In an astonishingly tone-deaf move, President Joe Biden hosted a party for his fellow Democrats at the White House yesterday to celebrate the passage of the ironically named Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
While septuagenarian James Taylor serenaded his fellow Democrats on the South Lawn, Americans watched in dismay as their retirement accounts took a nose dive.
I’d say it can’t be possible for the Biden administration to be more out of touch with the real world, but I’d just be kidding myself.
But I suppose when you continue to tout the same general theme of ‘nothing to see here, everything is fine’ sort of narrative from the White House podium day after day, there isn’t much you won’t do to try to pull the wool over the eyes of your constituents.
Biden forgot to vote absentee…so after he held a party at the White House to celebrate inflation and in the wake of American 401k plans/other retirement investments getting wiped out today, he decided to make a quick, emission filled, $177k+ trip to Delaware and back tonight.
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) September 13, 2022
Now I’m no party pooper; I enjoy a good shindig like the next guy. So let’s enjoy a little bubbly (if you can afford it, that is) and see what the President had to say yesterday.
Making History?
President Biden is all about cementing his place in American presidential history next to the greats like Abraham Lincoln and FDR. But, as he put it yesterday, the IRA is the:
“…single most important legislation passed in the Congress to combat inflation and one of the most significant laws in our nation’s history, in my view.”
Someone should probably let him know his economic policy puts him more in line historically with the likes of Jimmy Carter. The President did not turn down the opportunity to elevate the real purpose of the IRA, which is pushing the Democrats’ environmental policies, not doing anything about inflation.
He made a point to plug the $400 billion in environmental spending that includes tax credits up to $7,500 for Americans to buy electric vehicles and subsidies for home energy efficiency. So as long as you spend excessive money on an electric car and solar panels for your house, you can receive some tax relief.
Interesting idea, I have to spend money…to save money? The President proudly proclaimed:
“With this law, the American people won, and special interests lost.”
So what have we won? Let’s take a look.
Inflation’s cranking. Stocks tanking. And Biden & Co. throwing a garden party at the White House. To celebrate what? Crushing your dreams?
— Dagen McDowell (@dagenmcdowell) September 13, 2022
RELATED: Washington Post Writes Incredible Fluff Piece Claiming Biden Held ‘Socratic Dialogues’ With Scholars
Goodbye Retirement, Hello Crippling Grocery Bill
Yesterday you could almost hear the collective cry from all of us who have money sitting in retirement accounts and mutual funds as the stock market tumbled down down down. The Dow Jones dropped more than 1,200 points, and the S&P 500 had its worst day since June 2020.
What caused this plummet on the same day as Uncle Joe’s lawn party? While lower than in June, inflation came in at 8.3% for August.
And while gas has gone down over the last month, other everyday costs have gone up to include:
Food overall is up 13.5%
Electric bills up 15.8%
Rent up 6.8%
Health insurance up 24.3%
Thanks for “dealing with the inflation,” you guys.
I’ve reported extensively on the increase in electric bills over the last year, so let’s dive deeper into that grocery bill. As a mother of two, the grocery bill is something I comb through each week, as I’m sure most parents out there are doing.
What you will see as you analyze your grocery spending week to week is the following:
Cereal and bakery goods up 16.4%
Flour up 23.3%
Dairy overall up 16.2%
Milk up 17%
Meats, poultry, fish overall up 10.6%
Eggs up 39.8%
Lunch meat up 18.2%
Butter up 24.6%
Margarine up 38.3%
The only item that has gone down at the grocery store is coffee, which has gone down 1%. Thank God, am I right?
So what we have “won” amounts to depleted retirement accounts and painful grocery bills. The special interests who “lost” only get hundreds of billions of dollars in tax money.
You could say that the President yesterday was partying like it was 1979, as the grocery prices haven’t had this high of an increase since ’79.
Joe Biden had a victory party at the White House today to celebrate the worst inflation in forty years and the worst day for the stock market since he became president. Biden’s not just the worst president of our lives, he’s also got the worst staff too. pic.twitter.com/rWPZ03GEdg
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) September 13, 2022
RELATED: Electric Bills Skyrocket, Crippling Low Income Families With No End In Sight
Who Writes This Stuff?
A week doesn’t go by that I don’t wonder why I’m not a speechwriter or political communications specialist. I’m not entirely sure what the qualifications are in D.C, but I feel like they must not be that high.
Case in point, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at yesterday’s party:
“Inflation Reduction Act, so beautifully named for all it does.”
Whoever wrote that for her either hadn’t read the countless independent analysis that shows the IRA won’t reduce inflation or assumes the rest of us didn’t. But of course, my favorite White House bloviator Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, takes the cake.
From the podium, Ms. Jean-Pierre, without flinching, said:
“Overall, prices have been essentially flat in our country these last two months.”
I’d be curious to know where she gets her groceries and what her electric bill looks like.
When pressed by Kelly O’Donnel of NBC, who asked, “Any concern that there’s a dissonance between the current economic moment and the celebration you’ll have this afternoon?” Ms. Jean-Pierre shines with her usual sputtering:
“It’s not about us celebrating. It’s about the win for the histor – the win for the America. When you see costs that are going to come down for our seniors when you see costs that are going to come down for American families, as I just listed out – for energy costs, are going to come down and…about the health care costs are going to come down. That is great that we have been having for some time in Washington D.C. That is a huge it’s a huge win for the American people.”
Grocery prices increased in August by the most in 43 years. Joe Biden celebrated by throwing a party at the White House. You paid for his groceries. pic.twitter.com/Fg415JnI5v
— Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) September 13, 2022
Fire and Rain
I’ll be candid, I’ve never been a big James Taylor fan. I’m a Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, KISS-type gal myself.
POLL: Did your retirement tank while Democrats were partying yesterday?
But just about everybody knows Mr. Taylor’s hit “Fire and Rain,” which he sang yesterday at the party. A song some say is about overcoming obstacles, which I suppose you could stretch to fit that narrative.
The song is about a friend who committed suicide, his addiction to heroin, and a mental hospital. Not quite my kind of party song.
Somehow I’m thinking that Fire & Rain isn’t the song you want to open with during a celebration of The Inflation Reduction Act, @JoeBiden @JamesTaylor_com. pic.twitter.com/IUdMR52Ki5
— Nick Gillespie (@nickgillespie) September 13, 2022
But I suppose we’ve all seen sunny days that we thought would never end. A time when we had money in our retirement accounts and food on the grocery shelves that weren’t getting pricier by the week.
The President said yesterday:
“Today offers proof that the soul of America is vibrant, the future of America is bright and the promise of America is real.”
I must be living in a different America than Joe because all I see is fire and rain.
Now is the time to support and share the sources you trust.
The Political Insider ranks #3 on Feedspot’s “100 Best Political Blogs and Websites.”
The post Biden Parties With Democrats As Stock Market Tanks, Grocery Bills Skyrocket appeared first on The Political Insider.
