Prices fell in June 2024, first time since pandemic

[RobDownSouth]

CNN reporting tonight that prices have actually fallen overall for the first time since the pandemic lockdown.
Unexpectedly falling prices on both new and used cars led the plunge.
Housing prices still rose, but at an anemic 0.2% for the month (5.2 percent for the year-to-date)

Literotica glibertarians are expected to pore over data to find something.... ANYTHING .... that the can blame President Joe Biden for.
LINK (non paywall)

Usual disclaimer: I did not have time, effort nor inclination to determine if JaFo (or anyone else) posted about this previously, with a more cryptic headline

 

[Lazaran]

CNN reporting tonight that prices have actually fallen overall for the first time since the pandemic lockdown.
Unexpectedly falling prices on both new and used cars led the plunge.
Housing prices still rose, but at an anemic 0.2% for the month (5.2 percent for the year-to-date)

Literotica glibertarians are expected to pore over data to find something.... ANYTHING .... that the can blame President Joe Biden for.
LINK (non paywall)

Usual disclaimer: I did not have time, effort nor inclination to determine if JaFo (or anyone else) posted about this previously, with a more cryptic headline

•
Sadly, the corporate profiteers’, Putin’s, and the Fed’s damage is already done, and the general public blames President Biden for EVERYTHING.



The narrative about who is ACTUALLY to blame for high prices needs to be hammered home to the public in the coming months leading up to the election.

 

[dkovic77]

It’s all DEI’s fault! Didn’t you know?

Now let me find some basement blogger that said it so I can link it… just like the MAGA zombies.

 

[RobDownSouth]

•
Sadly, the corporate profiteers’, Putin’s, and the Fed’s damage is already done, and the general public blames President Biden for EVERYTHING.



The narrative about who is ACTUALLY to blame for high prices needs to be hammered home to the public in the coming months leading up to the election.

I'm going to speculate that the main culprit here is the Fed. With inflation easing, virtually the entire market assumed that the Fed would cut the prime rate on June 1st to keep the economy humming, homebuyers held off buying in anticipation of lower mortgage rates.

The Fed opted to take the path of least resistance and do nothing. Inflation, dontchaknow? A lot of Wall Street bankers (who incidently lost money betting wrong), said this was like using an elephant gun to shoot a gnat.

In retrospect, they were correct. Higher fed rate is having the unusual effect of putting the brakes on the economy. Housing sales have stalled and big ticket financed items (like automobiles) are seeing sales stagnate.

Hopefully the Fed will come to their senses for the next round, but that won't be until September 1st.

What it might do, in theory, is rev up the economy bigly, giving President Joe Biden a boost in the polls needed to keep fascism out of America in November.

 

[Lazaran]

I'm going to speculate that the main culprit here is the Fed. With inflation easing, virtually the entire market assumed that the Fed would cut the prime rate on June 1st to keep the economy humming, homebuyers held off buying in anticipation of lower mortgage rates.

The Fed opted to take the path of least resistance and do nothing. Inflation, dontchaknow? A lot of Wall Street bankers (who incidently lost money betting wrong), said this was like using an elephant gun to shoot a gnat.

In retrospect, they were correct. Higher fed rate is having the unusual effect of putting the brakes on the economy. Housing sales have stalled and big ticket financed items (like automobiles) are seeing sales stagnate.

Hopefully the Fed will come to their senses for the next round, but that won't be until September 1st.

What it might do, in theory, is rev up the economy bigly, giving President Joe Biden a boost in the polls needed to keep fascism out of America in November.

I was actually referring to the major inflation spike in 2022 -2023 and the lingering effects - (I blame corporate profiteering and Putin faaaaaar more than the Fed for the 2022 -2023 inflation spike, and, ironically, the Fed probably should have raised rates sooner back then) - but, yeah, the Fed has probably waited too long to start lowering rates now.

To be honest,, I’m not sure which of the three - corporations, Putin, or the Fed - is more suspect in their SOP.

And that ^ is beyond troubling.

 

[RobDownSouth]

I was actually referring to the major inflation spike in 2022 -2023 and the lingering effects - (I blame corporate profiteering and Putin faaaaaar more than the Fed for the 2022 -2023 inflation spike, and, ironically, the Fed probably should have raised rates sooner back then) - but, yeah, the Fed has probably waited too long to start lowering rates now.

To be honest, I, m not sure which of the three - corporations, Putin, or the Fed - is more suspect in their SOP.

And that ^ is beyond troubling.

Ah okay, I see your point.
Yes, "greedflation" was a thing, a lot more prevalent back around 2022.
The invisible hand of the market kept raising prices to a minimum from about 2015-2020, because competition was fierce and any corporation raising prices in a non-commodity non-monopoly situation lost market share.
Then came the botched response to Covid.
All of a sudden corporations experienced legitimate "supply chain issues" especially with goods from China that legitimately raised prices across the board.

Consumers accepted that excuse.

Corporations then used the "supply chain issue" mantra long after Covid was put on the back burner, their shareholders demanded "supply chain issue" windfalls in every earnings release. This resulted in greedflation, which the magic hand of the market eventually corrected.

 

[MajorRewrite]

Hopefully the Fed will come to their senses for the next round, but that won't be until September 1st.

What it might do, in theory, is rev up the economy bigly, giving President Joe Biden a boost in the polls needed to keep fascism out of America in November.

The Fed will lower rates in September, and the MAGAs will immediately scream that the Fed is trying to influence the election.