Here’s a bit of a shock, folks – A new poll by Harris-Guardian shows that over fifty percent of Americans believe we’re in a recession. Yet, MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle can’t seem to wrap her head around this concept. But then again, this is the same lady who reckons the current inflation we’re grappling with is completely unrelated to President Biden’s governance.
In her show, “The 11th Hour,” Ruhle did acknowledge the elephant in the room – we are having a hell of a time with inflation. Things aren’t cheap anymore; rent, mortgages, insurance, vehicles, heck, even our everyday groceries are costing us an arm and a leg. But then she hesitates to link it with a recession.
Peter Spiegel from the Financial Times laid it out bluntly – the Biden campaign can’t keep their heads in the sand any longer. Inflation isn’t a small issue they can fix overnight. Even if it did, people won’t forget how things used to be cheaper two years ago. Spiegel suggests that the Biden administration work towards neutralizing this issue so they can focus on other pressing matters.
Surprisingly, Ruhle rose to Biden’s defense, claiming that inflation has nothing to do with the president – an absurd statement, given that inflation rate under Trump was a modest 1.9 percent, but has skyrocketed to 5.7 percent under Biden. And it’s a bit laughable for her to claim Biden’s colossal stimulus spending has zilch to do with it.
Funnily enough, Barry Ritholtz of Ritholtz Wealth Management called the poll “nonsensible.” Apparently, people don’t answer unknown calls, and poll results have been wrong in the past. But then again, those polls were about candidate preference, not economic perceptions.
Ruhle then jumped into discussing inflation, specifically grocery prices. She claimed that certain outlets like Aldi and Walmart are cutting prices or offering deals. But didn’t these same places ramp up prices over the last two years? Just this September, we saw food prices soaring, as did medical care expenses and rent.
With all these things in the mix, it’s no surprise that over half of Americans believe we are in a recession. To simply shrug it off as something independent of presidential influence is not only myopic but also misleading. It’s time for some accountability, plain and simple.
