Warren Buffett, Dave Ramsey, and John Maynard Keynes Are Wrong!
by Mark Thornton
Mises.org
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Minor Issues podcast. I’m Mark Thornton at the Mises Institute.
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This week’s episode explains how Warren Buffett, Dave Ramsey, and John Maynard Keynes are wrong about gold.
John Maynard Keynes, the Godfather of Keynesian economics, famously called gold the “barbarous relic,” a term he used to denigrate the gold standard and to disparage the use of gold as money.
Cheap Fast Food is Not Cheap Anymore
by Philip Chrysopoulos
Greek Reporter
Fast food has been the most convenient solution in the fast-paced world in which we live mainly because it used to be quite affordable and easy to get. Yet, fast food has now become expensive due to the high cost of beef.
The late 20th and early 21st century was the age of cheap food. Aside from the convenience and affordability, in the past decades, fast food restaurants were a part of social life for young people. In urban areas, fast food restaurants were places where youngsters could meet and socialize without spending all of their allowance.
For Americans, a visit to a fast food joint was a frequent occurrence. However, this is no longer the case worldwide since a number of such restaurants, including McDonald’s, belong to multinational chains. In other words, fast food has become unaffordable. A meal in a fast food restaurant has become a “luxury” even for mid-income families it seems.
Big Companies Are Not the Inflation Villain
Blaming corporate greed for rising prices is not a winning argument, write Yale SOM’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, economist and former presidential advisor Laura Tyson, and co-author Stephen Henriques.
by Jeffrey A. Sonnenfeld
Yale Insights
Following her latest economic policy speech, Vice President Kamala Harris and Stephanie Ruhle discussed Harris’s economic plan, including her controversial pledge to pass a new federal law against price gouging. When pressed on how this matches her belief in the capitalist system, the vice president responded, “I am never going to apologize for going after companies and corporations that take advantage of the desperation of the American people.”
Most states, including California, have price-gouging rules that go after unjustifiable price increases on essential goods and services during emergencies such as pandemics and disruptive weather events. As California attorney general, Harris saw unscrupulous attempts to take advantage of crises and she responded. As president, she would propose comparable federal legislation. In the Ruhle interview, she went on to say that only a few companies, not the majority, engage in price gouging.
Harris Surrogate, Commerce Sec’y: Biden Inherited ‘Sky-High Inflation’ of 1.4%
by Ian Hanchett
Breitbart.com
On Monday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo — who was appearing in her personal capacity as a surrogate for the Harris campaign – claimed that when President Joe Biden took office, we had “sky-high inflation.”
After Raimondo said we know what the Trump presidency led to, and cited “massive deficits” under Trump, co-host Joe Kernen cut in to say that tariffs Trump put in were kept by President Joe Biden, there wasn’t a recession, real wages rose, the stock market performed well, unemployment hit record lows until the pandemic and we’ve also seen the results of Harris as Vice President.
Raimondo responded, “Right. What have you seen? You’ve seen more manufacturing in this country since any time since World War II.”
Kernen cut in to say, “You’ve seen an open border, I’ve seen real wages go down, I’ve seen crime –.”
Could Dock Worker Strike Spike Inflation? Experts Are Split.
The massive dock worker strike beginning Tuesday comes at an inopportune time for the U.S. economy, as the potential uptick in shipping prices comes ahead of the holiday season and as policy makers look to turn the page on inflation, though experts are split on whether the strike will have a major impact on inflation and the economy more broadly.
by Derek Saul
Forbes
Key Facts
– The strike by 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association along the East Coast could cost the U.S. economy $3 billion to $4.5 billion daily, according to estimates from Jefferies and JPMorgan.
– Though that headline number is certainly a concern, experts largely think significant fallout would only come if the strike lasts more than the “base case” of a “few days,” noted Bank of America analysts led by Nathan Gee, who simultaneously warned a “prolonged strike lasting a few weeks could drive global congestion levels to all-time highs.”
– Austan Goolsbee, the president of the Federal Reserve’s Chicago branch, told Fox Business he’s concerned if the strike “drags on” it could “raise the cost of doing business” and the impacts of such events “are never good.”
Port Strike, If Short, Won’t Spur Inflation, Economists Say
by Megan Leonhardt
Barron’s
U.S. dock workers began a strike Tuesday at ports on the East and Gulf coasts. But a short strike would be unlikely to stoke inflation in consumer goods.
The United States Maritime Alliance, the alliance of port associations, container carriers, and employers, has failed so far to negotiate a new master contract with the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) that represents 85,000 longshore workers.
The current contract expired at midnight on Sept. 30. Thereafter, the ILA plans to strike at the 36 locations at 14 port authorities along the East Coast and Gulf Coast that employ the union’s workers.
Zimbabwe Already Devaluing New Gold-Backed Currency
by Mike Maharrey
GoldSeek
Well, that didn’t take long.
In April, Zimbabwe introduced a gold-backed currency in an effort to stabilize the country’s financial system. Less than six months later, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has already devalued the new money.
I hate to say, “I told you so,” but, well, I told you so.
When Zimbabwe launched the ZiG, I warned that a gold-backed currency would be a great step but would not solve the country’s problems unless the government changed its ways.
It appears that hasn’t happened.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell: ‘Growing Confidence’ Inflation Cooling, More Rate Cuts Possible
by James Powel
USA Today
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday said there’s “growing confidence” that inflation is moving toward the central bank’s 2% goal during a speech at the National Association for Business Economics conference in Nashville.
Powell said that two further rate cuts are possible if the economy continues to perform as expected, though they are likely to not be as aggressive as the half-percent cut the Fed made two weeks ago.
“The measures we’re taking now are really due to the fact that our stance is due to be recalibrated but at a time when the economy is in solid condition,” Powell said. “We’re recalibrating policy to maintain strength in the economy, not because of weakness in the economy.
Why Housing Inflation Looks Sticky
by Kristin Schwab
Market Place
Inflation cooled even more than expected in August. The personal consumption expenditures index — released Friday — clocked in at 2.2%, which is down from 2.5% in July. Still, one part of inflation that’s proven to be super sticky is housing.
Housing inflation is stubborn because there’s not enough housing, per Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at Wharton.
“Demand continues and the supply is constrained,” she said.
That has to do with housing stock and interest rates. Rates have come down, but not enough for homeowners to sell. Wachter said the average existing rate is around 4%.
U.S. Inflation is Still Hotter Than Pre-Pandemic, and That’s Okay
Underlying measures of prices are still rising about one percentage point or so faster than they were in 2017-2019. But there is nothing wrong with this new normal, even if may not be fully priced in.
by Matthew C. Klein
The Overshoot
Federal Reserve officials’ preferred measure of inflation—the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index—rose just 2.2% over the past 12 months. Over the past six months, PCE inflation has come in at just 1.9% annualized, and by just 1.5% annualized over the past three months. Little wonder that Fed officials have shifted their focus from worrying about inflation to preempting any potential further weakness in the job market.
While that may be the correct decision, many of the underlying inflation measures that are supposed to strip out the noise from volatile and idiosyncratic components imply that prices are still rising about 1 percentage point faster than they were in the years immediately preceding the pandemic. That is broadly consistent with the latest data on nominal wages and incomes, which suggests that it is more representative of the underlying trends than a few good months of headline inflation prints.