Inflation is down to less than 4%. Sounds pretty good, but because of severe inflation starting in January 2021, prices are still 15 to 20 percent higher. They are higher on food, gasoline, medicine, electricity, rent, mortgages, hotel rooms, car rental, and about everything else we depend on. Because of inflation, real wages are down about 3%.

President Biden finally acknowledged the “Inflation Reduction Act” was misnamed. You and I knew it even before it passed. It was mostly a “Green Energy” bill and it increased inflation, not reduced it.

Here’s what I wrote in Weekly Comments last year on July 31. “Only in Congress can a bill that will increase inflation be called the “Inflation Reduction Act.” Senate Leader Chuck Schumer has been hammering two fellow Democrats, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, for more than a year over their refusal to increase spending and raise taxes. Last week Manchin caved.”  (The vote was 50-50, with VP Harris breaking the tie.)

Sen. Manchin wasn’t the only Democrat tricked. If the bill had been honestly titled, a few others would have refused to support it. And guess what: without the Inflation Reduction Act, we would have had less inflation!

The President says inflation is going lower. But there’s a surge on the horizon. Have you seen the increases in pay being negotiated by labor unions? Immediate increases of 10% to 20% are common. Auto workers want a 40% increase. Raises for delivery truck drivers, warehouse workers and airline pilots guarantee higher prices. Now, we don’t blame the workers. Inflation is to blame for huge requests.

I may need to replace my Ford F-150 in 3 or 4 years so I better start saving. Ford is losing Billions on Electric Vehicles, even with all the subsidies from us taxpayers. Does that mean they have to raise the price on gas and diesel models to make up the difference?

Meanwhile, the largest U.S. electric-bus maker, Proterra, declared bankruptcy. The company failed despite personal enthusiastic promotion by President Biden and VP Kamala Harris.

With these problems emanating from DC, and details about the Biden bribes, is it any wonder the most popular song today is “Rich Men North of Richmond?”

(No Weekly Comments next week.)

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

(on U.S. Senators), “We pay for wisdom and we get wind.” DT #574, May 29, 1928

“Republicans said if the Democrats got in they would inflate money, and the Democrats swore they wouldn’t.” DT #2095, Apr. 21, 1933