Joe Biden and Kamala Harris repeatedly say they want to help the poor and middle classes but their policies, which caused inflation to soar, have absolutely destroyed the dollar’s purchasing power.

People can no longer afford to patronize the establishments they’ve always patronized, because they are living paycheck-to-paycheck, have already depleted their savings, and have run up credit card debt to unsustainable levels—and these chains are falling like dominos. Now, Big Lots is the latest casualty, and preparing for bankruptcy:

Discount Retailer Big Lots Prepares to File for Bankruptcy amid Inflation and Declining Sales

The news comes after the restaurant chain Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy followed by affordable gym chain Blink Fitness, and Rite Aid pharmacy closed all its stores in Michigan and Ohio amid that company’s recent bankruptcy filings.

Inflation has been plaguing Americans struggling to make ends meet in President Joe Biden’s (D) economy, and the middle class is now too poor to shop for their needs at dollar stores,

The news comes after the restaurant chain Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy followed by affordable gym chain Blink Fitness, and Rite Aid pharmacy closed all its stores in Michigan and Ohio amid that company’s recent bankruptcy filings.

‘Dollar Tree’s latest earnings report offers a grim reflection on the state of the American economy. What we are witnessing is not just a minor fluctuation in retail performance, but a broader indictment of an economy that, under the stewardship of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, has manifestly lost its way,’ Carney wrote.

Dollar Tree and Dollar General are also facing significant headwinds. Kamala and Biden have falsely claimed that inflation has been caused by corporate “gauging” (I think she means “gouging”) instead of taking blame for what they have done; but the truth is net margins are being strangled as management can’t raise prices fast enough to cover their increase in direct purchases and other operational costs.

From Yahoo Finance:

Dollar Tree Chief Executive Rick Dreiling said the company faced ‘pressures from a challenging macro environment,’ which affected the purchasing behavior of its middle- and higher-income customers.

…

‘The dollar-themed stores cannot compete as their margins are squeezed, and given their focus, it is more difficult for them to raise prices without losing those consumers,’ said [experienced Wall Street trader Stephen] Guilfoyle.

Inflation has significantly risen because of direct actions by Kamala and Joe. They have increased regulations, flooded the market with huge amounts of government spending and illegal migrants, and set out to destroy reasonably priced energy sources by pretending they can control the climate.

In FY 2019, before COVID, the federal government spent $4.45 trillion. In FY 2024, three years after the COVID emergency ended, federal spending soared over 50% to $6.8 trillion. Think of that; while we are told that inflation is a little over 20%, spending has gone up 150% more, and there is never enough.

The government has given seniors and those on disabilities an increase around 20%, while they claim they have needed 50%. If Republicans ever suggest government spending cuts or freezes, the media and other Democrats whine how harmful that would be.

Of the $6.8 trillion, around $2 trillion, or 30% is borrowed. This is occurring while Biden and Harris are bragging about how great their policies have been.

The total economy in the U.S. is around $29 trillion so $2 trillion is around 6% of that; that excess spending is clearly masking significant problems in the private sector. We are being told that inflation is down to below 3%, so why are Biden and Harris asking for another 8% increase in federal spending? From Reuters: “Biden's $7.3 trillion budget is campaign pitch for spending, tax goals”.

The public is also being told that the money supply is tight and that is bringing down inflation. Two trillion in additional debt does not look like a tight money environment. It is clear that for the poor and middle classes, their spending for necessities is rising much faster than 3%.

Jerome Powell, who falsely said that inflation was transitory when it started soaring, now says that all the illegal migrants coming in don’t appear to have any effect on inflation. From Barron’s:

Immigration in the U.S. Is ‘Neutral' for Inflation, Powell Says

‘My sense is that in the long run, [immigration is] neutral on inflation,’ Powell said. ‘In the short run, it may actually have helped because the labor market got looser because there were more people.’

Maybe Powell should ask Springfield, Ohio if a 40% increase in their population, after being flooded with 20,000 Haitians, has been non-inflationary. I suppose all the additional housing has been created out of thin air. I am trying to think of a word to describe someone who says that adding ten million illegals is non-inflationary. The word smart doesn’t come to mind.

Here are a few more questions ABC didn’t ask Kamala:

Do you think it is O.K. for a president to spend hundreds of billions of dollars paying off student loans to buy votes, or is it an unconstitutional abuse of power? Do you believe that three branches of government are important, or do you believe that Biden or you can dictatorially do whatever you want?

Do you understand that courts don’t have the authority to make laws or change the Constitution? Isn’t it a lie to say Roe v. Wade was a constitutional right and law? Shouldn’t the power to change laws reside with legislatures, which is exactly what the Supreme Court did with the Dobbs decision?

You have said in the past that border walls don’t work, so why are you now running ads pretending you support them?

This is the state of the nation, less than two months out from the 2024 election.

Image: YouTube video screen grab.