Powell got Punk’d

Plus: Disney's lawsuit, Latino voters and more. Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a prank call of Bloomberg Opinion’s opinions. [Sign up here](. Today’s Agenda - Jerome Powell has [a problem](. - [Disney’s lawsuit]( is a bit silly. - [The Latino vote]( is no sure thing. - You’re not a [climate monster](. Powell Got [Punk'd]( Normally, I give grandparents a free pass when they fall prey to [Bitcoin ATM scams]( or [romance hoaxes](. But the chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States?? The guy that can make the [money printer]( [go brrr](??? I can’t believe he fell for [this](: This wasn’t just some failed phishing test. In January, Powell was reportedly subject to [a prank call]( by a pair of Pro-Putin Russians who have a well-documented track record for mischief. They’ve tricked Poland’s president into talking about [missile strikes](, spoken with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel about [the war in Ukraine](, and asked European central bank chief Christine Lagarde about [the digital euro](. You’d think that by now, the West would have established some sort of “Fraud Hotline” for powerful people, but nope, we’ll just carry on being the butt of Russia’s jokes. Adding to Powell’s troubles is [a slowdown in GDP](. Under normal circumstances, this might be [fine news]( if it calmed our inflationary vibes. But while the 1.1% bump on an annualized basis last quarter was substantially less than what economists were expecting, consumer spending picked up its pace by 3.7% — which was largely due to the weather. Yes, the weather. You see, this past winter [wasn’t really a winter at all](, at least on the East Coast, where I’m stationed. Usually, going to get ice cream in January feels wrong. But in The Unseasonably Warm Year of Our Lord 2023, I was slurping down so many mint-chip shakes I could have probably subsidized [Van Leeuwen's]( entire electricity bill that month. And I am far from alone in my indulging: Jonathan Levin says [Americans spent more of their disposable personal income]( on food services in [January]( than ever before: Now, a lot of people on Wall Street see this level of demand and go, oh snap! That’ll totally force the Fed to tighten monetary policy further in its battle against inflation. But Jonathan disagrees with that argument: “The numbers mostly show how the house of cards is being sustained by a streak of luck and increasingly [overextended consumers](.” The bizarre weather is one such streak of luck that may have already run out. Let’s just hope that Powell accounts for that, and doesn’t get pranked by deceptive appearances a second time around. Bonus Economy Reading: Inflation is a result of [our lack of trust]( in the system. — John Authers Silly Season After reading Stephen Carter’s column today, I realized that Disney has somehow become a strange political microcosm of ideology flippage. I learned this lesson way back in high school history class, so forgive me if the details are a tad fuzzy. But basically, somewhere between the late 1800s and the early 1900s, the Democratic Party — which, back then, was in favor of small government — did a complete switcheroo with the Republican Party and became the party of big government. The change didn’t happen overnight, of course. But eventually, Republicans evolved into the conservative party — Curb federal regulation! Keep the taxes low([ish]()! Let them eat [bugs](! — we know today. Weirdly enough, the Magic Kingdom is evidence of a similar political shift. Back in the early 2000s, Democrats believed that the Reedy Creek Improvement District — RCID, for short — which functions more or less as Disney’s self-governing enclave, “was an outrageous transfer of government power to a private entity,” Stephen writes. Republicans, meanwhile, thought the RCID was an ingenious display of conservatism. Now, they’ve completely swapped beliefs, with Republicans shaming Disney’s special regulatory district and Democrats defending Disney’s RCID as if it were some sort of progressive hero. Stephen says this is weird, in so many words, and that [Disney’s lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis]( is further proof that “our democracy remains deep in its silly season.” Not a Token It’s no secret that the Democratic Party failed to corral Latino voters in a number of [key swing states]( in the 2020 election. And so it makes a lot of sense that President Joe Biden put White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs director [Julie Chávez Rodriguez]( at the helm of his 2024 campaign. But make no mistake: Having a woman of color as the face of his campaign is not a magical elixir that will erase the party’s challenges within the Latino community. Although Chávez Rodriguez — granddaughter of the Mexican American labor activist [Cesar Chávez]( — is, in many ways, perfectly equipped to engage with Latino voters, she needs to shift “from symbol to strategist,” Susanne Ramirez de Arellano writes. Biden cannot afford to repeat [the blunders]( he made in 2020, and neither can the Democratic Party as a whole. A big issue for Democrats is that they view [the nation's second-largest voting bloc]( as monolithic. In previous elections, Susanne says, the party has flattened Latinos “into one identity, deconstructing a complex and diverse voting bloc into one issue: immigration.” By failing to address other, [more pressing concerns]( — including the economy, health care, crime, gun policy and [abortion]( — Democrats effectively cut [Latino voters]( out of the conversation. Hiring Chávez Rodriguez is an excellent start, but Biden must ensure that her role goes beyond “window dressing or pandering.” Read [the whole thing](. Telltale Charts The US shale industry started out as an underdog, with “an army of minnows and wildcatters” fighting to get a foothold in the fracking world, Liam Denning writes. And this series of scrappy startups experienced explosive growth in the early 2010s. But ever since Covid, [growth went “out of favor and investors are demanding payouts](. The fracking cash furnace has become a cash fountain,” Liam writes, arguing that the companies that are best positioned to stay in the business are the biggest ones. It’s not worth being a minnow anymore: Speaking of crude, did you know that the phrase “carbon footprint” was invented by BP, a massive oil company? After all these years of internally shunning ourselves for not shutting off light switches or riding bikes to work in below-freezing weather, maybe it’s time to [cut ourselves some slack when it comes to reducing our carbon footprint,]( Mark Gongloff writes. After all, we’d need 323,333 do-gooders to stop eating animals and dairy, forfeit their vacation to Greece, and install heat pumps and solar panels to match what Walmart did in a single year with its carbon emissions. Further Reading Washington’s obsession with [fiscal gimmickry]( is harming innovation. — Bloomberg’s editorial board Senators wanting to [ban social media for kids]( are forgetting a minor detail: the First Amendment. — Noah Feldman [Stocks are remarkably resilient]( in the six months leading up to a recession. — Nir Kaissar Hong Kong has a lot of catching up to do, but it still has whole [tax haven thing]( down pat. — Shuli Ren Dear Mark Zuckerberg, please put up [a poster of Satya Nadella]( in your bedroom. — Parmy Olson [Kevin McCarthy’s “big win”]( will create a congressional logjam like no other. — Jonathan Bernstein Everyone and their mother is [shorting European real estate](. Beware. — Chris Hughes Wagamama's [hedge fund showdown]( just got a lot spicier. — Matthew Brooker Does the Global South really think they’d be [better off with China](? — Hal Brands ICYMI The secret EV [tax credit loophole](. Biden’s secret [Oval Office TV](. [Weight loss drugs]( have a price problem. [Jerry Springer]( passed away. Kickers [Dune: Part 2]( thirst traps. The dramatic death of [DVD.com](. How to eat the cast of [The Little Mermaid](. Uber’s unique [lost and found index](. Notes: Please send Danny DeVito Christmas ornaments and feedback to Jessica Karl at jkarl9@bloomberg.net. [Sign up here]( and follow us on [Instagram](, [TikTok](, [Twitter]( and [Facebook](. Follow Us You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](