Biden touts job growth and slowing inflation rates in speech on economy

Published

2 years ago

January 26, 2023

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President Joe Biden cheered the news of higher than expected GDP growth and slammed Republican plans to impose a national sales tax in a speech Thursday at a steamfitters union hall in Springfield, Va., his first major economic speech of the new year.

“I’m not sure the news could have been any better – economic growth is up stronger than experts expected, 2.9%,” Biden said, referencing a report released earlier Thursday by the Commerce Department. “I don’t think it’s unfair to say that this is all evidence that Biden economic plan is actually working.”

Biden spent much of the second half of 2022 asking Americans to bear with him through historically high gas prices and inflation. In previous speeches, he’s acknowledged the economic pain many Americans are feeling, while pointing to strong economic reports that show his policies are finally taking hold.

Data from the past month has been positive: the U.S. is at its lowest unemployment rate in 50 years and, over the past two years, job growth has been at its strongest rate ever, although that’s partially due to the historic drop during the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. Though consumer prices are still higher than they were a year ago, Biden has pointed to a slow down in the pace at which they are rising.

The overall consumer price index, a common measure of inflation, dropped 0.1% in December from the prior month, marking the largest month-over-month decrease since April 2020.

Biden warned legislation proposed by House Republicans would reverse that progress and inflict more pain on the economy.

“MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives are threatening to destroy this economy, this progress. Look, this ain’t your father’s Republican Party. It’s a different breed of cat,” Biden said.

He cited a Republican proposal to eliminate the IRS and national income tax and implement a 30% national sales tax. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy promised the bill’s backers he would put the legislation up to a vote as part of his deal to secure support for his speakership. McCarthy on Tuesday told reporters he does not support the bill.

“They want to impose a 30% national sales tax on everything from food, clothing, school supplies, housing cards, the whole deal – 30%,” Biden said. “They want to eliminate the income tax system because guess what? That’s the only way that millionaires and billionaires have to pay any taxes.”

The bill is dead on arrival without McCarthy’s support and has no chance of passing the Democratic-majority Senate. Still, Biden vowed to veto if it made it to his desk.

“Why why? This nation has gone through too much, we’ve come too far to let that happen. Not on my watch. I’ll veto whatever they send me,” he said.

Biden’s speech also comes as Republicans in Congress prepare for a standoff with the White House on the debt ceiling. The White House has repeatedly said Congress should automatically lift it as it’s routinely done for years, adding that it will not allow Republicans to hold it hostage to get other policies through. House Republicans have threatened to withhold support unless measures are implemented to cut spending, a position that they ignored during the Trump administration and previous Republican presidents.

The debt ceiling is the legal limit set by Congress of how much the federal government can borrow. It covers federal programs that have already been authorized by Congress, not new spending. Failing to lift the debt ceiling could lead the U.S. to default on its bond payments, potentially causing catastrophic effects on the economy.

The last time the U.S. was close to defaulting on its debt in 2011, the move caused Standard & Poor’s to issue its first ever downgrade of the government’s credit rating. The environment then was similar to the situation currently playing out where a newly-elected Republican majority refused to lift the debt ceiling under a Democratic president.

A Moody’s Analytics report from September 2021 said a default on Treasury bonds could throw the U.S. economy into a tailspin as bad as the Great Recession. Moody’s projected a 4% GDP decline and the loss of nearly 6 million jobs if the U.S. defaulted.

The U.S. hit its $34.1 trillion debt limit last week. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the agency has started taking “extraordinary measures,” like suspending some investments in federal employees retirement funds, to keep the U.S. from missing its debt payments.

Environment

Ford F-150 Lightning sales have been falling for months: What’s going on with the EV pickup?

Published

2 hours ago

March 3, 2025

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Ford F-150 Lightning sales have been falling for months: What's going on with the EV pickup?

Is Ford’s electric pickup in trouble? Sales have been down for months, and February showed no relief. What’s going on with the Ford F-150 Lightning?

Ford F-150 Lightning sales drop again in February 2025

Ford’s US sales dropped by 9% last month. Although electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, both notched double-digit growth, sales of Ford’s gas-powered (ICE) models, which accounted for over 85% of deliveries, fell nearly 13%.

Hybrids saw higher demand with sales up 27.5% to 15,357, while EV sales increased 15% to 7,326. The Mustang Mach-E was a bright spot with 3,312 models sold in February, up 13% from the prior year.

With 6,841 Mach-Es sold through the first three months of 2025, Ford’s electric crossover SUV remains a top-selling EV in the US.

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Ford’s electric pickup didn’t fare as well. F-150 Lightning Sales were down nearly 15% last month with only 2,199 units sold. Through March, Ford has sold 15% fewer Lightning models than it did at this time last year.

Sales of the electric pickup have been slipping for months now. In the final three months of 2024, F-150 Lightning sales were down 10%.

The Lightning, alongside Rivian’s R1T, are no longer the only electric pickups on the market. Ford is facing new competition with the Tesla Cybertruck, Chevy Silverado EV, and GMC Sierra EV, arriving.

According to Cox Automotive, the Tesla Cybertruck slipped past the Lightning to become the fifth best-selling EV in the US last year with nearly 39,000 units sold. Ford’s Lightning was sixth with just over 33,500 models sold.

Ford extended its “Power Promise” promo earlier this year to boost demand, giving EV buyers a Level 2 home charger and other benefits, but Lightning sales are still down.

The American automaker cut Lightning production at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center last year, citing slower-than-expected demand. A new report from Automotive News claims Ford is now ending a pilot program to stock and distribute EVs through regional hubs after it failed to catch on. It was designed to speed up deliveries.

Although Ford plans to launch a smaller midsize electric pickup, it won’t arrive until at least two more years. With new competition, like the Ram 1500 REV and Volkswagen Scout pickup, hitting the market over the next few years, Ford may find it even harder to attract buyers.

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Environment

Costco members can get up to $10,000 off the 2025 Volvo EX90

Published

2 hours ago

March 3, 2025

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Costco members can get up to ,000 off the 2025 Volvo EX90

Volvo-EX90 Costco — Volvo EX90 electric SUV (Source: Volvo)

Costco’s Auto Program recently introduced some new member-only incentives, and the 2025 Volvo EX90 BEV is now on its list.

Volvo is offering Costco Executive Members $2,000 off the 2025 EX90. Costco Gold Star and Business members are eligible for $1,500 off. The incentives are available on all versions of the Volvo EX90 for members who purchase or lease from February 24 to April 30, 2025. It’s the only non-GM EV that’s that’s eligible for an incentive through the EV program.

The offer is compatible with A-Plan pricing for employees, as well as Affinity Pricing for teachers and first responders. Costco members will have had to have been members as of February 23 and be the primary members on the Costco account to qualify.

Volvo-EX90-interior — Volvo EX90 interior (Source: Volvo)

However, CarsDirect gave the heads up on how buyers can get up to $10,000 off the EX90’s MSRP. As we stated, if you’re a Costco Executive Member, that’s $2,000 off. Then, add the $7,500 EV Lease Allowance and a $500 loyalty discount on leases if you currently own or lease a Volvo or have owned or leased a Volvo within the past six months.

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With the destination fee included, the base EX90 MSRP starts at $81,290, so that brings it down to $71,290, a more than 12% discount, a pretty good deal.

The 2025 AWD Volvo EX90, which can seat seven passengers comfortably, has a range of up to 310 miles and is NACS-compatible. It has a 510 hp engine, 110 kWh battery capacity, and can go from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

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Environment

Tesla chairwoman sells $33 million worth of TSLA as she lets Elon Musk destroy the brand

Published

3 hours ago

March 3, 2025

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Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm has sold another $33 million worth of Tesla stocks (TSLA) as she lets Elon Musk destroy the company’s brand.

As the head of Tesla’s board of directors, Denholm is amongst the few people who actually have oversight over Elon Musk at Tesla.

While Musk is CEO, he owns only about 13% of Tesla’s shares. Still, he is seen as having complete control over the company and the board, which is actually what led to a judge rescinding his compensation package last year.

That’s partly because when he “negotiated” himself a $55 billion compensation package with the board, the board also gave itself exorbitant compensation, which it eventually had to partly give back to the company after shareholders sued it for excessive compensation.

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Despite Musk making threats to shareholders to get more control over Tesla and resorting to resource tunneling, the board, including Denholm, has remained silent.

Meanwhile, Denholm has been pocketing generational wealth through Tesla.

The chairwoman has received hundreds of thousands of Tesla shares at a discount through stock options as part of the previously mentioned “excessive board compensation,” and she has been selling them as son as she is allowed.

Last month, she sold $43 million worth of Tesla stocks, and today, Tesla revealed through a required SEC filing that Denholm is another 112,390 Tesla shares worth over $33 million through Merill Lynch:

With this sale, she has now sold over $100 million worth of Tesla stocks over the last 3 months.

Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav also recently sold ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.

Electrek’s Take

Over $100 million in the last three months—that’s apparently the going rate for a chairperson to let Elon Musk destroy years of work building the Tesla brand.

That’s a hard deal to pass on, especially if you have low morals, which is Tesla’s main problem right now. Musk has surrounded himself with yes people with low morals.

He has distanced Tesla from its mission and no one is saying anything because they are let go or getting compensated to shut up about it.

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