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Well, here's more joy. From KLITE radio this morning: The USPS has requested that first class go up to 73 cents. A 7% increase. Time to stock up on the "forever" stamps. I remain among those few who still send cards and write letters. Handwritten! And yes, Christmas cards, too. Thanks, Bonnie, for being our "man about town."

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We are going to pick up the pork we raised and sent to the butcher. We really understand the meaning of the term “ the whole hog”

Keep up the great articles, Bonnie

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Ever ask if this was all by design?

Anyone recall 1976?

Out went a Republican in came Carter.

What happened next? You know the answer, just look at what has occurred since Biden took up residency.

Supply chain issues, high gas prices, OPEC wouldn’t give us enough oil, food inflation, interest rates hit record highs Oh right, don’t forget March 1976 when the Swine Flu pandemic hit and a vaccination was rushed to market, etc, etc, etc…. When did Covid hit? March of an election year. Funny timing.

Jimmy Carter created Latch Key Kids. Mom was forced out of the house to get a job because no one could afford the inflated prices & high interest rates.

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.

But why are people today so freaked out about something that occurred within our lifetimes already? It’s like they didn’t see this coming!

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Government employees can get automatic COLA - inflation is no skin off their noses.

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this is no way to live…good to see the (slow) exposure of the Elites…

Who are the Silent Thieves?

Why are they manipulating you?

How are they stealing your wealth?

Bubble.

Crash.

Steal.

Lie.

Repeat.

What is INFLATION?

Monetary manipulation.

Taxation without representation.

Audit the FED & we will find the answers…

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Hey Brian. Curious what your thoughts are on this as based on this overwhelming evidence, to quote you "I'm sure it's just a coincidence": "Since 1949, there has been a Democratic advantage in the average performance of key macroeconomic indicators measuring economic health, including:

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth

Job growth

Unemployment rate

Growth in inflation-adjusted wages

Growth of market-based incomes per capita

Inflation

Interest rates

https://www.epi.org/publication/econ-performance-pres-admin/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/opinion/sunday/democrats-economy.html

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Those articles defending Bidenomics, great sources of “reliable”, “truthful”, “journalism”.

Bottom line, are you saying that Americans are better today than they were in 2019?

June 2019 eggs were $1.20. Today eggs are over double.

Gas prices are about double.

Santa Barbara’s Tourism Tax revenue is at all time highs?

Did Americans paycheck double?

And why are so many companies short staffed if unemployment is truly low.

Why is government the largest employer?

Why does the jobs report count a part time job as one job? No one can live off one part time job. A person would be working two to three part time jobs to buy eggs and gas.

So the jobs report is misleading. Don’t worry they’ll adjust the numbers in a month or two like they always do.

Forget the propaganda and go talk to people and businesses. Ask them if Democratic inflation policies are working for them.

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So do you dispute these sources? Based on what evidence? Do you have any evidence to counter these statistics that are public and easy to verify? And the question I posed, was if Republican economic policies are better, why would the overwhelming statistical evidence suggest that the country does much better historically under Democratic administrations? It's not propaganda to list historical evidence and then ask legit questions. Inflation is a result of the massive influx of federal dollars during COVID to prop up the economy started under Trump and continued under Biden. To lay it on Biden's lap is rich coming from the people who supported it when they were doing their best to deal with the pandemic. By the way, same thing happens with loans - republicans railing against Biden forgiving loans for students but many republicans, including sitting congressman took PPP Loans that were forgiven by the government - and they aren't paying them back. Kind of hypocritical, no?

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Throughout the years the overall difference between R & D is nominal.

I am not defending one party over the other, for the most part it is a uniparty.

Evidence is in real life. Are you saying that gas & groceries are the same as they were 4 years ago? Are you saying wages have kept up with the increased expenses?

Are you saying every restaurant and business you go to is fully staffed?

That’s what the NYT wants you to believe, that everything is fine. Well it’s not and it’s a lot more than just not being able to afford groceries. How about the massive printing of Fed Reserve Notes, dollars. Which are not backed by any hard asset. The massive printing campaign has increased the money in circulation in a very short period. 2020, currency in circulation stood at $4.0192 trillion. By January 4, 2021, this figure had surged to $6.7 trillion. Then came an unprecedented surge. By October 2021, the amount in circulation had skyrocketed to $20.0831 trillion to $19 trillion today.

- Many companies reported fourth-quarter profits that beat Wall Street expectations, mainly because of “cost-cutting”

- Credit card default rates rose 50 percent last year to the highest level since the financial crisis in 2008.

- Household data report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), seasonally adjusted, shows the number of employed persons dropped by 31,000 from December to January and is basically unchanged over the past year.

- corporate profits and overall private sector investment have mostly flatlined for the past two years. It would seem an odd time for companies to be adding workers.

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/W790RC1Q027SBEA

Do you recall the swine flu, rushed vaccines, CIA involvement in propaganda, gas shortages because of our dependence upon the Middle East, inflation running rampant, interest rates at record highs., 17% mortgage rates, etc…

Many similarities from then to now.

Carter’s legacy is Latch Key Kids.

What will Biden’s legacy be?

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always enjoy your articles about local happenings…maybe time to stock up on extra bananas:

SINCE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE:

Gasoline: 47.8%

Groceries: +21.1%

Eating out: +21.4%

Baby food: +30.5%

Pet food: +23.7%

Rent: +20.9%

Electricity: +28.3%

Natural gas: +26.9%

Used cars: +20.9%

Air fare: +32.7%

Public transportation: +22.2%

Real average weekly earnings: -3.9%

it’s all by design…as they attempt to save the US Petro Dollar from extinction & move US & (Global Pop) into CBDCs in order to retain control…we’re getting close to the main event — the planned collapse of the Western Empire…governments & other big players around the World are unloading US debt…US bonds are now a toxic asset & gold is up 30% in just the past 6 months…the Ponzi scheme is over…we can expect soaring inflation just prior to the massive crash…good time to stock up on basic needs…

PS…we have been warned to prepare for The Storm — in order to ensure the resilience of our communities:

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-national-preparedness-month-2020/

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Feckless people will fail. Some small comfort, if they ever actually do "take over". Lessons learned from the French Revolution Reign of Terror through the 1960's Counter-culture for just two examples.

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Sadly the Consumer Price Index was higher than expected for Jan., Feb. and March. Inflation will probably continue to increase through this year as Biden will probably spend the money granted (borrowed) him under the Chips and "Inflation" Acts given him before the Rep. took control of the House. The jobs Report showed 71,000 hired by government and none by manufacturing. Hold on folks, as it appears we are in for a wild ride.

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Have you factored in BRICS & what will happen when oil can be purchased without using the USD?

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I watched the Historic Landmarks Commission yesterday and Cass Ensberg made a statement about State street that I found amazing. She said the State street "promenade" isn't that at all. She said we already have a promenade, it's called Cabrillo blvd along the beach. And sure enough, I Googled Promenade and this popped up, "a paved public walk, typically one along a waterfront at a resort." Can we please stop calling the thing that I call, State street, a promenade?

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The majority of State Street visitors still stay on the sidewalks. State Street pedestrians do not promenade on the street itself.

State Street today is an (1) oversize downtown bike path with very few bikers, along with a few (2) makeshift shanties offering outdoor food service.

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HLC meeting yesterday will be in the column next week.. All of their comments were Perfect.

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Good article. Thanks.

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Yikes. And I thought prices were out of sight in France. As Trader Joe's goes so goes the world---I guess. CJC

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Make note: California Pizza Kitchen CPK happy hour 3-6p at Paseo Nuevo raised the price for a pizza and beer from $6 to $9 last week. WITH TAX a pizza and beer now costs $10, whereas before it’s was $10 with tax and tip.

We need a list of local places offering time specific deals like CPK; Taco Tuesdays at Los Agaves; Tuesday hamburgers at Kyle’s, Mulligans senior pricing, etc. Many local workers and singles can’t dine out at new normal menu prices; or because of high tipping expectations while we want to support local businesses and enjoy dining out.

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Tipping has now been abolished: Mandatory $20 minimum wage now replaces any further need to tip. Mandatory benefited employee status now replaces any need to tip former "gig" independent contract workers.

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