What should we do when reporters dispense trash advice? The headline screams “I’m an economist! Recessions are worse than inflation"

Photo above - this was the first image that popped up when I googled "inflation meme".

The headline in the link below screams “I’m an economist! A recession is worse than inflation . . .” My BS meter pinned to max instantly. And sure enough, the writer – Laura Beck – isn’t even CLOSE to being an economist. She has a BFA – bachelor fine arts – degree, and evidently free-lances on every topic imaginable for a dozen publications: The Washington Post, GObanking, Popular Mechanics (!!), Parade Magazine, the Gwinnet Daily Post, Fast Company, Esquire, etc. Bizarrely she has no Wikipedia page, no online bio, and although there are 300+ people named “Laura Beck” on Linked In, none appear to be THIS Laura Beck.

Okay, enough with casting shade on Laura. But why is she a moron, in addition to apparently inflating her credentials? Here’s what Laura says in her article: “Recessions take money out of people’s pockets . . . it’s common for people to lose their jobs.” Sorry Laura, it’s NOT common for people to lose their jobs during a recession. Unemployment, even if it doubled, would still only increase to 8% (we’re at 4% now). That’s not “most people” unless you’re microdosing on recalled ‘Shrooms products.

The Federal Reserve is ffighting inflation. And losing, apparently. The white house’s preferred inflation measure is at twice the Fed target. And white house "core inflation" excludes most housing, food, and energy.

The last time a bunch of people lost their jobs in America, it was because of congress. A recession because of those covid 19 lockdowns. Which resulted in congress authorizing trillions in “stimulus” spending. Which led to huge inflation. Now the government is fighting back, with interest rates at a 20 year high. While warning us that the $34 trillion in government debt is an imminent threat of both recession AND inflation. So they tell us we need to pay WAY more taxes because of the covid 19 stimulus, 800+ global military bases, and airlifts of rocky mountain goats to greener pastures.

I imagine Ms. Beck might be a rich(ish) person, from all the freelance articles she brags about. If Laura owns an actual home, then congrats on that. But lots of millennials, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z wage slaves are not homeowners, yet They’ve all but given up on the dream, and are self-medicating with Starbucks, legal weed, and binge TV marathons.

If we need a reminder on why inflation is bad, just ask someone from Russia (the ruble is worth ½ cent), Venezuela (440% annual inflation), Argentina (100%), Turkiye 60% - new spelling, same pronunciation. They’re having vowel inflation too). These are nations are full of people are eager to (1) hoard gold (2) hoard US dollars (3) Emigrate to a western democracy and work illegally. So they can eventually buy a house. Because they’re landless now, and feel screwed.

America has a growing class of landless peasants. And homeless. We used to have the highest rate of home ownership in the world, after World War 2. America is not building enough houses, and the ones already out there are being bid up to the moon. We already hoard dollars. Gold mini-coins and chicklets are now available at WalMart and Sam’s Club - buy them with your credit card. There’s no place we can really flee to. Bitcoin rises and falls like a tidal wave each year. In America, inflation is worse than a recession. Recessions are how inefficient and outmoded corporations go out of business. Let’s not prop up dead corporations with government programs because someone says it's better than inflation.

I’m just saying . . .

(full disclosure – the author of this top post is not an economist either.)

~I’m an Economist: Here’s Why a Recession Is Worse for Your Wallet Than Inflation (msn.com)~