<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/federal-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Reserve</a> Chair Jerome Powell remarked during a Wednesday speech that central bankers will likely slow their implementation of contractionary monetary policy this month.
In an attempt to stimulate the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economy</a> after the onset of the lockdown-induced <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recession</a>, policymakers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-releases-plan-to-more-urgently-address-high-inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">established</a> a 0% target interest rate and began acquiring government bonds from market actors. Powell and other Federal Open Market Committee members have since raised rates by 0.75% on four consecutive occasions.
During a <a href="https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20221130a.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speech</a> at the Brookings Institution’s Hutchins Center, Powell said that policymakers will “moderate the pace of our rate increases” as soon as December. “Monetary policy affects the economy and inflation with uncertain lags, and the full effects of our rapid tightening so far are yet to be felt,” he said. “Given our progress in tightening policy, the timing of that moderation is far less significant than the questions of how much further we will need to raise rates to control inflation, and the length of time it will be necessary to hold policy at a restrictive level.”
Powell also acknowledged that officials still intend to maintain rates “at a restrictive level for some time,” as “history cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy.” The Federal Reserve is charged with maintaining stable inflation and low unemployment.
Rate hikes from the central bank have the impact of decreasing macroeconomic demand, as Powell repeatedly emphasized. Interest rates across the economy, such as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pending-home-sales-plummet-as-housing-market-is-rocked-by-soaring-mortgage-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mortgage rates</a> and the premiums faced by businesses and consumers to borrow money, have quickly risen amid the rollback of the quantitative easing regime.
Some analysts have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-agrees-with-a-furious-jeremy-siegel-that-fed-actions-which-blew-up-the-stock-market-make-absolutely-no-sense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> monetary policymakers for causing harm through their excessive zeal to manage inflation soon after a prolonged increase in the money supply. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-warns-a-severe-recession-will-be-more-likely-if-federal-reserve-doesnt-take-action-on-rate-hikes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that the Federal Reserve is “massively amplifying the probability of a severe recession” and “needs to cut interest rates immediately.”
Though Powell acknowledged that the October inflation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-october-inflation-surges-but-less-than-expected-energy-prices-up-ahead-of-winter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics had an unexpected downside, he observed that the two preceding months contained upside surprises. “Despite the tighter policy and slower growth over the past year, we have not seen clear progress on slowing inflation,” he commented.
Among other concerns, Powell noted that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-continue-to-opt-out-of-the-workforce" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labor force participation</a> rates continue to lag following the lockdown-induced recession. He remarked that the “participation gap” is mostly a result of “excess retirements” that occurred beyond “what would have been expected from population aging alone,” even as younger individuals largely return to the workforce.
“In the labor market, demand for workers far exceeds the supply of available workers,” Powell continued, adding that nominal wages have grown faster than the rate expected under 2% inflation. “Thus, another condition we are looking for is the restoration of balance between supply and demand in the labor market.”
The logic behind recent rate hikes rests upon the intentional reduction in demand to match lower levels of supply, constituting an approach that some economists <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sound-fiscal-policy-is-missing-from-the-battle-against-inflation-report-argues" target="_blank" rel="noopener">question</a>. Powell, recognizing that the Federal Reserve does not advocate for specific legislative measures approved or rejected by elected lawmakers, noted broadly that “policies to support labor force participation could, over time, bring benefits to the workers who join the labor force and support overall economic growth.”

Federal Reserve Chair Powell Speaks At The Brookings Institution

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Discusses Future Slowdown Of Rate Hikes

Jerome Powell Says Rate Hikes Will Slow Next Month

Economy

Federal Reserve

Inflation

Interest Rates

Recession

U.S.

DoorDash announced on Wednesday that the food delivery <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/business" target="_blank" rel="noopener">company</a> will become the latest <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technology</a> firm to dismiss a substantial number of employees in an effort to limit expenses.
In a <a href="https://doordash.news/company/teamupdate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to staff members, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu remarked that the company would decrease corporate headcount in order to reduce high operational costs amid <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic</a> headwinds. The company had increased hiring over the past three years as lockdowns presented “sudden and unprecedented opportunities” for food delivery services.
“Most of our investments are paying off, and while we’ve always been disciplined in how we have managed our business and operational metrics, we were not as rigorous as we should have been in managing our team growth,” Xu wrote. “That’s on me. As a result, operating expenses grew quickly.”
The move to reduce headcount occurs weeks after DoorDash announced better-than-expected <a href="https://s22.q4cdn.com/280253921/files/doc_financials/2022/q3/DASH-Q3-2022-Shareholder-Letter_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial results</a> for the third quarter of 2022. The company lost $0.77 per share even as total orders increased to 439 million, marking 27% growth from the third quarter of 2021. The company’s stock has nevertheless fallen over 61% since the beginning of the year, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Index declined nearly 8% and the technology-heavy NASDAQ plummeted more than 30%.
DoorDash dismissed approximately 1,250 individuals, who will receive 17 weeks of compensation, continued healthcare coverage, and immigration support. The departing employees will also receive career transition services.
“Our business fundamentals remain strong,” Xu continued in the letter to employees. “But as I’ve said before, what got us here won’t necessarily bring us to the next stage and we have to tailor some of our tactics. Looking ahead, we’re confident that we have reset the size and shape of our organization to match our strategic priorities.”
The startup is one of several technology companies to announce widespread dismissals in recent months. Companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Tesla have announced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/recession-fears-lead-big-tech-companies-to-pause-hiring-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hiring pauses or layoffs</a> for their corporate offices, citing broader economic uncertainty and the probability of a prolonged contraction. Elon Musk, who has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-warns-a-severe-recession-will-be-more-likely-if-federal-reserve-doesnt-take-action-on-rate-hikes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> approximately two-thirds of employees at social media platform Twitter, said that the Federal Reserve is “massively amplifying the probability of a severe recession” through the rollback of expansionary monetary policy and “needs to cut interest rates immediately.”
Although <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/entertainment-giants-and-media-companies-announce-massive-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">other sectors</a> have also reduced headcount in an effort to limit expenditures, Silicon Valley has been a particular target of criticism from investors who believe companies should prepare for a coming economic storm. Altimeter Capital Management CEO Brad Gerstner said in a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-shares-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2016-as-company-burns-billions-on-metaverse-inflates-payrolls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that the social media company, which has more than tripled headcount over the past four years, should dismiss workers to reduce costs.
“It is a poorly kept secret in Silicon Valley that companies ranging from Google to Meta to Twitter to Uber could achieve similar levels of revenue with far fewer people,” the investor wrote. “I would take it a step further and argue that these incredible companies would run even better and more efficiently without the layers and lethargy that comes with this extreme rate of employee expansion.”

DoorDash

Food Delivery Company Is The Latest Silicon Valley Firm To Announce Mass Layoffs

DoorDash Announces Layoffs In Bid To Decrease Costs

Big Tech

Business

Silicon Valley

Technology

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/elon-musk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elon Musk</a> warned that a significant <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recession</a> would occur in the United States if policymakers at the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/federal-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Reserve</a> do not adjust their current approach to interest rates.
The central bank has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-the-federal-reserves-changing-approach-toward-rate-hikes-could-mean-for-the-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increased</a> target federal funds rates by 0.75% on four consecutive occasions, marking the most aggressive rollback of loose monetary policy in decades. Interest rates across the economy, such as mortgage rates and the premiums faced by businesses and consumers to borrow money, have quickly risen as a result.
Vincent Yu, the founder of Tesla accessories provider Tesmanian, predicted a “real economic recession” next year, leading Musk to <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1597878869910253569" target="_blank" rel="noopener">call</a> the present direction of the economy “concerning.” He added that the Federal Reserve is “massively amplifying the probability of a severe recession” and “needs to cut interest rates immediately.”
Some analysts, including Wharton School finance professor Jeremy Siegel, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-agrees-with-a-furious-jeremy-siegel-that-fed-actions-which-blew-up-the-stock-market-make-absolutely-no-sense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the central bank amid the return to a contractionary monetary regime, contending that officials who were slow in their response to rising price levels are now causing harm through their excessive zeal to manage inflation. Musk, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-has-a-super-bad-feeling-about-the-economy-wants-a-massive-layoff-at-tesla" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> over the summer that he has a “super bad feeling” about the economy, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1573624036957065217" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commented</a> on social media that Siegel is “obviously correct.”
In an attempt to stimulate the economy, policymakers at the Federal Reserve had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-releases-plan-to-more-urgently-address-high-inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pegged</a> a 0% target interest rate and began acquiring government bonds from the marketplace immediately following the onset of the lockdown-induced recession.
The stock market generally dislikes rate hike decisions because of their negative implications for future economic activity. However, investors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-hikes-interest-rates-three-quarters-of-a-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reacted positively</a> in the immediate aftermath of the most recent announcement since a statement from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors affirmed that officials “will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments.” The new language had not been included in previous releases.
Musk, who serves as the chief executive of SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter, also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-predicts-how-long-global-recession-will-last" target="_blank" rel="noopener">predicted</a> that a global recession could last through 2024. He remarked that the former two companies are in “good positions” to weather the economic headwinds.
In an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-makes-bold-predictions-about-tesla-performance-global-recession-twitter-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">earnings call</a> for Tesla last month, the world’s richest man said that China is experiencing “a recession of sorts” while Europe is likewise seeing “a recession of sorts driven by energy.” He believes that North America is in “pretty good health” and forecasted that the Federal Reserve would eventually pivot toward a more moderate approach to inflation.
Twitter was among several technology firms that recently eliminated a significant portion of staffers. Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-elon-musk-tells-twitter-staff-to-work-long-hours-at-high-intensity-or-hit-the-road" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> remaining employees that they must be prepared to work “long hours at high intensity” to keep their positions and will “be much more engineering-driven.” Some investors have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-shares-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2016-as-company-burns-billions-on-metaverse-inflates-payrolls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voiced criticism</a> of Silicon Valley for ballooning headcounts, arguing that the current macroeconomic climate presents an opportunity to reduce costs by reconfiguring staff.
Though the labor market has generally remained strong over the past two years, central bankers warned that their actions might increase unemployment. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jerome-powell-vows-to-restore-price-stability-even-though-federal-reserve-must-first-bring-some-pain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vowed</a> that policymakers are committed to returning the economy to a 2% inflation rate, which had been largely maintained over the past three decades.

SpaceX And T-Mobile Hold Joint Event In Texas

Elon Musk Warns A ‘Severe Recession’ Will Be More Likely If Federal Reserve Doesn’t Take Action On Rate Hikes

Elon Musk Urges Federal Reserve To Take Action On Rate Hikes

Elon Musk

Consumers are entering the biggest shopping day of the year wary of higher <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/price-levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">price levels</a> and the future of the global <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economy</a>.
Inflation is casting an ominous shadow on <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/black-friday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Black Friday</a>, on which retailers offer highly discounted prices to usher in the beginning of the holiday shopping season. According to an <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/black-friday-2022-impacting-brands-retailers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from Boston Consulting Group, the vast majority of consumers in the United States, Europe, and Australia foresee elevated inflation remaining for a “long time,” predict that the economy will “get even worse” over the course of the next year, and are concerned about rising prices for “essentials” such as food and energy.
“Consumption habits are changing as a result, with shoppers cutting back on nonessential purchases, going out less to save money, and turning to lower-quality items,” the analysis said. “Bargain hunting has become a more continuous activity, as consumers have become more accustomed to checking price tags and looking for discounts over the past few months.”
Approximately 39% of respondents to a Boston Consulting Group survey will “buy more at discounters or value retailers,” while 51% will “cut back on nonessential purchases” and 48% will “go out less to save money.” The majority of respondents nevertheless intend to participate in Black Friday and will more strongly emphasize bargain hunting.
Citizens in every nation examined by Boston Consulting Group plan to reduce their spending on Black Friday, with the exception of the United States, where residents are expected to spend 6% more than last year. German and French shoppers will spend 15% less, while their counterparts in Australia and the United Kingdom will spend 18% less.
Holiday retail sales in the United States are expected to grow between 6% and 8% since last year to possibly surpass $960 billion, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rise-in-holiday-spending-to-be-outpaced-by-inflation-forecast-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the National Retail Federation. Although the growth appears to surpass the average 4.9% annual increase witnessed over the past decade, the expansion will be mostly eclipsed by inflation, which rose year-over-year at a 7.7% rate as of last month, according to a <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“While consumers are feeling the pressure of inflation and higher prices, and while there is continued stratification with consumer spending and behavior among households at different income levels, consumers remain resilient and continue to engage in commerce,” National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay said in a <a href="https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-predicts-healthy-holiday-sales-consumers-navigate-economic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “In the face of these challenges, many households will supplement spending with savings and credit to provide a cushion and result in a positive holiday season.”
Boston Consulting Group indeed found that as many as 47% of customers are “already spending their savings on day-to-day expenses” and 20% “expect their disposable income to deteriorate in the next six months.”
Amazon and FedEx recently revealed efforts to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-critical-companies-will-lay-off-furlough-employees-during-holiday-shopping-season" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismiss workers</a> ahead of the holiday season, which is typically a busy time for companies involved in the sale and transportation of consumer goods. The former company introduced layoffs in human resources, retail, and devices divisions. Firms in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/another-tech-company-announces-massive-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technology sector</a> and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/entertainment-giants-and-media-companies-announce-massive-layoffs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entertainment industry</a> have likewise announced significant layoffs in an attempt to minimize costs.
Despite a rise in economic output during the third quarter, the United States previously met the rule-of-thumb definition of a recession, two consecutive quarters of negative growth, as output contracted at a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter and a 0.6% pace in the second quarter.

Shoppers Flock To Stores For Black Friday Deals

How Black Friday Is Different This Year Because Of Record Inflation

Black Friday

A number of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entertainment</a> conglomerates and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/mainstream-media" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a> companies are announcing layoffs as the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">macroeconomy</a> continues to impact several industries.
Technology companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Tesla have announced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/recession-fears-lead-big-tech-companies-to-pause-hiring-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hiring pauses or layoffs</a> for their corporate offices over the past several months, citing recessionary risk and broader economic uncertainty. Leaders in the media sector are referencing similar issues.
Warner Bros Television slashed 26% of headcount across scripted, unscripted, and animation divisions, according to a <a href="https://deadline.com/2022/10/warner-bros-tv-layoffs-studio-cuts-26-of-workforce-1235141732/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">memo</a> sent by Warner Bros Television CEO Channing Dungey and obtained by Deadline. “These are challenging times in the world at large, and a tumultuous time in our industry,” she wrote. “But my hope is that these changes, made with an eye to a more focused business strategy, will strengthen and stabilize our company, maintain our great creative output, and better position us for continued future success.”
Following a lackluster quarterly earnings report, former Disney CEO Bob Chapek said earlier this month that the entertainment giant would implement a hiring freeze and eliminate some positions, according to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/11/disney-plans-hiring-freeze-job-cuts-memo-says.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">message</a> sent to executives and obtained by CNBC. “Hiring for the small subset of the most critical, business-driving positions will continue, but all other roles are on hold,” said Chapek, who was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/reeling-disney-fires-ceo-as-woke-culture-blamed-for-stock-plunge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">replaced</a> over the weekend by predecessor Bob Iger.
Shares for Warner Bros Discovery have fallen nearly 59% since the beginning of the year, while shares for Disney have plummeted 39%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&amp;P 500 have respectively declined 7% and 17% over the same period.
Despite a rise in economic output during the third quarter, the United States previously met the rule-of-thumb definition of a recession, two consecutive quarters of negative growth, as output contracted at a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter and a 0.6% pace in the second quarter. Officials in the Biden administration have nevertheless insisted that the economy as a whole has been experiencing a normal recovery. After the release of the preliminary third quarter output forecast, Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-turns-positive-in-third-quarter-biden-takes-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that “doomsayers” had been “rooting for a downturn” while falsely arguing that the nation was in a recession.
Digital media device manufacturer Roku announced last week that roughly 5% of staff will be dismissed in order to decrease the company’s “operating expense growth rate due to current economic conditions,” according to a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/roku-layoffs-job-cuts-economy-1235264080/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Hollywood Reporter. Other companies reducing headcount include Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, and Paramount Global, which controls CBS and MTV, according to a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/22/media-layoffs-cnn-disney-economy-jobs-advertising" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Axios.
Gannett, a media conglomerate which owns more than 250 local news outlets, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/local-journalists-laid-off-as-media-conglomerate-suffers-heavy-losses" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> three months ago that executives would begin “necessary but painful reductions to staffing” while eliminating some open positions. Over 360 newspapers had already closed their doors between late 2019 and the spring of 2022, according to a <a href="https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/06/newspapers-close-decline-in-local-journalism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Northwestern University, meaning that the nation is on pace to lose one-third of local newspapers between 2005 and 2025.
The layoffs in the entertainment sector occur as investors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-shares-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2016-as-company-burns-billions-on-metaverse-inflates-payrolls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticize</a> large companies, especially in the technology space, for maintaining bloated payrolls. Twitter CEO Elon Musk <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-elon-musk-sends-blunt-message-to-3700-fired-twitter-employees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reduced</a> the social media company’s headcount by half immediately following the acquisition.
Disclosure: The Daily Wire has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/introducing-dw-kids">announced plans</a> for kids entertainment content.

Close-Up Of Movie Camera At Studio

Entertainment Giants And Media Companies Announce Massive Layoffs

Entertainment Companies Announce Layoffs

Entertainment

Mainstream Media

Unemployment

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/california" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California</a> is projected to have a deficit after holding onto a budget surplus for the past several years.
The state is <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/16/california-25b-deficit-00068081" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expected</a> to have a $25 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, according to the state legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal experts.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office <a href="https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4646" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> its report on Wednesday, emphasizing the upcoming $25 billion <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-16/with-a-potential-recession-looming-state-faces-an-estimated-25-billion-deficit-next-year" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deficit</a>, which they say is mostly due to “lower revenue estimates.”
The state’s last <a href="https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2022/11/california-budget-deficit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">budget</a> was $308 billion with a $97 billion surplus, and the year prior to that, the budget was $263 billion with a $76 billion surplus. The state currently <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/california-faces-25-billion-budget-deficit-states-legislative-analyst-projects/41982419" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has</a> $37.2 billion of reserves.
The office noted that if the state’s reserves aren’t enough to solve the deficit, the legislature will need to cut spending, boost revenues, and possibly move costs around. They also did not say the state is in a recession, but noted the tough economic environment is harming revenues. The office noted that their revenue estimates “represent the weakest performance the state has experienced since the Great Recession.”
“It’s not insignificant, but it’s also manageable,” Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-california-gavin-newsom-government-and-politics-f2d77b7d33c82e1acfc3ee9c5274d871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We don’t think of this as a budget crisis.”
Democratic Governor of California Gavin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/gavin-newsom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Newsom&#8217;s</a> administration <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-california-gavin-newsom-government-and-politics-f2d77b7d33c82e1acfc3ee9c5274d871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> said the deficit was “realistic and reasonable.”
According to the <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-are-sources-revenue-state-governments" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tax Policy Center</a>, states collect revenue from taxes, fees and charges, as well as transfers from the federal government.
California has seen a sharp drop-off in business growth in the state, as well as residents, in recent years. People have been <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2022/11/16/california-massive-budget-shortfall/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leaving</a> California and moving to places such as Virginia, Washington, Florida, and Texas. From April 2020 to January 2022, the state saw over 352,000 people leave, according to the California Department of Finance statistics, per the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-07-29/california-exodus-continues-l-a-san-francisco-lead-the-way#:~:text=Citing%20changes%20in%20work-life,and%20January%202022,%20according%20to" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles Times</a>.
A September <a href="https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/research/docs/21117-Ohanian-Vranich-4_0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Hoover Institution <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-corporate-exodus-business-flight-gavin-newsom-lee-ohanian-joseph-vranich-hoover-institution-11666789943?mod=flipboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that 352 businesses transitioned their headquarters out of the Golden State between 2018 and 2021. The overall business climate has also declined in the state.
In 2022, just nine businesses with headquarters in California <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2022/10/20/californias-economy-could-be-heading-for-disaster-after-companies-fled-in-droves/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took</a> their company public in the first three quarters. In the same time span in 2021, 81 launched IPOS, per an <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/10/19/california-faces-loss-of-ipo-crown-as-tech-startup-plans-stymied/?utm_source=CalMatters+Newsletters&amp;utm_campaign=fd9e2f7f2a-WHATMATTERS&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_faa7be558d-fd9e2f7f2a-151614201&amp;mc_cid=fd9e2f7f2a&amp;mc_eid=07ec8ce5b4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">analysis</a> from Bloomberg News that included some limitations.
As businesses and residents depart the state, the ability to generate revenue from taxes decreases. Revenues have been <a href="https://www.kcra.com/article/california-faces-25-billion-budget-deficit-states-legislative-analyst-projects/41982419" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropping</a> in California for months, with September being the fourth month in a row that revenues were less than anticipated.
The California Department of Finance has pointed to multiple reasons for low revenue, according to KCRA. California’s tax strategy depends on people who typically earn more than $500,000 per year, but those individuals have been hit hard by inflation. As the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/inflation-business-california-gavin-newsom-government-and-politics-f2d77b7d33c82e1acfc3ee9c5274d871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>, when people spend less money, there is less need for goods and services, which prompts terminations, resulting in fewer taxes being paid to the government.
Republican Assembly Leader James Gallagher said the Democratic leadership is at fault for the financial situation. He <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-16/with-a-potential-recession-looming-state-faces-an-estimated-25-billion-deficit-next-year">said</a> they “overtaxed Californians and grew government while ignoring investments in critical infrastructure like new water storage.”

B8E90896-2B30-4BAF-95D8-0CB4944C6FD2_1_201_a

California Faces $25 Billion Deficit After Years Of Surplus

California Faces $25 Billion Budget Deficit After Years Of Surplus

California

Gavin Newsom

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/fedex" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FedEx</a> plan on dismissing workers ahead of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christmas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holiday</a> season, which is typically a busy time for companies involved in the sale and transportation of consumer goods.
According to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/14/technology/amazon-layoffs.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times, Amazon will lay off approximately 10,000 employees in human resources, retail, and devices divisions as soon as this week. The layoffs occur amid cost-cutting measures, according to an adjacent <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-set-to-lay-off-thousands-of-corporate-workers-11668447887" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal.
The cuts also come two weeks after Amazon Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology Beth Galetti <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/two-more-tech-companies-fire-large-portions-of-their-staff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">informed</a> employees that the e-commerce giant would institute a freeze on incremental hires in the corporate workforce. “We anticipate keeping this pause in place for the next few months, and will continue to monitor what we’re seeing in the economy and the business to adjust as we think makes sense,” she remarked.
Several technology companies, including Microsoft, Tesla, and Coinbase, already announced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/recession-fears-lead-big-tech-companies-to-pause-hiring-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hiring pauses or layoffs</a> earlier this year. Although many of the dismissals were attributed to the state of the economy, prominent investors have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-shares-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2016-as-company-burns-billions-on-metaverse-inflates-payrolls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that technology firms’ payrolls are bloated, a reality which led Twitter CEO Elon Musk to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-it-elon-musk-sends-blunt-message-to-3700-fired-twitter-employees">cut</a> the company’s headcount in half.
FedEx Freight is preparing to furlough an unspecified number of drivers beginning in early December, according to a <a href="https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fedex-freight-to-begin-driver-furloughs-next-month" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Freight Waves. Employees can opt into the voluntary furlough, slated to last for three months, and continue receiving healthcare benefits. In addition, workers are eligible to file for state unemployment insurance, while some will be offered transfers to markets with greater hiring needs.
“Because of our previous experience with furlough and with the incentives we are offering, we are expecting employees to volunteer to meet the business need,” FedEx Freight spokesperson Miranda Yarbro said in a statement. The business unit, which handles less-than-truckload freight needs for FedEx, currently employs 45,000 people and has outperformed the company’s other transport business subsidiaries, FedEx Express and FedEx Ground.
Shares in FedEx have declined 31% since the beginning of the year, while shares in Amazon have plummeted 41%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.6% over the same period, while the technology-heavy NASDAQ fell 27.5%.
The layoffs from both Amazon and FedEx are troubling, given that they occur shortly ahead of the holiday season. Supply chain bottlenecks and rising price levels, among other phenomena, are currently worsening global economic conditions.
Holiday retail sales in the United States are expected to grow between 6% and 8% since last year to possibly surpass $960 billion, according to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rise-in-holiday-spending-to-be-outpaced-by-inflation-forecast-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the National Retail Federation. Although the growth appears to surpass the average 4.9% annual increase witnessed over the past decade, the expansion will be mostly eclipsed by inflation, which rose year-over-year at a 7.7% rate as of last month, according to a <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“While consumers are feeling the pressure of inflation and higher prices, and while there is continued stratification with consumer spending and behavior among households at different income levels, consumers remain resilient and continue to engage in commerce,” National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay said in a <a href="https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-predicts-healthy-holiday-sales-consumers-navigate-economic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>. “In the face of these challenges, many households will supplement spending with savings and credit to provide a cushion and result in a positive holiday season.”
With respect to non-store and online sales, the National Retail Foundation estimates increases between 10% and 12% as consumers grow in their reliance upon online shopping. Some consumers, however, will return to traditional in-store experiences.

Daily Life In Edmonton During The Covid-19 Pandemic

Two Critical Companies Will Lay Off, Furlough Employees During Holiday Shopping Season

Amazon And FedEx Lay Off, Furlough Employees Ahead Of Holiday Season

Amazon

Christmas

FedEx

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">White House</a> Chief of Staff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ron-klain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ron Klain</a> insisted that the United States is not in a <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recession</a> as Democrats make their final pitch days before the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/2022-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">midterm</a> elections.
Despite an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/relying-on-credit-cards-to-pay-basic-bills-reading-between-the-lines-on-bidens-rosy-economic-outlook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> in <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic</a> output during the third quarter, the United States previously met the rule-of-thumb definition of a recession, two consecutive quarters of negative growth, as the output contracted at a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter and a 0.6% pace in the second quarter. Klain, however, remarked during an <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/watch/biden-issued-one-final-warning-on-democracy-amid-political-violence-wh-152412229506?cid=sm_npd_ms_tw_mj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with MSNBC that the economy is witnessing a robust recovery under President Joe Biden.
“We are not in a recession. I want to be really, really clear on that,” Klain asserted. “The economy is growing, it is strong, it is creating jobs.”
Polls <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-midterm-poll-spells-bad-news-for-democrats-on-the-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">consistently reveal</a> that voters have their eyes on the economy and inflation more than any other issues, with Republicans leading Democrats by a double-digit margin concerning trust in handling the economy. Although members of the former party criticize the Biden administration and progressive lawmakers for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-economic-czar-claims-white-house-is-reducing-the-budget-deficit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">deficit spending</a> even while restricting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-severely-cuts-back-on-oil-and-gas-leases" target="_blank" rel="noopener">energy production</a>, members of the latter party claim that their expenditures are meant to decrease the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-signs-740-billion-inflation-reduction-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cost of living</a> for households.
Klain cited recent rebounds in the stock market, which has seen one of its worst years in history, as evidence that the administration’s economic policy has been effective. “Our mission here at the White House is to continue that kind of economic growth,” he said, naming inflation as “the problem we’re focused on.”
Voters nevertheless hold the commander-in-chief responsible for the lackluster economy. In a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americans-who-have-worse-finances-since-biden-was-elected-overwhelmingly-blame-democrats" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from Bankrate, roughly 43% of respondents reported that their finances are worse than two years ago. Among those who reported worse finances, 69% placed “at least a moderate amount of blame” on Biden, while 71% placed blame on Democrats in Congress and a smaller but still salient 54% blamed Republicans in Congress. Although 93% of Republicans with lower financial prospects said Biden is to blame, a considerable 30% of Democrats agreed.
Administration officials have repeatedly seized on any glimmer of positive economic news as evidence that the economy as a whole is experiencing a normal recovery. After the release of the preliminary third quarter output forecast, Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-turns-positive-in-third-quarter-biden-takes-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> that “doomsayers” had been “rooting for a downturn” while falsely arguing that the nation was in a recession.
“Now, we need to make more progress on our top economic challenge: bringing down high prices for American families,” he remarked. “Congressional Republicans have a very different agenda — one that would drive up inflation and add to the deficit by cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations. It would raise the cost of prescription drugs, health care, and energy for American families. That failed economic vision is not the way to give families more breathing room and grow our economy so working families can get ahead.”
Elevated price levels recently caused the Federal Reserve to increase <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-hikes-interest-rates-three-quarters-of-a-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">target federal funds</a> rates by three-quarters of a percentage point. Monetary policymakers have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-federal-reserve-official-reveals-consequence-of-higher-interest-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly warned</a> markets that economic growth will be “essentially flat” in the second half of the year following the dismal first two quarters.

Ron Klain

White House Chief Of Staff: ‘We Are Not In A Recession’

White House Chief Of Staff Claims United States Is 'Not In A Recession'

2022 Midterms

Biden Administration

Politics

Stripe and Lyft became the latest <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/technology" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technology</a> companies on Thursday to dismiss large portions of their <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">workforce</a>, while Amazon announced that they would freeze hiring.
Although <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">macroeconomic</a> headwinds have impacted most industries, the technology sector has witnessed the most pronounced <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/stock-market" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stock market</a> selloffs. Companies such as Meta recently issued dismal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-shares-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2016-as-company-burns-billions-on-metaverse-inflates-payrolls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">third-quarter earnings</a> reports, leading some executives and investors to pursue layoffs in order to reduce costs through the choppy economic waters.
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison sent a <a href="https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/ceo-patrick-collisons-email-to-stripe-employees" target="_blank" rel="noopener">note</a> to employees at the payment processing platform announcing that executives would be reducing headcount by roughly 14% due to “sparser startup funding” and other trends stemming from the poor economy. “Our business is fundamentally well-positioned to weather harsh circumstances. We provide an important foundation to our customers and Stripe is not a discretionary service that customers turn off if budget is squeezed,” Collison wrote. “However, we do need to match the pace of our investments with the realities around us.”
The move will reduce headcount to roughly 7,000, marking the same number of workers Stripe employed at the beginning of the year. Collison added that the company was “much too optimistic” about the internet economy’s growth and “grew operating costs too quickly.”
Meanwhile, Lyft CEO Logan Green and Lyft President John Zimmer said in an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/03/lyft-cuts-13percent-of-its-workforce.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">email</a> obtained by CNBC that the ridesharing company would dismiss 13% of workers based upon “deprioritized initiatives, an effort to reduce management layers, broader savings goals, and, in some cases, performance trajectory.” The company currently has approximately 5,000 employees.
“There are several challenges playing out across the economy. We’re facing a probable recession sometime in the next year and rideshare insurance costs are going up,” the executives wrote. “We worked hard to bring down costs this summer: we slowed, then froze hiring; cut spending; and paused less-critical initiatives. Still, Lyft has to become leaner, which requires us to part with incredible team members.”
Also on Thursday, Amazon Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology Beth Galetti <a href="https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/a-note-about-hiring-from-beth-galetti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">informed</a> employees that the e-commerce giant would institute a freeze on incremental hires in the corporate workforce. “We anticipate keeping this pause in place for the next few months, and will continue to monitor what we’re seeing in the economy and the business to adjust as we think makes sense,” she said.
Several technology companies, including Microsoft, Tesla, and Coinbase, already announced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/recession-fears-lead-big-tech-companies-to-pause-hiring-cut-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hiring pauses or layoffs</a> earlier this year. Elon Musk, who recently took control of social media platform Twitter, plans to dismiss 3,700 of the company’s 7,500 employees as soon as Friday, according to a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-purge-begins-musk-is-terminating-massive-number-of-twitter-employees-on-friday-report-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Bloomberg News.
In a recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meta-shares-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2016-as-company-burns-billions-on-metaverse-inflates-payrolls" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a>, Altimeter Capital Management CEO Brad Gerstner told Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg that his company, which has more than tripled its workforce from 25,000 people to 85,000 people over the past four years, could reduce costs by cutting bloated payrolls.
“It is a poorly kept secret in Silicon Valley that companies ranging from Google to Meta to Twitter to Uber could achieve similar levels of revenue with far fewer people,” the investor remarked. “I would take it a step further and argue that these incredible companies would run even better and more efficiently without the layers and lethargy that comes with this extreme rate of employee expansion.”

Close-up Of Unemployed Businessperson Carrying Cardboard Box

Two More Tech Companies Fire Large Portions Of Their Staff

Stripe, Lyft Latest Companies To Lay Off Workers, Amazon Freezes Hiring

Jobs

Lyft

Stock Market

The <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/federal-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Reserve</a> raised the target <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/interest-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">federal funds</a> rate by 0.75% on Wednesday, but indicated that officials will avoid an overly zealous contractionary policy even as economists warn of a lagged effect that could reach into next year.
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-hikes-interest-rates-three-quarters-of-a-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fourth consecutive</a> 0.75% increase occurs as inflation remains elevated at four-decade highs. Target interest rates are now set between 3.75% and 4%.
“In the face of stubbornly high inflation, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates aggressively once again,” Bankrate Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride remarked in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “Unfortunately, we’re likely to feel the pain of a slower economy before we see the gain of lower inflation.”
The stock market reacted positively in the immediate aftermath of the rate hike announcement since a statement from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors affirmed that officials “will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments.” The new language had not been included in previous announcements.
McBride affirmed that the central bank does not intend to pause or reverse their contractionary monetary policy. “Upcoming meetings will bring smaller rate hikes, but a higher eventual stopping point and for a longer period once we get there,” he continued. “They want interest rates to be an economic headwind, but they want to be guarded about overdoing it. If only inflation will cooperate.”
Policymakers at the Federal Reserve had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-releases-plan-to-more-urgently-address-high-inflation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pegged</a> a near-zero target interest rate immediately following the onset of the lockdown-induced recession, also moving to acquire government bonds in order to increase the money supply and stimulate economic activity. Many leading analysts have more recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-agrees-with-a-furious-jeremy-siegel-that-fed-actions-which-blew-up-the-stock-market-make-absolutely-no-sense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticized</a> the central bank amid the return to a contractionary regime, contending that officials who were lackluster in their response to rising price levels are now causing undue harm through their zeal to manage inflation.
Target interest rate decisions carry impacts across every corner of the economy. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate, for instance, rose above 7% after remaining below 3% for much of the past two years, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from government-backed mortgage company Freddie Mac.
“The lagged effect of all these interest rate hikes means a rapidly slowing economy in 2023,” McBride said. “The abrupt slowdown in the housing market is a harbinger of broader economic slowing to come.”
Federal Reserve officials have indeed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-federal-reserve-official-reveals-consequence-of-higher-interest-rates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> on multiple occasions that economic growth will be “essentially flat” in the second half of the year following two consecutive quarters of negative growth, implying that the United States had entered a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-turns-positive-in-third-quarter-biden-takes-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technical recession</a>. A recent <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the International Monetary Fund projected that the global economy will grow at a meager 2.7% in 2023, following 3.2% growth in 2022 and 6% growth in 2021, marking the weakest expansion in two decades.
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-reserve-hikes-interest-rates-three-quarters-of-a-point" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cautioned</a> last month that the “moderation in demand due to monetary policy tightening is only partly realized” so far, with particularly interest-sensitive sectors like housing anticipated to see the greatest detriment first. “In other sectors, lags in transmission mean that policy actions to date will have their full effect on activity in coming quarters, and the effect on price setting may take longer,” she said. “The moderation in demand should be reinforced by the concurrent rapid global tightening of monetary policy.”

Biden Open To Options On Spending As Congress Takes Over

What The Federal Reserve’s Changing Approach Toward Rate Hikes Could Mean For The Economy

What The Federal Reserve's Changing Approach Toward Rate Hikes Could Mean For The Economy

President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a>, who insists that the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economy</a> has been robust under his watch, took credit last week as a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-turns-positive-in-third-quarter-biden-takes-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that the economy grew at a 2.6% annualized pace during the third quarter of 2022.
Real gross domestic product, the sum of all final goods and services produced in the economy, rose between July and September. The nation, however, had previously met the rule-of-thumb definition of a <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recession</a>, two consecutive quarters of negative growth, as the economy contracted at a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter and a 0.6% pace in the second quarter.
The improved economic output was driven by higher exports, as well as consumer spending and new government expenditures. Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild said during an interview with The Daily Wire that much of the economic activity occurs as American households borrow money at record levels.
“What we&#8217;ve seen since the beginning of the Biden administration is a massive increase in consumer loans. People are increasingly relying on credit cards to pay basic bills. The savings rate has cratered,” he remarked. “And that can only go so long … The average consumer is on an unstable path right now just to keep their head above water.”
The total level of consumer loans increased from $1.5 trillion at the beginning of Biden’s tenure to $1.8 trillion as of two months ago, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CONSUMER" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Federal Reserve. The personal savings rate has dropped from 20% to slightly more than 3% over the same period, according to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, marking a significant decline from typical rates witnessed before the lockdown-induced recession.
Hild noted that the improvement in net exports is likely aided by the Biden administration’s efforts to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-release-more-oil-from-strategic-reserve-ahead-of-midterms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release supply</a> from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a stock of emergency crude oil used to manage disruptions in energy markets. The commander-in-chief has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-could-refill-strategic-oil-reserve-at-80-per-barrel-democrats-blocked-trump-when-oil-was-24" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presided over a drop</a> in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from 638 million barrels to 402 million barrels, according to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&amp;s=WCSSTUS1&amp;f=W">data</a> from the Energy Information Administration.
“The administration has released an unprecedented amount of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve into the market in order to depress prices,” Hild said. “Most political pundits consider this to be a brazen use of public resources in order to keep gas prices low for purposes of helping his approval numbers before the midterm elections. The consequence of releasing that much oil in the market is that a lot of it gets exported.”
Reports <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stunning-amount-of-oil-released-by-biden-found-its-way-to-china-other-countries">indicate</a> that some of the fuel has been sent overseas, including to a Chinese oil company with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-sold-nearly-1-million-barrels-of-oil-to-chinese-state-owned-company-tied-to-hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">links</a> to Hunter Biden. “The most likely contributor to that massive export number that we saw, which is so out of kilter with previous quarters, was the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” Hild continued. “If you look at the other stuff in the GDP report, there was nothing really notable that would make me think it&#8217;s a different product or different export.”
The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-press-secretary-claims-americans-are-saving-on-gas-under-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denial</a> of the economy entering a technical recession from the White House and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/british-news-outlets-are-reporting-their-country-is-in-a-recession-american-media-refused-to-do-the-same" target="_blank" rel="noopener">legacy media</a> was surprising to Hild, who said that officials from both sides of the aisle have referenced the rule-of-thumb definition “as long as” he “could remember.”
“They are moving the goalposts by suddenly going back to a much more vague definition that no one had been using,” he said. “If you look at the whole panoply of evidence out there, minus this one weird GDP print that&#8217;s up for one-off reasons, it does look like we not only have hit the two consecutive quarters of negative growth, but also the general conditions are not good.”

Joe Biden

‘Relying On Credit Cards To Pay Basic Bills’: Reading Between The Lines On Biden’s Rosy Economic Outlook

Biden Economy May Not Have Been As Strong In Third Quarter As Report Indicated

Executive

Americans who report tighter <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">financial</a> conditions after the election of President <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/biden-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> largely blame the commander-in-chief and his legislative allies, according to a new midterm election survey from Bankrate.
Republicans have significant projected leads over Democrats with respect to economic issues as voters are expected to be driven to the polls by soaring inflation, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ocean-shippers-reveal-major-sign-that-the-global-economy-is-in-dire-straits" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supply chain</a> bottlenecks, expensive residential <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mortgage-rates-near-an-astonishing-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">real estate</a>, and dwindling <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-not-just-yours-study-shows-how-much-average-401k-is-down-under-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">retirement stockpiles</a>. While 43% of respondents to the Bankrate survey reported that their finances are worse than two years ago, only 18% say they are better, and most of the individuals in the former category say Democrats are responsible.
“In our highly polarized political environment, and in the context of a complicated and highly dynamic economic situation, many people naturally gravitate toward assigning blame or credit to elected officials,” Bankrate senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said in a statement provided to The Daily Wire. “The midterm elections will be important in terms of defining which party is or isn’t in the political driver’s seat in Congress over the next two years … many of these factors may have impacts going into the next general election.”
Among those who reported worse finances, 69% placed “at least a moderate amount of blame” on Biden, while 71% placed blame on Democrats in Congress. A smaller but still salient 54% blamed Republicans in Congress. Although 93% of Republicans with lower financial prospects said Biden is to blame, 30% of Democrats agreed.
Americans also show a high amount of pessimism about their future financial prospects. Only 26% believe they would be better off over the next two years, 32% think they would be worse off, and 42% envision they will be about the same.
“Something of a bunker mentality may be emerging among consumers,” Hamrick continued. “It’s understandable as they’ve been adjusting in response to inflation, which erodes buying power, and in anticipation of possible worsening of the job market.”
As Americans prepare to cast ballots next week, the Biden administration has attempted to blame the poor economy on Republicans, who generally opposed multibillion-dollar spending packages impacting issues ranging from climate change to semiconductor manufacturing. Reacting to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/economy-turns-positive-in-third-quarter-biden-takes-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news</a> of the economy growing at a 2.6% annualized pace during the last quarter, the White House claimed that “doomsayers” had been “rooting for a downturn” while wrongly arguing that the country was in a recession.
“Now, we need to make more progress on our top economic challenge: bringing down high prices for American families,” Biden said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/27/statement-by-president-biden-on-third-quarter-gdp-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Congressional Republicans have a very different agenda — one that would drive up inflation and add to the deficit by cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations. It would raise the cost of prescription drugs, health care, and energy for American families.”
The nation, however, had met the rule-of-thumb definition of a recession earlier this year as the economy contracted at a 1.6% annualized rate in the first quarter and a 0.6% pace in the second quarter, marking two consecutive quarters of negative growth. In response, the White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-does-preemptive-damage-control-as-economy-heads-toward-recession" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed recession worries</a> and said that only an official determination from the National Bureau of Economic Research would mean the nation was in a prolonged contraction.

US-POLITICS-ECONOMY-DEFICIT-BIDEN

Americans Who Have Worse Finances Since Biden Was Elected Overwhelmingly Blame Democrats

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