Flying the Unfriendly Skies

June 24, 2022 — bunkerville

Travel Plans

by Mustang

The price of an airline ticket — up 25% since the first of June — the most significant jump since 1989, and up from the 18.6% spike in April 2022.  But those high prices aren’t keeping any Americans home … no, sir.  According to Bank of America, personal spending on airline fares has increased 60% — with the demand creating havoc among the airline companies to get those planes in the air.  Of course, Americans are geniuses; those airline tickets are being purchased with credit cards.  What?  Me Worry?

No one who expects to make money by investing in the stock market is interested in the airlines; they’re a losing proposition unless you’re one of the big boys.  Since the beginning of China’s virus, airlines have been drowning in debt and clawing their way back to profitability — or at least to break even.   With travel restrictions lifted and people giddy to leave their homes no matter the cost, the airlines couldn’t have been more ecstatic.  Why?  Because there is more demand than there are seats.

Meanwhile, jet fuel prices have increased 150% over the past twelve months.  Oops … the airlines also do not have enough pilots and flight attendants, who, by the way, are demanding higher salaries.  Economists describe this as “market forces at work.”  Here’s an example of what that means: pre-Biden, a round-trip fare from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, costs $320.00.  Now it costs $685.00.  But what the hell … it’s only money.

Well, there is a bottom line to this … if you’re clever, you can still travel at twice the cost (thanks to your president).  You begin with a travel agent, who will charge you a fee for booking but they are reliable.  It’s only money.  Hint: it’s in the packages.  Also, if you’re an elderly socialist, you can contact AARP for “complimentary travel agent access.”

Another cheap way is to book your travel on an inexpensive airline — but always insist on a plane with wings firmly attached.  And seats.  You may have to settle for stale peanuts, though.  Some companies like Spirit Airlines or Sun Country.  Companies no one had ever heard of before now.  And you can mix up your travel plans.  For example, instead of flying to an international airport to catch an international flight, travel experts suggest you take a train to the international airport … train tickets are cheaper.  And, it will be cheaper to vacation in Slobovia than in the Fiji Islands.

Or, maybe you’re just like the rest of us.  We can’t afford the vacation, we can’t afford to charge up our credit cards, and we have no confidence in this country’s economic future … at least not in the near term.  Oh, and also … elections have consequences.  If you’re reading this blog regularly, you know what I’m talking about.

Mustang also blogs at Fix Bayonets and Thoughts From Afar

Posted in Government. Tags: , , , , . 24 Comments »

Democrats move to hand out ‘Cash for Gas’ before election

March 25, 2022 — bunkerville

 

Democrats in Progressive mode, move to hand out cash for gas to Americans as the coming elections loom. Knowing that many of the Dems have their neck on the block with voters fed up with the disaster known as a Biden energy policy, the Dems will attempt to bribe the voter.

What better than a quick review of our government savants and their previous statements.

Daily Mail:

An opinion poll published Wednesday found that almost three quarters of voters were in favor of a holiday from federal energy taxes to ease the burden.

And lawmakers across the country are pushing legislation to bring down prices at the pumps.

A new bill proposed by three Democrats – Reps. Mike Thompson of California, John Larson of Connecticut and Lauren Underwood of Illinois – could be worth $300 each month to some families if the price of a gallon stays above $4.

‘Americans are feeling the impact at the pump of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and right now we must work together on commonsense policy solutions to ease the financial burden that my constituents are feeling,’ Thompson said in a news release. 

‘The Putin Price Hike is putting strain on our economy, and I am proud to be working with Reps. Larson and Underwood to introduce this legislation to provide middle-class Americans with monthly payments to ease the financial burden of this global crises.’ 

 

President Joe Biden’s Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in regards to surging gas prices that President Joe Biden should “keep doing what he’s doing,” during a segment on CNN’s “New Day” with John Berman and Brianna Keilar on 11/10/2021. “Keep doing what he’s doing.”

I doubt she even knows what he’s actually doing.

 

Secretary Janet Yellen: I think inflation will return to levels close to 2% in 2022. Posted October 2021.

 

 

 

The best of the swamp. Have a great day!

Posted in Energy. Tags: , , , . 27 Comments »

The Real Cost of Inflation Likely Double – 15 percent?

February 17, 2022 — bunkerville

 
 
More razzle dazzle from the government that hides the real inflation occurring. Stripping out the increase of food and energy costs belies what truly is happening. Making matters worse, it appears that the Biden regime is more than happy to allow these two factors to increase.
 
 
Drill baby Drill is the way out for the energy problem but no. He would be more than happy to have the government bear down on banks to decrease the availability of funds. The cost of meat? More than happy for us to become vegetarians and eat bugs. An excellent post over at NWO and worth the ride over.
 
The “Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food & Energy” is an aggregate of prices paid by urban consumers for a typical basket of goods, excluding food and energy. 

NWO Report:

We learned that the consumer price index was 7.5 percent higher in January than it was a year ago.  We are being told that this was the highest reading since February 1982, and that sounds really bad.  But it isn’t exactly honest, because the truth is that the way the inflation rate is calculated has been changed more than two dozen times since 1980.  So if we are going to compare the rate of inflation today to historical numbers, we should actually be doing an apples to apples comparison.

Fortunately, there is someone out there that takes care of the math for us.  According to John Williams of shadowstats.com, if inflation was still calculated the way that it was back in 1990, the official rate of inflation would be above 10 percent right now.  And if inflation was still calculated the way that it was back in 1980, the official rate of inflation would be above 15 percent right now.

In other words, using the same methodology that the government used in 1980 would give us an official rate of inflation that is more than double the official number that we have just been given.

Wow.

…

According to the Labor Department, energy prices overall are up a whopping 27 percent over the past year…

The Labor Department reported that gasoline prices have skyrocketed 40% over the past year, while natural gas has surged 22.6% and electricity is up 10.7%. A gallon of gas, on average, cost $3.47 nationwide Thursday, according to AAA, up from $2.47 a year ago. In California, gas prices are well over $4 per gallon.

In all, energy prices have climbed more than 27% over the course of the past 12 months.

..

Meat and dairy tend to be the more expensive items at the supermarket, and especially of late. In response, aim to make more meals that don’t rely on them as the central ingredient, Brown said.

“Using meat sparingly as flavor, like adding a bit of bacon to a mushroom risotto, is more economical,” she said. Consuming less meat also helps you to lower your environmental footprint, she added.

On her Twitter account, Washington Post columnist Heather Long shared some specific numbers from the inflation report which show where American consumers are being hit the hardest…

Used cars 40.5% y/y
Gas 40%
Rental cars 29%
Utility gas 24%
Hotels 21%
Furniture 20%
Bacon 18%
Steak 17%
Peanut Butter 15.5%
Pork 14.5%
Fish 13%
Eggs 13%
New cars 12%
Electric 11%
Chicken 10%

The best in the swamp today.

Posted in Energy. Tags: , , . 13 Comments »

Jen Psaki blames increases in meat prices on “the greed of meat conglomerates.”

December 15, 2021 — bunkerville

Meat is a commodity just like corn, wheat, soybeans, natural gas, lumber, oil. you name it. Prices go up and down, it’s called supply and demand. Restricting supply is a great way to increase inflation. Now when we are in the worst of inflation let’s restrict supply. Of course its all greed according to Jen Psaki.

Biden continues to self-destruct the economy and inflation. As an example, he just raised tariffs on Canadian Lumber coming into America. That will be passed on to us in building products inflation.

It’s also another example of the glaring inconsistencies that have characterized President Joe Biden’s first year in office.

For instance, White House officials did everything in their power to burden domestic energy producers, then professed utter surprise when the price of gasoline skyrocketed and the driving public snarled in reaction. The administration and its Democratic allies in Congress flooded the economy with “stimulus” and then professed shock when inflation kicked in with too many dollars chasing too few goods. In response, the president told Americans that he’s dedicated to attacking higher prices — all while implementing trade policies that will drive up housing costs.

The president seems unable to grasp the relationship between the country’s economic challenges and his administration’s own policies.

More at LVRJ

The White House has declared that “President Biden is committed to using every tool available in government to produce more affordable housing supply as quickly as possible.” Yet on Nov. 24, Biden’s Commerce Department announced it was doubling duties on softwood lumber imported from Canada, from an average of 8.99% to 17.9%. Softwood lumber is a crucial material needed to build houses, and levying a large tax on imports only hurts the cause of expanding housing supply.

With surging demand and lackluster supply, lumber has gotten absurdly expensive during the coronavirus pandemic. At its height, in May, the price of lumber futures hit more than $1,600 per thousand board feet, more than four times what it averaged in the five years before 2020. In April, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimated that increased lumber prices added almost $36,000 to the average price of a single-family home.

Image

More at NPR

Flashback:

Former Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. The man who blocked as much drilling on Federal Lands that he could muster including much of Alaska:

Ken Salazar channels Harry Potter re: energy policy

April 28, 2012 — bunkerville

With savants such as Salazar, how can we go wrong? I think this sums up the week quite nicely.

“Not even Harry Potter” can bring down rising gas prices and nobody knows when they will stop rising, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday.

“No one has the ability – not even Harry Potter – to simply wave a magic wand and say that we’re going to have gas prices at $2 or $2.50 or $3. It just doesn’t work that way,” said Salazar, whose department controls oil and gas drilling on federal lands.

“Where it will all end, no-one knows,” he said, then reiterated the view that Obama’s “all-of-the-above” policy would protect Americans from the volatilities of the global market.

Salazar said gas prices were set by “global economics.” The best thing to do in the long run is to “stay the course” on President Obama’s commitment to green energy.

Barack Obama unfortunately mocked Donald Trump for having “A Magic Wand” during his 2016 presidential campaign. However he was very very wrong indeed.

“Gas hypocrisy on the left” Hang with it, you will not be disappointed. From a post in 2012.

Recall how Bush was treated by the Left when gas prices were $1.87 per gallon?  Such insults.   And now?    You’ll see media stories where “rising gas prices are a GOOD THING!”   “There are reasons to be optimistic, people’s lives have been saved from high gas prices” 

Clip created in 2012:

 

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Posted in Energy. Tags: , , , , . 26 Comments »

Biden: ‘Not Everybody Is Looking For A Used Automobile’

December 13, 2021 — bunkerville

 

Our economic savant President was out on the lose and making a fool of himself. Sure Joe- the cause of our troubles are the millions out shopping for a used car. Who can afford a new one? Who would have figured? His mental state declines visibly before our eyes. 

President Joe Biden downplayed his historic inflation crisis, he said “not everybody is looking for a used automobile,” during a speech at the Summit For Democracy on 12/10/2021.

 

 

Biden: We Have To Spend Money To Keep From Going Bankrupt

Amazingly he really hasn’t changed. I caught the clip below from Town Hall that was posted on Weasel Zippers today and thought how strange. “Plugs” sure has a lot more hair. Did he get some work done? He actually pieced a couple of sentences together and had a somewhat functional capacity. When I went and looked at the comments, the clip from years ago. So should we be surprised? Which only goes to show lunchbox Joe was just not that sharp to start with.

Every country can spend themselves into oblivion and our Congress holds the key to stopping this nonsense. Surely there are some sane men and women Dems in our midst?

 

 

CNN can’t help itself. The network actually spun news of Americans seeing the highest inflation in nearly 40 years as positive news in an attempt to benefit President Joe Biden.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a jaw-dropping report showing that the Consumer Price Index skyrocketed 6.8 percent on a year-over-year basis in November. The inflation was “even more than expected,” and was the “fastest rate since 1982,” according to CNBC.

CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans kicked off her coverage of the inflation news on CNN Newsroom by initially characterizing it as a “gut punch that feels like it really peaked there,” and “the worst in years.”

Then came the incredible spin: “But demand is strong. This is a sign of a really strong economy, guys. People are rushing out all at the same time to buy the stuff they want after we’ve been in a huge pandemic.” Perhaps Romans didn’t realize that “too many dollars chasing too few goods” is actually a glaring reason why the U.S. is experiencing horrific inflation now.

CNN also recently published a story headlined, “Why inflation can actually be good for everyday Americans and bad for rich people.

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Posted in Government. Tags: , , . 37 Comments »

Empty Shelves and Supply Chain Crisis ‘Might Not be a Bad Thing’ so says Bloomberg

November 15, 2021 — bunkerville

 

Bloomberg decided to run an opinion piece  telling us that we are greedy Americans thinking that Biden’s supply chain crisis isn’t good for us. Of course the purpose is support Biden and his thieves turning our country into Venezuela.

“Suddenly, Americans can’t spend like they used to. Store shelves are emptying, and it can take months to find a car, refrigerator or sofa.” Bloomberg said.

Welcome to Biden’s Build Back Better.

 

Image

 

“If this continues, we may need to — gasp! — live more like the Europeans. That actually might not be a bad thing.”

“It’s become the conventional wisdom that the U.S. economy is built on Americans’ endless appetite to buy lots and lots of stuff. Household consumption makes up about 67% of GDP. When the economy falters, we’re told spending is our patriotic duty. But suddenly, Americans can’t spend like they used to. Store shelves are emptying, and it can take months to find a car, refrigerator or sofa. If this continues, we may need to learn to do without — and, horrors, live more like the Europeans. That actually might not be a bad thing, because the U.S. economy could be healthier if it were less reliant on consumption.” Bloomberg opinion writer Allison Schrager wrote.

The Biden White House has also resorted to blaming Americans for the supply chain crisis.

Psaki said Americans purchasing too many goods online is the “root cause” of the supply chain crisis thanks to a labor shortage created by Joe Biden.

The message from the Biden-Regime-media-complex is clear: Lower your expectations and settle for mediocrity.

Do you know of anyone who buys toilet paper online? Just asking.

Bonus:

Turns out that the gas shortage is good for us as well. Inflation is good. See, all good.

The very best of the swamp.

Posted in Liberal Loonies, media. Tags: , , , . 30 Comments »

Inflation Roars – All part of the Biden Plan

November 11, 2021 — bunkerville

There should be little doubt that the spiraling inflation we have is no less a product that was designed by this regime. Turn off the spigot of the source of energy with increasing demand will insure inflation. Even add to this, talk about shutting off another pipeline? Now why would that be? The setup for more government intervention. Anyone want to go back to the Nixon era of price controls?

The Nixon shock was a series of economic measures undertaken by United States President Richard Nixon in 1971, in response to increasing inflation, the most significant of which were wage and price freezes, surcharges on imports, and the unilateral cancellation of the direct international convertibility of the United States dollar to gold.[1]

If anyone thinks that this is not a contrived effort by the Biden regime I cannot encourage you enough than to watch the tape of Senator Toomey at the end of this post of Biden’s nomination of Cornell law professor Saule Omarova.   She is the Marxist pick to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a branch of the Treasury Department. That she should have even been considered for this position is the great reveal of what they have in store for us. 

But let me not get ahead of myself. Let’s set this up:

President Joe Biden’s Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in regards to surging gas prices that President Joe Biden should “keep doing what he’s doing,” during a segment on CNN’s “New Day” with John Berman and Brianna Keilar on 11/10/2021.

“Keep doing what he’s doing.” I doubt she even knows what he’s actually doing.

If we still doubt any suspicions that Biden is out to destroy America, this one should do it.

Biden bank regulator nominee reveals her plan to radically transform US economy

 

Biden’s nomination of Cornell law professor Saule Omarova to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a branch of the Treasury Department. 

Omarova is a controversial choice. Born in the former Soviet Republic of Kazakhstan, Omarova was educated in the Soviet Union, graduating from Moscow State University in 1989, and as recently as 2019 openly praised various Soviet policies. 

….

Although no one knows exactly what she wrote in the thesis, its title, “Karl Marx’s Economic Analysis and the Theory of Revolution in The Capital,” coupled with her refusal to hand the paper over to members of the Senate Banking Committee, has led many to believe Omarova’s views on Marx are out of step with Americans’ largely pro-market sentiments.

Even more pertinent, Omarova has called for moving most of the consumer banking industry out of private institutions and into the hands of the Federal Reserve. 

According to past statements, Omarova’s vision for transforming the U.S. economy involves significant centralization of investment and banking, putting a new public institution in charge, directly or indirectly, of virtually all economic activity. In an extensive interview with MSNBC host Chris Hayes in 2020, Omarova outlined some of her most expansive propositions.

…

The idea that Omarova could soon oversee one of the United States’s most important financial regulatory agencies is shocking. But even if Omarova is rejected by the Senate – a very real possibility considering that some Senate Democrats have expressed serious concerns about her nomination – that the White House would even consider her to head a key regulatory agency reveals that the Biden administration is interested in fundamental transformations of the U.S. economy, not moderate policies that would unite the country.

If Omarova’s ideas are put into place, a politicized board central planners would effectively be empowered to lord over American society and eliminate many of the liberties inherent in our free-market economic system.

 

More at The Hill

 

Senator Toomey lays out the nightmare scenario of what Ms Omarova has in store for us.

 

 

Bonus:

https://twitter.com/TrumpJew2/status/1458186104759328768

For more on our Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, our stalwart Mustang wrote a previous post The Quest for Mediocrity (Or, keeping our standards low so that we can always attain them)

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Posted in Deep State, Energy. Tags: , , , , . 31 Comments »

Janet Yellin Earned $7.2 Million in Speaking Fees last two years, says inflation insignificant

October 15, 2021 — bunkerville

 

Janet Yellin said inflation is up by an insignificant amount and no concern of hers because she has multiple tools to prevent anything significant. Do you believe Janet Yellin. Sure we all do. Maybe Jan would be more clear eyed if she hadn’t acquired her stash from the money folks and be beholden. Just call me old fashioned.

The Fed was the last group of people to see subprime to be a danger to the economy. They’re also the last to see that inflation is a big problem for the very people they are supposed to help with their policies. But instead their policies are helping mostly the very rich.

Yellen Earned $7.2 Million In Speaking Fees Over Last Two Years

Janet Yellin Secretary of the Treasury

 

President Joe Biden’s chief of staff retweeted a claim that inflation is a “high class problem” Thursday, dismissing the millions of Americans who are seeing prices for daily necessities spike.

“Most of the economic problems we’re facing (inflation, supply chains, etc.) are high class problems. We wouldn’t have had them if the unemployment rate was still 10 percent. We would instead have had a much worse problem,” wrote Jason Furman, a Harvard professor and former member of President Barack Obama’s administration.

It’s just for us little people.

Sure this really worked out

Bonus time…Speaking of economics- how are things going at our ports? A comment from the tweet below indicated this pic could have been taken on Columbus day. All ports were closed for the holiday. I don’t know which would be worse. Closed for the holiday? Give me a break.

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Posted in Federal Reserve. Tags: , , , , , . 34 Comments »

Yellen Concedes Inflation Is About To Surge, Says It Will Be A “Plus For Society”

June 7, 2021 — bunkerville

 

For those of us who can recall the “olden days” of inflation out the gazoo, it sure looks like we will have an opportunity to relive those wonderful days. I recall getting a 12 percent mortgage and thought I was lucky. Inflation, the cruelest tax of all and we about to have it in spades. Last month we learned that headline CPI rose 4.2% for the year ending in April. but it is the May print that could be an “absolute shocker.” 

“An Absolute Shocker”: Core CPI To Hit 4% In Two Weeks?

Worse it seems that the Biden crew is embracing inflation and doing what it can to aid and abet. According to Yellin, Inflation is good for us. Take a look at lumber.

Image

 

Lumber Is Crazy Expensive Right Now. Biden Is About To Make It Worse

Amid surging lumber prices that are already adding an average of $36,000 to the construction cost of new homes, the Biden administration is moving forward with plans to double tariffs on lumber imported from Canada. The Commerce Department announced on Friday that it was taking the first step toward hiking so-called “anti-dumping tariffs” on Canadian lumber from an average rate of 8.99 percent in 2018 to 18.32 percent for 2019.

Yes, 2019. If approved through what is likely to be a lengthy review process, the tariffs would apply retroactively to purchases made for the past two years. That means American importers could be on the hook for millions of dollars in taxes they didn’t even know they would owe—taxes that will likely be passed down the supply chain in the form of higher prices.

And our gal Yellin?

Zero Hedge:

So, scrambling to preempt the barrage of questions come Monday, on Sunday Janet Yellen said that even though inflation is now at the highest level since Paul Volcker hiked rates to 20% and the US is about to issue another $3 trillion or so in debt just to fund existing stimulus programs, Joe Biden should push forward with his $4 trillion spending plans even if they trigger inflation that persists into next year and higher interest rates.

Why? Because soaring inflation is good for you.

“If we ended up with a slightly higher interest rate environment it would actually be a plus for society’s point of view and the Fed’s point of view,” Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg. And yes, she really said that.

“We’ve been fighting inflation that’s too low and interest rates that are too low now for a decade,” the former Federal Reserve chair said, adding that “we want them to go back to” a normal interest rate environment, “and if this helps a little bit to alleviate things then that’s not a bad thing — that’s a good thing.”

It wasn’t immediately clear why rising rates, hence inflation and a drop in one’s purchasing power is “a plus for society’s point of view” but needless to say, this is the kind of idiotic drivel that Rudy von Havenstein and his cronies said some time in 1921, just around the time Weimer hyperinflation kicked in.

The debate around inflation has intensified in recent months, between those who, like Yellen, argue that current price increases are being driven by transitory anomalies created by the pandemic — such as supply-chain bottlenecks and a surge in spending as economies reopen — and critics who say trillions in government aid will fuel a lasting spike in costs.

……..

Yellen also made it clear that even though the world is now more indebted than at any time since World War II, it is about to take on even more debt, because you see, it’s contained: “There is a concern among some about fiscal sustainability and an evident desire to begin to withdraw accommodation when things are back on track,” Yellen said, eyeing her former democrat buddy Larry Summers who has emerged as one of the biggest critics of “Biden’s trillions.” Yellen dismissed his concerns simply by saying that “we think that most countries have fiscal space.”

“I will not give up on the next packages,” Yellen said. “They’re not meant as stimulus, they’re meant as investments to address long-standing needs of our economy.”

Yes, she really said that, and yes she better be right about the “transitory” inflation part because we are about to get a whole lot more of it. Biden’s packages would add up to roughly $400 billion in spending per year, Yellen said, contending that’s not enough to cause an inflation over-run. Any “spurt” in prices resulting from the rescue package will fade away next year.  And, if she is wrong, well… it will be someone else’ problem to mop it up.

 

And that is the best the swamp has to offer today.

 

 

Posted in Federal Reserve. Tags: , , , , . 34 Comments »

Krugman: We need Space Aliens to save our Economy

August 17, 2011 — bunkerville

Economic whiz Paul Krugman on how to fix our Economy. Throw in Fareed Zakaria and his GPS to find the location, and we almost have it solved.  Then we dig a hole, fill up the hole, have some inflation,- which by the way, sadly is hard to do right now, and wah laa…problem solved. I think I have it. Can you believe these folks?

Posted in Liberal Loonies. Tags: , , . 6 Comments »
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