Thom Hartmann encourages readers to beware of political scams right before the elections. The economy is cooling off. Why isn’t the Federal Reserve lowering interest rates? Is it because the chair of the Federal Reserve is a Republican? Did you know about Trump’s increase in wealth during his presidency? I don’t agree that Trump wants to get elected to make money; I think he wants to stay out of jail. But we may both be right.
He writes:
— Is the Fed Chair “trying to get Donald Trump elected” by keeping rates high? The anti-corruption watchdog group Revolving Door Project is claiming that lifetime Republican and former commercial banker Jerome Powell, now the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is “trying to get Donald Trump elected.” Fully two months ago, Powell noted that “this is no longer an overheated economy” and “the labor market appears to be fully back in balance.” Yesterday’s jobs numbers — lower than expected new jobs (144,000) and a jump in unemployment to 4.3% — suggest the economy is on the verge of tipping into recession, an event that Trump yesterday pointed out and proclaimed is happening because of “Kamalanomics.” The Project’s Executive Director Jeff Hauser was explicit: “That Powell’s Fed still refuses to lower interest rates—after Trump said that rates shouldn’t be lowered before the election—raises questions about the central bank’s independence. Whether the Fed keeps rates high or brings them down, one of two presidential candidates will benefit. While lower rates would provide much-needed economic relief to the American people, Powell has instead chosen to stick it to the people and give an electoral boost to Trump.” Senator Elizabeth Warren yesterday called on the Fed chair to “cancel his summer vacation” and “lower interest rates now.” The warnings signs are flashing bright red — with worldwide declines in stock market indexes — and if Powell and the Fed don’t lower interest rates at least a half point within the next few weeks, it’ll be safe to conclude that Hauser is exactly right in his diagnosis of this situation.
— Did Egypt give a $10 million bribe to Trump? The Washington Post published a blockbuster report yesterday, detailing how the Egyptian government pulled together $10 million in cash in 2016 right after Donald Trump sought out Egyptian dictator El-Sisi and promised him a presidential visit (which he fulfilled) right after his inauguration. The Department of Justice found out about it in 2019 and the FBI began an investigation, but Attorney General Bill Barr — one of the most publicly corrupt senior government officials in modern history — put the kibosh on the investigation. As a result, nobody knows if or how the money was delivered to Trump, although right around the time it would have been delivered Trump took the unusual step of putting exactly $10 million of his own money into his campaign. Saudis and Russians own large parts of Trump Tower and multiple nations funneled millions to Trump by booking blocks of rooms in his DC hotel and then just leaving them empty. Forbes estimates that Trump’s businesses brought in $2.4 billion during his four years as president; hundreds of millions of that came from foreign governments and from his charging the Secret Service and our US government a small fortune for their stays at Trump properties around the world. His entire presidency, it turns out, was a giant grift; no wonder he wants back into office.
— Senate Republicans tell us who they are. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan increased child tax credits in a way that lifted an estimated 30 million children out of poverty, cutting the US child poverty rate in half. They expired last year, and legislation to reinstate them passed the House with roughly equal votes from both Democrats and Republicans. Iowa Senate Republican Chuck Grassley famously opposes help to poor families, saying “passing a tax bill that makes the president look good mailing out checks before the election, means he could be reelected and then we won’t extend the 2017 tax cuts.” Senate Republicans got the message and killed the bill on Thursday afternoon, keeping child poverty in America at a higher level than any other developed nation in the world.
Republicans say that the child tax credits are an effort by Democrats to buy votes. Maybe they are but when they were in effect, they cut child poverty rates in half. That’s reason enough for both parties to support them.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“Although an instrument of the U.S. government, the Federal Reserve System considers itself “an independent central bank because its monetary policy decisions do not have to be approved by the president or by anyone else in the executive or legislative branches of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by Congress, and the terms of the members of the board of governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms.” It seems amazing that peeps can pretend the power of the appointed, rests on who looks out of the White house windows. One “Monkey” doesn’t stop the show…
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This article concerns corporate greed and the lies being put out about Harris. It comes from a far R media knows as Brighteon. There wasn’t a link to the article.
The far R says Harris is a communist who will cause armed government soldiers to come to grocery stores and enforce rationing. [Crapola!! There are readers stupid enough to believe this! It is sickening to know that such garbage is being spread on the internet.]
If there is wide-spread food rationing, it will come from farmers who aren’t planting crops. Immigrants are not being allowed to enter and pick crops. I have a friend in Florida who has passed farmland that now lays empty.
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Kamala to announce government price controls on food – impending famine-blown communism is now upon us. Kommunist Kamala is set to announce government price controls on groceries. This will lead to widespread food scarcity, empty shelves, long lines and food rationing.
The rationing will be enforced at gunpoint by armed government soldiers at grocery stores. Those who criticize the government will see their rations cut in half.
Full details in today’s alarming broadcast, which also features a powerful interview with Doc Pete Chambers, plus a new sermon on why censorship is satanism.
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The child tax credit proposal should be seen as an election year ploy if you want to. It might have been policy, but it was DOA in Congress. Knowing this, the Democrats certainly did this as a way to get votes. That’s politics.
Apparently there is a better way to buy votes. It can also. It vetoes if you choose the right recipient. It works this way: you give millions to some guy in Congress or in the White House and he supports what you want. That’s corruption.
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Thom Hartmann is purely a partisan activist as he has shown many times; he doesn’t have even surface knowledge of how the Federal Reserve determines monetary policy. The Fed Chairman is the Fed’s main liason to the public; he’s the person who testifies to Congress and who is interviewed more than all other Fed officials combined. The Chairman is first among equals and has more individual influence than any other Fed person. BUT…monetary policy is established by the Federal Open Market Committee, not solely by the Chairman. From the Fed website:
“The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) consists of twelve members–the seven members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and four of the remaining eleven Reserve Bank presidents, who serve one-year terms on a rotating basis.”
The 12 members of the FOMC – NOT just the Chairman – determine monetary policy. During his presidency, Donald Trump frequently and very publicly harangued the Fed to lower interest rates. To his great credit, President Biden has given the Fed political cover to do what was needed to bring down inflation, which included raising short-term rates. President Reagan did likewise when Paul Volcker was Fed Chairman.
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Let’s not forget that “On May 6, 2020, the bipartisan USPS Board of Governors, all selected by Trump and confirmed by the Senate, announced DeJoy’s appointment as postmaster general and CEO, despite concerns about conflicts of interest.”
DeJoy still runs the US Post Office. Most if not all members of the USPS Board of Governors appointed by Trump are still there too. That’s why Biden can’t replace DeJoy because only the USPS Board of Governors can do that.
So, will our USPS mail in ballots end up lost or arriving too late. In every state.
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It is already Aug 17th. Fed Reserve is rumored to be planning to begin lowering interest rates in September, which seems appropriate. If it does not, we can all scream about a politically-motivated scam.
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