It’s always good to review ground reports from middle class Americans.  Much like the feedback from CTH readers, there is a raw honesty you don’t find in any of the economic outlines from financial punditry.

In this Fox News Digital report, Maryland residents react to the consequences of Joe Biden’s economic and energy prices. Maryland has been shifting further to the left socially as the DC-centric commuter base has moved into the suburbs.  However, they are not happy with prices.  WATCH:

The same sentiment is reflected in a recent Gallup poll [data here] highlighting a large majority who note the direction of the country is not good.  Joe Biden policy is crushing the working class, and we can all feel it.  Middle America knows we are going in the wrong direction.

An interesting study from Johns Hopkins University [DATA HERE] shows the 2021 government lockdown did virtually nothing to stem death from the pandemic, but likely created more adverse “social ills” and long-term negative health outcomes.

WASHINGTON – […] The lockdowns during the early phase of the pandemic in 2020 reduced COVID-19 mortality by about 0.2%, said the broad review of multiple scientific studies.

“We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality,” the researchers wrote. But the research paper said lockdowns did have “devastating effects” on the economy and contributed to numerous social ills.

“They have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy,” the report said.

“Such a standard benefit-cost calculation leads to a strong conclusion: lockdowns should be rejected out of hand as a pandemic policy instrument,” the paper concluded. (read more)

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The latest BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover (JOLT) report [DATA HERE] reflects a headline of 4.3 million U.S. workers quitting in December.  However, that number is 161,000 fewer quits than November. The job openings are starting to fill up.

While there is evidence the mandatory vaccine requirements are still working through the job market, we are still about another month away before the fog clears from the private sector employment data.

This Friday we will see the unemployment data from December, but in the interim this JOLT’s report is tracking with CTH expectations.

The primary driver of the quits rate has been inflation.  Workers seeking higher wages in an effort to deal with inflation can get faster paycheck results by switching jobs rather than asking current employers for more money.

We have been watching this trend for several months.  However, the rate of job-jumping is slowing down as the available jobs to jump into are fewer, and the vaccine mandate impact is settling down.

Despite the number of job openings, blue collar workers are starting to see job vacancies decreasing.  The service industries around accommodation, food services and basic dirty fingernail positions still have many vacancies; this is the epicenter of where the job jumping takes place. Employment in durable goods manufacturing is at that phase where things are about to get sketchy for tradespeople and union workers.

The white collar jobs are static and/or slightly downsizing.  The total number of hires was 6.3 million for December, a drop of 333,000 from prior month.  The number of people hired in professional and business services dropped by 159,000.

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For those who have been following closely, the economic data releases over the past several months have been almost impossible to reconcile from a Main Street perspective.  Additionally, the scale of inflation is skewing everything that stems from dollar valuation.

CTH is certain the fourth quarter GDP statistic (+6.9%) is useless and was an outcome of several flawed metrics: (1) the import data was misrepresented and not accurately deducted (supply chain issue); (2) the value of building inventories was over calculated as an outcome of inflation; and (3) the value of all economic activity was subsequently skewed because the economic outputs (goods and services) were recorded at higher prices.

It has been our estimation that Main Street economic activity was substantially less than the data discussed by financial pundits.

Our review also sees the employment situation on Main Street as considerably less optimistic than claimed.  Bolstering that point, in a very weird and structured preview from the White House, spokesperson Jen Psaki made an odd statement today.  WATCH (14:35 prompted):

Psaki is prepositioning a narrative that employment data in January will be lower than expectations, perhaps considerably lower, as a result of “workers calling out sick” from COVID, ie. the omicron variant, during the time when employment polling was conducted.  That is a very unusual proactive narrative.

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The installed regime of Joe Biden is a joke to the world, and the only people continuing their efforts to prop up the Potemkin village are the irrelevant U.S. media.

Despite their earnest efforts, even the George Stephanopolouses of the world cannot avoid the responses from Americans.  The latest ABC/IPSOS poll [Raw Data Here], which is again a highly skewed effort, shows just how out of touch the policies of the regime are to the domestic audience.

When asked about Biden’s handling of immigration, 64% disapprove and 34% approve.  The open border policy doesn’t have support, even amid the constituencies the regime claims to control.

When asked about Biden’s handling of the economy, 56% disapprove, 40% approve.  Massive inflation created by chasing the unicorn of climate change is hitting everyone hard.  Gas prices, home heating costs, energy costs overall and skyrocketing food inflation prices are a reality that no amount of spin from the stenographers can hide.

When asked about inflation specifically, 69% disapprove and only 29% approve.  Policies have consequences.  As noted by ABC, “Troublingly for the White House, only 1% of Americans view the state of the nation’s economy as “excellent,” and only 23% say it’s “good.” Three out of four Americans said the state of the economy was “not so good / poor.”

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The installed White House occupant was transported by airplane to Pennsylvania today so he could yell at the snow for being cold.

According to national media reports, he successfully completed his mission, was given a pudding cup and subsequently returned to the basement.  WATCH:

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Angry man wasn’t yelling the entire time, there was a moment when he did that creepy whisper voice thing again.

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The same people who told us to appreciate saving $0.16 on our July 4th BBQs last summer are now taking the official position there is no massive food inflation.  [DATA HERE]

Those skyrocketing prices you think you see at the grocery store are not real.  Those announcements of forecasted price increases by the food producers, well, those are not real either.  So sayeth the United States Dept of Agriculture (USDA).

In their update to the USDA pricing forecast and analysis dated January 25, 2022, the USDA claims: “2021 retail food price inflation continued at same pace as 2020 but varied among food categories.”  Oh, but it gets even more stupid:

“USDA, Economic Research Service (ERS) researchers project that prices for food-at-home, or food purchased typically from grocery stores or other food stores, will increase between 1.5 and 2.5 percent in 2022, lower than the 3.5-percent increase that occurred in both 2020 and 2021. Forecasts for all food categories for 2022 are available in ERS’s monthly Food Price Outlook data product, updated January 25, 2022.” (link)

If there was ever an argument that every single institution in the U.S. government was corrupt, manipulative and ideologically bent, this claim by the USDA would be a case study in the supportive evidence.

Apparently, if you are to follow the outlook of the USDA – and reconcile their institutional hypocrisy, Joe Biden increased the rate of food stamp assistance by 25 percent for some unknown reason.  Because according to the Dept of Agriculture, “Retail food prices increased by a mere 3.5 percent in 2021, equal to the rate in 2020.”

3.5% ?

You just cannot make this up.

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The dynamic between the Joe Biden administration and the government of Ukraine is very interesting and thoroughly corrupt. President Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to avoid being the 2022 version of Libyan President Muammar Gadaffi, circa 2011.

Meanwhile, the entirety of the corrupt and manipulative Joe Biden administration, the U.S. State Department, the CIA, the Pentagon and the U.S. Congress are all saying, “Nice country you got there, it’d be a shame if something happened to it“, while simultaneously poking the Russian bear to attack.  Biden and the deepest state want them their proxy war, and they will not be denied.

Following a phone call last night where Zelensky told Biden to stop telling everyone the Russians were going to attack, a conversation the Biden administration desperately is trying to hide from the American people, Zelensky smartly calls a media press conference so the global media can see him telling Biden, in essence, to ‘chill the hell out’.

Full credit to Euronews who is being an honest broker about the dynamics at play.  This is a great encapsulation, but pay attention to the part at 02:15, of this broadcast. It is quite remarkable.

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Given the nature of how corrupt the U.S. administration is on a globalist scale; and considering that Biden Inc, which is really the Hillary Clinton foreign policy establishment, would give Zelensky the full Gaddafi treatment if it helped them gain wealth, power and influence; it really would be in Ukraine’s best interest for Zelensky to open a dialogue with Vladimir Putin.

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Hopefully last year’s warning gave all enough time: …”By the time we get to Superbowl Sunday, the price of ¹chicken wings is going to bring sticker shock to those who have not prepared.” (link)

For those doing the math, that’s a 51.4% price increase in a year.

(Prior article)

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Last year, when CTH discussed the original Kraft-Heinz wholesale notification for January 2022, we warned it was only the first round.  The reason for waves of price increases is specifically, because each of the processed food categories is impacted differently depending on the amount of processing involved.  Each category is different.

This understanding is why we warned everyone in October of last year to make as much preparation as possible for waves of food inflation.  The original notification for contracted terms in 30, 60 and 90 days was +20%.  Meaning this month, on those group and sectors, prices to retailers went up by 20%, and you are seeing that in the supermarket now.

For the next wave, Kraft-Heinz is telling wholesalers the fulfillment shipments arriving in March will be up to +30% on the next categories.  Oscar Mayer proteins will be the biggest increase at the top end (+30%), Maxwell House coffee on the lower end (+5-10%) and the juice and drink category around +20%.  [A $5 beverage pack will cost $6 in a few short weeks.]

The processing sector is still dealing with cumulative cost increases.  The fulfillment terms are still catching up with the increased costs.  These announcements are ON TOP OF the current price increases we are feeling.  We are entering hyper-inflation.

If you look at the notification timing from Kraft foods, January 24th, you will see the categories we predicted to come next are the exact categories being outlined in this wave.

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