It’s Thursday.
For Thursday, President Biden, who is overseas on his first foreign trip, will have received his daily brief, he’ll have met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. This evening UK time he will deliver remarks on the coronavirus vaccination program.
For Thursday President Biden has tweeted so far 4 times.
For his first tweet he says he looks forward to his meeting with PM Johnson.
Since I’m writing this at 7:25 a.m. CA., time and they are in the UK where it is currently 3:25 p.m., the two leaders are meeting. The BBC reports in their “live” updates article, that President Biden and PM Johnson will discuss the “transatlantic travel and a new “Atlantic Charter” aimed at refreshing the so-called “special relationship””
More from BBC’s summary; The president is also expected to tell Boris Johnson the EU-UK row over post-Brexit trading in Northern Ireland must not affect the peace process.
The White House has posted remarks from President Biden and Prime Minister Johnson.
I will be posting his second, third, and fourth tweet for Thursday further down in the article.
When Wednesday’s Open Thread was published, President Biden had tweeted 1 time, he added 7 tweets, giving him a Wednesday Tweeting Total of 8 tweets and 0 retweets.
He says the American Rescue Plan is working…
Thursday morning the Department of Labor tweeted:
The BLS-Labor Statistics tweeted:
From the link:
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent in May on a seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.8 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 5.0 percent before seasonal adjustment; this was the largest 12-month increase since a 5.4-percent increase for the period ending August 2008.
BLS.gov. PDF. 06/10/2021.
This is only my opinion, not an economic expert, just someone that shops like one.
What we are seeing in inflation, is partly normal, partly not normal, and yes, partly President Biden’s fault *cough* tariffs *cough*.
First, last year at this time, things were shutdown, such as amusement parks, theaters–both the stage kind and film kind–restaurants/bars were closed mostly, save some take-out options, and that bar down the rode from me that gave no fucks about a deadly virus, but I digress.
Second, with return of businesses such as–restaurants and so-on, the labor market is scrambling to fill jobs, considered low-skilled like waiting tables, although, I believe it takes a special kind of skill to wait on people, anyhoo, because a lot of restaurants are attempting to hire and rehire staff, the employee with many newer options, is demanding a higher wage. When a higher wage is given, some, usually nickles and dimes of that increase is passed on to the consumers.
Third, weather events and ransomware events, and supply chain issues are real. Anytime, you have a pent up economy suffer delays to demand, you have inflation because consumers are willing to pay more for things, if they don’t have to wait.
Fourth, government spending is insane.
Fifth, the economy is changing, this happens, and when an economy changes, inflation is real, a tangible thing. People are finding new ways to make money, such as TikTok, YouTube, and hell even Twitter, this happened last year when those people lost jobs, schools closed, and daycare wasn’t an option. Getting them back into the work force will take time, and some will not return.
Sixth, we get to the fun part: this is President Biden’s fault. Tariffs. Tariffs are bad, they are a tax on the consumer, with 1-5 being real things that all signal an economy on the brink of exploding either, for the good or bad, doesn’t really matter, the tariffs suck the oxygen out of the economic air. He has to end them, I get some of his reasons for leaving them in place, I don’t like those reason, and think they are stupid.
Seventh, the least talked about because it’s the most depressing and callous part of the inflation woes we are facing. Coronavirus claimed the lives of over 550,000 people. Not all of those people were over 80 and retired, we lost a chuck of the workforce, when that happens, be it war, or a deadly virus the other guy fucked up, doesn’t matter. We lost many–many–many–workers, replacing them, will take time. See why it’s the least mentioned? Sounds awful, but it’s true nonetheless.
Anyway, as I said, this is just my opinion, and long winded way of saying the economy; a national/global economy at that, is a complex beast of burden that has all these tiny parts of moving pieces that effect it in–good, bad, ugly, and real ugly ways.
For his next tweet he shares remarks from his road trip stop at Royal Air Mildenhall.
The video stream is 34 minutes and 06 seconds long. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden also offers remarks, she starts speaking at the 27 second mark and concludes her remarks at the 7 minute and 07 second mark. President Biden begins his remarks, which can be found here, at the 8 minute and 32 second mark.
President Biden (14:51): You’re the best — you’re the best of our country. That’s not hyperbole. You’re the ones who sign up and run toward danger when duty calls. Less than 1 percent of Americans make the choice that you make — that you made. But the rest of us — the other 99 percent of us — we owe you. We owe you big.
President Biden (19:05): America is better positioned to advance our national security and our economic prosperity when we bring together like-minded nations to stand with us. These nations that have shed blood alongside of us in defense of our shared values. Our unrivaled network of alliances and partnerships that are the key to American advantage in the world and have been. They’ve made the world safer for all of us, and they are how we are going to meet the challenges of today, which are changing rapidly. We’re going to meet it, though, from a position of strength.
President Biden (29:10): For the many who think things are changing so rapidly, democracies cannot get together and form a consensus to respond like autocrats can, but you know better than anyone that democracy doesn’t happen by accident. We have to defend it. We have to strengthen it, renew it. And I know that the American people are up to this job.
President Biden (23:10): This diplomacy is essential, because no single nation acting alone can meet all the challenges we face today because the world is changing. To quote another Irish poet, he said, “The world’s changed, changed utterly. A terrible beauty has been born.” We’re in a different place than we were 10 years ago — a better position but a different place. We have to build the shared future we seek: a future where nations are free from coercion or dominance by more powerful states; where the global commons — the seas, the air, the space — and space — remain open and accessible for the benefit of all. To tackle this century’s most pressing challenges, we have to do it together. We have to end COVID-19, not just at home — which we’re doing — but everywhere. There’s no wall high enough to keep us safe from this pandemic or the next biological threat we face — and there will be others.
We skip a tweet and move into Thursday’s tweets that stuck with the theme from yesterday.
President Biden (14:05): To all of you airmen and soldiers, I want to just say thank you. We owe you. We’re so damn proud of you. So proud. And I only wish my Major was here to thank you as well. Thank you — everything you do, for everything you are. There’s nothing that Jill and I enjoy more than spending time with our troops and their families, wherever we go in the world.
President Biden (28:20): Here’s why this all matters so much right now: I believe we’re at an inflection point in world history — the moment where it falls to us to prove that democracies will not just endure, but they will excel as we rise to seize the enormous opportunities of a new age.
The video is a 29 second montage of his remarks on Wednesday evening.
For his last tweet, that I on purpose skipped, for Wednesday he said hello to the United Kingdom.
President Biden’s COVID-19 remarks are scheduled for 6:15 UK time, (that’s 1:15 p.m. D.C., time).
In remarks he plans to announce a global vaccination program:
Today, President Biden will announce that the United States will purchase and donate half a billion Pfizer vaccines to 92 low- and lower middle-income countries and the African Union, an historic action that will help supercharge the global fight against the pandemic.
White House.gov. 06/10/2021.
This is an Open Thread.
