It's the Economy, Stupid.

Most Americans believe that the economy sucks. The Biden administration, along with chief propagandist Paul Krugman, believes that people are misperceiving the situation.

This morning the Auto Workers union went on strike. This will obviously limit economic activity, and not just for the auto manufacturers.

In many ways, its the natural consequences of the inflation ginned up by excessive government spending, coupled with higher energy prices, a direct consequence of the Biden Green New Deal.

On the political front Democrats are circling the wagons. They can smell a losing candidate and want to retire Joe Biden, but they also want to retire Kamala Harris. If neither is on the ballot in 2024, they will have produced an exceptional political magic trick.

Optimists suggest that things are just fine, but the CEO of  megabank JP Morgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, thinks otherwise.

Addressing the notion that the economy would continue to boom because consumers will keep spending, Dimon said this:

To say the consumer is strong today, meaning you are going to have a booming environment for years, is a huge mistake.

Writing in the Epoch Times, Tom Ozimek explained:

The booming economy narrative rose to prominence in recent months, driven by strong retail sales and wage growth, while recession fears have eased. But there are signs that the recent rise in consumer sentiment has been short-lived and that the economy is facing some headwinds.

But,, we also know that inflation has been eroding purchasing power and that people are spending more money in discount stores and less money in large department stores. They have replaced Kohl’s with Dollar General.

Dimon has also taken aim at the federal government’s spending plans and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to kill inflation by keeping interest rates high.

Worse yet, bank regulators are telling banks to keep more money in reserve. And this means, less money to loan to businesses and to individuals. This will obviously diminish economic activity.

Dimon assessed the situation and recommended against buying stock in banks.

Moreover, Dimon noted that homebuyer mortgage applications had reached a new low. Which was what you would have expected when mortgage rates were hovering near 7%.

Of course, Paul Krugman has been leading the charge against the everyday perception of economic decline. He wrote in a recent column that the higher crime rate was a mirage and that the economy has done very well indeed.

As you look around the empty storefronts that you can now find in most American blue cities, you are right to believe that crime is alive and well. As for the statistics, police no longer arrest criminals and many stores prefer to close rather than deal with petty shoplifting. It keeps the crime rate down.

Of course, Krugman thinks it’s a mirage. He thinks that the people do not give credit to the Biden administration for its handling of the economy. Considering the large number of people who believe that the economy is doing poorly indeed, the leftist message, namely that you never had it so good, is ringing hollow.