No, Companies Are Not Robbing Consumers

In fact, companies have been shielding consumers from inflation. the Producer Price Index was up 10.8% in May…. Were you forwarded this email? [Sign-up to Rude Awakening here.]( [Unsubscribe]( [The Rude Awakening] No, Companies Are Not Robbing Consumers - If the Producer Price Index was up 10.8% in May…. - And the Consumer Price Index was up 8.6% in May… - Mr. President that means companies are shielding consumers from the full effects of inflation. Nice guys, aye? Recommended Link [Bloodbath! 80% Dow Drop predicted]( This little-known “[market doomsday indicator]( has appeared before nearly every major financial crash in recorded history. And now after years of silence, it has begun to ring out again… And if it chimes even just one more time… It could be game over for the markets. With some experts already predicting that we could see a Dow drop of 80% or more practically overnight. If you’re worried about a market crash… Or if you are holding any stocks, real estate or cryptocurrencies… Then I’m urging you to drop what you are doing and watch this now. Because if you miss [this warning]( now, once the crash comes… It will already be too late. [Click Here To Learn How To Protect Yourself]( Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening Happy Hump Day! I know I’ve been bombarding you with charts lately. I apologize for that. But I want you to understand what’s going on. I will tone that down today, as the market didn’t poop the bed yesterday. And, quite frankly, I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. But before I get into today’s Rude, a quick message. Please [watch Jim Rickards’s video]( if you haven’t already. And watch it before the Fed’s rate announcement at 2 pm EST today. This will almost certainly be the third step before the stumble. Or, likelier, The Tumble. If the Fed raises by 75 basis points (0.75%) today, I fear the worse for the market. [Jim outlines why]( today’s third step may bring the Dow down to four digits. I know. That seems crazy. Laughable, even. But in 2008, did anyone call the Dow at 6,469? Because that’s where it bottomed out in early 2009. A sub-10,000 Dow is a possibility, especially when the Fed gets panicky. So see what you can [glean from Jim’s video](. It may help you navigate the coming rough seas. I’ll report tomorrow on the Fed’s move and its impact on the market. But today, I want to talk about how politicians shift blame for their reckless policies to private companies. From Putin to Exxon As [Caitlin Johnstone wrote the other day]( no one is buying the “Putin Price Hike” malarkey. So Joke Biden needs to find another scapegoat. And that scapegoat is [Exxon](. Of course, that’s a load of nonsense, as well. According to [Forbes]( Exxon’s spokesman said the following in response to Biden: We have been in regular contact with the administration, informing them of our planned investments to increase production and expand refining capacity in the United States. We increased production in the Permian Basin by 70%, or 190,000 barrels per day, between 2019 and 2021. We expect to increase production from the Permian by another 25% this year. We’re spending 50% more in capital expenditures in the Permian in 2022 vs 2021 and are increasing refining capacity to process U.S. light crude by about 250,000 barrels per day – which is the equivalent of adding a new medium-sized refinery. We reported losses of more than $20 billion in 2020, and we borrowed more than $30 billion in 2019 and 2020 to support our investments in production around the world. In 2021, total taxes on the company’s income statement were $40.6 billion, an increase of $17.8 billion from 2020. Imagine a President ridiculing one of America’s most productive economic engines. It’s imbecilic. Here’s why. Capitalism Isn’t the Problem. Interventionism Is. I want the government out of business. And yes, I want business out of government, too. What we’ve got now is a terrible variant of corporatism. Mussolini once said, “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.” Unfortunately, the US is more corporatist than capitalist right now. But the country was much better off when government and business stayed separate. The great [Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises once said]( Wage rates under capitalism are not set by a class of people different from the class of people who earn the wages; they are the same people. It is not the Hollywood film corporation that pays the wages of a movie star; it is the people who pay admission to the movies. And it is not the entrepreneur of a boxing match who pays the enormous demands of the prize fighters; it is the people who pay admission to the fight. Through the distinction between the employer and the employee, a distinction is drawn in economic theory, but it is not a distinction in real life; here, the employer and the employee ultimately are one and the same person. The market, not the government, sets the wages it’ll pay for certain goods and services. Capitalism is the best system ever devised. Because when goods and services are no longer needed, they vanish. Sure, that’s tough for displaced workers. But it’s a necessary condition for advancement. And most people can learn a new skill quickly these days. Governments clog up this system by not allowing poorly run businesses to vanish. The 2008 financial crisis comes to mind. The banks should’ve failed. Governments stupidly saved them. Recommended Link [Crypto Insiders are FURIOUS About This…]( [Click here for more...]( Inside this box is the BEST kept secret in cryptocurrencies: In fact, the device inside this box is SO powerful… Most crypto investors would prefer that you NEVER hear about it. [Click Here To Learn More]( Why Capitalism Is the Solution Companies like Exxon get gas into your tank as cheaply as they can. And most people in America need a car to get around. How could that be done if Exxon were gouging the consumer? [Mises, again]( These innovators did not produce expensive goods suitable only for the upper classes; they produced cheaper products for everyone's needs. And this was the origin of capitalism as it operates today. It was the beginning of mass production, the fundamental principle of capitalistic industry. Whereas the old processing industries serving the rich people in the cities had existed almost exclusively for the demands of the upper classes, the new capitalist industries began to produce things that could be purchased by the general population. It was mass production to satisfy the needs of the masses. This is the fundamental principle of capitalism as it exists today in all of those countries in which there is a highly developed system of mass production: Big business, the target of the most fanatic attacks by the so-called leftists, produces almost exclusively to satisfy the wants of the masses. That’s one of my favorite memes. Mises would approve. Regarding savings and its importance to the economy, Mises says: An often-unrealized fact about capitalism is this: savings mean benefits for all those who are anxious to produce or to earn wages. When a man has accrued a certain amount of money—let us say, $1,000—and, instead of spending it, entrusts these dollars to a savings bank or an insurance company, the money goes into the hands of an entrepreneur, a businessman, enabling him to go out and embark on a project which could not have been embarked on yesterday, because the required capital was unavailable. Yes, savings becomes investment. Imagine if the Fed would take its foot off the yield curve… oh wait, that’s happening now to correct the Fed’s past mistakes. Finally, Mises addresses the haters: In spite of all its benefits, capitalism has been furiously attacked and criticized. It is necessary that we understand the origin of this antipathy. It is a fact that the hatred of capitalism originated not with the masses, not among the workers themselves, but among the landed aristocracy—the gentry, the nobility of England, and the European continent. They blamed capitalism for something that was not very pleasant for them: at the beginning of the 19th century, the higher wages paid by industry to its workers forced the landed gentry to pay equally higher wages to their agricultural workers. The aristocracy attacked the industries by criticizing the standard of living of the masses of the workers. Imagine that. People who couldn’t compete, adjust, or iterate enough to succeed hate capitalism. But instead of the landed gentry, politicians, academics, and the mass media can’t adjust. And we’re subjected to their daily idiotic ravings as a result. Wrap-Up I wanted to get away from charts for a day and get back to basics. Mises was a great man and a great economist. He saw right through those who prefer the government centrally plan our lives. Joe Biden couldn’t compete in the private sector, so he became a politician railing against the system. As president, he forgets that with a May PPI increase of 10.8% and a May CPI increase of 8.6%, companies aren’t just providing goods and services. They’re eating some of the increased costs along with it. Doesn’t sound evil to me. Until tomorrow. All the best, Sean Ring Editor, Rude Awakening P.S. [Now watch Jim’s video]( if you haven’t already! [Whitelist Us]( | [Archive]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Unsubscribe]( Rude Awakening is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Rude Awakening e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Rude Awakening, feel free to [unsubscribe](. 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