Inflation in focus at Biden's first State of the Union address
mrdoomits/iStock via Getty Images
The war in Ukraine will overshadow President Biden's first State of the Union address tonight, which is set to be broadcast from Capitol Hill starting at 9 p.m. ET. He'll take the podium following two years of a pandemic that has killed nearly 1M Americans, as COVID fatigue and the withdrawal of restrictions take shape following a sustained drop in infections from the Omicron wave. Americans from all walks of life will be tuning in the speech, and while the message itself isn't typically market-moving, comments or legislative priorities could show what is in store for various sectors of the economy.
Snapshot: Consumer prices over the past 12 months have jumped by 7.5% amid soaring inflation at the grocery store, as well as the gas pump. While energy prices have been exacerbated by the Russian invasion, Biden is expected to showcase the efforts he has taken "to rally the world to stand up for democracy and against Russian aggression," according to a White House statement. He's also likely to point to his coronavirus relief package, calling it the catalyst for the fastest job growth in American history and best economic performance since 1984.
With price pressures remaining a big problem, Biden will detail further efforts to tackle the costs. Those include "strengthening the supply chain, reducing the cost of everyday expenses for working families, promoting fair competition and eliminating barriers to good-paying jobs." Biden also plans to call on Congress to send him legislation combating climate change, but may tread carefully around his "Build Back Better" agenda, which was torpedoed by Republican opposition and key Democratic holdout Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
Manchin at it again: On the eve of Biden's SOTU address, Manchin urged the administration to boost domestic energy production, saying he was planning weeks of hearings on energy independence - for both the U.S. and to support NATO allies. "We produce energy cleaner than anybody in the world. We're buying 650K barrels a day from Russia. It's ridiculous. Totally ridiculous." Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also related that Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, has asked for Russian oil and gas to be sanctioned. "We're not using the energy sector as a weapon. We're not hitting Putin where it hurts most."
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Comments (290)
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d
detreacy
04 Mar. 2022
I can't imagine it with JB but no wartime president has even not won reelection.
Needless to say JB can shift blame from Trump and Covid to Russia. As if Russia cares in the least about the USA race to third world status.
Needless to say JB can shift blame from Trump and Covid to Russia. As if Russia cares in the least about the USA race to third world status.
racerkeith
07 Mar. 2022
@M Elan As long as the pudding cups hold out... unfortunately, there's a chance...
A
Archman Investor
01 Mar. 2022
Just came across this somewhere else:The real state of the union:My fellow Americans.
Now that my approval ratings are roughly at the same level as my blood pressure, i.e. barely detectable, and my credibility is nonexistent, I thought I might actually try being honest for a change about the real State of the Union.Just over a year ago when I took oath of office, I talked about “the common objects we love that define us as Americans. . . Opportunity. Security. Liberty. Dignity. Respect. Honor. And yes, the truth.”So let me describe to you the State of our Union in those terms:
First, opportunity.
Under my leadership, inflation has reached a 40+ year high and shows no signs of abating.I’ve also demonstrated how serious I am about fighting inflation by re-appointing the very same Federal Reserve officials who created the inflation to begin with, to another four-year term.Further, the supply chain crisis we engineered from our cascading failures of labor policy, environmental policy, trade policy, monetary policy, and public health policy, also shows little sign of resolving.We’ve also been instrumental in destroying the labor market and making it virtually impossible to find workers.Plus my administration continues to impose new regulations by the day, threaten new taxes, and put out unintelligible public health policies, that make things especially difficult for small and medium-sized businesses.
But at least Pfizer’s profits are at a record high.Second, security.Our southern border was overwhelmed with countless migrants almost literally the moment I took office. We continue to ignore this growing crisis.Similarly, we choose to ignore soaring rates of murder in America’s cities.As Commander-in-Chief, I ordered the US military to hastily withdraw from Afghanistan without sufficient time to make adequate preparations. As a result, the entire world witnessed one of the most disgraceful, shameful events in US history as we left behind our citizens, our allies, and tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer-funded military equipment to our sworn enemy.I tried making up for this personal and national humiliation by trying to outmaneuver Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.My son Hunter and I obviously have a soft spot for Ukraine. But my real priority was using Putin’s military buildup as an opportunity to appear strong again, and hopefully boost my sagging poll numbers.Despite my years of foreign policy experience, I failed to foresee the consequences of provoking Putin, pushing him into a corner, and essentially daring him to invade.(And now, by the way, as we are pushing Russia out of the SWIFT international banking platform, I am also failing to foresee the obvious risk of Putin hacking it. But more on that another time…)You may recall that, while I was hiding in my basement during the 2020 Presidential campaign, I promised voters a “steady hand” when it came to diplomacy and national security.Well, this is what 5 decades of government experience gets you.Third, liberty.We continue to foster a climate where the government tells you what you’re supposed to believe, what you have to put in your body, and how you’re allowed to educate your children.We think nothing of imposing illegal, unconstitutional mandates, and handing public health bureaucrats the authority to regulate everything from nationwide commerce to the entire US housing market.Justin Trudeau recently set a fantastic example for us to follow when it comes to individual freedom, and so we’re working hard to become Canada as quickly as possible.Fourth, dignity and respect.I promised the American people unity in my inaugural address. I said that “we must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.”Naturally I have completely abandoned that promise. Not only have I failed to rein in the intolerant, out-of-control leftist puritans waging cultural genocide across America, but I set a clear example for them by labeling my ideological opponents as White Supremacists.I call legislation I don’t like “Jim Crow 2.0”. And I encourage federal police agencies to investigate parents who don’t want Critical Race Theory taught to their children in public schools.Fifth, honor.My short time in office has brought extreme dishonor upon the reputation of the United States. In addition to the humiliation in Afghanistan, the rest of the world must be in shock as they see the constant chaos and absurdity of our government.We are more consumed by pronouns than progress. We publicly embrace Marxist ideologies. We push our intelligence agencies to prioritize diversity and inclusion over national security. We deliberately undercut our ally—the French—to do a submarine deal with Australia that provided absolutely zero benefit to our nation.And just recently our public debt reached a whopping $30 trillion… which hardly brings any honor or esteem to our nation.Last but not least, truth.I told Americans last year during my inauguration that “each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans. . . to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.”That’s why my administration has worked diligently to suppress free speech. We believe that #science has only one authority figure, and anyone who disagrees with his eminence, Lord Protector Fauci, is guilty of misinformation.For that reason we enlisted the support of Big Tech to remove posts and terminate user accounts upon our request.We claim that we love democracy so much, yet we continue to assert federal control over state and local elections. One of our goals is to squash any state law requiring voters to present valid identification before being allowed to cast their ballots.Requiring identification would help reduce voter fraud and increase election security. But we like voter fraud… so we’re opposed to any identification requirement and label them as racist.We also rely on the mainstream media, which absurdly claims to be objective and unbiased, to reinforce our ridiculous propaganda. They do so willingly and voluntarily, refraining from holding me accountable or asking any difficult questions whatsoever.This, my fellow Americans, is the real State of our Union.(Tonight, however, I’m going to tell a bunch of pathetic lies that no one will believe about what a great job I’m doing.)And if you feel a bit down about the State of our Union, just remember - I’ll still be President for another 2 years, 10 months, 19 days. We have a looooong way to go.
Now that my approval ratings are roughly at the same level as my blood pressure, i.e. barely detectable, and my credibility is nonexistent, I thought I might actually try being honest for a change about the real State of the Union.Just over a year ago when I took oath of office, I talked about “the common objects we love that define us as Americans. . . Opportunity. Security. Liberty. Dignity. Respect. Honor. And yes, the truth.”So let me describe to you the State of our Union in those terms:
First, opportunity.
Under my leadership, inflation has reached a 40+ year high and shows no signs of abating.I’ve also demonstrated how serious I am about fighting inflation by re-appointing the very same Federal Reserve officials who created the inflation to begin with, to another four-year term.Further, the supply chain crisis we engineered from our cascading failures of labor policy, environmental policy, trade policy, monetary policy, and public health policy, also shows little sign of resolving.We’ve also been instrumental in destroying the labor market and making it virtually impossible to find workers.Plus my administration continues to impose new regulations by the day, threaten new taxes, and put out unintelligible public health policies, that make things especially difficult for small and medium-sized businesses.
But at least Pfizer’s profits are at a record high.Second, security.Our southern border was overwhelmed with countless migrants almost literally the moment I took office. We continue to ignore this growing crisis.Similarly, we choose to ignore soaring rates of murder in America’s cities.As Commander-in-Chief, I ordered the US military to hastily withdraw from Afghanistan without sufficient time to make adequate preparations. As a result, the entire world witnessed one of the most disgraceful, shameful events in US history as we left behind our citizens, our allies, and tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer-funded military equipment to our sworn enemy.I tried making up for this personal and national humiliation by trying to outmaneuver Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.My son Hunter and I obviously have a soft spot for Ukraine. But my real priority was using Putin’s military buildup as an opportunity to appear strong again, and hopefully boost my sagging poll numbers.Despite my years of foreign policy experience, I failed to foresee the consequences of provoking Putin, pushing him into a corner, and essentially daring him to invade.(And now, by the way, as we are pushing Russia out of the SWIFT international banking platform, I am also failing to foresee the obvious risk of Putin hacking it. But more on that another time…)You may recall that, while I was hiding in my basement during the 2020 Presidential campaign, I promised voters a “steady hand” when it came to diplomacy and national security.Well, this is what 5 decades of government experience gets you.Third, liberty.We continue to foster a climate where the government tells you what you’re supposed to believe, what you have to put in your body, and how you’re allowed to educate your children.We think nothing of imposing illegal, unconstitutional mandates, and handing public health bureaucrats the authority to regulate everything from nationwide commerce to the entire US housing market.Justin Trudeau recently set a fantastic example for us to follow when it comes to individual freedom, and so we’re working hard to become Canada as quickly as possible.Fourth, dignity and respect.I promised the American people unity in my inaugural address. I said that “we must end this uncivil war that pits red against blue, rural versus urban, conservative versus liberal.”Naturally I have completely abandoned that promise. Not only have I failed to rein in the intolerant, out-of-control leftist puritans waging cultural genocide across America, but I set a clear example for them by labeling my ideological opponents as White Supremacists.I call legislation I don’t like “Jim Crow 2.0”. And I encourage federal police agencies to investigate parents who don’t want Critical Race Theory taught to their children in public schools.Fifth, honor.My short time in office has brought extreme dishonor upon the reputation of the United States. In addition to the humiliation in Afghanistan, the rest of the world must be in shock as they see the constant chaos and absurdity of our government.We are more consumed by pronouns than progress. We publicly embrace Marxist ideologies. We push our intelligence agencies to prioritize diversity and inclusion over national security. We deliberately undercut our ally—the French—to do a submarine deal with Australia that provided absolutely zero benefit to our nation.And just recently our public debt reached a whopping $30 trillion… which hardly brings any honor or esteem to our nation.Last but not least, truth.I told Americans last year during my inauguration that “each of us has a duty and responsibility, as citizens, as Americans. . . to defend the truth and to defeat the lies.”That’s why my administration has worked diligently to suppress free speech. We believe that #science has only one authority figure, and anyone who disagrees with his eminence, Lord Protector Fauci, is guilty of misinformation.For that reason we enlisted the support of Big Tech to remove posts and terminate user accounts upon our request.We claim that we love democracy so much, yet we continue to assert federal control over state and local elections. One of our goals is to squash any state law requiring voters to present valid identification before being allowed to cast their ballots.Requiring identification would help reduce voter fraud and increase election security. But we like voter fraud… so we’re opposed to any identification requirement and label them as racist.We also rely on the mainstream media, which absurdly claims to be objective and unbiased, to reinforce our ridiculous propaganda. They do so willingly and voluntarily, refraining from holding me accountable or asking any difficult questions whatsoever.This, my fellow Americans, is the real State of our Union.(Tonight, however, I’m going to tell a bunch of pathetic lies that no one will believe about what a great job I’m doing.)And if you feel a bit down about the State of our Union, just remember - I’ll still be President for another 2 years, 10 months, 19 days. We have a looooong way to go.
T
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coroscant72
02 Mar. 2022
@Archman Investor - This was amazing. Thank you for this. It's a shame that it will be deleted by someone who feels that freedom of speech and social discord are the tools of white supremacists.
jadejet
01 Mar. 2022
No President in the history of the U.S. has caused more damage to his country than Biden has in every way conceivable. What makes this worse is that I think Biden and friends are deliberately destroying America without going through elaborate detail to explain. The same applies to Canada under Trudeau guided by sleepy Joe, and Schwab. Two countries declining in the same trajectory.
k
kathyjoe1967
01 Mar. 2022
@jadejet What does Schwab have to do with Trudeau and THE BIG GUY? There are several trading firms in Canada besides Schwab.
george the animal steele
01 Mar. 2022
I see the BIDEN/PUTIN invasion is financed well after Biden shut down our oil production and began purchasing gas from his buddy Putiin
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timinator56
01 Mar. 2022
here's an idea!! imagine a fleet of long, narrow boats with huge sails to replace those giant, kerosene burning cargo ships; we could call these sail boats clipper ships! surely this would change the weather in 2072; obiden & his brainwashed followers are idiots, who are devolving; togoiado
DoubleBacon
01 Mar. 2022
"Biden also plans to call on Congress to send him legislation combating climate change, but may tread carefully around his "Build Back Better" agenda, which was torpedoed by Republican opposition and key Democratic holdout Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia."Who writes this biased crap? Republicans didn't "torpedo" anything! They didn't vote for this massive socialist giveaway! Democrats hold a majority in the Senate with VP Harris as vote #51, so it's their own fault for not rallying those who are registered Democrats, who serve at the pleasure of Democrat voters and who caucus with Senate Democrats. As a fiscally conservative Republican, I'm thankful that Sen. Manchin is able to put a stop to further inflation that is crushing middle class and lower income Americans.
o
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Tom Bone
01 Mar. 2022
I plan to nap during Slo-Joe’s SOTU address as a salute to his ability to nap thru his term in office.
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icu410
01 Mar. 2022
Will he be able to stay coherent for the entire speech? I know it's only matter of reading off a teleprompter but he could well drift off into another universe.
c
craftbrewinfo
01 Mar. 2022
"Manchin at it again" what kind of headline is that???? What Manchin is making sense AGAIN and that's a problem?
M Elan
01 Mar. 2022
@craftbrewinfo press and MSM is feeling sorry for themselves.
t
tony1066
01 Mar. 2022
This SOTU address will be one of the most ignominous in the history of the republic. With what has happened in the past year, what can Biden say? He has not exhibited any leadership. He is a shell of a human being that is being propped up by medications. This fellow is not even allowed to speak his mind as a president. At least with Trump, you knew where you stood. He spoke his mind and the career DC people could not accept the fact that he was not into being accepted by them nor did he care about the feelings of the elite. Indeed, when Trump told the Europeans to stop doing business with the Russians, he was ignored and mocked. Guess what, it came back to bite these smug European politicians. It took the disaster of Ukraine to wake these people up. Trump 2024!
Xempler
01 Mar. 2022
If I wanted to listen to incoherent babbling, I'd just go to my bar. At least some of the comments will be funny.
Convoluted
01 Mar. 2022
I think I'll watch reruns from JFK and Ike. Or Churchill."I believe the only way to protect my own rights is to protect the rights of others.""Patriotism means equipped forces and a prepared citizenry. Moral stamina means more energy and more productivity, on the farm and in the factory. Love of liberty means the guarding of every resource that makes freedom possible-from the sanctity of our families and the wealth of our soil to the genius of our scientists." Dwight D. Eisenhower"The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.""Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."John F. Kennedy
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the dogman
01 Mar. 2022
“Build back better was torpedoed by republicans and joe manchin”
The democrats along with the media know how to gaslight, actually very pathetic that they cannot do better
The democrats along with the media know how to gaslight, actually very pathetic that they cannot do better
K
Klipspringer
01 Mar. 2022
We are facing a real immediate existential issue that requires all hands on deck particularly on something as strategically and economically important as energy. The "climate change" narrative distracts us from the real issues at hand. When are we going to wake up and stop being the useful idiots of activist driven manipulation on public opinion?
Steve R.
01 Mar. 2022
@Klipspringer And when are Kerry and AOC going to actually stand-up to support their narrative by going to Moscow and publicly demand that Putin end his war on climate change. They never will as they are hypocrites.
K
george the animal steele
01 Mar. 2022
@Klipspringer Toxic Chinese slave labor produced solar powered cars is the answer!!
j
jbc123
01 Mar. 2022
Can you imagine being one of Biden’s handlers and realizing that you have to put him on prime time TV to give an address tonight? Open borders, failing Wuhan policies, dead Marines, runaway inflation, and now being dope slapped by Putin? With those accomplishments what does he lead with, BBB? Better double check those Depends!
See you in November!
See you in November!
panzer
01 Mar. 2022
The comments here are hilarious. Big Joey, racking in money from the Ukraine and getting his 10% from his son, per where's hunter, as the infamous Big Guy in all of Hunter's deals. What a cartoon America has turned into....The Oligarch class is totally open about its corruption......all of them viewing their jobs as federal employees as mere "part time jobs."
@panzer And still with complete focus on someone that hasn't be in office in over 13 months, as they have no defense for their guy's disastrous performance...going to be a complete wipeout in November, unless media/big tech can come up with some crisis that would enable massive mail in voting again.
panzer
01 Mar. 2022
@Bret Jensen Yup, agree 100%. (what is more than 100%) They are no doubt mulling about a new "we had to cancel the election," based on some invented or contrived new crisis which suspends the constitution, naturally. "The Party of Crime." - DJT
ps: love your articles.
ps: love your articles.
@panzer Appreciate the kind words....mid-terms can't come fast enough
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cjk4-63
01 Mar. 2022
I wonder if anyone has taken the time and energy to zoom out a bit and realize our lives are short and we are all stuck together on what is essentially much less than a speck of dust within the context of the solar system, galaxy, and universe, which we are all part of. Do you really want to spend your time with petty bickering about issues that really don't matter within the grand scheme of the universe, which has been evolving for 13.8 billion years and will continue evolving for billions more after we are gone. If so, have fun making your very very very brief moment in the evolution of life both miserable and futile.
DoubleBacon
01 Mar. 2022
@cjk4-63 It's clear that you haven't taken time or energy to understand how public policy is made. Advocacy. Free speech. We can't all be Hunter Biden who hits the pipe on the regular as he moves from hooker to hooker while living off of the speck of dust that constitutes his father's brain. Living under the Biden Disaster is certainly making life for middle class and low income Americans miserable!