8% for May. PPI is generally considered a harbinger of future price increases to be passed along to consumers.

People have too much money ? And business are too regulated so they price gouge? But with magic libertarian fairy dust and no regulations they'd charge us less??? 🤡🤡🤡 The problem is greed and a major cash grab in an unsustainable system that's falling apart

Mark I remember you trying to rationalize that a one income household is better off than a two income one...and that Trump won the elections. 🤡🤡🤡 I'm still waiting to hear about how rich everyone is off the free money being given out 😭😭😭😂😂😂😂

ICEE, your lack of reading comprehension, and ignorance of economics, is staggering.

From America’s paper of record ( the Babylon Bee ): WASHINGTON, D.C.—Biden attempted to calm fears of a crashing economy and coming recession today assuring Americans the economy is every bit as vibrant and healthy as he is. "You people have nothing to worry about. Best economic recovery ever! The economy is just as fit and healthy as Old Joe!" said Biden to a 12-year-old girl in the junior's clothing section of JCPenny he mistook for an MSNBC reporter. "If I wasn't the picture of health, do you think I could do this?" Biden then got in the push-up position but quickly forgot why he was down there and decided to go to sleep. The White House's gay-black Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Biden's assertions after flipping through her notebook for 30 minutes to find the correct response. "Yes, the economy is very healthy," she said, "just like the president. I am gay and black."

My ignorance? You're the ones saying everyone is getting so much money for free. Where? And Trump js really tge president. Yeah go tell people they have to suffer coz they have too much money and the rich just have to get it out of them before prices stabilize and they better get Used to it. Then bitch and whine about how hookers are too expensive and it's not fair

Well Dugan, keep in mind the 10.8% figure you refer to is looking backwards to compare the yoy rate.I was referring to figures looking forward. They’ve peaked, and consumer behavior is confirming this. See you in 12 months and we will see rates closer to 3 or 4%, and if recession is strong enough maybe deflation

“You're the ones saying everyone is getting so much money for free” If you knew the first thing about economics, you’d understand what I meant when I said there was too much money in circulation. The money supply. It has nothing to do with how much money an individual has in their pocket.

@Mate: I'm aware that it is a backward looking number, but it often also reflects cost pressures that have not yet been fully passed on the consumers, which is why it has forward looking relevance. As far as the rest, we shall see. Until something happens to relieve inflationary pressures on fuel, food and wages, I'm not as optimistic that inflation has peaked.

The Producer Price Index is a good predictor of consumer inflation a few months in the future since PPI reflects the cost of materials being used to produce goods.

The debate is all semantics, which in theory can’t be disproven. PPI being higher does portray elevated pricing, but if people aren’t consuming that’s where the balancing act comes in line with prices peaking, and going forward levels off because of supply and demand. Stronger dollar usually means commodities will come down in price, and you’ll see that in lumber, etc. Oil is the volitile wild card, but we’re already seeing demand destruction in most sectors leading to recessionary signals. What does any one of us have as far as insight? Nobody does because the markets are based on behaviors of billions of people on the globe, but everyone is saying they’re doing and spending less. Nobody on here could have predicted interest rates would have increased so much across the board, at least at this pace. We are seeing very healthy balancing going on, and I’m glad I kept money in cash ready to deploy this week. But what does any of us know, other than trying to be glorified wordsmiths?

Markets are expecting a 75 basis point hike this week, I think maybe a full percentage point, might be better, just rip the bandage off and get it over with, we're still giving out too much money.

I'm wondering how many more 100 bp hikes we need before we get on top of inflation. Conventional wisdom is fed funds rate needs to be higher than inflation and we're nowhere close. Oh, and now we've got 2 yr rates > 10 yr rates and 5 yr rates > 30 yr rates. Stagflation is all but official. Wonder when Biden talks about how cheap our 4th of July BBQs are.

How the blockbuster & Hollywood video are gone and you get movies right from wherever you are. May the same going to happen someday soon. Dancers may connect forbdirect OTC with customers. So, inflation & technology may eliminate middleman expensive brokers called Strip clubs.

If the Fed gradually, slowly raises rates, and the President keeps spending while blocking drilling, it might be a decade or more before we get out of this hole. If the Fed aggressively raised rates, while the President allowed oil, gas, and refineries to expand production, we could put the worst of this behind us in 1-2 years.

I know its bad if Dancers I rarely text are asking me to visit their apartments now.

I work at home and drive a subcompact. Generally I need less than 10 gallons of gas per month. Unless I get laid off, I'm not cutting back on what I spend for the companionship of women out of my league. If inflation stays over 15% for a year or more, it will accelerate, and any money you save now will become worthless. I'm going to enjoy myself while I can. We may soon be in country where only a elite can enjoy themselves, as long as are devoid of empathy for the rest of the population.

"No one would know it from this board, but most people who go to strip clubs aren't looking for extras." I think there's a difference between not being interested and not knowing how to make it happen. Not actively looking to me is more in line with how dudes are wired than not looking at all.

"I'm going to enjoy myself while I can." Looky there. Proof we can agree on something lol, even if it's only one sentence.

"I know its bad if Dancers I rarely text are asking me to visit their apartments now." That sounds good to me. Maybe.

Here’s a summary of the bind we are in: 1) The U.S. has $31 trillion in debt. 2) The U.S. is already spending $305 billion in interest payments every year with rates at ZERO. 3) Every 1% increase in rates by the Fed means U.S. debt payments rising another $300 billion. 4) The Fed wants to raise rates to 3%... which would mean the U.S. spending nearly $1 trillion in interest payments… without reducing its debt by a CENT! 5) This would mean the U.S. spending 25% of its current budget on interest payments alone… while its debt pile continues to rise by trillions per year. 6) Interest rates need to exceed the rate of inflation for a period of time in order to break the inflationary cycle. That means interest rates of 8%, with $3 Trillion in debt payment. So, to bring inflation under control is going to be very painful and very costly. Does the federal reserve, and the federal government, have the resolve needed to accomplish this ?

If you don’t think the federal government will find the resolve to beat inflation, it follows that: 1. High inflation will become permanent 2. The only hedge against inflation will be owning hard assets such as farmland and stock in companies providing necessities such as food and energy 3. Except for the very wealthy, life will be a struggle.

There will be a revolution when people ate evicted en masse and good is unaffordable. We'll have a class war

The real revolution will begin in November when the politicians responsible for this ( both Democrats and Republicans ) are thrown out of office.

By the way, when the economy really hits bottom, the government will no longer be able to spend trillions on stimulus or enhanced unemployment. We’ll be on our own. All the more reason to address inflation aggressively and get through it as quickly as possible.

Here in Arizona, there are dozens of new home communities being built with prices in the $500,000 to $800,000 range. These were all planned when mortgages were 3%. As these homes come on line, mortgages are 6%. If we are going to beat inflation, mortgages will need to rise to 12%. Who is going to buy all those $800,000 homes when the annual mortgage payment exceeds $100,000 ? Just one example of the disruption that is coming.

Cash buyers I guess. Anyone that has a 2-3% loan and one house isn't going anywhere. Things have always been based around the monthly payment relative to income so either the buyers of those $800k homes are enjoying a surge in wages beyond what we have even seen already, or those houses are going to be 400k in the future. Or more likely, cash buyers/corporations will buy up everything and usher in a new era of digital feudalism with 90% of Americans renting from the other 10%

The way inflation keep going up like tornado, the day might come sooner that everyone have to spend an extra 1000 $ per month, which could easily dent their strip club budget for middle and lower income customers. So, probably starting 4th quarter of of 2023, slowly many clubs may shutdown their business. Out of 10 clubs eventually 3 to 4 will survive. So, it will be more competitive for dancers to get a job in a club and sustain.

The clubs with the biggest overhead costs, the big party clubs, are most at risk. The smaller niche clubs might survive by focusing on the hardcore PLs.

If we go into a serious recession, or even depression, people will be looking for escapist forms of entertainment to get away from the harsh realities of daily life. In the depths of the Great Depression, it was very popular for guys to go to dance halls and pay a dime to dance with pretty young women. They could also sit and talk with the women. These women were attracted to this because they made higher than normal incomes. If something like this could flourish in such bad times it's possible strip clubs could survive in similarly bad times because there are some similarities between the two,

^ If that's correct the late afternoon early evening shift's will become the desirable shifts for dancers to make money.

Prostitution also thrived during the Great Depression. Chains of brothels, known as ringer houses, were everywhere. Prostitutes typically charged two dollars for fifteen minutes. There were regular health checks and the houses were a safe place for the women, providing room and board. Much like the speakeasy’s, ringer houses were run by organized crime. The police were paid off. It was an open secret.

I'm still not convinced about how fast or deep the next recession might be. Right now it's a real mixed bag of signals. Spending is slowing down a little in some retail sectors, but actually rose a bit in some services sectors. There's still record amounts of excess cash floating around in personal savings accounts and government coffers that probably needs to be spent down before economic activity really craters. The stock market is taking a hit, but is still trading above pre-pandemic highs. It has a heck of a lot more room to fall before financial services firms consider massive layoffs, which actually hurt strip clubs as much as anything in '08-'09. Labor markets are still tight as fuck, so much so that even local restaurants and gas stations around here are offering entry level workers $18 per hour. Economic activity will need to shrink <strong>a lot</strong> before the labor equation equalizes. House and auto purchases are cratering, but we have also been suffering from extremely low inventories of both, so it will likely be some time before we see widespread deep declines in the prices of either. How deep those declines will ultimately be is also a big question mark. Again, lots of mixed signals. I suspect that whatever ultimately shakes out of this will be many months in the making and we'll see it in fits and starts.

@heaving: I don't disagree that easy money has made the stock market less reliable as a standalone indicator. But keep in mind that approx. 5% of the U.S. workforce, including some of the most highly paid salaried employees in the country, rely upon those asset valuations to fund their paychecks. Some states also derive a significant portion of their tax revenues from the industry in the forms of payroll and capital gains receipts. So a huge drop in the market has real consequences on Main Street, especially if it lasts for several months or longer.

“I'm still not convinced about how fast or deep the next recession might be.” The final shoe to drop will be layoffs. Those will result from businesses reacting to higher capital costs, squeezed margins, and reduced demand. If/when that happens, things will spiral down. We are already seeing some of this in tech. Construction should react soon with the rise in mortgages. Other industries will follow.

Shrub is off his meds, I wonder why, he still hasn’t paid nice spice the money he owes her, What a welsher prolly hasn’t paid the pharmacy too

And 75 bp it is. Market off its earlier day highs but not getting pounded. We need to take our medicine.

The Biden energy policy is a guaranteed disaster. Watch out for E15 this Summer if you care about your car. You can do 90/10 regular/super mix if you have to use E15. Ethanol is really bad for cars, and it's converting a food stock into fuel, which also fucks refineries and causes them to pay penalties (because smaller refiners can't blend E15 and have to buy credits). It's almost as if the Biden Admin is purposefully trying to tank the country, I mean that's a conspiracy theory so not true, but they really couldn't do much better if they were trying.

Today increased the rates by.75. So, it could make things worse, borrowing at higher interest rate will screw up most prices, probably other than real estate? Better, every one cut down their strip club visits or expenses by 30%, unless you make more than 150k or real rich.

Any biofuel which is what ethanol is will dry out and crack any seals in your car when burned, essentially damaging your engine so that’s why the fuel needs to be kept at a maximum of 10% ethanol. Corn producers live ethanol, but it’s so expensive to transport and refine that we are better off going electric vehicle on the grid, even with soaring battery expenses. It will be interesting to see how much people will stop buying things like goods, and spend their money on services like travel and dining out with summer coming along. I’m sure it will be after Labor Day before fuel prices taper off.

The COVID shutdown was the final straw, smashing American capitalism. We needed to go to UBI and Public Housing. But instead Pelosi and Trump took a Weimar approach and used the printing press to prop up the Real Estate and Securities Bubbles. So this is why we have such inflation. The way to stop it is to take back the money by increased income and wealth taxes on the rich. But the Republican Party is blocking this in the Senate. So all by himself, Biden can tell the Fed to raise interest rates. SJG Newshour Today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVMa1jBjNq8 https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=2897 https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=3020

^ Someone was sick the day they taught economics in economics class. Manchin and Sinema are the reason inflation is only "very high" and not "through the fucking roof."

Upper income tax hikes are the best way to reverse the inflation. Just taking back some of the profits reaped from the COVID disruption. SJG

^ Spending is a sure thing. Tax revenues are not, particularly on the people with the accountants and lawyers to avoid it. Europe dumped wealth taxes due to disappointing revenues and capital flight. We need a government that does its circumscribed duties well, rather than places itself at the center of American life.

Since the Republican Great Depression, our economy has only functioned because of the government being at the center of it. SJG

This is simply amazing to scroll this post. There’s a lot of good theories, stated facts and even some wild (but good) theories floating around. The. You have scrub talking about people getting torqued up for anal sex, and SJG totally out in left field babbling nonsense. It’s like everyone is talking economics (except scrub talking about anal sex) and SJG shows up with his Fabio paperback thinking everyone is talking romance novels.

It was only with the COVID hysteria that the congress started talking in Trillions. Up until then they had only talked in Billions. SJG newshour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVMa1jBjNq8

In the midst of record inflation, a border disaster, and a supply chain crisis - the Democrats thought today would be a good day to have Congress vote on…. Mandating the Federal Reserve to *solve racism.*

Biden and the Democrats are doing an extremely good job. Just need to have more of them. SJG

If the federal government confiscated every dollar from every billionaire, it would fund the government for a few days. The spending insanity goes much too deep to solve by taxing the rich.

"Biden and the Democrats are doing an extremely good job. Just need to have more of them." LOL! Thanks for the laugh, man. Biden is a fucking shit show who is 15 points underwater for a reason.

Money recirculates unless it gets into the hands of the rich. ANd it is for this reason that you need to have much higher progressive taxation to avoid a situation like the Republican 1920's, as that caused the great depression. But of course, progressive taxation has to start much lower than billionaires. The time of the highest rate of economic growth was in the Eisenhower Kennedy years when the top marginal tax rate was 90% Today no one wants to go that high, and the Biden proposal makes no tax hikes for anyone below $400k per year. Biden and the Democrats are doing very well, but they are having to fight for the mid-term because a lot of people have just been totally misled by the MAGA / Supply Side Doctrine, and by FOX News. SJG Wicker Park School of Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLrQ_oDCkGk

^ No one paid that 90%. Eisenhower Kennedy growth came in the post-WW2 years when we were the only manufacturing game in town. Germany and Japan were destroyed in WW2, China and SE Asia hadn't been built yet. We aren't going back to that. The rich don't make their money on income. You should know that. Biden and the American Rescue Plan caused this inflationary train wreck--low rates for years or not, they were the straw that broke the camel's back. The only reason they _might_ not take a record thumping in the House is because Manchin and Sinema have prevented the worst of their excesses, and Republicans seem obsessed with running their B-team for the Senate.

Of course high income people paid the 90%, And American growth was not funded by getting money our of Germany and Japan, it was funded by our own productivity being spread much further down the food chain, like Joe Biden says, from the middle-class outwards, and that means organized labor, not financializers. ANd no, know ne wants to take taxes that high. Bidens plan was infrastrucure, and some benefits, though the benefits has not yet passed.

@SJG, you don't get it. We could afford to pay someone straight out of high school union wages, 30 years in the workforce and a pension, because there was no one to compete with them. That's why benefits spread. The left calls everything they want "infrastructure" or "justice" as if that alters their essential nature. Talk about motivated reasoning. COVID has to be a hoax lest it impair access to the public library internet. UBI and public housing are a must because you can't keep a job or a house on your own. You're a great contraindicator for the way the country should be run.

Lawyers on the whole are pretty smart people. Skibum609 for some reasons seems to be the exception. SJG

Earlier in this thread I mentioned how my local Chipotle, which I go to often, was almost empty when I went a couple of days ago (there’s usually a line to order). I usually go to the same place almost every day to get a “cortadito” (small Cuban latte) – the last two days 2 different girls that tend to the “ventanita” (window where your order cortaditos) have told me it’s been very slow.

Many financial people are saying the Fed will keep hiking till the shit hits the fan – in the past that meant the stock-market going to shit and the Fed then reversing or stopping what they were doing – but many of these financial people are speculating that the Brandon administration may be fine with the stock-market going to shit and may only react/do-something if there is a strong-recession w/ lots of unemployment – whether that scenario can happen where the stock market goes to shit but there aren’t large job-losses in the overall-economy I’m not clear on.

I, and seems a lot of other people, have an eerie-feeling this is “the calm before the storm” and that we got some bad-shit coming-down-the-pike – hope this doesn’t turn-out to be the case but I don’t have faith in the current administration to at least not make it worse than it has to be.

It has begun. Layoffs are coming to many businesses: Revlon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday evening as it grappled with a cumbersome debt load and a snarled supply chain.

Revlon has been losing market share for years, the competition is tough for them after being at the top of the food chain for so many years,they haven't been doing well for the last 4-5 years and this is just the market moving on.

Another domino: Samsung Electronics is temporarily halting new procurement orders and asking multiple suppliers to delay or reduce shipments of components and parts for several weeks due to swelling inventories and global inflation concerns, sources have told Nikkei Asia.

Recessions are a necessary part of the business cycle. It forces businesses to improve their business model. New ideas, products, and processes are put in place and the economy becomes stronger and more stable. It’s a chance for renewal. It’s different this time. First, we’ve had 20 years of cheap capital and lazy business practices. There is a lot to clean up and it’s going to take much longer to correct. More businesses will die. More jobs will be eliminated. Second, the biggest mistake businesses made was outsourcing all their manufacturing to China. The zero CoVid policy in China has stopped manufacturing and US companies have no alternative. It took 30 years to do that and it’s going to take a very long time to get them back.

There is something very odd about the China lockdowns but nobody has figured what is really going on. Among the theories are: - Trying to crush the US economy - Preparation for invasion of Taiwan - Suppressing an insurrection - Another lab leak more severe than CoVid I can’t even guess what’s really going on.

From the outside the current China-lockdown doesn't make sense at this stage in the game/virus. A few days ago I was listening to a YouTube vid where the guest was a financial-guy that's used to doing business in China - according to him the China-lockdown had to fo with food-shortages and the Chinese government was using Covid as a cover; https://youtu.be/B1xKDRJj5dw

Paranoia is the fuel that conspiracy theories rely on to spread out of control.

"... Brink of recession? Atlanta Fed's GDPNow predicts zero U.S. growth in Q2 ..." https://seekingalpha.com/news/3849145-brink-of-recession-atlanta-feds-gdpnow-predicts-zero-us-growth-in-q2

In a normal world it would be consensus that we need a change in government. It’s part of the natural process to make an economic correction. But in our current backwards world the leftest media is working against nature by trying to distract people for economic reality and vote to keep the current regime in power. Is the American electorate that stupid and so easily manipulated? We shall see.

^ if future elections are like 2020 with massive mail-in-voting; bunch of unattended dropboxes; etc; then it won't matter what the electorate thinks or does

I don't think the problem is anything near that serious. SJG https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=6093

^ Sure! You say that because it's your side that's pulling and benefitting from the illegal shenanigans. If it was reversed you'd be screaming bloody murder!

Back to this shit....if democrats win its fraud if the most loony republikkkans win its democracy

This has been a rip off system for a long time, workers getting very little of the value from their work. SJG Sasha Allen, Gimme Shelter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clGX_J19_9o

^ You do know that Cesar Chavez and his workers got value for their work. Do you think Cesar Chavez might give up his holiday so that you would have an extra day a year to post from the library like the CIA dooes? What's your thoughts on the nutritional value of lettuce? What's your thoughts on the nutritional value of grapes? Did you ever have any wine made from grapes squished by Cesar's feet? Did his feet remind you of younger hat dancing boys? *after all they're Mexican too* Did you need a bathhouse towel boy to dry you off after your excitement of pondering Cesar's feet?

'like the CIA does' Lol

No one gets taken advantage of like the people who actually do the work, and this is what must change. Joe Biden is the most pro-labor President in our nation's history. SJG

Lol, forget the organization, with a little more polish and better material I see your career as a comedian. OK a creepy moron comedian but a comedian nonetheless!

Just think, you can forget about Cesar Chavez day, leave the CIA, give up the goats, find a new box from the dumpster, etc

Biden hasn't done a thing for anyone but his corporate donors and the Ukrainian regime

For 6 months all the experts in government and media assured us that inflation would be transitory. They all used the same word. Transitory. Meanwhile, everyone else knew that was bullshit. It was obvious that inflation was real and serious. The vast majority of regular people have common sense. Our elite, in the Washington bubble, are clueless as to what is happening in the real world.

The people in Washington, including Biden and Jerome Powell, are still saying everything is fine. Despite some inflation, the economy is sound. Recession is unlikely. The consumer is in good shape. Inflation will go away soon. No need to worry. Meanwhile, anyone shops in a grocery store or pumps their own gas, knows we are in deep shit.

It's all about sticking to the narrative consequences/country be damned. On the one hand, since the election Biden was constantly saying how he was gonna do everything in his power to end fossil-fuels - now he's criticizing oil-producers for not producing enough and thus prices being-high - America has turned into a bad soap-opera

How can oil companies have any empathy for an administration who's stated goal is to put them out of business.

If someone spending more than than 300$ per month in strip clubs in this heavy inflation means, you got a stupid.

The correct amount of money to spend in a strip club is (1) what you can afford, and (2) what you want to spend. If you want to go to a club and get a beer and two lappers, go for it. I've also known guys who can easily treat $300 like it's loose change in the sofa cushion. I've got no problem with that either.

The same people that are forever asking how much the girls earn are busy worrying about other folks spending habits, a word of advice, MYOB

Knock on wood, Desire (official) prices haven't increased in the decade plus I've been going.

Cumberland Farms hasn't increased their price for coffee and drinks in over 10+ years ... 99c any size!

Meanwhile, in Russia. According to CBS, the rouble is “the best-performing currency in the world this year.” Russia has also just reported, per the NYT, “a record €93bn in revenue from exports of oil, gas and coal.” As the WSJ put it yesterday “Sanctions so far fail to dent Russia’s war effort.”

$82.60 to fill the tank yesterday. Food shopping today is certain to be another kick in the balls as well.

I’m more worried about future food shortages than current food prices. For example, I read that farmers were butchering young hogs, reducing future supply, because feed prices made raising them unprofitable. Similar story with fertilizer and future corn and wheat crops.

US Manufacturing PMI fell dramatically to 52.4 in June 2022 from 57 in May. This drop is well below the market and economic expectations of 56, and now points to the slowest growth and steepest drop in factory activity in almost two years. Contractions in output and new orders are pushing the index down. Production and new sales declined for the first since the depths of the pandemic in mid-2020 driven by weak consumer demand. Inflation and a drop in wholesale and retail purchases have lowered purchase orders.

i’ve cut back my fun spending by half. and it sucks.

I noticed it bad last night when I went out, felt like I was the only one tipping and ended up moving seats to get out of view so the dancers would stop looking at me in desperation. Worst part was there were guys there watching close by but not tipping at all. Even told a dancer I wish these guys would tip cause it feels like I’m carrying the club tonight. Felt bad for the dancers and the manager that kept getting on the mic to remind people that the ladies work for tips.

In Phoenix, 10% of the homes currently listed for sale are owned by Open Door, the real estate investor. In the last couple years, 33% of homes sold went to investors like Open Door. It’s another sign that the real estate bubble is bursting. The investors are trying to sell before prices collapse.

^^you sound hurt poor baby

No one is trying to read your homoerotica..You really aren’t worth the time you’ve been on here since 2004 that really says it all. You truly are a scrub ass lame your name fits perfect.

https://apple.news/AFbjGcL_4Qv2o25Zjai6m2g See stupid fucks, I’m not the only one who says inflation has peaked. Dumbass Dugan has to quite PPI as something that’s backward looking instead of future leaning. Another I told you so moment.

Inflation is caused by too much money chasing too few goods. As long as the Fed keeps printing new money to pay for the massive government deficit, high inflation will continue. There are things that could help. Destroying the economy so no one can buy anything would help inflation. Letting energy companies increase drilling and refining would help. Ending the Ukraine war would help. But, as long as the government deficit is measured in the trillions, inflation will not go away.

Shrinkflation seems to be a thing. I've never been a soup-guy but for w/e reason I like the Olive Garden soup so I hit OG every once in a while mainly when in the mood for their soup - the OG entrees for the most part don't do much for me and rarely do I hit OG bc I'm in the mood for one of their entrees - but I usually buy an entree to get their unlimited free soup. My M.O. is usually to get a pasta fagioli soup first; then I eat half my entree; then I order a minestrone-soup and I'm usually stuffed after that and take the remaining half of the entree home. Last time at OG I ordered the grilled chicken breast that comes with Alfedo pasta - did my M.O. of having a pasta fagioli soup; then half my entree; then a minestrone-soup; but this time I wasn't full like usual - I ate all of the pasta which I rarely do (so it looks like there was less of it); and I left one of the two chicken breasts to take home as I did in the past; but I could have def eaten it tge whole entree bc I wasn't full where as in the past I'd be too full to finish the entree. A few days later after my OG visit I'm watching a YouTube vid of a guy talking about the economy and one of the things he mentioned is a report he'd heard about how restaurants are cutting-down pieces of meat thick-wise so the piece of meat looks about the same size as b/f in terms of length and width but it's actually about half the thickness (or at least thinner than typical); which reminded me that my OG chicken breasts looked kinka anemic.

Inflation is a global issue. UK inflation hits new 40-year high of 9.1% as food and energy price surge persists https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/22/uk-inflation-hits-new-40-year-high-of-9point1percent-as-food-and-energy-price-surge-persists.html The main drivers are the sequelae of the Covid pandemic, and now additionally the war in Ukraine. Anyone who tries to portray this as merely a result of Joe Biden's policies is just propagating false narratives to support their political agenda. Very common with right wing politics.

^ that's the talking point if one reads the liberal state media where they just repeat what the Biden regime wants to gaslight the public with. The government's actions created this inflation.

The dollar is the world's reserve currency and thus the U.S. has a big say/effect on the world economy (a bigger say/effect than any other country) - a lot of the world's inflation was exported by the U.S., and also many countries following the US's lead in terms of economic policy.

Papi - A few weeks ago I was at the grocery store. I had a half gallon of Breyers Ice Cream in the checkout line. The lady in line in front of me pointed at it and said there was no way there was actually a half gallon in it. She was certainly correct, you can visibly see the package is notably slimmer than it used to be. Many other items are as well. The companies figure people won't notice. A lot of people probably don't, but if you are looking for it, it's not difficult to see.

Biden was elected to be a competent centrist, he's proven to be neither competent, nor a centrist, still inflation is a world wide phenomena caused bt the pandemic and the Russian war on the Ukraine, one thing I believe is if the Republican party makes Trump their nominee in 2024, he's probably the only candidate that will lose to Biden.

If the Biden regime would have not declared jihad on the U.S. energy sector likely we wouldn't have the energy crisis here in the U S. and we could've been supplying Europe with energy which would've had a big effect on helping decrease inflation.

The Fed kept interest rates near zero for 20 years. That kept the stock market high for the wealthy. It kept home prices up for the middle class. It gave corporations the capital needed to build factories…….in China. It allowed companies to hire workers even when they were losing money. It got politicians re-elected. People felt good about the economy, the same way someone would enjoy life if they used credit cards to live large. It’s all good until you don’t make enough money to pay the credit card minimum payment. It took 20 years, but that time has finally arrived. We can no longer pretend that we can live beyond our means forever.

^ I hear you except for a point you keep forgetting, inflation was here before the energy shortage started, the cost increase in gasoline was the the loud bell ringing that caused everyone to sit up and take notice, but inflation and shortages go hand in hand, that's actually where the inflation started.

Democrats have been talking up increased energy prices as a good thing for years, to speed up the "transition." Biden slipped and brought it up again the other day. Now they can't decide whether they want high energy prices to please their green donors and activists, or low prices to save their asses and spare their voters misery. But they can't have it both ways.

25 - Trump did it to himself. I know several relatives, friends, and acquaintances in swing states that voted for Trump in 2016. They didn't like him, but they liked Hilary even less. So they held their nose and voted for him and hoped that once he was elected he would tone things down and act more "Presidential". He didn't. Four years later in 2020, those people still didn't like Trump and in many cases after 4 years liked him even less. The problem is, they didn't feel the same way about Joe Biden that they did about Hilary. And they pulled the lever to Biden. Unfortunately, there any many, many voters who consider personality and likability more than do actual policy. I'm no fan of Trump's personality either, but at least I knew that some of his policies I would agree with and I knew that there would be precious little if any any Biden policies I would agree with. Not that my vote made a rat's ass worth of difference living in Massachusetts anyway.

The pandemic and Putin are convenient scapegoats for bad government policies; as far as Biden is concerned it's everyone's fault but his (it was Trump; or white supremacy; or greedy meat producers; or greedy oil companies; or Putin; on and on); soon Biden is gonna be blaming Adam-and-Eve - the government response to the pandemic is what did the most-damage - and inflation was already out of control b/f Putin ever stepped foot in Ukraine. With all this, the Biden regime still wants to spend TRILLION$ more which is what got us in this mess in the first place.

The price we are paying for ending Trump’s mean tweets and crude personality is inflation, recession, Afghanistan surrender, cancel culture, invasion on our southern border, and political weaponization of the FBI and DOJ. Was it worth it ?

Most totaltarian regimes sell themselves to the masses as being the saviors/cure to the previous leadership - "put us in power and we'll fix everything and everything will be back to normal" - they are given the power/support then they swiftly move to consolidate that power and implement/force their true agenda which is power for themselves at all cost the country be damned.

===> "I'm no fan of Trump's personality either, but at least I knew that some of his policies I would agree with and I knew that there would be precious little if any any Biden policies I would agree with." I could barely stand Trump when I voted for him both times, but I didn't really see another choice. Now I utterly detest him. His never-ending attention-seeking and bogus election fraud narrative are causing rifts in the party. He already cost us the Senate by making his supporters in GA believe that their votes didn't matter during the Senate runoff elections. Now he just won't shut the fuck up and go away, instead continuing to get involved in local elections and making belief in his election fraud narrative a litmus test for his support or opposition. It's time for us to move on from this ridiculous fucking egomaniac. My fervent hope is that Ron DeSantis enters the fray in 2024. He has most of the same strong policy goals without the crazytown personality shit.

^ The price we are paying for Trump, is a country so divided that we can't get together, long enough to admire a gorgeous pair of tits, and have a beer in a friendly way, that's the price we are paying, this shit would get fixed in a hurry if our elected representative worked together properly, as the founding fathers intended.

^ This polarization shit was happening long before Trump. Obama rammed Obamacare down the Senate's throat on party lines using a dubious Reconciliation process and the Dems unilaterally scuttled the filibuster for judicial nominations. Obama also used Executive Orders like a cudgel, regardless of the their Constitutionality, along with sweeping expansions of the powers of the Administrative State. If not for the fact that the best we could come up with to challenge him in the midterm was an absurdly uncharismatic and barely Republican Mormon, Obama would have likely been a one-term President.

Trump's personality def cuts both ways - he seems to have burned a lot of bridges but then again in the opinion of many he got a lot of shit done in just 4-years - I wonder if he would have not been the way he was if he would have been able to get half the things he got done; if any; given how bad the DC swamp has gotten over the years. Trump had tried to run b/f 2016 and he had no success at all and was seen as a joke - I think the biggest reason he got elected was bc nothing was getting done in this country - IMO Trump's election was a reflection of our current dismal and corrupt political class - and say what anyone says Trump did mostly follow through on what he ran on and went to war with the swamp in order to get things done including battling half his own party.

"hope is that Ron DeSantis enters the fray in 2024" ^ Not a huge fan of his either, but I believe he's the best chance we have of finally putting the Trump shit to bed and moving on. For that reason, I'd probably support him too. And getting back on-topic, I stopped into a couple clubs known for solid weekend dayshifts yesterday and both were dead 🤷‍♂️

^ Ah yes, Obama's idea of working together - Budget negotiations with Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner: Boehner: "I put $800 million in tax revenue on the table, what do I get for that?" Obama: "Nothing, I get that for free." That's a funny way of working together. Or, Obama: "I have a phone and a pen" That statement of course made when making blatantly unconstitutional executive orders after previously publicly admitting on several occasions that he did not have the authority to issue such orders. Both sides have contributed to the divisions in this country. Both sides are largely uninterested in working the with other side. Both sides are being increasingly driven by their fringes. Don't pretend that one side has a monopoly on this.

Papi - honestly, I think the biggest (and possibly only) reason Trump got elected was that Hilary was his opponent. I think if the Dems had run anyone else short of Bernie, they would have won.

You need inflation if you are fishing in a Row raft or you will be Wade

Trump's "bedside manners" def leave a lot to be desired - it'd be great if he was like Reagan that got a lot of shit done and turned around this country all the while being suave and eloquent - but if my only choices are an abbrassive-guy that gets shit done, or a suave-guy that doesn't get shit done and it's in politics mainly to get wealthy; I'll take the former 7-days-a-week and twice on Sunday.

Papi - the problem is, that doesn't work long term. He couldn't get reelected that way, because there are enough people in the middle that consider likability to be as or more important than the candidate's policy positions. Neither side's base is sufficient to win a national election, you need to win the middle as well, if only by a slight margin. The likability factor killed Trump in 2020 and I truly believe if he runs again, it will kill him again. It's the same reason why Ted Cruz is not going to rise further than being a Senator from Texas. People make think he's intelligent, but they also think he's an asshole and they don't like him. And enough people will not vote for someone they don't like, regardless of other factors.

^ I agree with crosscheck. Trump was a hard pill for the Independents to swallow even after eight years of Obama's antics. If the Dems had fielded someone without all of Hillary's baggage and arrogance, Trump would likely have lost. The challenge for both parties right now is to get through the primaries with someone who can win enough support among the increasingly influential fringe groups, yet still be palatable to Independents. This is why I like Ron DeSantis. He oozes competence and common sense, but he's hardly a pushover. He won't take shit from the press or anyone, but he's in control of himself and sounds eminently logical when he responds to critics.

"... I think the biggest (and possibly only) reason Trump got elected was that Hilary was his opponent ..." Politics is def a people job and politicians gotta sell themselves to the masses - but not many politicians have that ability to convince as Eskimo to buy ice like Bill Clinton and Obama which IMO are def more (political) style than substance and are masters at it - Hillary is def not a natural politician and comes across that way - but I think it's rare (at least until 2020) for someone to win the presidency running mostly on not being the other person - I think Hillary had to do with Trump getting elected but at the end of the day Trump beat our a fields of close to 20 in the primary including well-funded candidates with good track records/experience, as well as in 2020 getting more votes in history than anyone "except" Biden.

I'm not claiming Trump started the polarization, I'm saying Trump exacerbated the divisions intentionally, to try to gain benefit from them. I don't agree that Trump accomplished very much at all, except to further Mitch McConnell's agenda of getting the Supreme Court, supposedly a non partisan body, to become a Republican branch of government, and that's no accomplishment in my mind, where's his wall, and how much has Mexico contributed. Speaking about China, they shined him on and he was a dupe for Xi, and Kim yung Fat, of N. Korea had a bromance with Trump but nothing ever came of that either, Russia and their Supreme leader Putin , made a fool of him, first in Syria, then everyplace else, so tell me what did he accomplish, what happened to infra structure week, the list of his failures is long, just like in his earlier life he was one of those rare guys to go bankrupt, while running a casino. Let's move forward, I too am not a giant fan of Ron DeSantis, but he has a better than even shot at getting something done, and he can win plus he's not such a polarizing person, knows when to keep his mouth shut, especially if the Democrats don't force Biden to retire, and put up a true centrist, not one of their progressive losers, that's my opinion FWIW.

For the record, I also prefer DeSantis in2024.

Most people agree DeSantis is the best and most well-rounded choice and recent polls (for what they're worth) have him edging in front of Trump for the first time since the election - it would suck if DeSantis and Trimo had to go to war in a primary

I doubt that Trump will just acquiesce, and let DeSantis to get the nomination in a dignified way, my bet is he will make the Republican primary into an even bigger clown show than he did in 2016, the main difference being, most folks are sick and tired of Trump's bullshit.

This thread shows how out of touch with reality many of you are. When thinking of inflation. Most Americans aren't extolling the benefits and virtues of higher prices for far right dogmatism. Not sure if you even believe it since you're out there bitching about strip club prices and searching for the cheapest hookers.

Sadly I agree with 25 that Trump is unlikely to quietly go away. Everything he's doing right now makes it pretty obvious that he has no intention of quietly fading into the background. He's just too much of a narcissistic egomaniac to move away from the spotlight and let go of his quest for power.

Trump got more votes than anyone in history "except" for Brandon and this was with 4-years of nukes being sent his way; 2 sham impeachments; and a completely corrupt media hell-bent on destroying him; as well as a "dubious", to put it mildly, 2020-election. He also in large part made possible the recent SCOTUS decisions; and obviously still has tremendous support given how well his candidates have done - his rallies in 2020 often were like rock-concerts with over 50,000 in a single rally. If you don't like the guy you don't like the guy but I feel he's earned the right to run again; and irrespective of his personality has accomplished a lot and done more for the conservative movement since Reagan. He's about the only prominent politician that comes to mind that likely became poorer vs richer after entering politics which IMO soeak$ volumes; and he's still willing to go thru it again.

^ you’re certainly entitled to your opinion but buddy remember those those nukes you think were fired at him , were really returned fire, that guy never went anywhere without sending out a few explosives on his own, and most of his injuries were self inflicted.

“He's just too much of a narcissistic egomaniac” Just like every other President in our lifetime. It’s almost part of the job description for POTUS. Some Presidents conceal their narcissism better than Trump, but it’s there.

What if da whole world farted at da same time? We got hyperinflation den

“… He's just too much of a narcissistic egomaniac …” Hard to argue w/ that – but as I posted previously, I’ll take that over what we have now – I’ll take that over an economy that looks like it’s gonna go down the shitter w/ the current regime aiding that vs doing everything they can against it – I’ll take the narcissism over record-crime in many parts of the nation – I’ll take the narcissism over Dem DAs that act more like defense-attorneys by letting free career-criminals w/ a rap-sheet almost as long as the Bible – I’ll take a narcissist over a demented socialist-wannabe taking this country in a less democratic direction day-by-day. Yeah Trump was no choir-boy; but speaking for myself I’ll take his accomplishments given his shortcomings; over the country that we have now and the country we are becoming where freedom of speech; freedom itself; the rule-of-law; your employment; can often be contingent on what your political believes/opinions are – the 2020-election IMO has been the definition of the “remedy” being worse than the supposed disease – the Biden remedy has led to a literal pile of bodies (record violent crime); disregard for the law if one is of the “wrong” political-persuasion; and loss of freedoms if one dares to challenge the current regime; etc; etc.

===> "If you don't like the guy you don't like the guy but I feel he's earned the right to run again; and irrespective of his personality has accomplished a lot and done more for the conservative movement since Reagan." I agree that he accomplished a lot, but IMHO his behavior made almost all of his accomplishments temporary and easy to reverse with the exception of the tax reforms. In the end he may have done much more harm than good. If Trump had been less of a whack job and put down the fucking Twitter account for a while, he'd probably still be in office and we wouldn't have Biden reversing all of Trump's executive orders and otherwise resurrecting the administrative state. If Trump had stopped spouting election fraud nonsense, which kept many GA Trump supports home during the Senate runoffs, we would probably have a Republican Senate. This would have prevented the multi-trillion dollar "American Rescue Plan" from coming to life as well as the many agency heads hostile to domestic gas production from being confirmed. Imagine how much different our inflation numbers could look today if none of that had taken place. So fuck Trump. He wiped out almost everything good he ever did with his antics during his last year in office. I should add that he was also howling for a big blowout stimulus bill during his lame duck period, so he was behaving just as stupidly as the Dems who thought that pouring gasoline on an already recovering economy was a great idea.

“… If Trump had stopped spouting election fraud nonsense, which kept many GA Trump supports home during the Senate runoffs, we would probably have a Republican Senate. This would have prevented the multi-trillion dollar "American Rescue Plan" from coming to life as well as the many agency heads hostile to domestic gas production from being confirmed. Imagine how much different our inflation numbers could look today if none of that had taken place. …” There’s plenty of evidence the election may have been another hoax just like the “Russian collusion”; the 2 sham-impeachments; and everything else they’ve tried to accuse Trump over that’s all been shams and lies - the same dirty tactics pulled in the presidential-race were pulled in the GA election b/c after-all what good would it do to have Brandon as president if there is still a Republican congress; the juice would have not been worth the sham. At the end of the day the 2020 elections in the opinion of many were def not free and fair elections; and I can probably list a dozen reasons why off the top of my head and I’m no insider. The 2000 Bush/Gore election was hotly debated and judicially debated and the results delayed and it was allowed to be taken to court – the 2016 election to this day you have many prominent Dems calling it an illegitimate election w/ non-other than the queen-B Hillary leading that charge – the 2018 GA gubernatorial election has been called illegitimate by many since 2018 – so you have the 2000 and 2016 races along with the 2018 GA race; all criticized to this day and in the case of the 2000-election fiercely adjudicated; but somehow the 2020 election can’t be touched nor questioned nor adjudicated in any way given all the changes; some even unlawful, that were made; all at the behest of the Dems to benefit the Dems (basically what’s done is done let’s get on w/o Trump) – unlike other elections; the 2020 election is somehow sacrosanct and can’t be questioned nor investigated in any way nor even commented on (anyone trying to investigate is blocked, and/or attacked with every name in the book from election-denier to white-supremacist to Putin-sympathizer to being “anti democracy”). “… So fuck Trump …” That’s pretty-much what it’s about – getting rid of Trump by any means necessary – IMO an obscene version of the ends justifying the means.

@Papi: There was no evidence produced by anyone which indicated that the GA election was rigged. There was a lot of hyperbole, innuendo and no small number of procedural snafus, but those happen in every election everywhere. Indeed reputable Republican officials in GA today, including the Governor himself, have overwhelmingly rejected the notion that there was any large scale tampering involved. Trump lost the support of a lot of people because he was unstable, erratic and too bombastic for many to stomach anymore. Biden won because he pretended to be the moderate voice of reason. But if you let me know where to send the tinfoil hats and special window shades I'll try to help you out. 😉 All he did with those wild claims was to keep some of his base home when we needed them voting for Republican Senators. Shame on him. He fucked us all.

“… But if you let me know where to send the tinfoil hats and special window shades I'll try to help you out …” In the words of Ronald Reagan … “there you go again” That is the go-to puss-ass line by the Dems and never-Trumpers – call names instead of argue the points. No doubt that those that resort to this are likely scared shitless of the truth or more specifically scared-shitless of Trump so they gotta smear and give weak-ass arguments like “he’s a narcissist”; “he’s mean’’; “tin foil hat”; and other deflecting shit. The facts are: 1) they’ve been trying to get Trump out of office even before he was even in office – Obama and the FBI he corrupted were falsely and likely illegally investigating Trump even b/f the 2016-election as soon as he became the Republican nominee 2) the very next day after Trump got elected they started w/ the impeachment shit 3) they created a fake “Russian collusion” bullshit which they fed to both the corrupt FBI and the corrupt media – both of which knew it was bullshit but it was part of the plan to not ask questions and run w/ it as if it was sent from God himself 4) they tried to impeach him twice, including just after he was out of office; all on trumped-up (no pun intended) bullshit that everyone in-the-know knew was bullshit (not to mention the hoax Muller witchhunt) 5) they are currently attempting a 3rd pseudo impeachment via this fake January 6 hearing which is really about trying to pin-it on Trump so he can’t run again – first time in history of Congressional hearings that both parties are not allowed to appoint their own members for a hearing – Pelosi blocked the members chosen by the Republicans and instead put 2-never-Trumper republicans that had voted to impeach him – basically a trial where you are not allowed to have a defense and your “defense lawyer” is the equivalent of someone chosen by the prosecution 6) Dems pushed for every possible election maneuver that could possibly be exploited for fraud from fighting signature verification (JIM CROW 2.0); to mass mail-in voting known/considered to be the most susceptible to fraud and why it was not allowed or very-limited in most states prior to 2020 – hell even Dem supporter and big-time never-Trumper Jeff Bezos did not allow any mail-in-voting in 2021 and fought it tooth and nail when workers in one of the warehouses where trying to unionize even though the pandemic/delta-variant was going strong at the time 7) the Dems pushed hard for unsupervised dropped boxes (first time in election history AFAIK) – Zuckerberg donated, or was likely shaken-down; to give 400 MILLION DOLLARS to spread these unsupervised drop-boxes “coincidentally enough” in key democratically controlled areas like Philly and Atlanta – the 24-hour unsupervised drop-boxes were supposed to be video monitored as part of the agreement to have them – but as w/ all the “coincidences” that just so happened ALL went the Dems way and helped the Dems; the supposed video-monitored drop-boxes often “coincidentally” had issues; either the video machines failed; they “somehow were not turned on”; or they just weren’t put in place like they were supposed to – and part of the video recordings that show possible vote-mules; authorities will not release them – gee their transparency is blinding 8) the Dems have completely politicized and weaponized the FBI and Justice Department and other agencies against Trump and anyone that dares to support him and they have done countless raids on Trump’s former staff using the FBI as their personal election/party enforcers/security-force – either raiding their homes and confiscating all their electronic equipment that any professional person needs to run their lives and business (particularly all the info on them); or sending heavily armed swat teams to arrest men in their 60s at 4am in the morning with CNN camera-crew in-toe – they have even gone as far as trying to block republicans from running in races and taking them to court claiming they were part of January 6 and are “insurrectionists” 9) the Dems blocking every possible election investigation by making sure investigations are only done by DAs in the districts where the fraud was committed which are democrat districts controlled by democrat DAs that will investigate fraud as much as woke Dem DAs go after criminals; i.e these Dem DAs won’t investigate shit that much should be obvious There’s more shit I can type but I’m running out of steam – basically they’ve been trying to get rid of Trump since b/f the 2016 election via sham investigations by Obama’s FBI and Justice Department – then once to their shock and horror that Trump got elected seemingly against all odds; there’s no way they could accept that and thus they move to remove him from office (impeach him) starting on day 1 and publicly stating that was their goal, and thus all the subsequent sham/fake accusations and sham impeachments including the current Jan-6 “hearings”. After they couldn’t stop Trump from getting elected in 2016; nor able to remove him from office during his term; no way in hell were they gonna leave it to something as risky as a fair-election and let Trump beat them again in 2020 as he did in 2016 and thus be in power for 4-more-years – I think they would have actually assassinated him if the political-hit they performed didn’t work. And thus you have the sham 2020-election with massive mail-in-voting (considered/known to be the most susceptible to fraud); unsupervised drop-boxes likely illegal but somehow made legal where anyone could drop anything in w/o anyone supervising this as it’s normally done at a polling place (and w/ the required video-monitoring often times “coincidentally not working” or not even installed as required; thus no evidence) – Zuckerberg donating (likely extorted) to the tune of 400-million-dollars (to help Trump? Yea right) – and unlike the 2000-election over mere hanging-chads were it was litigated to death; the 2020 election; w/ illegal actions such as the PA liberal court changing election-law when it’s only the state legislature that is allowed to do it (by law); yet it was allowed to be done; and it was not allowed to be challenged in court – plus all the documented cases of poll-observers not allowed to observe the vote-count as required and allowed by law and being threatened with arrest if they didn’t stay away from the vote-counting-tables – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The more that is looked into the 2020 “election”, the more shit that comes out – and that’s why the powers-to-be can’t allow any discussion let alone any looking-into all that went-on – if the Republicans pulled 5% of what the Dems pulled; we’d still be in court and the election would still be being challenged by the Dems just like the challenged 2000 and just like they called the 2016 and 2018 elections illegitimate. But I know the rebuttal – “hey man that tinfoil hat” – hey man you’re just an election denier”; etc etc – if this election was looked into like it should be it would be clear who the deniers are.

here is a video interview of the TX AG explaining how he's been effectively blocked from following-thru on investigating voter-fraud - the interview starts at around the 9:05 time-mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlMmj2nhLGM&list=UU8GAOCAJxBL4bExaUCvwL4Q&index=44

Here's a good rebuttal to the ass-brained "greedy corporations caused inflation!" brainbug. https://apnews.com/article/inflation-russia-ukraine-covid-health-government-and-politics-999a756b89b09b65d335856cf570737e?utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2iuehrTFxeuruy5QIr-LlCR5Tt5a8wodYgMsxXjSyLgmggdIudCDGBUag

"How Bill Barr Blocked the Investigation of 288,000 Ballots From NY to Pennsylvania" https://ussanews.com/2022/06/13/flashback-how-bill-barr-blocked-the-investigation-of-288000-ballots-from-ny-to-pennsylvania/

My 2-links above are just an example of the schemes being used to block investigations from going forward - the swamp (both Dems and a good # of never-Trumper republicans) were not gonna allow a repeat of 2016 and a the election manipulation was likely one of several plans in place to oust Trump with fake-impeachments being one of the first plans of attack - but no way in any hell will this be reported by the mainstream media and even if it did it would be the old "take off your tinfoil hat you election denier" or "the New York Times says it isn't true" etc etc

Papi you should google, Lieutenant Colonel Tony Shaffer, the guy is a bit light in the loafers Jes Sayin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Shaffer_(intelligence_officer)

Dinesh Dsouza breaking down Bill Barr's "see no evil hear no evil" approach - Barr's approach is basically I didn't look for any fraud b/c I didn't see any fraud thus why I didn't look for any fraud; LOL - basically "I (Barr) was not gonna move my fat-ass one inch to look for anything wrong unless I had no choice" - but in fact per my link above, it describes how a PA AG forwarded him info on an investigation and he basically rinsed his hands of it and instructed the DA to send it to a woke Dem DA whom of course was a Trump-hater on record: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TO61yo9dbU And below is a trailer of the Dinesh Dsouza documentary movie "2000 mules" that explain how the vote-trafficking occurred - but of course it's been "debunked" by the non-partisan New York times and Washington Post: https://2000mules.com/ But of course this is all tinfoil-hat just like the Russia Collusion hoax which took like 2 years to be able to investigated by a special counsel.

Guess that means I can expect less wait for the hottest girl in the club. But now I'll have every girl wanting my money and not every girl is my type.

@ Papi I haven’t called you any names and I reserve tinfoil hats for those folks that really need them, but the defense of Trump is carrying this too far, they have Trump on tape admitting he was well aware they lost the election, but just doesn’t want to give up the absurd amounts of money he’s been raising from the people that are being conned by his act.

I hadn't heard him say that - do you have a link of him saying that - or is that someone saying he said that

@Papi: So in other words, your entire line of reasoning boils down to the notion that there must have been fraud because: (1) Lots of people did bad things during Trump's tenure to try to damage him; (2) They had lots of mail-in ballots and drop boxes in some places; and (3) Some people refused to engage in never-ending fishing expeditions, er, I mean "investigations", in the hopes of identifying fraud. Look, I get the logical suspicion given the lengths that Dems were willing to go to damage Trump. But in order to keep this shit going forever, including justifying expensive cliff hanger investigations, you need some <strong>concrete evidence</strong> and Trump had none. He also lost several court cases challenging results for, again, lack of evidence. At some point enough is enough. If we let him grind the transfer of power to a halt based upon phantom accusations and unsupported theories, every losing candidate will trot out the same playbook during every single election cycle. Another thought: Do you know just how many people would have had to collude, and stay quiet about it to this very day, for there to have been as much fraud as Trump contends? It's absurdly improbable to say the least.

"... but the defense of Trump is carrying this too far ..." Impeaching a sitting-president (TWICE) that was duly-elected by the voters; and doing so on PURPOSE and on made-up charges made-up specifically to impeach him and remove him from office; and going after all his associates and even his voters; that is what is too-far - like I said; if the Republicans had done 5% of what the Dems have done; there would have been a fucking civil-war - but i guess we're just gonna have to agree to disagree

"... Another thought: Do you know just how many people would have had to collude, and stay quiet about it to this very day, for there to have been as much fraud as Trump contends ..." Well - there was plenty of collusion w.r.t two impeachments - including the FBI and CIA whom one would assume/expect to never collude to unseat a president - as well as canning of the Hunter Biden story with 50 former FBI agents colluding to all say "yeah this is Russian disinformation" - once the main-stream media had to finally come clean a year after the election and say yeah the laptop story is real; all of a sudden the 50 former FBI agents had no comment except for one that doubled-down and said if it meant Trump wasn't reelected then it was worth it. There has been FBI/CIA and media collusion to abound - if the Russian collusion hoax w/ the FBI being involved would have not been investigated by appointing a special counsel b/f Trump left office; it would have never been investigated and that too would have been a "do you really think the FBI would get involved to unseat a president blah blah blah". At the end of the day there is plenty to investigate and there's been documented collusion to stop any and all investigations including arresting FBI raids of former Trump officials all in an attempt to keep hi from running again. Collusion has already been shown via the Russian hoax; I bet you if there was a special counsel to investigate the election, they would also find collusion.

^ Maybe it was possible for a time in a single agency, but for election fraud to exist in all of those locations you'd be talking about countless local officials in different jurisdictions and an army of volunteers. Anything is possible I suppose, but it's almost absurdly improbable.

^ It would have come out by now if for no other reason than a desire by someone to get paid for an exclusive story.

Yeah I'd like to see that Trump tape or a link to a legit source stating that.

I refuse to believe empty clubs are just because of inflation. People have been trapped indoors for the better part of 2 years and strip clubs were a welcome way to release. COVID is finally behind us and people are finally having the option to get out there and enjoy life sans sitting inside of a dark club. Summer quiet times are nothing new as well. Perhaps a large number of dancers didn't work before COVID. The smart girls know to save their money during the busy winter season so they can take off time during the summer when everyone leaves.

Also lets not pretend that when fall and winter rolls around the waves of customers come back these girls wont forget you dont exist again. Dancers have the attention spans of goldfish.

They won't find anything if they don't investigate; which is the game-plan (and that's why it can't be talked about and why they are still going after ex-Trump officials on bullshit made-up charges also) - when they did/were-able to investigate; they found the FBI; media; and Hillary campaign, to be working together - in fact; you are not gonna believe this - the FBI had a fucking office inside the law firm of Hillary's lawyer that was indicted for lying to the FBI and sourcing the collusion - I will see if I can find that info (since o/w it's tinfoil-hat stuff); but it's not always easy to find since that is not stuff that is reported nor easily found on the web since social media was in it too and blocks or puts results 20-pages-down to where it's hard to find.

"Politicized & Weaponized FBI Shares Office Space with Perkins Coie" The FBI has a personal workstation in the Washington office of Perkins Coie, a law firm with deep ties to the Democratic Party and the debunked Steele dossier and Alfa bank conspiracies. Perkins Coie serves as Hillary Clinton’s handmaidens. The law firm handled funds from Hillary’s DNC and her campaign to FusionGPS. They were trying to destroy the Trump presidency. The firm is also involved in trying to overturn smaller elections such as District 22 in New York. They’re very dirty players. This adds to the perception of the FBI as a politicized and weaponized force of the Radical-Left Democrat Party. These fears about a politicized FBI began with the exposure of Crossfire Hurricane as a bogus operation launched in 2016 to pursue conspiracy theories about Trump-Russia collusion ... THE REPORT “The workstation at Perkins Coie is one of several secure sites the FBI has scattered throughout Washington at private law firms, cybersecurity businesses and third-party vendors. The stations, known as Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities, are designed for FBI officials and third parties to discuss and view sensitive materials without fear of spying or surveillance,” according to The Washington Times. This arrangement and the details were and are secret. https://www.independentsentinel.com/politicized-weaponized-fbi-shares-office-space-with-perkins-coie/

Trumps admission came up during the hearings last week, Ivanka was shown on tape saying she accepted AG Barrs statement, then a witness I believe Trumps lawyer, I believe the man’s name was Hirschman, the real one, not Giuliani, or Powell, or Eastman, stated that he’d had that conversation with Powell or Guliani, in the presence of Trump , and told them they needed to get a lawyer, because they were lying then the acting AG spoke of the admission by Trump, that’s the problem with you fellas not watching the hearings, I know you’re going to claim it’s a setup, but lying under oath is criminally chargeable, and that’s the real reason why these folks do whatever they can to avoid testifying, you can be sure testimony that was given under oath, is way different from what they say in interviews and to reporters.

As I said - the more one looks into that election, the less "most secure election ever" it seems; vs being the other way around - and why investigations would only happen over the democrat-party's dead-body and they are the ones in power and the ones that control the areas with all the election "issues" (which doesn't take a genius to see that it was done that way on purpose to keep nosy DAs out of being able to investigate). At the end of the I'm not trying to convince anyone on-here b/c no-one will be convinced that doesn't wanna be convinced - the more examples one shows of all the shit that has gone on; it's the same ole "oh yeah you really think that could happen"; i.e the more evidence/examples the more "oh that can't be" - all my posts are just the things I've come across w/o even looking for it; just listening to different outlets here and there that o/w one would never know - meanwhile all the rebuttals are tinfoil-hat and "you really think that would happen" when it has been shown how much has already happened that should have never happened and it's been swept under the rug.

^ Where am I calling you Tin hat or any other names, I’m just disappointed that a known con man , and grifter has gotten so many reasonable folks who are getting conned, by a guy who’s done this his whole life. We knew all about him back in NYC and tried to warn you but it is what it is.

"... Trumps admission came up during the hearings ..." Oh yeah - great source - the same people that impeached him on false-charges and refuse to provide a fair-hearing w/ evidence on both sides instead of just one side - is there anything else other than people that have always lied about Trump said such and such - is there a voice recording; anything other than the people who impeached him say it happened

AT the end of the day; there was hardly any time to do much b/w when the election occurred and was then called for Biden - hell it took about 2 years to investigate and unravel the Russian collusion hoax with no doubt constant stonewalling from half or more of the establishment - it's obvious there was no way one could come up w/ the evidence in that short amount of time and that it would take time especially w/ the all the stonewalling - and once enough evidence has been gathered they do a woke DA thing and refuse to look into it or follow thru and block anyone from doing it.

How was you guys always seem to turn of innocent strip club topic into a political discourse. Can we talk about how we can take advantage of these lack of customers in the strip club?

^ You do realize that Hirschman is Trumps own personal lawyer.

All I know is that I've never heard Trump say I lost the election and there was no fraud - if anything it's been 100% the opposite - at the end of the day, they falsely impeached him while in office; falsely impeached him right after he left office; and are still going after him with the Jan-6 one-sided monkey-show - there has to be a reason for the Dems to continue to go after Trump - they've been at this for 6 years w/ ZERO FUCKING EVIDENCE - I don't think the Dems are trustworthy with shit - they've been proven liars and proven colluders along w/ the FBI and CIA - and now it's "oh yeah they lied about that (Russian Collusion) and have hounded him for 6-years even when out of office but nah no way they would lie and collude about the election; that would be impossible" - yeah; let there be a special counsel like there was for the Russian collusion and we'll see what's possible.

^ Who the fuck, except maybe the NY Attorney General, launches an investigation without any evidence that a crime has been committed? Again, if we started playing these games based upon nothing but speculation and innuendo, every losing candidate would start pulling the same shit. It's a never-ending rabbit hole. But I have to add Papi that you're hardly alone in the contingent of people who feel loyalty to Trump and simply assume that they must have found a way to screw him, which is disheartening as it is causing an ongoing rift in the party. I just hope we can finally move past it before we end up losing what should be our time to take back the reigns of government.

^ Sorry you feel that way Papi, but here’s a question for you to answer, if as you believe the election was fraudulent we’re all of the other persons that got elected on the same ballots part of the fraud.

^ they didn't need every other person on the ballot; they just needed Trump and the 2 GA senators and they "just so happened" they got just what they needed in oder to have control of both branches and the presidency; and did this in states with unattended ballot boxes and massive mail-out of ballots - it's "incredible" how everything the Dems needed including mass ballot mailing and unattended ballot boxes w/o video as they should've had; everything just magically worked-out to the Dem's favor including stopping of the count overnight in mulitple democrat cities with Biden losing on election night and then winning when the count was resumed the next day - I don't think I've ever seen that amount of good fortune and everything lining up only one party's way and only in cities they control while not allowing anyone to look into it.

^ Yeah that series of events Papi mentions is what has me doubting that it was a legit election. And once again I will say what I've said on tuscl more than once. I DID NOT vote for Trump, I couldn't support any of the presidential candidates so I did not vote for president in the past 2 elections. But I'm not blind, I saw the concentrated effort to destroy Trump by any means that started when he won the nomination and continues to this day. As a student of history I've never seen or heard of anything like the combined full of lies media and political vendetta that was against him, ever. Even though he's an ass at times, crude and an egotist, I believe he did more to help this country than anyone since at least Reagan, but yes his personality is gruffer than Reagan's. His policies had us energy self sufficient, the economy was going good. minority unemployment was the lowest in years, he didn't start any wars, our enemies talked big but were scared of him. Yet all we heard from the media was bad man, Trump bad. That tells me how corrupt and off kilter things really are in the USA and because of that I somewhat root for him and wish he was still running the show. No matter how anyone wants to spin it it's very obvious how we've fallen since he left office and NO it's not Russia's fault, it started a year before Russia attacked Ukraine which is something that would not have happened if Trump was still in office.

You guys are right, the elections are rigged so make sure you protest in November by NOT VOTING!

The Dems trotted out their super witness today who would finally deliver the knockout punch to Trump. She testified that on Jan 6, Trump was so excited to be part of the insurrection, he choked his Secret Service limo driver and grabbed the wheel of the vehicle. Then, it came out - The witness didn’t see this happen. Someone told her about it. - Trump wasn’t in the limo that day. He used the SUV. - The SUV and limo have a permanent barrier between the front and back seat. Trump couldn’t have reached the front - The Secret Service was interviewed on video about this incident. None of the video was played and no agent was called as a witness. Well, that was a waste of time.

She was a blistering witness! Trump and his people look ridiculous. SJG

^ This whole show is emotional catharsis for Dems. Though I wouldn't mind them making a martyr of Trump. Stop him from running again, clear him out to make room for new blood. He throws his support behind DeSantis or Scott, who wipes the floor with Biden in 2024.

Were the elections rigged when Republicans won?

One of the reasons I now prefer DeSantis over Trump in 2024 is because Trump is a bad judge of character. His Whitehouse was filled with backstabbers like this lying witness. It was a snake pit. Yes, there were some strong staff members like Peter Navarro and Steve Bannon, but they were outnumbered by snakes like Pence.

Funny how everybody that has been called to testify have been good loyal Republicans, and they're all "lying", the amazing part is the stories coming out aren't very different than the stories that were reported about this man before he was elected. Sorry so many got conned but that's been his entire life, I know the truth for years and so do many others.

Just read that the witness changed lawyers 2 days before she was suddenly called as a witness. My guess is the previous lawyer didn’t want her to give false testimony. The new lawyer didn’t have a problem with her fantasies under oath.

^ When the moon landing occurred did you insist that the lunar rocks the astronauts brought back to earth with them, was fossilized green cheese.

California has a $100 Billion surplus as a result of unspent CoVid relief money from the federal government. Governor Newsome has decided to shower this on the California people shortly before the November election. Individuals making up to $75,000 will get $350 each, plus another $350 per dependent, for a maximum of $1,050 per family,” the Journal reports. “Checks shrink to $250 for individuals making up to $125,000 and $200 for those with incomes up to $250,000. Families earning up to $500,000 will not get a payoff. That, people, is how you keep inflation at record highs.

Hey Shrub the welcher, do you know why you’re the most ignored member ever, because you’re the most ignorant dumbass here, Moron is always trying to show off how stupid he is, go pick a fight with someone who gives a shit.

Yawn, you bore me and folks on both sides of any issues you’ve an equal opportunity idiot, welcher.

In response to inflation, recession, and the invasion at the southern border, a group of House Democrats on Tuesday announced they would move to codify federal protections for transgender people. The proposal, dubbed the “Transgender Bill of Rights,” would codify the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County decision that protects employees against discrimination for being gay or transgender.

I own this thread as yiu will see that inflation has peaked this month. I’ll be vindicated 12 months from now because all reports are in hindsight. We will see the yoy rate drop to 5% by this time next year. Pretty easy to call, because this inflated storm has been going on for over a year now, and with demand destruction being manipulated and stimulus running out, job losses will be seen soon if not already. Especially by tech (Tesla) and others (JP Morgan). Your welcome for this piece of info you can’t take to the bank!

Inflation is caused by a combination of 1. Too much money in circulation 2. Too few goods to meet demand The Fed and Biden, by crashing home prices, raising interest rates, causing layoffs, destroying 401ks, have done their bit to cause demand destruction. But, there are still too few goods, especially energy and ( soon ) food. The good news is rents are coming down fast. Still, demand exceeds supply for a lot of essentials. And, the government printing press is still working overtime. Too much money in circulation. Inflation will continue to be a problem.

I saw video of someone from the DOL explaining our labor shortage. It’s workers around age 60 who retired during CoVid. And, it’s workers age 20-24 who aren’t seeking jobs. She understood the 60 year olds but could not explain what the 20 somethings were doing.

^ I’m not surprised. That’s part of the reason the post office is having trouble recruiting mail carriers. The younger generations don’t want to be outside in the rain or snow or heat. “Neither rain, not sleet, not snow will keep the United States Postal Service from its appointed rounds”. Not anymore. A few weeks ago my office building only got our mail once in a week. That was really nice, especially being an attorney and regularly getting time sensitive mail. Or not getting it in this case..

Looking back, the most enjoyable job I had was my summer job during college. Manual labor working outdoors. No stress. Paid pretty well. Lots of joking around with the work crew. I was proud to have that job and my family and peers thought it was a great job. Now, among a lot of twenty somethings, they look down their nose at that kind of work. I blame social media.

A disturbing report by Reuters, featuring interviews with more than a dozen chemical dealers, manufacturers, farmers, and weed specialists, indicates chemical shortages have disrupted U.S. growers’ production strategies and points to reduced harvests this season. The level of shortages of farm-essential chemicals (e.g., fertilizer, weed-killer) is being described as “off the charts.”

Let’s compare housing, food, and energy. By the end of the year, housing cost, including rent and home value, will drop. That’s because, as prices have increased, so has supply. The high cost is forcing consolidation of households ( taking roommates, moving in with parents, selling vacation homes, selling AirBnB ). More supply means lower prices. On the other hand, food will be more expensive. As the old saying goes, you can’t build more farmland. Plus, supply chain problems with fertilizer, and high energy cost, means the food supply will go down, causing shortages and higher prices. As far as energy, higher prices have historically meant more drilling, bringing prices down. Not this time, with Biden’s war of fossil fuel. To bring prices down, we need to drill more, build refineries and pipelines, and reopen coal generation plants. Biden is blocking all of that. So, by year end, rent and home prices will plunge, gas will still be around $6, and groceries will see shortages and high prices. Unemployment will be much higher than current levels, the price for non-essentials ( like furniture and appliances ) will drop, and a great deal of wealth will disappear for the average person in their home equity and 401k.

The Supreme Court is expected to release their opinion today on a lawsuit against the EPA. If successful, it would reduce the power of the administrative state in the federal government. For 50 years, government bureaucrats have used regulations to write new laws. If the EPA is limited by the SC, it would be a huge first step in reigning in the deep state.

Update. SC ruled against EPA. They can’t make major decisions without legislative support. The EPA decided to kill the coal industry by regulating carbon dioxide without any legislative guidance. No can do.

TLDR this thread? Inflation is cooling and so is the economy. How long it will last is anyones guess, but stay the course unless you were bad with money prior to this. Aka, those sitting at home milking stimulus checks need to get out and hustle.

The $350 a month was per child tax credit advancement on your taxes that went away at the beginning of 2022, although Biden tried jamming it into legislation that didn’t get passed with his latest package that Sinema and Manchin nixed. Otherwise, this bulging debt would have gotten even bigger and inflation even worse. We are past needing stimulus, and need to pay down our debt, even if that means a few kids go hungry. If we don’t do this, then the kids will grow up to become hungry adults trying to feed hungry children, an even worse pill to swallow.

Fannies In Atlanta is a club that is in a bad area of town that is mixed but as far from upscale as you can get. The owners have been jacking up prices on everything and the girls say that their earnings are terrible. I have 2 we’ll established regulars who have made really good OTC offers saying sometimes they lose money going into the club. Of course not every club is the same but I’m general I don’t think trying to keep up with inflation will work for most clubs.

Mark - Good. Hopefully this is the beginning of the death knell for so called "Chevron deference" and the administrative state run amok will begun to be reined in.

Cargo is being steered away from the Port of Los Angeles, Port of Long Beach and Port of Oakland as the labor union contracts expired at 5:00pm yesterday. Massive wage increases, the result of inflation, are demanded by the unions and the White House is likely to get involved (if they are not already). Supply chain issues are about to go into overdrive.

The South Africa electrical grid has collapsed. It’s the same story as everywhere else. They closed the evil coal plants and discovered they don’t have enough electricity. https://hotair.com/jazz-shaw/2022/07/02/south-africans-left-in-the-dark-after-grid-collapse-n480287

^ Tell us why Texas has the same problem

Dozens of coal power plants have been closed across the US in the last decade, including a half dozen in Texas. Windmills were supposed to replace this lost capacity in Texas. It worked out poorly. Same story in California and elsewhere.

It’s looking like my post from June 14th declaring inflation has peaked is beginning to show up in the headlines. Another I told you so moment(humble brag), for the purpose of letting Dugan know I was right when he tried to refute. Anyway, these elevated prices are to stay for a while, but no longer accelerating like before. Headlines are confirming demand destruction has taken place, more than likely due to the stock market correction. The fed raising rates aggressively is only to save face since they were late ti the party. They’re going to need that credibility when it comes time to cutting rates in another year or so. Job creation is slowing as corporations tighten budgets. A good time to stay the course with your long term investments, but that’s elementary. I hope you all for ibonds when I told you to months ago. My $40k invested in this will pay me about $3500 interest when I cash out early next year, and I will need it for a well earned vacation!

The statement that inflation has peaked means the RATE of inflation has gone down, not that inflation has stopped, let alone deflation. It doesn’t mean that $5 gas is going back to $3. It means that gas will only be $6 next year, not $7.

There is nothing in economics that is linear. The direction of everything shifts all the time. Interest rates. Stock market. Inflation. Bond value. It’s a roller coaster ride. Just because someone made $1,000 from investments last month doesn’t mean they can project a $12,000 gain in the next year.

@mate I believe I was the person that told everyone to but I Bonds I’m not trying to split hairs but I’m entitled to credit for that.

^^^ well buddy, here is my time stamp when I created a discussion post specific to this topic, 25. Let me know if your timeline was sooner, and then I can give you all the credit. My only regret is not sounding out as soon as I purchased them in December and January, for both calendar years of 2021 and 2022. https://tuscl.net/discussion.php?id=79227

Yeah, in some retail areas it has gotten to be a ghost town. Economic and inflationary fears, making people feel they have to belt tighten, and that compounding it. Capitalism has not worked since the 1870's and COVID was the final straw. Best thing now is to pass Biden's complete build back better, with the upper income tax hikes, and then the Green New Deal. SJG https://tuscl.net/photo.php?id=11283 Jane - School of Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdWq4w8DWFc

@Mate I don’t know when I brought them up in a thread, but I remember you noting that you were using them same as me for a vacation slush fund. I know I bought them in March this year when my financial guy and I sat down to figure how much cash we were going to pull out for the next 18-24 months expecting a rocky market environment coming up.

Shrub leave the adults alone, go play with your sperm injector 3000 you know that’s what you want to do. BTW pay off your gambling debts to nice spice you welcher. Only deadbeats stiff little girls

25, we did our part to spread the word to anyone with some cash laying around doing nothing in your savings/checking account that isn’t needed for 12 months. Just a humble brag, but if nobody has made an account online at treasury direct, an ibond is a slam dunk move. My vacation will be paid for from the interest, but then again I’m not going anywhere but home, so I’m not even spending money, except on the kids. Headlines are reading inflation projections have dramatically decreased in the last month. Scrub is right that the reading are hindsight and yoy, so the increase will continue but much lower. They’re projecting 3% annually over the next 5 years from an article I just read. That means Scrub’s otc adventures will cost him $550 an outing instead of $500. That’s ok, he can afford it.

My post regarding prices peaking on June 14th seems to be spot on, because commodities have come down and the dollar continues to strengthen, but Rick Dugan thinks PPI is a forward looking metric. We won’t be seeing any price decreases, unless you’re looking to buy a home with cash there will be deals to be made in another year.

And fortunately a lot of have better things to do with our time and attention than focus on the securities ponzi scheme. SJG The Pretenders - My City Was Gone - Chicago School of Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpT0IKNNCjA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OYhcVzzqns

Richard Wolff: Fed Rate Hikes Are “Body Blow” to Workers Reeling from Pandemic, Growing Inequality https://www.democracynow.org/2022/7/27/hiking_interest_rates_wont_stop_inflation#transcript SJG Jeff Healey [CD] (Full Album) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEJrXwRCaNI

Fed has hiked interest rates: 3/4 of a percentage point Newshour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xJb4921zTY People are feeling squeezed. Stagflation like not seen since the 1970s. SJG Barbara Dennerlein (1984) - The lady is a tramp https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bCO4jIAiZA Friedrich Gulda & Barbara Dennerlein: Stormy Weather Blues https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY0scPa7OPA Barbara Dennerlein "Swing the Blondes" on Hammond B3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vf4tbCRuvSk&list=RDEMNbAVLHNYxGSRt56p-misXA&index=5 K -- EXTRA HOT STUFF -- Barbara Dennerlein, Dennis Chambers, Andy Sheppard, Mitch Watkins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCK7CynC5MY Barbara Dennerlein in Glarus 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV-xPVwg3sM Tony Monaco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcEPOdVxAjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucUFxVA1AHE

https://stocks.apple.com/ApfYUbIFtTjWWITXU_ubhtg Told you so! TLDR? Inflation readings are rear view facing, meaning it has peaked a couple months ago, just like I stated then despite the sky is falling rhetoric we read from posters in this thread. Stimulus payments stopped, and although it hasn’t receded, there’s a nice plateau forming with current headline numbers. Bottom line, your strippers won’t be raising their prices to monger going forward and an equilibrium is coming to balance. Enjoy your budgeting and negotiations going forward!

Housing is going down because we are entering a real estate crash that will last 2 more years. Energy is going down because consumers and manufacturers can’t afford these prices. Food prices have not peaked. The lack of fertilizer is going to torch the supply of food for at least the next year. So yes, headline inflation has peaked but energy is still outrageously expensive, most people will lose all the equity they had in their homes, and food prices will inflate bigly.

Really, you’re willing to put your pride on the line when your rong by displacing your anger onto a political left leaning agenda of progressives? Wtf, RicktheLion is spot on regarding his assessment of you. Clear data points reflecting the past is what you’re hanging your hat on? I guess Icee has made his point about your outcry regarding politics. Yiu let it cloud your thinking, when in fact it’s plainly clear that inflation is coming down. Remember m inflation is the direction of prices, and anybody knows it generally heads higher, it’s just not going as high currently as it was the past 12 months. Stick to the facts instead of trying g to confirm your beliefs/value system. Fed will have to cut rates in 2023 due to falling demand and prices, hence another I told you moment will arrive next year for skibum and his sky is falling rhetoric just to shit on progressives. FYI: I despise the so called progressives, but they have no credible contribution to this topic of inflation. Progressives don’t control the markets that are controlled by the billions of people on earth. What a fools errand to place blame on any political party. FYI: I’ve been saying inflation has peaked for 2 months now, and current headlines state I was correct. Next year we will be saying I was correct again! Rate cuts due to folllowing economic conditions deteriorating, that’s all!

Headline from pjmedia Glorious Inflation News, Comrades! You're Getting Poorer Slightly Less Quickly

Prices going forward will rise gradually, not at an inflated rate like we saw the past year, reverting back to a normal existence. Just like I was stating two months ago while everybody was screaming the “sky is falling!”

It's down from 9.1% to 8.5%. I'm not breaking out the bubbly just yet.

Inflation is really currency devaluation. And it can come to feed on itself. We might have seen the worst of it, but no one really knows. More of Biden's package has been passed now. But we want the whole thing, with the Green New Deal and with the upper income tax hikes. We need to use this to cut back the amount of currency on the table. And Biden's plan is actual economic activity, paying jobs and business opportunities, so this will make a big difference. Printing vast amounts of money for the COVID bail out was iditic, but we can get it back by upper income and large portfolio taxes. SJG Jane - School of Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdWq4w8DWFc The Pretty Reckless - Take Me Down (Official Music Video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQpZv2r8fb4

So SJG with inflation are you finding more or less aluminum cans on the side of the road and in public waste receptacles?

I am noticing now that there are discarded ticket stubs from people who came to see Shailynn and his mom with the West Texas Christian Glee Club at the San Jose Center for Performing Arts. https://sanjosetheaters.org/cpa-gallery/ SJG Jane - School of Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdWq4w8DWFc The Pretty Reckless - Take Me Down (Official Music Video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQpZv2r8fb4 Down on Me - School of Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRjYeoGiOSg Aquarius - School of Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp_E4a4pv6o

One way to curb inflation would be to reduce government spending and thereby slow down the paper money printing presses. I've got a great idea for reducing government waste. The FCC has an affordable connectivity program that offers discounted or free Internet to the poor. Let's return libraries to what they once were. Places where you checked out books. The library was not meant to be Blockbuster; no reason to have a selection of DVDs and music CDs to check out. Anyone can get access now to the Internet, so get rid of all the computers. Think of all the money we will save when we reduce the amount of locations, staffing personnel, and expensive AV and computer equipment. Libraries are for books only. Let's start a movement!

When Congress can’t agree on a spending bill, the nonessential parts of the government close. This is mistakenly called a shut down but the military, Social Security, Medicare keep operating. Really, the only thing affected are hundreds of thousands of government bureaucrats doing who knows what. Maybe the national parks close but, other than that, no one’s life is affected. I really don’t care if the deputy under Secretary for diversity loses his/her/its job. Assuming the Republicans take over the House or Senate, just refuse to pass a spending bill and stop paying the bureaucrats. That alone might put an end to inflation.

Government spending under Biden means paying employment and opportunities for profitable businesses. Very different from the COVID bailout payments. That was just money printing. And we need to get that money back via taxes on high incomes and large portfolios. The COVID shut down was very stupid. SJG

For those who blame Putin for inflation: From the start of the Covid hysteria until today, the Federal Reserve has printed more money than it has for the entire existence of the US. For example, from the founding of the US, it took over 227 years to print its first $6 trillion. But in just a matter of months recently, the US government printed more than $6 trillion. During that period, the US money supply increased by a whopping 41%. In short, the Fed’s actions amounted to the biggest monetary explosion that has ever occurred in the US.