It’s Monday.
Thanksgiving is in 3 days…
For Monday, November 22nd, 2021, President Biden has received his daily brief. This afternoon President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will depart Washington and travel to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In the evening they will celebrate Friendsgiving with service member and military families as part of the Joining Forces initiative.
President Biden has tweeted 1 time so far for Monday…
The White House published the following statement:
Today, President Biden announced his intent to nominate Jerome Powell for a second term as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and to nominate Dr. Lael Brainard to serve as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
While our country still faces challenges as we emerge from the pandemic, we have made enormous progress in bringing our economy back to life and getting Americans back to work. Since the President took office, the economy has created over 5.6 million jobs, unemployment has fallen to 4.6% – two years faster than projected – and the pace of our economy’s growth outstrips the rest of the developed world.
That outcome is a testament to the success of the President’s economic agenda, and it is a testament to decisive action by Chair Powell and the Federal Reserve to cushion the impact of the pandemic and get America’s economy back on track. Chair Powell has provided steady leadership during an unprecedently challenging period, including the biggest economic downturn in modern history and attacks on the independence of the Federal Reserve.
During that time, Lael Brainard – one of our country’s leading macroeconomists – has played a key leadership role at the Federal Reserve, working with Powell to help power our country’s robust economic recovery.
Powell and Brainard share the Administration’s focus on ensuring that economic growth broadly benefits all workers. That’s why they oversaw a landmark re-evaluation of the Federal Reserve’s objectives to refocus its mission on the needs of workers of all backgrounds. And they’ve advanced key priorities that the President shares, like addressing the financial risks posed by climate change, and staying ahead of emerging risks to our financial system.
America needs steady, independent, and effective leadership at the Federal Reserve so it can advance its dual goals of keeping inflation low and prices stable, as well as creating a strong labor market that broadly benefits workers with better jobs and higher wages. President Biden has full confidence in Powell and Brainard’s experience, judgment, and integrity to continue delivering on those mandates and to help build our economy back better for working families.
President Biden still has three vacant seats on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to fill, including the important position of Vice Chair for Supervision. The President intends to make those appointments beginning in early December, and is committed to improving the diversity in the Board’s composition.
White House.gov. 11/22/2021.
Included in the above statement is President Biden’s full statement:
Statement from President Biden
While there’s still more to be done, we’ve made remarkable progress over the last 10 months in getting Americans back to work and getting our economy moving again. That success is a testament to the economic agenda I’ve pursued and to the decisive action that the Federal Reserve has taken under Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard to help steer us through the worst downturn in modern American history and put us on the path to recovery. As I’ve said before, we can’t just return to where we were before the pandemic, we need to build our economy back better, and I’m confident that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard’s focus on keeping inflation low, prices stable, and delivering full employment will make our economy stronger than ever before. Together, they also share my deep belief that urgent action is needed to address the economic risks posed by climate change, and stay ahead of emerging risks in our financial system. Fundamentally, if we want to continue to build on the economic success of this year we need stability and independence at the Federal Reserve – and I have full confidence after their trial by fire over the last 20 months that Chair Powell and Dr. Brainard will provide the strong leadership our country needs.
White House.gov. 11/22/2021.
The White House included the following bio’s for Powell and Dr. Brainard:
Jerome Powell for Chair
Jerome Powell took office as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in February 2018, for a four-year term ending in February 2022. His term as a member of the Board of Governors will expire January 31, 2028.
Powell was born in Washington, D.C. He received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1975 and earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1979. While at Georgetown, he was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Law Journal.
Powell served as an assistant secretary and as undersecretary of the Treasury under President George H.W. Bush. There, he was responsible for policy on financial institutions, the Treasury debt market, and related areas. In 2011, Powell was nominated by President Obama to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, where he served as a Governor until his confirmation as Chairman in 2018. Before public service, he worked as a lawyer and investment banker in New York City.
Dr. Lael Brainard for Vice Chair
Lael Brainard took office as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in June 2014 to fill an unexpired term ending January 31, 2026.
Prior to her appointment to the Board, Dr. Brainard served as undersecretary of the US Department of Treasury from 2010 to 2013 and counselor to the secretary of the Treasury in 2009. From 2001 to 2008, she was vice president and the founding director of the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Brainard also previously served as deputy national economic adviser for President Clinton. From 1990 to 1996, she was assistant and associate professor of applied economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management.
Dr. Brainard received a BA with university honors from Wesleyan University in 1983. She received an MS and a PhD in economics in 1989 from Harvard University, where she was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship. She is also the recipient of a White House Fellowship.
White House.gov. 11/22/2021.
When Biden Bits was published for Friday, President Biden had not tweeted. He ended up tweeting 4 times giving him a Friday Tweeting Total of 4 tweets and 0 retweets.
I mentioned on Friday that I was posting news we’d most likely have to revisit on Monday…
Since I copied and posted the full statement from President Biden on Friday; today y’all just get the link.
The YouTube is 8 minutes and 16 seconds long. His full remarks can be found here.
President Biden’s full statement:
While the verdict in Kenosha will leave many Americans feeling angry and concerned, myself included, we must acknowledge that the jury has spoken. I ran on a promise to bring Americans together, because I believe that what unites us is far greater than what divides us. I know that we’re not going to heal our country’s wounds overnight, but I remain steadfast in my commitment to do everything in my power to ensure that every American is treated equally, with fairness and dignity, under the law.
I urge everyone to express their views peacefully, consistent with the rule of law. Violence and destruction of property have no place in our democracy. The White House and Federal authorities have been in contact with Governor Evers’s office to prepare for any outcome in this case, and I have spoken with the Governor this afternoon and offered support and any assistance needed to ensure public safety.
White House.gov. 11/19/2021.
For Saturday President Biden tweeted 4 times…
On November 4th, President Biden issued a statement:
Today we learned that, for the fifth consecutive week, initial unemployment claims are down. The number of people newly filing for unemployment has now fallen to the lowest level since the pandemic started — dropping from an average of 833,000 Americans in the week before I took office to fewer than 285,000 Americans today, for a decline of nearly 70 percent.
As COVID-19 cases and unemployment claims continue to decline — and as jobs and wages continue to rise — it is clear that America is in the midst of an historic economic recovery, unique across the world. We still have much left to do to finish that recovery and build back better, but today’s news is further evidence that we are making strong and steady progress.
White House.gov. 11/04/2021.
In October 2021, the National Centers for Environmental Information published a summary of a report that said in 2020 there were 22 disasters that cost the U.S. tax payer $100.2B. They call them Billion-Dollar Disasters in the summary charts…
In the summary they link to; U.S. Billion-dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, 1980-present & to an overview of the Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters.
The video is 52 seconds long.
President Biden: Let me just say, from the bottom of my heart, first of all, thank you. We were awful close, but you guys came along and said, “This is it, we’re doing this.” You pushed it over you really did. And look we’ve got a shot. We’ve got a shot. If we get–this all by itself, all by itself is worth it. It’s a real game changer. For real. Well you guys have had my back since I started. No, you really have, you really have. Thank you for coming.
For Sunday President Biden tweeted 5 times…
From President Biden remarks on November 16th, 2021:
Well, we’re about to turn things around in a big way. For example, because of this law, next year will be the first year in 20 years that American infrastructure investments will grow faster than China’s, for example. And we will once again have the best roads, bridges, ports, and airports. And we’ll be building again and moving again.
White House.gov. 11/16/2021.
The video is 1 minute and 29 seconds long. Based on words it was recorded on Veteran’s Day.
Lawrence Brooks is 112 years old and is the oldest living World War II veteran. The Military Times wrote an article about Brooks published on Veterans Day that explained Brooks’ health is rapidly declining and what he wanted most was a new Army uniform to replace the original that was lost in Hurricane Katrina.
Brooks was presented with an authentic reproduction WWII uniform and his old unit’s badge during a recent short stay in the New Orleans VA hospital at the beginning of November. Brooks’ health is declining rapidly and he is adamant about spending his remaining days at his home with family. God-willing, he says he plans to wear his khakis this Veterans Day.
“This is it,” said Brooks. “This is the uniform I wore in Australia.”
[snip]
Brooks says he has never forgotten his unit’s motto, and repeats it aloud, “acts, not words.” For historians, the battalion was re-designated the 91st Engineer General Service Regiment late in the summer of 1942. According to Richard W. Stewart, the army’s former chief of military history, the battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for service in Papua and the Meritorious Unit Commendation in the Asiatic-Pacific theater.
A framed portrait of Brooks is all that remains from his time in the service. Brooks never rose above the rank of private first class, but in the photograph taken in 1943, he has several stripes on his sleeve. The “Ike” jacket is also missing regulation pins and insignia. Asked about the mystery of the uniform’s inconsistencies, Brooks dissolves into laughter.
“That was the officer’s coat,” said Brooks. “The officers’ club had a big party. I had to wear the officer’s uniform to get in the club. They wanted to sneak me in.”
Military Times.com. 11/11/2021.
Reuters reported on November 17th, 2021 that according to Moody’s Investors Service vice president and senior credit officer (Sovereign Risk), William Foster; The two pieces of legislation “should not have any real material impact on inflation”
According to another Moody’s Analytics chief economist; The bills do not add to inflation pressures, as the policies help to lift long-term economic growth via stronger productivity and labor force growth, and thus take the edge off of inflation.
Mark Zandi the chief economist at Moody’s works independently from the parents company’s ratings business.
In the Build Back Better Act text I found no price; to be fair, the text is in crude type like text because of large size of the “XML/HTML file. You can download the better file, but as it was almost noon, I didn’t have the ability to withstand a “may take several minutes or possibly cause your browser to be unresponsive bullshit…
According to the Build Back Better Framework:
Finally let Medicare negotiate drug prices.
Medicare will negotiate prices for high-cost prescription drugs. This will include drugs seniors get at the pharmacy counter (through Medicare Part D), and drugs that are administered in a doctor’s office (through Medicare Part B). Drugs become eligible for negotiation once they have been on the market for a fixed number of years: 9 years for small molecule drugs and 12 years for biologics. Medicare will negotiate up to 10 drugs per year during 2023, with those prices taking effect in 2025, increasing to up to 20 drugs per year.The policy will establish a clearly defined negotiation process that is fair for manufacturers, and gets the biggest savings on drugs that have been on the market a long time. This discourages drug companies from abusing laws to prolong their monopolies, while encouraging investments in research and development of new cures. Drug companies that refuse to negotiate will owe an excise tax.
Impose a tax penalty if drug companies increase their prices faster than inflation. Starting when this bill becomes law, future drug price increases will be compared to their current prices. We will finally put an end to the days where drug companies could raise their prices with impunity. If prices for a drug increase faster than inflation, manufacturers will owe a tax penalty, holding down prices for Americans with all types of health insurance.
Directly lower out-of-pocket costs for seniors. Today, there is no cap on how much seniors and people with disabilities have to pay for drugs, and millions of seniors pay more than $6,000 a year in cost-sharing. This proposal puts an end to this burden, and ensures that seniors never pay more than $2,000 a year for their drugs under Medicare Part D.
White House.gov.
The plan will also lower insulin prices so that Americans with diabetes don’t pay more than $35 per month for their insulin. Lawmakers have also agreed to lower seniors’ cost-sharing for all types of drugs and they are working expeditiously to finalize legislative text that will save seniors money at the pharmacy counter without increasing premiums.
The daily briefing will take place in the form of an audio only press gaggle aboard Air Force One at 4:50 p.m. D.C., time.
Just in time for Thanksgiving; First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will receive the 2021 Official White House Christmas at the White House around noon D.C., time.
This is an Open Thread.
