Government Credibility, Good Inflation News & Florida Rocks – Top 3 Takeaways – July 14th, 2023
- No credibility. Zip, zero, nada. This week summed up perfectly why most Americans, not just base Republican voters, now believe there’s a two-tiered system of justice. First you had FBI Director Christopher Wray’s seeming ambivalence before congress to the whistleblower accounts of communication between Hunter Biden and foreign interests that directly coincide with action taken by his father and cash flowing into his bank accounts. Quoting Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, you seem deeply uncurious about it, don’t you? Related, new polling shows most Americans are far more curious about the claims than the FBI Director appears to be. In fact, 58% of likely voters now say that they believe that Joe Biden was directly involved in Hunter Biden’s business dealings. The very business dealings the FBI first concealed, as they’d verified the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop by March of 2020, and then sought to censor by warning social media companies of Russian disinformation pertaining to Hunter Biden. So now you have nearly six in ten Americans who believe the President of the United States sold this country out and is compromised, but the FBI Director “won’t comment on that”. And of course, that’s all independent of the FBI’s treatment of Donald Trump. Thus, the FBI’s leadership retains no credibility, zip, zero, nada in the eyes of most Americans. And now you can add the Secret Service to the list. In a highly predictable, but equally absurd decision, the Secret Service claims to have no idea who stashed cocaine in the West Wing – that's their story and they’re sticking to it. Never mind that they’re the elite of the elite in law enforcement. Never mind that there are a very limited number of people who have access to the West Executive entrance (which was the third and final location we were told after the administration twice lied about where it was found). Never mind that it’s all lined with cameras coming and going. We’re to believe that this is a mystery that’s just too mysterious for the most elite law enforcement agency in the world to solve. But wait there’s more...because one additional factoid we have now learned, is that this wasn’t the first time that illegal drugs were brought into Biden’s West Wing. Or even the second. Based on the Secret Service’s records...it’s the third time. In July and September of last year marijuana was found in the vicinity as well. The reason cited for no formal investigation having happened or any information about those incidents having been disclosed – “the weight of the marijuana confiscated did not meet the legal threshold for federal charges”. Some have called marijuana a gateway drug. Apparently in the West Wing it was. But yeah, back to the whole golly geez wiz how could we ever find out who done it thing... Now it’s not just the FBI, the CIA and the DOJ but it’s the Secret Service too. Especially after two prior occurrences we weren’t even informed about last year. Not only don’t these once venerable agencies have any credibility, not only is there a clear double standard in the rigor with which investigations are undertaken based upon the subject, they treat us like we’re stupid. And this further helps illustrate why now even 59% of independents say the United States has a two-tiered system of justice. In happier news...
- Another day, another positive dose of inflation news. This week’s Consumer Price Index Report which showed inflation slowed to 2+ year lows, at 3% most recently (although in South Florida our rate remains 6.9%), was encouraging news. Even more encouraging is what comes next. Wholesale inflation, which is measured through the Producer Price Index, was even lower – in fact it was nearly non-existent last month at just 0.1%- a decline of 11% from a year ago. Wholesale prices are the greatest predictor of the future prices we’ll pay for the stuff we buy so this news was about as good as it gets. That’s why the stock market has continued to rally and it’s why an increasing number of people are beginning to think there will be a “soft landing” to the historically high inflation cycle we’re working our way out of – meaning that maybe just maybe there won’t be a recession this year after all. Regardless, lower inflation is no doubt a good thing and it looks likely that the lower trend will continue. And speaking of good economic news...
- Florida’s as good as it gets. Earlier this week in CNBC’s annual top states for business Florida checked in 8th – that’s up from 11th last year and for those wondering why we wouldn’t rank higher since we win at just about everything that has to do with business and economics, the accounting factors in things that are less defined like “life, health and inclusion” - where we were shown to be 41st this year. But in their breakdown of brass tax economics we’re easily #1 this year. And here’s what they had to say... The Sunshine State’s economy is white hot. Overall growth is among the strongest in the nation, with the job market to match as workers flood into the state. Florida’s housing market, which is notoriously prone to booms and busts, is well-balanced for the time being. Price appreciation is the fastest in the nation at around 15%, while construction activity is strong, and foreclosures are minimal. There are some clouds on the horizon: affordability is becoming an issue, and the insurance market is dicey. But for now, the future looks bright in the state with America’s top economy. And Florida’s current economic score based on a myriad of factors isn’t just the best in the country, it’s the highest score recorded in our history with the equivalent of a score of 94.4% out of 100%. Florida’s as good as it gets and it’s better than it’s ever been. Happy Friday. Now back to that making America Florida thing again...