With inflation, we’re getting less for more. We have an armored car business, so fuel costs are more expensive. Our largest armored car contract is with the federal government and we forecast those rates out for five years at a time, …

(Read More)

Want to understand what’s happening in the economy?  Look to inflation-adjusted data.  Wage levels and company revenues are reported in nominal terms, while the GDP estimates are adjusted for inflation.  That’s why they appear to be headed in different directions when, in fact, it’s all going south.

It’s also the reason inflation is something to be avoided, and something to be addressed quickly when it does appear.  When you dump trillions of new dollars into the economy for a year or two, people and businesses feel wealthier and flush with cash.  They spend more, increase commitments, and hire more workers.

So the …

(Read More)

Larry Summers has been right on inflation for the past year, but what about his recent comments on tax hikes? Here’s what he told reporters last week:

“I sure wish we could get past this basically ludicrous economic idea that tax increases are inflationary — it’s just not right,” and “The right thing to do is to raise taxes right now to take some of the demand out of the economy.”

S-Corp has argued that tax hikes can be inflationary, and that the House-passed hikes are inflationary, so this argument caught our eye. Did we miss something in the economics?  Is …

(Read More)

Senate Democrats plan to advance a budget reconciliation bill in the coming weeks, but it will not include the $300-400 billion in Main Street tax hikes originally planned.

The decision to scrap the tax provisions – an expansion of the 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax and Loss Limitation rules – was made after Senator Joe Manchin presented Democratic leaders with a deal: pass a smaller bill without tax hikes now or continue negotiations into September with the hopes that the inflation and economic outlook improves.  As Yahoo reported:

Joe Manchin is forcing Democrats into a brutal choice: Take a deal …

(Read More)

Today’s news that inflation hit 9.1 percent in June comes a day after NFIB released it latest small business report, and the results are grim. Small business sentiment is down for the sixth straight month and hit its lowest level in nearly five decades. It’s yet another reminder that there could not be a worse time to raise taxes on American employers.

NFIB’s numbers show that employers continue to be extremely pessimistic about the economic outlook. The percent of employers expecting business conditions to improve in the next six months decreased 7 points to a net negative 61 percent, …

(Read More)