It appears that inflation has declined more than originally anticipated as we came to the end of November. There have been significant declines in almost every category of goods which shows the success of the Biden administration’s programs.
The ouster of former Congressman Santos from the House was highlighted by senior Republicans voting against the Resolution. The purported reason was the fear of a bad precedent being set when Mr. Santos has not yet been convicted of a crime which was the case in many other expulsions. Unfortunately, we all know the real reason and that is they lost a vote that they can hardly afford to lose. If I thought they were people of principal, I might understand their position, but too many comments were made by Mr. McCarthy and others in that leadership pack, that proves the opposite.
Americans slowed spending in October with consumer spending rising only 0.2%, down sharply from 0.7% in September. It appears that the black Friday and cyber-Monday sales volumes were also somewhat depressed, but what that reflects is somewhat difficult to decipher. It clearly needs to be watched. Unemployment remains at historical lows, open jobs at historical highs, even though there was a decline last month of 600,000. This seems less of a dangerous time than it might be otherwise.
Mortgage rates dropped to their lowest levels since August to just over 7%, and is the 7th straight week the rates have dropped.
In a major news announcement, CVS said it plans to overhaul how much drugs cost by basing their payments from benefit managers on the amount it pays for drugs, plus a small markup and a fee for distribution, walking away from the complex formulas that have been used to date. CVS has roughly 9500 retail pharmacies who will be reimbursed using this new method, and likely other payers will use it as well. This is a methodology promoted by Mark Cuban and others to bring greater clarity, transparency and accountability in drug pricing. This could be a major move forward, but we will see if it actually impacts drug prices.
In a really surprising news story, it appears that the people leaving New York are not millionaires as Republicans would have you believe primarily as a result of taxes and regulation in New York, but rather those who can’t afford to live in New York who are generally the lower and middle classes. These folks tend not to be able to pay the rising prices for food, shelter and entertainment, but it appears the wealthier among us do just fine and are very content to live in an environment that generates significant income and wealth even if they have to pay a little bit for it. Another Republican myth busted by the facts.
My comments on the Israeli-Palestinian war may be a bit longer this week. We have two combatants who have stated their goal is the annihilation of the other. The Israelis have to be impacted by the Holocaust which had as it’s goal, the same - annihilation. As I noted earlier, I think the current Israeli strategy simply creates additional generations of Hamas supporters. At the same time, what is the Israeli alternative? In my last commentary I called upon Quatar to draft and fund a Marshall-type plan, support a two-stay solution guaranteeing the right of both to exist, and offering NATO-type guarantees to both sides, supported by the US, Europe, and Arab states.
Bill Owens is a former member of Congress representing the New York 21st, a partner in Stafford, Owens, Piller, Murnane, Kelleher and Trombley in Plattsburgh, NY and a Strategic Advisor at Dentons to Washington, DC.
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