Biden pays off unions

Biden’s union payoff 

The inflation reduction act doesn’t reduce inflation, it actually raises taxes on everyone. And now we learn it’s also a payoff to unions. Why Biden wants to distort market forces and use our precious tax dollars so inefficiently is obvious: he’s paying off unions. 

Solar

The new base tax credit for so­lar and wind pro­duc­tion would be $5.2 per (MWh). 

In­vestors in projects that use union labor would be able to claim $26 MWh 

Investors using 100% steel made in the U.S get $28.6 

C Sequestration 

The base tax credit for car­bon se­ques­tra­tion is $17 per ton 

For projects using union la­bor it is $85 per ton.

Nuclear Power

The base tax credit for nuclear power is $3 per MWh. 

It is $15 per MWh if union labor.

Biden increases your taxes

Biden wants in increase taxes on corporations. 

This will increase everyone’s taxes (though indirectly.)

What do you think happens when you increase the costs (taxes) of companies. They do a combination of three things. 

1. They increase their prices(inflationary);

2. They reduce their costs (your wages) and investment(lowers demand for workers); and/or,

3. Shareholders make less(reduces investment hurting economy).

INFLATION REDUCTION ACT - Nope

What do you think happens when you increase the costs (taxes) of companies. They do a combination of three things. 

1. They increase their prices(inflationary);

2. They reduce their costs (your wages) and investment(lowers demand for workers); and/or,

3. Shareholders make less(reduces investment hurting economy).

PWBM estimates that the Inflation Reduction Act impact on inflation is statistically indistinguishable from zero.

https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2022/7/29/inflation-reduction-act-preliminary-estimates

Oooops.

 Way to go Joe. Two quarters negative GDP growth

Back in 2008, President Joe Biden’s current National Economic Council director, Brian Deese, stated: “Of course economists have a technical definition of recession, which is two consecutive quarters of negative growth.” 

And in 2019, top Biden economic adviser Jared Bernstein said that a “recession” is “defined as two consecutive quarters of declining growth.”

President Bill Clinton: “A recession is two quarters in a row of negative growth.”

Why don't these black lives matter?

 

Where’s the outrage? Where’s BLM? Where’s Lebron?

Another week and more lives lost. Until the Democrats stop propagating the false narrative nothing will change.

Black lives matter - I support the words but cannot support the organization because it propagates the false narrative that systemic racism is the primary cause of the disparities(murders, incarceration, teen mothers, fatherless households, income, wealth, etc.) between blacks and whites.

Racism exists (though not widespread), it’s bad, and we should continue to work to reduce it. Excess police force exists (though rare), it's  bad and we should continue to work to reduce it.

BLM organization’s positions and policies do not address the problems (murders, fatherless households, teen pregnancy, lack of agency) and do not address the key root causes (it’s not excessive police force or systemic racism.) 

https://moxlosllc.blogspot.com/2021/10/wheres-biden-lebron-blm-102521.html

 

YIKES! - Inflation sucks

I'm starting to remember what it was like in the very early eighties with.  It's clear that the Biden's administration injection of too many trillions of dollars into the economy AND their unreasonable green policies constraining US domestic energy production are really hurting.

EVs actually hurt environment

So why do Democrats and Biden keep pushing for people to spend $20,000 more per car AND make more pollution,

A new study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that electric vehicles are worse for the environment than gas-powered ones. By quantifying the externalities (both greenhouse gases and local air pollution) generated by driving these vehicles, the government subsidies on the purchase of EVs, and taxes on electric and/or gasoline miles, researchers found that “electric vehicles generate a negative environmental benefit of about -0.5 cents per mile relative to comparable gasoline vehicles (-1.5 cents per mile for vehicles driven outside metropolitan areas).” 

And this analysis doesn’t even include the problems of batteries. NBER’s study doesn’t cover all the reasons that EVs are worse for the environment than gas-powered cars. For instance, most of today’s EVs are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Due to heavy government subsidies, China dominates the global production of lithium-ion batteries and their precursor materials, especially graphite. China’s graphite production has notoriously contributed to significant pollution in the country. 

https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w21291/w21291.pdf

Joe-People still not working

Biden says “We have more Americans working in the private sector today than any day during Donald Trump’s Presidency -- more people than any time in our history,” 

Whaaaaat?

Biden dithers on vaccines

Just as Biden dithers on Ukraine where he continues to fail to lead the free world in assisting Ukraine in defeating the Russians by supplying sufficient quantity and quality of weapons Biden is failing to lead the development of new vaccines. 

As early as February 2021 it was clear that Biden’s leadership was lacking. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2021/02/02/biden-dithers-on-vaccination-while-covids-new-strains-rage/amp/

And it has only gotten worse. 

Operation Warp Speed and the broader 2020 vaccine effort was a miracle. It took less than 12 months to go from a novel pathogen to vaccine shots in arms. 

Since then, our response has been far less impressive. 

https://www.slowboring.com/p/we-could-have-universal-covid-vaccines

https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2022/07/operation-warp-speed-should-not-have-been-disbanded.html

As bad as Trump was, and he was bad in many ways, he was able to lead, or at least get out if they way, of Operation Warp Speed that successfully developed multiple COVID  vaccines in record time. 

Biden?  Not so much. 

Biden continues to stop oil production

The Biden administration helping environmentalist sue oil companies to stop production.

https://thefederalist.com/2022/07/07/bidens-swamp-brings-back-sue-and-settle-to-hide-behind-courts-as-it-stomps-out-fossil-fuels/

And oil companies act rationally 

“The answer is that U.S. producers are shackled by powerful external limiters, in part emanating from the ESG investingmovement, but perhaps most penetratingly from the overriding idea that the need for oil and natural gas is soon coming to an end. Investors want to see companies produce as much as possible from existing assets now, pay the highest current dividends possible, and invest as little capital as possible in future exploration and development.”

https://thefederalist.com/2022/07/07/yes-bidens-war-on-the-oil-and-gas-industry-is-driving-shortages-and-high-prices/

Where’s BLM and Lebron?

Where’s the outrage? Where’s BLM? Where’s Lebron?

Another week and more lives lost. Until the Democrats stop propagating the false narrative nothing will change.

Black lives matter - I support the words but cannot support the organization because it propagates the false narrative that systemic racism is the primary cause of the disparities(murders, incarceration, teen mothers, fatherless households, income, wealth, etc.) between blacks and whites.

Racism exists (though not widespread), it’s bad, and we should continue to work to reduce it. Excess police force exists (though rare), it's  bad and we should continue to work to reduce it.

BLM organization’s positions and policies do not address the problems (murders, fatherless households, teen pregnancy, lack of agency) and do not address the key root causes (it’s not excessive police force or systemic racism.) 

https://moxlosllc.blogspot.com/2021/10/wheres-biden-lebron-blm-102521.html

 

Ukraine’s will NEEDS Biden’s means

 We knew what Ukraine needed  http://www.wsj.com/articles/robert-h-scales-the-firepower-that-ukraine-needs-1424304998 

Ukraine has shown that they have the will to defeat Russia. Biden continues to not have the will to provide Ukraine with the means. Russia continues to have significant more arms than Ukraine and will win a war of attrition. Biden must lead the free world to provide Ukraine with significantly more arms.

https://static.rusi.org/special-report-202207-ukraine-final-web_0.pdf

I guess brown lifes don't matter either

50 migrants dead after being found inside sweltering semitruck in San Antonio, with more hospitalized

By Amy Simonson, Amanda Musa, Travis Caldwell and Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

Updated 3:01 PM ET, Tue June 28, 2022

https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/us/san-antonio-migrants-found-truck/index.html

Biden’s policies are a mess AND put many innocents at risk and allow Mexican cartels to get rich.

I support immigration. A lot of immigration. But legal immigration, with a mix of merit based  (engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, doctors, mathematicians, etc.) and opportunity-based (poor people who want to work hard, adopt American values, and get ahead). 

(Note-The numbers are the apprehensions. We do not know how many people get through without being apprehended)

I guess black lives really don’t matter

Where’s the outrage? Where’s BLM? Where’s Lebron?

Another week and more lives lost. Until the Democrats stop propagating the false narrative nothing will change.

Black lives matter - I support the words but cannot support the organization because it propagates the false narrative that systemic racism is the primary cause of the disparities(murders, incarceration, teen mothers, fatherless households, income, wealth, etc.) between blacks and whites.

Racism exists (though not widespread), it’s bad, and we should continue to work to reduce it. Excess police force exists (though rare), it's  bad and we should continue to work to reduce it.

BLM organization’s positions and policies do not address the problems (murders, fatherless households, teen pregnancy, lack of agency) and do not address the key root causes (it’s not excessive police force or systemic racism.) 

https://moxlosllc.blogspot.com/2021/10/wheres-biden-lebron-blm-102521.html

Abortion

While from a personal point of view, with only daughters and sisters, I have always ended up, when push came to shove, where I wanted women to be able to make the decision, I have always understood that it is a difficult issue to decide if/when a fetus has some rights AND that many Constitutional scholars, including Ginsburg, have indicated that Roe and Casey stood on weak constitutional grounds.

My view and understanding (see below) is that SCOTUS made an accurate Constitutional ruling, regardless of my preferences or thoughts related to morals, and that they have returned the issue to the legislatures.  Also, as best as I can tell, in all States women will have the right to an abortion if the mother's life is in danger.

RULING REVIEW 

Casey (which modified Roe) essentially limited a woman’s right to an abortion after viability (not defined) to instances where the mother’s life is in danger.

SCOTUS decided that Casey (and Roe) were not Constitutional because the Constitution is silent on abortion, that there was not a universal recognized right to an abortion at the time the Constitution was passed, and that the right to an abortion cannot be an unenumerated right BECAUSE an abortion affects a fetus and there is great disagreement in society as to what rights, if any, a fetus has at what point.

They indicated that it is not Constitutional for SCOTUS to decide what rights, if any, a fetus has at what point and that it is up to the legislatures (Federal and/or State) to make this decision for the people that they represent.

Note that in the EU, for the most part, countries’ Legislatures, not Courts, limit a woman’s right to an abortion after 12 weeks to instances where the mother’s life is in danger.

The expected result is that if and until a Federal law is passed, that abortion limits will be left to the states and range from unlimited abortion at any time, even 9 months, to no abortions except in the cases that threaten the mother’s life.  

1. All states are expected to allow abortions if the mother’s life is at risk
2. Few states with limits have an exception for rape or incest.
3. Most states will allow the use of Plan B (morning after pill).  There is a serious doubt as to the legality of the handful of states that are trying to limit the use of Plan B
4. The majority of the majority opinion also made it clear that because abortion affects a fetus with whatever rights it may or may not have, abortion is not the same as other unenumerated rights such as gay marriage, birth control, etc. and there is no reason to think that this court would eliminate the later
   

 

Russia Rubbles - Biden Dithers

Russia continues to make incremental progress in taking over Eastern Ukraine through the use of massive artillery barrages, rubbling Ukraine towns and villages.

Biden continues to stingily increase the amount and effectiveness of US military aid but, to date, Russian firepower is overwhelming compared to Ukraine.  Russia fires 50,000 artillery rounds per day while Ukraine can manage 5000.  Not hard to imagine how this will end up.  

Putin doesn't care about Ukraine civilians or infrastructure and will continue to destroy Ukraine until he is stopped.

There is also a coming disaster as 100's of millions are at risk of starvation because the important grains of Ukraine cannot be transported due to Russian blockade.  

The US is the world's superpower and needs to LEAD these efforts.

Way to go Joe

This will not help inflation or US competitiveness

Biden Administration pro­posing to im­pose manda­tory dis­clo­sure re­quire­ments con­cern­ing cli­mate risks and green­house-gas emis­sions, say­ing it poses height­ened le­gal li­a­bil­ity, hefty costs and re­port­ing bur­dens  this part of Biden‘s green agenda that greatly increases costs today more than the benefits that will happen much later.

Biden Administration en­dorses a House bill that would add racial eq­uity to the Fed’s dual man­date of price sta­bil­ity and full em­ploy­ment. Forcing equal outcomes instead of equal opportunity based on a false narrative of systemic racism being the primary cause of disparities will hurt not help.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-skewer-secs-climate-disclosures-plan-in-comment-letters-11655834912

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-woke-mandate-for-the-federal-reserve-racial-equity-congress-house-joe-biden-11655659047?st=8for50zvzggkqun&reflink=article_copyURL_share

Biden Stopping Oil

Biden still not trying to increase oil production. 

https://link.theepochtimes.com/mkt_app/white-house-responds-to-more-us-oil-drilling-we-dont-need-to-do-that_4538421.html

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/chevron-hits-back-says-biden-trying-impose-obstacles-energy-delivery

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2022/06/16/exxonmobil-response-to-biden-n2608859

Despite President Biden’s claims that he’s doing everything he can to fight inflation, it’s clear he’s not.

Looking only at oil and gas production in the US, we see that we are still far behind the trend we were on before the pandemic.

Little doubt that Biden‘s anti-fossil fuel policies are negatively impacting supply, resulting in higher prices.

April 2022 Interior Secretary Deb Haaland “we continue to appeal the court injunction requiring us to allow leases and permits and I have used my authority to reduce by 80 precent the areas to lease, impose stringent environmental safeguards, and ensure the American people receive their fair share.”  

May 2022 - Biden administration imposed much higher carbon cost standard in review process

Biden fighting wrong war

Instead of decisively helping Ukraine defeat Russia by sending more weapons with more capabilities sooner rather than later Biden focuses his efforts on forcing the country to allow children to have irreversible life altering surgery  

https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-directs-hhs-to-expand-access-to-transgender-care-including-for-children

By By Bret Stephens NYT

Five sentences sum up the war in Ukraine as it stands now.

The Russians are running out of precision-guided weapons. The Ukrainians are running out of Soviet-era munitions. The world is running out of patience for the war. The Biden administration is running out of ideas for how to wage it. And the Chinese are watching.

Moscow’s shortfalls with its arsenal, which have been obvious on the battlefield for weeks, are cause for long-term relief and short-term horror. Relief, because the Russian war machine, on whose modernization Vladimir Putin spent heavily, has been exposed as a paper tiger that could not seriously challenge NATO in a conventional conflict.

Horror, because an army that cannot wage a high-tech war, relatively low on collateral damage, will wage a low-tech war, appallingly high on such damage. Ukraine, by its own estimates, is suffering 20,000 casualties a month. By contrast, the U.S. suffered about 36,000 casualties in Iraq over seven years of war. For all its bravery and resolve, Kyiv can hold off — but not defeat — a neighbor more than three times its size in a war of attrition.

That means Ukraine needs to do more than slow down the Russian Army. It needs to break its spine as quickly as possible.

But that can’t happen in an artillery war when Russia can fire some 60,000 shells per dayagainst the roughly 5,000 that the Ukrainians have said they can get off. Quantity, as the saying goes, has a quality all its own. The Biden administration is providing Ukraine with advanced howitzers, rocket launchers and munitions, but they aren’t arriving fast enough.

Now is the moment for Joe Biden to tell his national security team what Richard Nixon told his when Israel was reeling from its losses in the Yom Kippur War: After asking what weapons Jerusalem was asking for, the 37th president ordered his staff to “double it,” adding, “Now get the hell out of here and get the job done.”

The urgency of winning soon — or at least of putting Russian forces into retreat across a broad front, so that it’s Moscow, not Kyiv, that sues for peace — is compounded by the fact that time isn’t necessarily on the West’s side.

Sanctions on Russia may do long-term damage to its capacity to grow. But sanctions can do only so much in the short term to dent Russia’s capacity to destroy. Those same sanctions also exact a toll on the rest of the world, and the toll the world is prepared to pay for solidarity with Ukraine isn’t unlimited. Critical shortages of food, energy and fertilizer, along with the supply disruptions and price increases that inevitably follow, can’t be sustained forever in democratic societies with limited tolerance for pain.

Meanwhile, Putin appears to be paying no great price, whether in energy revenues (which are up, thanks to price increases) or in public support (also up, thanks to some combination of nationalism, propaganda and fear), for his war. Hoping he might die soon of whatever disease might be ailing him — Is it Parkinson’s? A “blood cancer”? Or just a Napoleon complex? — isn’t a strategy.

What more can the Biden administration do? It needs to take two calculated risks, based on one conceptual breakthrough.

The calculated risks: First, as retired Adm. James Stavridis has proposed, the U.S. should be prepared to challenge the Russian maritime blockade of Odesa by escorting cargo ships to and from the port.

That will first mean getting Turkey to allow NATO warships to transit the Turkish straits to the Black Sea, which could entail some uncomfortable diplomatic concessions to Ankara. More dangerously, it could result in close encounters between NATO and Russian warships. But Russia has no legal right to blockade Ukraine’s last major port, no moral right to keep Ukrainian farm products from reaching global markets, and not enough maritime might to take on the U.S. Navy.

Second, the U.S. should seize the estimated $300 billion in Russian central bank assets held abroad to fund Ukraine’s military and reconstruction needs.

I first proposed this in early April, and Harvard’s Laurence Tribe and Jeremy Lewin laid out a convincing legal case several days later in a Times guest essay. The administration has cold feet on grounds that it could violate U.S. law and set a bad financial precedent — which would be good arguments in less dire circumstances. Right now, what’s urgently needed is the kind of financial wallop to Russia that other sanctions have failed to inflict.

Which brings us to the conceptual breakthrough: The fight in Ukraine will have a greater effect in Asia than it will in Europe. The administration may reassure itself that it has sufficiently bloodied the Russian military that it won’t soon be invading anyone else. That’s true as far as it goes.

But if the war ends with Putin comfortably in power and Russia in possession of a fifth of Ukraine, then Beijing will draw the lesson that aggression works. And we will have a fight over Taiwan — with its overwhelming human and economic toll — much sooner than we think.

The bottom line: The war in Ukraine is either a prelude or a finale. President Biden needs to do even more than he already has to ensure it’s the latter.

Hot Yes Existential No

Actually NO indication that current heat wave is due to climate change. 

https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/what-the-media-wont-tell-you-about-9f9?utm_source=email&s=r