What Will 2023 Look Like?

Of course, the starting point, the contemporary context, would be:

• the recent history of COVID lockdowns; 
• massive government spending and inflation and constrictive energy policies driving up energy and food prices, as well as most “downstream prices,” and wiping out retirement savings; 
• Fed strategies depressing the market; war in Ukraine threatening nuclear confrontation; China’s rising political aggression; 
• political corruption of government institutions and apparent government-led attacks on the First Amendment, at least according to the “Twitter Files”; rising urban crime; 
• a surge in illegal immigration bringing drugs, crime and a disrupted labor market; a growing culture war on women, fueled both by the Dobbs decision and the rising political activism of the trans community; 
• and chaos in the American educational system, leading to a sharp decline in student performance.

Few would call 2020, 2021 and 2022 “good years” for America. Some might call them disasters — and 2023 may well be worse.

To begin with, there is no sign that the forces fueling these problems will abate or be reversed. If anything, they may become more intense.

Rightly or wrongly, the White House and the Democrat-led Senate, as well as most progressive interest groups, read the midterm elections as support for current policy directions. The White House will not make any centrist tack and will continue full speed ahead on high-spending and fossil fuel-constraining policies. 

The suicidal support for the omnibus budget and spending bill by Republicans in the Senate handicaps the incoming Republican-led House from moving to get the budget, appropriations, and spending under control. 

It also assures another round of inflation, and insulates the Democrats from political attack since Senate Republicans went along with it and now partly own the coming inflation, rising interest rates, and economic contraction or recession predicted by many financial leaders and economists.  READ MORE...

A Recession Looms

The U.S. economy appears to be sliding into another recession based on declining consumer sentiment – even though employment and wage growth suggest otherwise, according to two academic economists.

New research published last week by David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College and Alex Bryson of the University College London suggests that consumer expectations indexes from the Conference Board and the University of Michigan tend to predict economic downturns up to 18 months in advance in the U.S.

BIDEN'S PROPOSED 39.6% TAX HIKE WOULD HIT THESE INDIVIDUALS, FAMILIES

Every recession since the 1980s has been precipitated by at least a 10-point drop in the expectations indices, they found. Other reliable indicators include a single monthly rise of at least 0.3 percentage points in unemployment and two consecutive months of employment rate declines.

"The economic situation in 2021 is exceptional, however, since unprecedented direct government intervention in the labor market through furlough-type arrangements has enabled employment rates to recover quickly from the huge downturn in 2020," Blanchflower and Bryson wrote. "However, downward movements in consumer expectations in the last six months suggest the economy in the United States is entering recession now (Autumn 2021)."

G-7 LEADERS HAMMER OUT A GLOBAL MINIMUM TAX FOR MULTINATIONAL COMPANIES

The Conference Board’s gauge of expectations declined in September to the lowest since November last year, marking the third consecutive month of declines. At the same time, the University of Michigan's gauge actually increased last month.

The economists highlighted data suggesting the Conference Board expectations peaked in March 2021 and then fell by 26 points through September 2021. The Michigan data, meanwhile, likely peaked in June 2021 and fell by 18 points by August, they found. 

TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL RECESSION, CLICK HERE...

Where Do Our Taxes Go?

Information provided by USA TODAY...

Biggest tax spenders

Total spending by the federal government in 2018 was $4.22 trillion. But some programs actually raised money, such as leases for the Outer Continental Shelf, which lowered the total 2018 outlay to $4.11 trillion.

The majority of tax dollars helps to fund defense, Social Security, Medicare, health programs and social safety net programs such as food stamps and disability payments, along with paying off interest on the national debt.

Here’s how it breaks down.

1. Social Security: $987.8 billion or 23.4% of total federal spending
2. National defense: $631.2 billion or 15% of total spending
3. Medicare: $588.7 billion or 14% of total spending
4. Health: $551.2 billion or 13.1% of total spending
5. Social safety net programs: $495.3 billion or 11.8% of total spending
6. Interest on debt: $325 billion or 7.7% of total spending

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What really surprised me was that Social Security represented more of our Federal Budget than what we spend on our NATIONAL DEFENSE...

AND...  if you look closely at all the programs that are actually forms of SOCIALISM, you will easily see that 62% of our tax dollars goes in that direction.  Only 15% is spent on our protection and less than 8% is spend on our NATIONAL DEBT which is increasing because of all the social welfare type programs.

NOW...  when I think about it, I am very pleased that our tax dollars are spent this way because I am living off of Social Security and Medicare pays all my healthcare bills along with my supplement...

I personally spend about $600 each month on medical expenses or about $7,200 each year and because of me having two cancers, my medical bills are approximately $500,000 each year which as you can imagine is a very good deal.

AND...  when Biden and Harris finally take over the reigns of government, I feel confident that my Social Security will increase along with my Medicare Benefits putting me into a much better financial situation.

AND...   as long as we keep what the government pays on our NATIONAL DEBT, it will be FUTURE GENERATIONS that will be responsible for paying it off...  which pleases me and it should please you.