Not the Headlines - Affordability

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The Listening Tube presents not the headlines.

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I'm Bob Woodley from the Listening Tube. One of the buzzwords the media is using to sway popular opinion is affordability. The word is often put to use to give us the impression that the economy under the second Trump term is failing. The news tells us that people are suffering from high prices. We can't make ends meet. Young people are at a considerable disadvantage because they can't afford to buy a house. Socialism has become fashionable in New York City on the promise that it will make it more affordable to live in New York City. It hasn't. Regardless, practically every Democrat running for office preaches about affordability and how it's all the president's fault. They don't mention that under Joe Biden, the inflation rate reached 9%. This past July, the inflation rate was 3.4%, a decrease from the month before. They blame the conflict with Iran and tariffs for the suffering of the American people and the economic hardship the president has brought. It wasn't that long ago that Democrats would blame the oil companies for high gas prices, but it's more convenient to blame Trump this time around. Meanwhile, Trump called out the oil companies for making too much money. Whether or not they are is irrelevant to those of us at the gas pump. All we know is that gas was way cheaper before the attack on Iran. And although the Strait of Hormuz is being used to transport huge amounts of oil once again, the price never falls as quickly as it goes up. And while the price of oil has an effect on our everyday lives, it's what's actually happening at street level that tells the truth about the condition of the American people and affordability. And you don't get any more street level than Walmart, Target, McDonald's, and Burger King.

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And you can hang your hat on that.

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Just over a week ago, ABC News had a big story about how Walmart had its slowest growth in comparable sales in six years. That doesn't mean sales were down. They were up by 2.6% for the quarter. The first quarter of the year was 4.1%. The online sales rose 24%, two points behind the first quarter. The author of the story, Anne Dinosenzio, went on to opine that the lower pace of increase as compared to the quarter before is due to so many Americans struggling with higher costs for gas, groceries, and just about everything else. ABC News is clearly telling us that the economy is in trouble because sales at Walmart improved only slightly less than the quarter before. Here's the headline of the story. Walmart sees slowest pace in US comparable sales in six years, offers cautious guidance. Then it has a sub-headline that said Walmart is reporting the slowest pace in U.S. comparable sales in six years, and the retailer offered a cautious outlook for the year. Yeah. That's exactly what the headline said, with the addition of the year. Just to drive home the point before you actually get to the story and read the facts. And even the facts are presented in a way that tries to make you believe this is all bad news. And people are suffering. Walmart proves it. Despite the fact that people sometimes go there in their pajamas, it's still a good barometer of the economic situation in both localities and the nation as a whole. So is the fact that Walmart sales didn't increase as much as before a sure sign that the economy is in peril? What else could be the cause? Surprisingly, CNN provides the answer. In a story that came out the day before the ABC News story about Walmart, CNN describes an entirely different America than the one that's enticed by the affordability debate. And they're not the people you might think they are. They're us. They're you and me. The American people. CNN says a growing number of people have moved up the income ladder and have more money to spend. And it's not just corporate leaders, it's regular Americans. The ones who go to Walmart. Or did. The story uses Target as an example of how people are self-promoting themselves to Target over Walmart. They're making more money and are looking for new places to shop. Target sales increased 3.8% for the quarter compared to Walmart's 2.6. Both increases, which would indicate people are still spending money, but are willing to spend more at Target. The headline of the article by CNN was Americans Have More Money. They're done eating and shopping at places that suck.

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And if that wasn't enough.

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Fast food chains are also experiencing people's willingness to spend more as long as they feel like they're getting value. Sit-down restaurants are also seeing the difference. Burger King improved the quality of the Whopper and increased their staffing by 60,000 employees. Sales rose 8.5% for the last quarter. McDonald's missed the mark with value offerings that were cheap but didn't draw any interest. That prompted their CEO to say, we've got to elevate the taste and quality of the food. Fast casual chains are also seeing increases as consumers trade up to more comfortable accommodations as compared to fast food joints. What the affordability people fail to notice is that many of President Trump's policies have had very beneficial effects for the working class. And now they have more money in their pockets. No tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and other modifications to the tax code has put more money in the pockets of working Americans and those of us who are retired. He's bringing manufacturing back to the United States, creating jobs that can't be replaced by artificial intelligence. There could be even more if it weren't for the opposition to data centers in certain states. That's the choice of the local politicians. But they're denying their constituents opportunity. Perhaps that's just a way to perpetuate the affordability crisis we're being told there is. Convince the people that the opportunity is worse than what they have now, so that they'll never know any better.

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I live in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. You might know it as the home of Little League Baseball, where they play the World Series, featured on ESPN every year at this time. Well, the local high school's nickname is the Millionaires. That's because at one time, during the reign of the lumber barons, William Sport had more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in the country. Part of West 4th Street is still known as Millionaires Row because of its stately homes from the era. From what I've learned about the history of the area, after the lumber boom there were still a select group of men who controlled the local economy through the businesses they owned. They wanted to keep it that way. When new companies tried to move in, they would lobby against it, and the local politicians were more than happy to accommodate their wishes. The business leaders didn't want more competition for the available workforce. If there was more competition for their labor, the price of labor would go up. William Sport business leaders didn't want to pay higher wages, so they kept the competition for the workforce away. Today, the average income in William Sport is eight percent below the median for the state of Pennsylvania, despite its rich history and worldwide familiarity. That's an example of how business can keep the people in a position where they can be exploited and manipulated. That's kind of a part of capitalism. But when the government does it, that's a different category. When the press promotes it, that's a conspiracy. It's the same people who are claiming that affordability is a major issue and people are suffering, who are also working against all of the policies that are letting people sit down for lunch instead of eating it in their car in the parking lot. The same people who voted no on all the tax breaks that are putting more money in the pockets of everyday Americans are the ones who are claiming you can't afford anything. And they'll say it straight to your face while having lunch at Red Lobster.

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