Buckle Up Buttercup, Times Are Going to Get Harder

Anyone who has been an adult for some time can easily predict the disastrous consequences of the Democrats’ spend-apalooza. They clamped down upon healthy productivity due to COVID-19 panic. We can also see what will happen over the next year. It’s going to be a long time.

It is important to note that I am not a credentialed expert. I just pay attention and have a basic knowledge of history. I can pick up on some patterns. I also read the words of actual experts. Take all of this together and you will see some of the direst conditions that are likely to be ours:

High prices aren’t going anywhere

No one should be surprised if the government puts 20% more GDP into the economy. Dollars don’t seem to buy as much. The currency flood doesn’t end overnight. Although the Federal Reserve has started the slow process of raising interest rates to tighten the market, the first two installments have not had an effect on slowing down the worst inflation rate since 1980. To bring down this inflation, the Fed will have to pump a lot more gas out of this balloon. The new base cost for food and fuel will remain until inflation is reduced to 2 or 3.

Oh, and the independent factors that make fuel so expensive aren’t going away as long as Democrats control anything. This means that everything else will continue to cost more to produce or deliver.

Increased Interest Rates

As we have discussed, the Fed will continue to raise interest rates in the future. This is to keep inflation under control. We saw a 0.25% rise in March and a 0.5% rise in May, so far this year. The Fed will announce the June hike Wednesday afternoon. It is widely expected that it will rise by a staggering 0.75%. Some even suggest a worst-case scenario where it goes up to a full point. I hope that you didn’t have any revolving credit.

Property Values

One immediate effect of higher rates is to lower the value of high-ticket properties that are usually purchased using a loan. This won’t affect anyone who has made large purchases. Unfortunately, people’s net worth is going to drop as their equity decreases. Anyone who plans on selling or renting out a property will see a 5%-10% decrease in the prices compared to last year.

The COVID-inspiring changes in work habits have left a lot of office space vacant, which has caused the commercial market to slump as well. Real estate is a huge sector, so its collapse will have ripple effects in other areas.

Global Recession

My inbox is flooded with the latest news from CEOs, banks, and investors about a global recession. You don’t have to be an economist to understand that recessions often follow periods of inflation. In April, I asked: How bad will the Biden Recession be? Since then, the conditions and opinions have only strengthened, landing in the recession column. In the first quarter of this year, the U.S. GDP fell by 1.5%. Companies have less money to spend on everything due to inflation, fuel prices, and interest rates. So strong growth is not likely to bring us back to positive territory.

Bear Market

No one likes to hear about inflation, interest rate rises, falling real estate values, or recession. The S&P 500 plunged nearly 4% Monday and continued to slide into Tuesday. Officially, the index is currently at 22.2% below its record-setting high earlier in the year.

Sinking markets are not just bad for Wall Street’s wealthy, but they also affect retirees, employees at devalued companies, and the government’s ability to collect taxes — as well as anyone who depends on income streams from any one of these sources.

Scarcity and Hunger

There isn’t enough baby formula or construction supplies. There are many reasons why this is happening. However, the above problems, along with the war in Eastern Europe, and the sanctions that right-thinking countries have piled on top of it, will only make matters worse.

Summary: I’m sorry to be such an optimist, but I don’t see much reason or optimism anywhere. Competent leadership and common sense are even rarer. As long as everyone wants green fantasies, ESG scores, and social Marxism, then we’ll all be in the pot. Make sure to stock up on the essentials.