BloggeRhythms

“Oh, waiter,” the diner said, “my steak is tough.” “Sorry, sir, we’ll get you another in just a moment, or would you prefer something else?”

Just about every sales outlet, in the United States, website, department store, retailer or provider of goods and services has a way to correct mistakes and errors, customer satisfaction being the primary goal.

Yet, the most important choice a citizen can make has no real possibility of correction for a minimum of four years. There’s no return window for a Chief Executive who’s turned out to be nothing  anywhere close to what voters were promised.

And look what they’re stuck with.

According to John McLaughlin and Jim McLaughlin @newsmax.com in an article: “Joe Biden can’t even wag the dog,” they report: “Normally, at times of crisis the American public rallies to support our President. Currently, this is not the case. After weeks of President Biden wagging the dog against Putin and Russia, he still received only a 41% job approval with 57% disapproval. The same negative job rating as last month.

“Even Joe Biden’s base is not rallying to him. President Biden has high level of disapproval among 2020 Biden voters 22%, Democrats 19%, African Americans 37%, women 55%, Hispanics 57% and independents 64%.

“The reasons for this are obvious. Two thirds, 64%, of all voters say that America is on the wrong track. Only 32% say right direction. As gas and food prices rise the top issue is inflation. The number of voters saying the economy is in recession rose to 57%.

“Two-thirds, 63%, of the voters say the economy is getting worse and only 31% said that it is getting better. This is the worst economic results since the coronavirus pandemic caused the economic shutdown in March and April of 2020.”

As noted here repeatedly, there’s no secret regarding voter dissatisfaction. Unhappiness could be fixed in a heartbeat. Taylor Tepper reported in Forbes on February 20: “The high rate of inflation in January was driven by big gains in food, electricity and shelter, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), putting further pressure on the bottom lines of average Americans.

“Energy prices grew yet again, with total prices jumping 0.9% from December—while the 12-month gains are still an astounding 27%. Gasoline prices dropped 0.8% in the month, but are still 40% higher than a year ago, while fuel oil rose 9.5% in January alone.

“The numbers dovetail with a recent survey by Fidelity’s eMoney Advisor, which found that the high cost of gas prices were the number one concern for Americans, followed by being able to pay bills and inflation overall.”

“There’s definitely a lot of financial anxiety,” said Celeste Revelli, a director of financial planning at eMoney Advisor. “It’s difficult to know how long this inflationary moment will last.”

“Certain items contributed mightily to these historic gains, as any driver can attest. Prices of used vehicles are up nearly 41% compared to 12 months prior, food is 7% higher. Shelter costs have risen by 4.4% during the same period.

“When you strip out volatile food and energy prices—so-called core CPI inflation—the picture, while somewhat brighter, still shows price gains not seen in almost forty years. That figure jibes with the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge–core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE)–which gained 6.1% in December compared to the year prior. Both findings are well above the Fed’s 2% target.”

Thus, all that need be done by the administration is to take back policy mandates on fossil fuel and fix them as would any provider interested in customer satisfaction. A reversal of inflation altogether would stem from that. But not these steadfast zealots in office now. To them, personal satisfaction is far more important than anything that could be done for the nation or its citizens.

But just like what happens in the rare instance where retail sellers won’t take back faulty purchases, in nine months the junk will be tossed in the Dumpster. Albeit in this case some of the ineffectual remains will lay around gathering dust in a corner of the White House for another three years or so.

That’s it for today folks.

Adios

PS: Losing their lion tamer, Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus advertised for a replacement.

Two candidates arrived for audition at the same time. One in Frank Buck jungle-hunting attire, bearing a chair and a whip, obviously a professional. The other, a bartending Bronx Congresswoman who lion tames in her countless hours of spare time, wears a full-length fur coat, buttoned tightly from head to toe.

Standing next to the huge cage in which acts are performed, the ringmaster says, “Allright, who’ll go first?,” pointing to an enormous full-maned lion, left unfed for two days prior to ensure ferocity, ready to burst into the spotlighted center ring from an adjacent chute.

Being a dignified gentlemanly type, the Frank Buck lookalike says, “I think the lady should go ahead.”

Saying, ”Thank you, sir,” the Congresswoman enters the lion cage through the door held open by an attendant, proceeding to the center of the ring. 

When the chute door is opened, the starving, vicious beast leaps out, paws extended ready to pounce on the Congresswoman, his next meal.

With the lion in mid-air, paws out, claws extended, the Congresswoman unbuttons the full-length mink coat, dropping it to the floor, exposing herself as completely nude wearing not a stitch.

Seeing his now naked prey, the lion stops mid-leap, drops to the floor, crawling the rest of the way tongue out to wind up rolling around on the floor of the cage with the bare Congresswoman as if a happy kitten. After the two spend a playful while, the Congresswoman puts her coat back on to exit the cage, the lion continuing to purr, sits quietly inside as she departs.

With that, the ringmaster turns to the Frank Buck lookalike, asking “Can you top that?”

Buck says, “I sure can. If you get that damn lion out of there.”