Saturday Report 8/3/24 - Is the Fed Chair trying to get Trump elected by keeping rates high?

The Best of the Rest of the News

—  Is the Fed Chair “trying to get Donald Trump elected” by keeping rates high? The anti-corruption watchdog group Revolving Door Project is claiming that lifetime Republican and former commercial banker Jerome Powell, now the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, is “trying to get Donald Trump elected.” Fully two months ago, Powell noted that “this is no longer an overheated economy” and “the labor market appears to be fully back in balance.” Yesterday’s jobs numbers — lower than expected new jobs (144,000) and a jump in unemployment to 4.3% — suggest the economy is on the verge of tipping into recession, an event that Trump yesterday pointed out and proclaimed is happening because of “Kamalanomics.” The Project’s Executive Director Jeff Hauser was explicit: “That Powell’s Fed still refuses to lower interest rates—after Trump said that rates shouldn’t be lowered before the election—raises questions about the central bank’s independence. Whether the Fed keeps rates high or brings them down, one of two presidential candidates will benefit. While lower rates would provide much-needed economic relief to the American people, Powell has instead chosen to stick it to the people and give an electoral boost to Trump.” Senator Elizabeth Warren yesterday called on the Fed chair to “cancel his summer vacation” and “lower interest rates now.” The warnings signs are flashing bright red — with worldwide declines in stock market indexes — and if Powell and the Fed don’t lower interest rates at least a half point within the next few weeks, it’ll be safe to conclude that Hauser is exactly right in his diagnosis of this situation.

— Did Egypt give a $10 million bribe to Trump? The Washington Post published a blockbuster report yesterday, detailing how the Egyptian government pulled together $10 million in cash in 2016 right after Donald Trump sought out Egyptian dictator El-Sisi and promised him a presidential visit (which he fulfilled) right after his inauguration. The Department of Justice found out about it in 2019 and the FBI began an investigation, but Attorney General Bill Barr — one of the most publicly corrupt senior government officials in modern history — put the kibosh on the investigation. As a result, nobody knows if or how the money was delivered to Trump, although right around the time it would have been delivered Trump took the unusual step of putting exactly $10 million of his own money into his campaign. Saudis and Russians own large parts of Trump Tower and multiple nations funneled millions to Trump by booking blocks of rooms in his DC hotel and then just leaving them empty. Forbes estimates that Trump’s businesses brought in $2.4 billion during his four years as president; hundreds of millions of that came from foreign governments and from his charging the Secret Service and our US government a small fortune for their stays at Trump properties around the world. His entire presidency, it turns out, was a giant grift; no wonder he wants back into office.

— Senate Republicans tell us who they are. President Biden’s American Rescue Plan increased child tax credits in a way that lifted an estimated 30 million children out of poverty, cutting the US child poverty rate in half. They expired last year, and legislation to reinstate them passed the House with roughly equal votes from both Democrats and Republicans. Iowa Senate Republican Chuck Grassley famously opposes help to poor families, saying “passing a tax bill that makes the president look good mailing out checks before the election, means he could be reelected and then we won’t extend the 2017 tax cuts.” Senate Republicans got the message and killed the bill on Thursday afternoon, keeping child poverty in America at a higher level than any other developed nation in the world.

— What happens when election officials refuse to certify an election? Democracy Docket has a reassuring post pointing out that there are multiple levels at which elections officials who refuse to certify an election can be replaced, overridden, or forced by threat of jail to do their jobs. Republicans are still counting on their well-announced strategy of blowing up elections this way, hoping it’ll throw the presidential contest to the House of Representatives, where Republican states outnumber Democratic ones (each state gets one vote under the 12th Amendment), but Democrats are onto the scheme and prepared. It’ll be a mess, in all probability, but odds are Republicans won’t be able to game the system this way unless, like in 2000, Republicans on the Supreme Court intervene. At that point, President Biden will have to decide if he’s going to do what Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln did: ignore the Supreme Court and do what’s right.

— Beware of fundraising scams! If, like me, your phone has been inundated with fundraising pitches from organizations claiming to represent everything from Democrats to retired people to students to individual politicians, here’s a simple bit of advice: Don’t click on the link and don’t respond! Markos Moulitsas over at Daily Kos points out that most all of these groups are actually running scams, raising millions and then simply paying themselves “consulting fees” to pocket your money. Adding to the confusion, most of them use Act Blue, which is also used to process credit cards for actual Democratic candidates. (Act Blue says they can’t vet organizations.) If you want to donate to a politician or campaign, go to their website and use that link. Never, ever give money to a group or campaign that texts you.

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