I was hoping that the tolerant Lefty from Philly (yes, the one with fascist friends) was successful in bending the curve away from politics toward facts which addressed Mr. Kluger's question. Alas, the thread has been declared off-the-rails/jumped the shark, so let's delve into more important matters, e.g. has the newest wave of American golf course restoration/renovation become too repetitive, homogeneous?, skipping the economics aspects, of course- collective sustainability, fairness, use of scarce resources, etc.
Professor Sowell's comment above should address Jerry's later question about the price of gasoline which is but one of many that is going through the roof- my cable bill just went up 15% overnight; my city property tax is up 8%; I'm too scared to open my auto insurance statement which is setting on my desk given the huge inflation on cars.
We don't have to have more than a rudimentary understanding of human behavior to see what is going on. You want more of something, incentivize it (e.g. Teslas, wind and solar power, enhanced unemployment benefits, allowances for our kids to do chores, get good grades, etc.). We want less of something, tax and regulate it (tobacco use, high marginal taxes, grounding the kids for undesired behavior/taking away their car keys; work, profit, the accumulation of wealth and capital investment).
As those who are or have been parents know, providing incentives is usually easier to influence behavior. Punishing or taxing undesired behavior is typically accompanied by reaction and often unintended consequences (kids sneak out or skip school, France's "rich" simply left the country when the socialist government imposed ultra-high marginal rates on "millionaires", something that the U.S. has made it much harder to do with a type of Iron Curtain to keep income and wealth from escaping taxation).
But staying in the more pleasant realm of music while swerving back on topic:
Dire Straits on today's mindset of our utopian and "third-way" dreamers- "Money for nothin' and the chicks for free"
And the prescient Alvin Lee some 50 years ago expressing the futility of those who want to change the world (my take, by ignoring human nature)- "Tax the rich, feed the poor 'Till there are no rich no more".
Please note:
I did not mention Biden.
And if Tim Martin doesn't like graphs, I am with him.
Jeff S- I was sent a newsletter by a firm which advises and manages money on behalf of well-heeled investors (unlike me) stating in the Fed's own words that its mission has expanded from low-inflation/high employment to also cover facilitating the Treasury in its mission to manage the debt financing of the government by minimizing volatility and ensuring liquidity. Its conclusion is the opposite of what I think you point to, i.e. that the Fed's independence has ended for the foreseeable future. Think about it, a 1% increase in interest rates translates to roughly $300 Billion in the government's debt carry, or just under 20% of discretionary spending (2020, before the latest, "non-inflating"/not subject to the laws of supply and demand spending sprees). In these dangerous times, even under woke policies, do you see a scenario that cuts defense in nearly half to pay bond holders 1% more?