Democrats have faith in Democratic leaders, Republicans have faith in Republican leaders, but Independents have little confidence in anything. 
Confidence in Biden Economic Stewardship Historically Low
Gallup reports Confidence in Biden Economic Stewardship Historically Low
With Americans less optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy than they have been in recent months and concern about inflation persisting, their confidence in President Joe Biden to recommend or do the right thing for the economy is among the lowest Gallup has measured for any president since 2001. But Biden is not alone in facing a skeptical public, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, and presumptive presidential nominee Republican Donald Trump garner confidence ratings below 50%.
These findings are from Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted April 1-22. During the poll’s field period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index data showing that inflation remains stubbornly elevated, though nowhere near the 40-year highs seen in 2022. After the poll was completed, Powell announced that interest rates would remain steady due to the current inflation rate.
Americans’ Confidence in the President
Whereas Trump never topped 50 percent, he never dipped below 40 percent once.
Notably, independents favor Trump over Biden by 11 percentage points, 45-34.
Confidence in Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Other than Alan Greenspan, considered by many misguided economists to be the great Maestro, the Fed has not gained much confidence.
Gallup concludes “Biden’s subpar rating could have significant electoral implications as not only does he have the lowest economic rating of any president seeking reelection since Gallup began tracking this in 2001, but independents trust his opponent more than him.”
The Inflation Rate Under Biden vs 7 Previous Presidents
For discussion, please see What’s the Inflation Rate Under Biden vs 7 Previous Presidents?
Voters seem angry about inflation despite economists telling us how great things are. A few pictures explain.
The Fed Notes “Lack of Progress” on Inflation
Also consider, Understatement of the Day: The Fed Notes “Lack of Progress” on Inflation
In addition to the usual Fed boilerplate FOMC statement, today it added “There has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective.”
On April 19, I noted Auto and Home, Insurance & Maintenance Costs Soaring and People Are Angry
Some homeowners are skipping home insurance. What’s going on and who is to blame?
The Fed’s Big Problem, There Are Two Economies But Only One Interest Rate
I described the Fed’s role on February 20 in The Fed’s Big Problem, There Are Two Economies But Only One Interest Rate
And as a direct result of soaring home prices, insurance and maintenance costs had to rise. The only surprise is the lag in which that happened.
It’s really no wonder independents don’t have much confidence in anything. Otherwise partisanship is striking.
As it stands, if independents swing the elections, Trump rates to win. But my main take is People Who Rent Will Decide the 2024 Presidential Election
To get in a final word on the Fed, people have little faith because The Fed Sounds Like a Wizard Reading Chicken Bones
#TermsLimits #BalancedBudgetAmendment #EndTheFed #EndTheSurveillanceState #Re-LegalizeTheConstitution
For the first time in at least America’s history, the country/state of affairs for future generations are going to be left in a MUCH WORSE position.
I would bet the Papa Dave’s don’t have kids or offspring and the MPOs don’t have living parents. NOBODY would be that selfish having a pre existing or post death legacy to worry about.
Am I scared? Yes. Of but a SINGLE thing. I am scared of leaving my offspring and descendants a FUCKED UP country in EVERY respect. The fraud, waste, abuse, tyranny, over reach, burden, constant vubble cycles, lack of courage, welath gap, inflation, lack or moral clarity and accountability, regulation, government bloat and money laundering ALL NEED.TO END or get righted. So I will complain and bitch and whine and protest and stop paying taxes and fight against the warmongers and write letters and donate and give/withhold money, petition, campaign for/against, and more than likely have to gear up again and do all sorts of shit I never had any interest in doing because I am NOT breaking the chain of my family history and leaving my descendants a worse country/situation than what I inherited….. or at least I am going to go out trying
So block me, ignore me, down vote me or whatever soothes your flaming selfish ego. IDGAF
Investing tip of the day. LONG the Hanks of America because there are more and more of us every day, we’re pissed, and the bullshit around us won’t continue much longer
Hank for the win.
I don’t understand people who have become so horrifically entitled.
I have literally heard boomers say in various circumstances:
“I GOT MINE”
Being a Boomer is a religion with a creation myth (taking on the man in the age of Aquarius) populated by various counter culture prophets (Hoffman, Morrison , Chomsky), miraculous gatherings “Woodstock”, a sound track “rock” and peculiar rituals (hippies).
Hypocritical self serving kooks, they worship money, love wars, the police state and propaganda. They destroyed America and by proxy, the world.
But they don’t care because “I Got Mine”.
On top of that. Boomer’s exhibit all the cliches people make about Jews. They think they’re special, they’re greedy, they only care about other boomers. While my jewish friends exhibit non of these traits and are instead funny and ambitious. You will almost never hear a boomer say something funny.
They are fully cognizant of the carnage they wrought, (obviously.) I love to see the terror every time something sags politically or economically with implications to decrease their take. Utter terror.
It would be one thing if they funded their evil proclivities with their own money but they don’t. In a deal with the devil they let the toxic government rob us blind to keep the Ponzi economy going for them. Together they rob the future blind.
Sad to say it will never get better for 20 or 30 years as the propaganda proof youngsters assume office. Until then expect more malignancy.
You’d have a better point if you dropped the generational “identity” BS. Woodstock is irrelevant and most people born in that time period were never hippies. What mattered is independent of generational identity tags: the U.S. wound up in a world-dominant position and then over-reached in every dimension. Anyone born in that era would have been doomed to follow their all-too-human nature including greed, blindness to consequences, and abuse of power including abuse of financial credit.
I Got Mine, people are not the problem. It’s the, I Want Your’s, people like you that are the problem.
Butt hurt loser Boomers recoil in horror at “pointed truths” in the proximity of their fabricated truth bubbles.
I’m a boomer
I never watched TV, I collect non fiction books. I know things.
Here’s one for you:
Biblical history is all derived from one Jewish charlatan (Josephus) who destroyed an Egyptian historians account of 30 dynasties and fabricated in its place the fairy tale illusion murderous evangelicals rely upon the justify their superiority and the Zionist genocide in Gaza.
Apparently ur reading comprehension could use an upgrade. “I got mine” for boomers as I pointed out could only he achieved by “I took yours.”
Put in a dime take out a dollar.
I’ll debate any point I make and you’ll lose.
I take nothing from the disgusting vile US government. And you? How much are you stealing from you children’s children.
Boomers are like raptors who decide to eat their fattening chicks.
Years ago a group of retirees, and soon to be retirees, were asked what they fear most about the list of problems they may face in their retirement. Choices like declining health, housing costs, inflation, medical expenses, etc, etc. But there was only one thing they all agreed on.
They did not want to become a burden on their kids. Too bad they are the last generation to make this a priority.
https://twitter.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1788968650000801874
“Congressional Democrats insist that the SAVE Act—which requires proof of citizenship to establish eligibility to vote in federal elections—is unnecessary because federal law (18 USC § 611) already prohibits non-citizens from voting in federal elections. Those making this argument ignore a glaring problem: the government officials who register voters and conduct federal elections aren’t allowed to require proof of citizenship.”
“Democrats have faith in Democratic leaders, Republicans have faith in Republican leaders, but Independents have little confidence in anything.”
There isn’t a reason to have confidence in anything, if one steps outside the mass formation propaganda.
Why doesn’t CNBC raise this when they discuss the job numbers?
“33 million Americans have been injured, disabled, or died from this vaccine.”
Since…the vaccine rollout, we have 1.1 million excessive Americans dying, 4.0 million disabled—we estimate another 28.6 million injured…”
Full interview https://rumble.com/v4ufhfr-huge-financial-shock-inevitable-and-hitting-now-ed-dowd.html
I just learned that Chris Cuomo was injured by it and is taking Ivermectin. He interviewed Dr. Birx on News Nation. She is singing a new tune. Governor Cuomo now says he couldn’t enforce a mask mandate, but video from 2020 shows him stating that wearing a mask “is the law” and “the law is the law.” His 2020 comment was followed by a news clip of fines in NYC going into effect for those not wearing a mask. The Covid tyrants are now trying to rewrite history.
Few individuals trust gobbermint in general
Trust the TERRORISTS of DC
If only….
Thus far, indoctrination has obviously worked on far and away most of them.
Those who decide the election are those who don’t vote.
Biden is on the nose with tens of millions of the left. They may be Never Trumpers so Trump won’t get their vote but they will just stay home on Election Day because they hate the Biden support for Israel, or they are pro Israel and hate that he is flip flopping on sending arm to Israel over Rafah. Or they are blacks in Chicongo that hate that millions of illegals are flooding the hood and getting more welfare than them. Or they hate that they will have to stay in mums basement because rents are getting so bad that they will not be able to come up with $2000/month to move out.
Meanwhile the Republicans will get their supporters and poll watchers out in droves to ensure the Lazarus of dead voters stuffing the ballot boxes in 2020 isn’t repeated.
I was in bank other day and this old(80) lady thought teller said vote
she went off on how it’s very important to save democracy
—
I lightly said from ‘criminal’ in office now
—-
she took offense – no no from likely hood of having criminal elected (Trump)
she was obviously totally brainwashed by fake media
and encouraged her to pay her taxes
Powell should have reformed the Fed and banks. He should wound down all Fed support and let the pain occur. We would have inflation under control. It’s high time to reinstitute the banking regulations that existed after the great depression until the late 1990s. The commodity inflation Era that started after deregulation of financial derivatives is why we are here . Powell , CFTC and Treasury could kill inflation nearly overnight if they had the cojones. Hiking rates won’t be enough. We need another 2008 event followed by real reform.
Maybe also reign in spending? You know like maybe put a little less than 2 trillion on the credit card every year? We don’t even get reward points.
But we DO get reward points! Uncle Sam pretends to pay 5% in interest on the national bill, but he taxes about 1.5-2% back on the subsequent economic activity.
So the actual interest payment is only around 3%. That’s below the rate of inflation and also below the nominal economic growth rate.
No wonder the 5% interest rate isn’t actually slowing the economy down… it’s not high enough to force either Congress, businesses or consumers to pull back.
But, but, us Mericans need to start wars and spread democracy around the world because we’re so exceptional!
For the record I think Biden’s fortunes change after June 1st. I see a couple of possible black swan events coming.
Without details this is just BS.
I mean does anyone still believe in the system ? If Trump were not the opponent or there was a serious reform party or candidate, they would win in a landslide. Like answers to US debt there are no good options.
I am independent and do not trust ANY of them.
Jerome Powell paid good money for his degrees. Yet he believes the Federal Reserve does something useful and important. Jerry is a man of low intelligence.
He goes by Jay comrade.
Lost faith in your government? Were you expecting them to make your life better? You were? Then it’s no wonder that you are complaining.
But you are wasting your time complaining. Because no government is going to make your life any better. Only YOU can do that.
So stop your whining and complaining. Grow up. And start doing what is necessary to make your life better. Whether it’s your health, your career, your relationships, your finances, or something else. Time for you to get to work. No one else is going to do it for you.
The problem with the audience here is that so many are close to checking out that they don’t see the point in improving their life so they whine, whine, and whine. The vast majority of comments are about how bad this socialist government is but don’t you dare suggest cutting their social security or medicare to end that evil socialism.
That paradoxical irony is all you need to know about the state of the average commenter here and across America and coincidentally why nothing changes and no politician or central banker bothers to try to change anything.
There is a ton of profit to be made. In Ft. Worth, someone just walked away with a $140m building for $12m.
https://therealdeal.com/texas/fort-worth/2024/05/09/pinnacle-bank-buys-back-fort-worth-office-tower-for-12-per-sf/
There will be a whole lot more where that came from soon enough.
Most here act like spoiled children having a never-ending tantrum. I have no idea how old they actually are, nor do I care.
There are just a handful of posters who are worth reading. Just enough of them to keep me coming back to the comments section. I appreciate your posts and your investment ideas. Thanks.
It was never worth $140M. Office space is becoming a thing of the past.
Is it a good buy to get a building for 12 million? Maybe but maybe not. Plenty of buildings can have a negative value. Besides examples such as Detroit there are also problem buildings in every city. The place might need major renovations to get up to code, it might have structural issues, or asbestos contamination. It might be unsuitable to convert to apartments and with advancements in AI and remote working more than half of all office buildings will be obsolete in the next few years.
And that isn’t even factoring in that the US is facing an economic disaster that will exceed the Great Depression that will not only make buildings worth far less but will be seen as cash cows to tax by broke governments, local, state and federal.
I think most people here don’t rely on government much. People are looking for something to believe in other than themselves. It goes back to false belief systems in God, government or messiahs. Truth be told an AI bit can come up with a better belief system than anything from the last 10000 years.
Many here are indeed looking for something. Unfortunately, most of them are cult morons looking down rabbit holes for “secret knowledge” that makes them feel “special”.
Then they waste their time (and mine) spewing their cult garbage, not realizing how stupid they are to believe that crap.
I can agree with this somewhat.
Economic opportunities still exist, if you’re willing to apply yourself.
Still, it’s hard to ignore the social carnage and decaying infrastructure and the loss of social unity.
Blaming presidents for the current state of the economy is absurd since economic boom/bust cycles are cyclical. Congress controls the purse strings and is bankrupting the country. Who voted for the Patriot Act? Not me.
As long as the geriatric “humano excramentos” inhabit congress, the downward spiral will continue in a manner that no president can arrest.
Robbing the past, present and now the future to pay for today is heinous. Boomers are robbing their unborn descendents to pay for their present.
All true. But the key is to realize that you cannot change any of that. And get on with working on improving your personal situation. Focus on what’s possible, rather than the impossible.
There is more to it than that. The “possible” extends beyond “your best helping hand is on the end of your arm”. There are “possible” things that people can do, working together, which no individual can do if they only focus on “improving their personal situation” without regard for others.
Words are the most powerful force here on earth. Never underestimate what can be achieved with pertinent persuasive language delivered at just the right time at the right place.
I’m slightly autistic. During Occupy I influenced the entire world with words entirely by accident. I was bored and decided to contribute my understandings – the effects of my words changed the world. That’s all I’ll say.
Of course the government noticed and that’s been a problem ever since.
The point is “tell the truth” “tell your truth”
We live in a cloud of illusion people are yearning for a some “terra firma” to stand upon.
The truth resonates in our moral centers. Once it’s in there it’s there to stay.
I have to agree with that. More people have to pay attention to their own budgets and health for example. Stop complaining about what’s happening and do something about it.
If it’s health, then maybe stop drinking, go on a diet, stop smoking, take daily walks outside, and increase distance slowly as you go. If it’s budget, stop going out to eat, stop trying to keep up, no more nails, do it yourself, no more golf, so hit a bucket, etc.
“ Lost faith in your government? Were you expecting them to make your life better?”
I think most people would be satisfied if government just stopped making their life worse.
Agree 100% Papa.
I think alot of people who complain are simply scared and have zero faith in themselves. It’s much easier to complain and do nothing than it is take some initiative and risk. Many are terrified of failing so they “freeze”, ruminate, and complain.
I’d also add that far to many compare thier life situation to the perception they have of someone else’s and think they are failing comparatively speaking. I think that’s why you and MPOv45 take so much heat here. You remind the complainers that a positive mind set and taking some calculated risk can result in the achievement of one’s goals. The issue, in my view, is that readers don’t set thier own goals, and take your perceived success as thier failure. This is foolish thinking. I was like this at one time. Chasing money, worrying I wasn’t “making it” (I was doing just fine). It led to health problems. So I changed my outlook and began living my own life (not someone else’s). I’m much happier living a more modest life in the sticks than I ever was chasing money in the city. All one must do is take into account the trade-offs, and be willing to accept them.
Complainers, ask yourself this. How many times has complaining made you feel better about your life? Then recall a time when you didn’t complain and you took initiative and corrected something (big or small) in your life. How did you feel after accomplishing that goal?
Well said. Good for you. And yes, health is more important than money. Which is why I work hard on both. I just don’t talk much about health here.
Nicely put!
The big revelation is Powell’s approval is just as bad as Biden’s. I thought Biden would have the lowest approval by a large statistical margin.
The inflation numbers for past presidents would look a bit different if asset inflation was taken into account.
Don’t trust anybody but would like to see the U.S. move away from a two party system to at least 3 or 4 major parties.
The one party system here in California is destroying democracy in this state. For example we are in the bottom 3 for government transparency and when we were more of a swing state we were in the top 5
As an independent, I have lost any belief that the Federal government represent the citizenry. They have broken their Constitutional contract with US citizens.
Do this:
1) Balance budget ammendment
2) Term limits ammendment
3) Protect the border(no ammendment needed)
Everything else is noise.
You forgot to mention:
(4) Federal headcount limit – more bureaucrats means they need more budget, more taxes, and endless regulations to justify their jobs
Good intention, but how many seconds before a contractor work-around is in place?
Hence the low set budget, that must be balanced. No New Hires then…
Excellently said! Those 3 things could possibly solve, roughly 80% of the problems!!!
Two and a half decades of the Fed setting interest rates too low, under the guise of “temporary” stimulus has come back to haunt the Fed. Arguably rates should be set at crisis levels for 3-6 months if, and only if, there is a real crisis. So 9/11. Maybe March-Sept of 2020 when the world was uncertain about covid, and before we found out the NIH created the thing. So maybe 9 months out of Greenspan, Bernanke, Yellen and early Powell should have been crisis level rates.
Rates should have been much higher than they were the rest of that time. Perpetual zero interest rates encouraged a lot of bad things, from lame private equity, to insane home price increases to unsustainable debt levels.
Powell inherited the irresponsible rates started by inept Greenspan and made far far worse by The Bernank and his academic disciple Yellen. Powell has to set rates a little too high to try to slowly unwind the mess he inherited.
Powell screwed up when he suggested we had transitory inflation. That was political babble, not economics. If he had been honest with the public, and pointed out the bad policy of the previous 20-25 years, he would have a lot more credibility.
And he should get his face off the TV. No media conferences. No vanity activities of any kind. Be a responsible banker, or be a corrupt politician – but if you pick the latter, you are gonna have a bad time
Its a bit weird (reverse racist?) that Obama’s approval ratings didn’t collapse much faster than Gallup claims. Fine, he was the first black president, hope and change and all that propaganda.
By 2010, it was obvious he was conning everyone. By 2010, it was obvious he was an Illinois politician (aka corrupt). ObamaCare is nothing but fraud – even if one believes the US pays too much for healthcare and buys too much healthcare, ObamaCare was designed to make a bad situation much worse, while making promises of “free” that cannot be kept. Go ahead and show me the medical school dean who supported “free” care and also was willing to work for free themselves…. yeah, obviously not. Every single doctor (and nurse) must work for free, or else healthcare cannot be free. That is a truism, and Obama lied. His foreign policy team was downright inept, and operating under the Senile one, they still are.
Obama and or his administration ended their second term doing exactly the same thing as Nixon (abusing intelligence services to go after political opponents) – but Obama was not treated the same way as Nixon.
People were afraid to point out that a black president can still be a crook, just as much as a white one.
As for people not trusting Congress or politicians… DUH! But it doesn’t explain the mass of morons who say that and then suggest having the government run more and more aspects of our lives.
(general plea, to all reading): Please think more carefully when you make this dumb suggestion about any topic. Society has a situation you don’t like, and you want to put the most corrupt people in society to fix it? What kind of stupid is that?
So Biden still sucks, got it!
So Powell still sucks, got it!
So Inflation is still high, got it!
So Dem’s are still insane, got it!
So our Border is still open, got it!
So Absolutely Nothing Has Changed, got it!!!
Back in January, I facetiously predicted Gavin Newsom would be the next president.
The lawfare campaign against Trump is failing. Biden is sinking further and further.
Panic is setting in. Trump “can’t be allowed to win”. Something big is bound to happen very soon. We’re probably in for one of the most tumultuous times in U.S. history.
While I may not be correct about Newsom, I predict that someone other than Trump or Biden will be the next president.
Food price controls is something big.
I wouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point.
If they replace Biden and it’s not with Harris the blacks will revolt. People that are voting due inflation/economy know that a Democrat won’t make things better.
Checking back here. One of the “big things” that could happen is Biden and Harris are in the same place at the same time and “something unexpected” happens taking care of two problems at once.
Zero confidence in Biden or the Democrat leadership to do the right thing. About 25% confidence in Trump and about 30% for the Republican leadership to do the same. As to Powell or any recent Fed chairman? About 10%.
I don’t have faith in Repubs or Dem leaders, that’s why I vote Trump! Simply because it’s a middle finger vote to the Uni-party leadership.
Trump needs our support to fire bureaucrats by the millions. He can’t do it alone.
Giving them the middle finger might feel good, but it solves nothing. Give them a pink slip instead
Well-earned disrespect.
Bullseye 🎯 Mish. You nailed this one. Equally opportunity disgust
stating the obvious, pity you turned to click bait
I disagree. This IS the reality and this article points to some numbers to nail it. I think that people like you probably find fault in EVERYTHING and EVERYONE.
Why don’t you go out and do the work that Mish does for us – – day in and day out. It appears like thankless work.
I will do it clearly: THANKS, MISH!
I agree. I have been critical of Mish at times, but he does the work, especially on the econometrics, where he really shines. James Edwards is a whiner, nothing more and nothing less. His denunciation is without content. If he really thinks it is clickbait, why is he here?
You don’t have to participate either…