Search Results: inflation

THIS IS NOT TO BE A DISCUSSION OF WHETHER THE USA IS OR IS NOT ENERGY INDEPENDENT OR WHETHER USA WILL OR WON'T REMAIN SO IN THE FUTURE!! I'M JUST INTERESTED IN YOUR OPINION ON FUEL EFFICIENCY STANDARDS AND IF WE CAN AND SHOULD DO BETTER.

In 2022, the average fuel economy for new vehicles in the United States was 26 miles per gallon (mpg), which is an all time high. The legislated & planned standards require the fuel economy to rise to 51 mpg by 2031.

For comparison, the EU 2021 standards were equivalent to 57 U. S. miles per gallon (mpg), and the target for 2030 is 92 mpg.

In regard to tax rates on gasoline which are meant to encourage less use, better efficiency and transition to greener sources instead of fossil fuels. The federal US gas tax is 18.4 cents per gallon (unchanged and not adjusted for inflation since 1993) while the average excise duty on gasoline in the EU is €0.548 per liter ($2.24 per gallon).

The Federal Reserve slashed rates on Wednesday for the first time since early 2020, the clearest signal yet that central bankers believe they are winning their years long battle against rapid inflation.

Fed officials slashed borrowing costs by half a percentage point, an unusually large reduction. The decision lowers rates to about 4.9 percent, down from a more than two-decade high.

The Fed’s move comes in response to months of fading inflation, and it is meant to prevent the economy from slowing so much that the job market begins to crack. Officials have been keeping a cautious eye on a recent rise in the unemployment rate, and by starting off with a big cut, the Fed is effectively taking out insurance against a bigger employment slowdown.

Reinforcing that wary message, the move came alongside economic projections that suggested a more aggressive pace of rate cuts than central bankers had previously predicted: Officials now expect to make another half point of reductions before the end of the year.

“The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance,” Fed officials said in their statement.

High interest rates slow the economy by making it more expensive to borrow to buy a house or expand business, which weighs on both demand and inflation — but also on hiring. The Fed has been trying to strike a careful balance. Officials have aimed to cool growth enough to ensure that price increases return to normal without cooling it so much that the unemployment rate soars and the economy tips into a recession.

Wednesday’s rate cut marks a preliminary victory. So far, Fed officials have managed to slow inflation notably without causing major economic problems. The unemployment rate has crept up, but it hasn’t jumped painfully. Hiring persists, though it has slowed. Consumer spending remains strong. Overall growth is still robust.

The Russians directed their U. S. employees to emphasize the following “campaign topics”: “Encroaching universal poverty. Record inflation. Halting of economic growth. Unaffordable prices for food and essential goods”; “Risk of job loss for white Americans”; “Privileges for people of color, perverts, and disabled”; “Constant lies of the [Democratic] administration about the real situation in the country”; “Threat of crime coming from people of color and immigrants”; “Overspending on foreign policy and at the interests of white US citizens”; “Constant lies to the voters by [Democrats] in power.”

The target audience of the campaign was “[Republican] voters,” [Trump] supporters, “Supporters of traditional family values,” and “White Americans, representing the lower-middle and middle class.” The focus was in particular on “[r]esidents of "swing states whose voting results impact the outcomes of the elections more than other states.

This information came out Wednesday when the Departments of Justice, State, and the Treasury announced sanctions against 10 individuals and 2 entities, and criminal charges against two employees of RT, a Russian state-controlled media outlet, who allegedly funded a company in the U. S. to hire right-wing social media influencers to push Russian propaganda before the 2024 election.

The company the Russians funded appears to be Tenet Media, a company registered by Liam Donovan and Lauren Tam, who is associated with The Blaze and Turning Point USA, as well as RT. The two appear to be married. The indictment alleges that the company’s two founders knew they were working for the Russians, but suggests the six commentators—Lauren Southern, Tim Pool, Tayler Hansen, Matt Christiansen, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson, all staunch Trump supporters—did not know where their massive paychecks originated. After the story broke, five of the commentators denied any knowledge of the source of the company’s funding.

Yesterday, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a series of proposals to help entrepreneurs create small businesses. Like President Joe Biden, she and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, argue that small businesses and entrepreneurs are the “engines of our economy.” In a statement today, they noted that “small businesses employ half of all private-sector workers in America—creating 70 percent of net new jobs since 2019—and do trillions of dollars of business every year.”

The Biden administration has boasted of the record number of new businesses created since Biden and Harris took office. There have been 19 million new business applications in that time. Harris said she and Walz are setting a goal of 25 million new business applications in their first term. Their plan, they say, is to “kickstart…more young, small, and innovative firms.”

To make this happen, they propose raising the deduction for startup expenses from its current level of $5,000 to $50,000, noting that the average amount a new business spends to get set up in its first year of operation is $40,000. They also propose funding a network of new and existing “federal, state, local, and private incubators and small business innovation hubs” that will make it easier for small business and local suppliers to get technical assistance, funding, customers, and so on.

In her statement about economic policy, Harris called out Trump for supporting “himself and the biggest corporations” and noted that sixteen Nobel laureates have said that Trump’s policies would ignite inflation and trigger a recession by mid-2025. That recession, economists project, would cost more than 3 million jobs, explode the deficit, and raise costs. Harris pointed out that Project 2025 would cut funding for the Small Business Administration and make it harder for small businesses to get access to money.

- We couldn’t have two more opposite candidates. Ones a well educated, lifetime public servant- we can get into what issues that entails. Prosecutors are known to be wily to get results.
- But then the other is a convict, bankrupted “billionaire” who spews sexists and racist shit.

Their policies are waaaay different. One is for future rebuilding…the other is for future exclusion of those not worthy of being American.

Is it half of Americans just being angry at not getting ahead anymore? We need to address that.

Is half of America just racist? Full on conspiracy theories?

It can’t be Trumps prior presidency. He ignored a global pandemic for months. Had the highest crime rates of the decade.
Biden/Harris got Covid and it’s inflation under control. Had the lower crime rates than Trump

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cglk87d817zo .

Just recently, it was the lie about the helicopter ride with Willie Brown. Then the lie about inflation being the worst ever. Now Trump said people are leaving Minnesota and Minneapolis burned down and has not been built back. Both blatant lies. But his supporters will never, ever admit Trump is a liar.

And spare me the "all politicians lie," line. It's like me pointing out Louisiana has a high gun crime rate, and you dismissing it by saying "all states have gun crime."

Trump on Tim Walz: “His state is in a state of shock from his governorship … Minneapolis is burned down, they never built it back.” pic.twitter.com/x9swFctylT

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 29, 2024