Subject: Re: Trump is toast
Prices are still remarkably higher than they were back in the pre-pandemic days.

Prices rose 8% during Trump's term, which means that monthly expenses for a family of 4 could easily have increased from $4,000 to $4,320 while the convict was President. If the wages for the family did NOT increase by that $320 a month, they would have been stressed and been living paycheck to paycheck. Inflation has been a problem in EVERY 4-year Presidential term throughout history. The way American people have been able to keep up through a hundred years of rising prices is a hundred years of rising wages.

The last 4 years have seen unusually high inflation due to Covid-related supply chain imbalances, I'll grant you, but wages have kept up since March 2023. See this blue line (wages) rising above the black line (inflation) on this chart of the Biden years?

https://www.statista.com/stati...

It's because rising wages have been beating rising prices for the past 18 months that we see packed restaurants, full flights, and packed hotels every time we travel. This is the middle class, not the rich. Consumer spending is at an all time high, and Amazon's last Prime Day had record sales.

And take a look at what the latest Michigan consumer sentiment survey for September says about the health of the American consumer:

"Consumer sentiment rose to its highest reading since May 2024, increasing for the second consecutive month and lifting about 2% above August. The gain was led by an improvement in buying conditions for durables, driven by more favorable prices as perceived by consumers. Year-ahead expectations for personal finances and the economy both improved as well.

Year-ahead inflation expectations fell for the fourth straight month, coming in at 2.7%. The current reading is the lowest since December 2020 and is well within the 2.3 - 3.0% range seen in the two years prior to the pandemic. ... consumers fully recognize that inflation has softened over the past two years. Consumers voiced fewer concerns this month over high prices for durables, vehicles, and homes, as well as their personal finances.

Ref: Sep. 2024 Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey - https://data.sca.isr.umich.edu...