NPR Irritant

As you have no doubt gathered, NPR drives me around the bend. A resent Marketplace segment interviewed an economic pundit, asking her to explain how, despite the Feds seeking to squelch economic growth and stem inflation with increased interest rates, the economy posted gains in excess of 3% in the last quarter. Why are consumers continuing to engage in exuberant optimism and spending away in the face of high Inflation, high-interest rates, and a dour mood on the economy? It sure isn’t being driven by the housing market, which is posting sales at historic lows with limited inventory. Adding further to this quandary, the pundit had previously, like so many of her ilk, predicted a “soft landing” rather than a precipitous fall into recession. In other words, there is no full-blown recession, instead a gentle dip in economic results. So, with no landing at all and so many indicators pointing towards a downturn, what happened?  Her conclusion?  Immigration. Yep, you heard me correctly. Immigration, according to this expert, saved our economy.  “I didn’t factor in an increase in immigration,” she declared, “and immigrants spend money.”  Really?  She also slipped in the fact that municipalities are ramping up spending; in other words, the government, flush with your tax dollars, is opening their checkbooks. And I don’t know about you, but the immigrants I see crossing the border….and let’s stop putting lipstick on that pig…..these aren’t immigrants or asylum seekers at all, these are illegal economic invaders seeking free stuff and American jobs……they don’t look to be flush with cash. What they are flush with are cellphones, clothing, and $2000 a week courtesy of the government. And where does the government get their money?  Now you’re catching on. These immigrants aren’t working and aren’t contributing to our tax base. But through the generosity of Uncle Sam, they are producing economic activity in a twisted feedback loop where their spending on food, clothing, and, disturbingly, medical care as they flood our hospitals and military base clinics is all being supported by your tax dollars. And what really gets my knickers in a twist is when that same government announces that social security faces insolvency by 2033, where beneficiaries, many of whom have worked their entire lives and paid into the system, face upwards of a 20% cut in their social security checks.  This administration’s handling of the budget is like handing the kids your checkbook. There is no accountability, and the future of American citizens is being sold out to foreign invaders and the elite class, the only two groups that benefit from their upside-down policies.