“But the price of groceries . . . .”

May 21, 2024

Whenever President Biden or his allies note that the economy is strong as measured by factors such as employment, decreasing inflation, and the strength of the stock market, a frequent rejoinder is, “But the price of groceries . . . .” I do not mean to dismiss the real pain that inflation has caused to tens of millions of Americans, but presidents do not control the prices of groceries, gasoline, or anything else (except in times of war, national emergencies, and financial crises). Notably, Congress subsidizes (and therefore supports) the prices of agricultural and energy commodities.

In our system, for good or ill, prices are controlled by market forces that are (generally) outside the president's executive powers. “But the price of groceries . . . .” is not a political response to inflation; it is a personal response grounded in the pain and hardship inflicted by inflation.

Not only do presidents have no control over inflation, but corporations exercise outsized control. As Robert Reich has explained, corporations are using inflation as an excuse to raise retail prices at a rate not justified by their increase in the cost of goods sold. See Robert Reich on Substack, (6/1/23), It’s greedflation, stupid. As Reich wrote,

But businesses have been using the cover of inflation to justify price increases, so consumers accept them. According to Paul Donovan, chief economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, businesses “are confident that they can convince consumers that it isn’t their fault, and it won’t damage their brand.”)

Inflation is not being propelled by an overheated economy. It’s being propelled by overheated profits.

So, as the inflation rate has cooled over the last year, have corporations responded by stabilizing or reducing their prices? Generally, no. On Monday, Target announced that it would reduce prices on 5,000 “most frequently shopped items” in its nearly 2,000 stores. See Target.com, Target Will Help Consumers Save Big by Lowering Prices on 5,000 Frequently Shopped Items.

Target’s major competitors (like Walmart) will “price match” if requested by their customers. Rather than respond to hundreds of thousands of requests for “price matches,” Walmart (and others) will match Target’s price reductions without being prompted by customers.

This is good news for Americans suffering from inflation over the last 2-1/2 years. Will prices return to pre-2021 levels? No, not generally. But many items that consumers “most frequently shopped” will see some price reduction. That is good news, indeed.

In the weird political world where “vibes” frequently count for more than “facts,” President Joe Biden is not responsible for the price reductions by Target (just like he wasn’t responsible for inflation in the first instance). But if the political world is going to blame Biden for inflation that is not his fault, Biden’s allies should give President Biden full credit for the wave of price reductions that will be coming our way. Tell a friend!

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Update on Trump election interference trial in Manhattan

Trump's criminal defense is foundering on the shoals of hubris and incompetence. Trump's final cross-examination of Michael Cohen was simultaneously boring, helpful to the prosecution, and damaging to Trump—a difficult hat trick. Trump then called attorney Robert Costello to attack Michael Cohen. Still, Costello managed to insult the judge, alienate the jury, and make Michael Cohen look like a choir boy—an even more difficult hat trick.

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Examination of Michael Cohen.

Per reports from inside the courtroom, Todd Blanche’s final day of cross-examination of Michael Cohen managed to put some of the jurors to sleep! There were no “Tom Cruise” moments of “You can’t handle the truth.”

In a stupid move by Todd Blanche, he forced Michael Cohen to admit that Cohen had a financial interest in the outcome of the trial. Blanche then pounced, asserting that Cohen wanted the jury to convict Trump to increase Cohen’s financial prospects. Cohen flipped the script on Blanche, saying,

“The answer is no. It's better if he's not [convicted], for me, because it gives me more to talk about in the future.”

According to observers in the courtroom, Cohen’s statement provoked audible laughter.

On re-direct, the prosecution elicited testimony from Cohen that he made a false statement to the Federal Election Commission regarding the nature of the payment. As described by CNN,

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger reads a line from his attorney's letter to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), "The payment in question does not constitute a campaign contribution."

"Was that a true statement?" she asks Michael Cohen.

"No ma’am," he says.

Cohen says, "What's omitted is the fact that it was paid for by Mr. Trump or the Trump trust."

Prosecutor: "And did you intend for it to be misleading in that way?" the prosecutor asks.

"I did," Cohen says.

Finally, the prosecution was able to admit photographic evidence that Trump was with his “body man” Keith Schiller, when Michael Cohen said he called Trump (via Schiller) to let Trump know on October 16, 2016, that the payoff to Stormy Daniels had been finalized.

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Trump calls attorney Robert Costello

Although Michael Cohen took some hits to his credibility on cross-examination, everyone soon forgot about Cohen when the defense called attorney Robert Costello to attack Cohen. Costello was arrogant, petulant, and openly disrespectful of Judge Merchan’s rulings. Costello reportedly rolled his eyes, stared at the judge, talked over objections, and audibly sighed in response to Judge Merchan’s rulings on objections to his testimony.

But pandemonium erupted when Costello said, “Jeez!” in response to one of Judge Merchan’s rulings. After Judge Merchan said—in stunned disbelief—“Sorry?”, Costello said, “Strike it.” In essence, Costello was ordering the court reporter to remove his prior answer from the record. However, in a courtroom, only a judge can order court personnel to do anything.

Judge Merchan excused the jury and said the following to Costello:

I would like to discuss proper decorum in my courtroom. So when there is a witness on the stand, if you don’t like my ruling, you don’t say ‘jeez,’ okay? And then don’t say ‘strike it,’ because I am the only one who can strike testimony in the courtroom.

If you don’t like my rulings, then you don’t give me side-eye and you don’t roll your eyes.

I’m putting you on notice that your conduct is contemptuous. If you try to stare me down one more time, I will remove you from the stand.

Costello was chastened and subdued when the jury returned—clearly signaling to the jury that he had been reprimanded by the judge. That signal may be important. Costello testified Cohen told him Trump did not know about the hush-money payments or reimbursement to Cohen. (Cohen had previously admitted to those statements on direct examination and explained he was trying to protect Trump.)

If the jury were to believe Costello rather than Cohen, it is possible that the jury could fail to convict Trump. But Costello is damaged goods in the eyes of the jury because of Costello’s arrogance and disrespect to the judge. It is hard to make Michael Cohen seem like a nice guy and a credible witness, but Robert Costello managed to do it. A very bad day for Trump. More to come on Tuesday.

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Life under Biden vs. Trump—2025 and beyond

Readers frequently ask me for a list of President Biden’s accomplishments that they can forward to friends and acquaintances. The following article is still one of the best there is—and I highly recommend that you keep it at hand: Why I Love Joe Biden - Brianland (brianhassett.com)

But there is also the question of what life would be like under Trump based on his campaign statements and project 2025. Bob Cesca published this list on Twitter

Here are 15 things that'll happen if Trump becomes president again. Please share with your undecided friends. Many of these items are documented in the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, the blueprint for Trump's next term, as well as Trump's own pledges.

1) Abortion will be banned nationwide.

2) Contraception will be banned shortly thereafter.

3) The Supreme Court will be locked hard-right for the next 30+ years.

4) The climate crisis will significantly worsen, beyond our ability to mitigate it.

5) More tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, spiking the deficit.

6) Trump will not leave office.

7) There will be a recession (there's been a recession during every Republican presidency for the last 100 years -- Google it).

8 ) Prices will NOT return to 2019 levels.

9) 50,000 federal workers will be fired and replaced with Trump loyalists per Project 2025. The lack of checks on his power will make it more likely he will remain in office beyond his term.

10) Similarly, the Department of Justice will shift to being under the direct control of the White House, allowing Trump to arrest anyone who's been mean to him.

11) Russia will annex Ukraine then move to invade other eastern European nations, probably Poland first—with Trump's support.

12) America will leave NATO.

13) Trump will, as promised, close the pandemic preparedness office.

14) Millions of citizens will be swept up in Trump's deportation blitz.

15) Trump will use the military to arrest peaceful protesters and charge them under the Insurrection Act. Pro-Palestinian protesters will be deported as Hamas sympathizers.

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Biden’s responses to the international events

President Biden and his administration were fully engaged in a number of international developments relating to Israel and the war in Gaza. For a good summary, see What Did Joe Biden Do Today? (substack.com).

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Opportunity for Reader Engagement

Swing Left's “Team Up” training program brings together a core team of new co-leaders to start a Swing Left group in their community to defend democracy and defeat MAGA extremism by winning elections for Democrats in the most competitive races. 

Swing Left is looking for new leaders like you to team up and start your Swing Left group! Starting a local group is a powerful way to build community and engage volunteers to make change at the state and national level.

Applications for Swing Left's Team Up program are due on Wednesday, May 22 to participate in local trainings in Orange County and Chicagoland on June 1 or in Westchester County, NY on June 8. There’s also hybrid option that participants can join from anywhere on Saturday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific / 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Maybe you've written letters, made calls, or even donated before, but you want to go deeper. Team Up will match you with other local co-leaders, build your skills, and provide you ongoing support so together you can build a new grassroots group in your community and expand your impact. 

You can apply to join the Team Up program, which does not include a cover charge, by May 22 at https://swingleft.org/team-up

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Concluding thoughts

Amidst the corruption and bias in the Supreme Court and Judge Aileen Cannon’s courtroom in Florida, there good reason to despair about the state of the judiciary in America. But all it takes is one judge willing to uphold their oath and preside over trials fairly to make up for a multitude of sins by faithless judges.

Judge Juan Merchan has been a beacon of hope and breath of fresh air for Americans sickened by the stench of corruption emanating from the Supreme Court and Cannon’s courtroom in Florida. Judge Merchan has demonstrated deference and respect to all parties appearing before him—including the people of New York, whose interests are represented by the prosecution.

Fairness includes adhering to the rules in a firm but just manner, maintaining order so that the proof of facts can unfold in the stepwise manner prescribed by the rules of evidence, controlling the parties' conduct to protect the jury from inflammatory statements and prejudicial emotional displays, and understanding the law and applying it in a reasoned, thoughtful manner.

Judge Merchan has been fair in all the ways noted above (and more). As a result, the prosecution and the defense have received a fair trial. When justice is served, the American people are the winners—regardless of the trial's outcome.

Judge Merchan is a gem. The good news is that Judge Merchan is not alone. There are thousands of judges like Judge Merchan across America. They form an impartial, unheralded bulwark of democracy. And they outnumber the notorious bad actors salted by the Federalist Society throughout the federal judiciary. Over time, the good judges will overwhelm, outwork, and outwit the political operatives masquerading as judges appointed by Trump.

All Americans should feel renewed confidence in the American justice system based on Judge Merchan’s fair management of Trump's trial for election interference. That is all we can hope for; we are not entitled to a particular outcome, only a fair trial. Judge Merchan is giving that small gift of democracy to all Americans—whether they appreciate it or not.

Talk to you tomorrow!