After nine months of the far-left policies of President Joe Biden, the American economy is on the ropes. He inherited an economy moving in the right direction after a year of the pandemic. Unfortunately, he has squandered this momentum by bowing to pressure from the socialist wing of the Democrat Party.

The President started his administration by issuing an executive order shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline. This decision, along with a moratorium on issuing new drilling leases in federal territory, contributed to the country becoming energy dependent once again. With domestic oil production lagging, the Biden administration begged the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase oil supplies. Predictably, OPEC refused this request.

These measures, coupled with massive spending bills designed to rapidly expand federal debt levels, have resulted in skyrocketing inflation, supply chain problems and weaker than expected labor market gains. Biden will exacerbate this crisis if he is successful in convincing Congress to pass legislation that will add $5 trillion in new federal spending on a host of progressive causes such as combating climate change.

Biden will fund this package by gargantuan tax increases and an army of new Internal Revenue Service agents who will investigate the checking accounts of millions of average Americans with transactions of $600 or more. The goal will be to increase tax revenue to the federal government to pay for the trillions of dollars in unneeded and wasteful spending.

In response to these ongoing troubles, former Obama administration Economic Council Chairman Jason Furman tweeted, “the economic problems we’re facing (inflation, supply chains, …) are high class problems.” This insane tweet was retweeted by the Biden administration’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain.

Despite the nonsense spouted by Furman and supported by Klain, it is obvious that inflation is the tax that hurts the working class the most. If you are in the “high class” earning millions of dollars per year, inflation is undoubtedly not a problem. These wealthy “high class” Americans can afford an increase in the price of groceries or gasoline, but the working class will have to struggle to pay these additional costs.

Furman and Klain seem oblivious to the difficulties of average Americans. These ivory tower liberals are elitists, who consort with Deep State bureaucrats, leftwing activists, and Democrat Party donors. These progressive bureaucrats have no conception of the economic pain of average Americans.

Over the past year, the “high class” problem of rising prices has resulted in an inflation rate of 5.4%, the worst in 13 years. With wages increasing only 4.6% in the past year, Americans are truly falling further behind. In addition, the inflation rate does not include surging grocery prices and skyrocketing gasoline prices.

In the past year, the price of a gallon of gasoline has increased 50% to $3.27. All these increases impact working class Americans who must shop, commute to work and pay monthly bills with income that is not keeping pace with inflation.

Incredibly, in an interview, Furman declared that inflation was a “good thing.” This asinine comment assuredly does not ring true with struggling Americans who do not believe spending more of their hard-earned money on household necessities is a “good thing.”

Furman compounded his blunders by dismissing the supply chain problems and the backlog of ships waiting to dock at the California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as the result of Americans “buying so much stuff.” Yes, this “stuff” is not arriving on our store shelves and this “stuff” might not be available when Americans want to buy their Christmas presents. It is beyond distressing that a top official of the Biden administration endorsed such outrageous comments.

Former Trump administration Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney criticized Klain’s social media tweet. He said that “Your job as Chief of Staff is to make the President look good.” Instead of making Biden “look good,” Klain created another controversy for an administration that is in total disarray.

Mulvaney also noted that if Klain’s tweet indicated a belief that inflation was “a problem only for the rich, then he probably should be fired because that’s just so tone-deaf.” Yes, Biden should fire Klain for displaying total disregard for the economic pain of Americans.

Instead of admitting their mistake and asking for the forgiveness of the American people, the Biden administration circled the wagons again. In a media briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki defended Klain’s post by maintaining the Biden administration has “made progress in the economy and what would be worse in our view is that the unemployment rate was at 10%.”

Of course, an unemployment rate of 10% would be worse than the current rate of 4.8%, but the controversy about Klain’s tweet involved his belief that inflation was a “high class” problem. Every American should realize that such a claim is a lie.

Regarding the current employment situation, the economy created only 194,000 new jobs in September, according to the latest labor report. This was well below forecasts of 500,000 new jobs in September. The nation’s economy is struggling in all areas and the weak labor report is just another troubling sign.

To have such “tone-deaf” comments endorsed by the Biden administration should tell the American people a great deal about the ideology and motivation of this White House. They are as out-of-touch as any administration in American history.

Their goal is to remake America with more federal government control, more spending, more taxes, coupled with less freedom, and less economic power for individuals. This is an administration that values decision making and power at the federal government level and has little to no regard for the middle-class Americans who are the backbone of our economy.

From the vaccine mandates to their economic policies, it is clear this administration has no respect for our constitutional rights. Will this attempt to radically change our country succeed? It depends on whether Americans get involved in the effort to save their country.

Congressional Democrats, with the help of some Republicans, are championing several pieces of legislation to rein in the power of major Big Tech companies such as Apple, Facebook, Google, and Amazon. The goal is to stop antitrust and monopolistic behavior by these tech giants who have enjoyed tremendous growth in recent years.

These bills have been introduced in the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, chaired by U.S. Representative David Cicilline (D-RI). One example is H.R. 3816, named the “American Innovation and Choice Online Act.” The bill’s authors contend the legislation “restores competition online and ensures that digital markets are fair and open.” Unfortunately, the bill “restores competition” by using the tool of big government, instead of promoting a market-based economy.

The problem is that liberal Democrats cannot be trusted to promote enhanced access, security, or fairness online. In the view of Russel Dye, Communications Director for House Judiciary Committee Republicans, “Anyone trusting the Democrats to protect conservative speech on the internet is not living in reality.”

These bills are not designed to stop online censorship as Democrats have no interest in conservatives having a robust voice on the internet. In fact, these bills are being championed by politicians such as U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) who led the charge to impeach former President Donald Trump. These are also the type of politicians who supported efforts to remove Trump from online platforms and ban many other conservatives from social media.

U.S. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) has a more sensible approach. His bill, the “One Agency Act,” would consolidate enforcement of antitrust violations against Big Tech companies from multiple agencies into the Department of Justice. According to bill co-sponsor, U.S. Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA), the “One Agency Act” would “improve the federal government’s ability to police anticompetitive behavior by Big Tech and other major corporations by consolidating antitrust jurisdiction into one agency.”

In contrast to Jordan’s goals, Democrats are advocating legislation that authorizes government agencies to increase regulation and oversight of private companies. This could lead to abusive overregulation. According to Rachel Bovard, Senior Director of Policy for the Conservative Partnership Institute, many conservatives in Congress are “concerned with any proposal that might give the Biden government more authority to harass business along ideological lines.”

This legislation, which has curiously attracted some GOP support, would give broad new powers to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In the Biden administration, both the DOJ and the FTC will likely pursue anti-competitive and anti-business regulations that will be harmful not only to these large corporations, but also to the overall economy. One anonymous Republican congressional aide confided to Axios that this legislation will give the Biden administration “broad powers to rework corporate America in their vision.”

The last thing our country needs is for more of corporate America to imitate the far-left agenda of the Biden administration. Clearly, this legislation is a congressional attempt to garner more power for a progressive administration at the expense of “Big Tech.”

There are plenty of legitimate conservative complaints about Big Tech. There are not enough conservatives employed in these Silicon Valley giants. There is too much of a left-wing agenda at these companies and there is clear bias against conservatives, who are regularly censored. However, these bills are not about content moderation. Instead, the goal will be to foster more oversight by a very liberal administration with an anti-business agenda.

These bills will also hurt small businesses across America by creating new restrictions on how products can be sold on Facebook and Amazon marketplaces. Likewise, millions of consumers who access these small business marketplaces will be harmed as well.

If this legislation becomes law, it will become more difficult to purchase products Americans desire or need for their families or businesses. It will also become arduous for consumers to use online searches and mapping to find small businesses throughout the country.

All these changes would be happening at exactly the wrong time. As COVID-19 remains a major concern around the country, small businesses need the easiest and most efficient ways to reach their customers. Limiting access to their clientele during this crisis will be particularly harmful.

Conservatives do not want more government regulation. They want a fair opportunity to express their views, debate the issues and give contrary opinions to the “lies of the mainstream media.” They want protection of their privacy and security in online transactions, shielded from hacking and other criminal activities.

Republicans in Congress, especially conservative leaders like GOP Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), should not be supporting any legislation that expands the power of government at the expense of a market-oriented economy. These bills add layers of bureaucratic regulation, while limiting personal freedom.

If passed, this legislation will lead to online experiences that will be more time consuming, more expensive, more confusing, and less satisfying. As consumers, Americans want choice, convenience and value and have grown accustomed to the easy access to information provided by these Big Tech companies.

While the legislation will harm American Big Tech companies, it will do nothing to rein in the activities of major Chinese conglomerates that will benefit. It is no surprise that some of the largest American business organizations, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are opposed to the legislation.

Americans enjoy taking advantage of the conveniences provided by their laptops, their phones, and their watches. To prevent these products from becoming obsolete, let’s keep the government, which never met a problem it didn’t make worse, away from these devices.

Almost all of the largest cities in the United States are governed by hard-left Democrats. In fact, there is only one Republican Mayor among the top 15 cities in the country and only three among the 30 largest cities.

All of the problems in our urban areas today are almost exclusively the result of the failed Democratic Party leadership. While previous generations of Democrats might have tried to find bi-partisan solutions to long standing problems, the party’s leaders in 2021 are woke leftists interested only in pushing their radical agenda.

The result has been outmigration, soaring crime rates, a drug epidemic, broken families, failing public schools, an increasing number of blighted properties, high poverty and unemployment rates, an obsession with a race-based agenda and rising antipathy toward law enforcement officers. No wonder people are fleeing our cities in hopes of finding safety and a better quality of life.

Recent headlines show the absolute destruction that is ongoing. In New Orleans, there was another shooting early Saturday morning on Bourbon Street, in the French Quarter, the city’s premier tourist destination.  In this case, five people were shot. Sadly, this type of carnage is becoming a regular occurrence in the Crescent City. New Orleans is suffering from a shortage of police officers and an abundance of criminals.

In Philadelphia, police department leaders are lamenting a shortage of officers as few new recruits are coming forward to replace the large number of retirements. Currently, the department is already understaffed, and the problem will only grow worse.

In Los Angeles, crime is skyrocketing while George Gascon, the new woke District Attorney, is pledging to dismantle his office’s Hardcore Gang Division. This decision is baffling to many citizens as statistics show that gang violence has contributed to approximately 60% of the murders in the first 110 days of the year.

Portland, Oregon has been a cesspool of rioting and looting ever since the death of George Floyd made national headlines last Memorial Day. Incredibly, it has never stopped. Last weekend, stores were set ablaze and burglarized. On Friday, a large mob of anarchists spray painted storefronts with graffiti, broke windows, and terrorized diners in a restaurant.

After the latest incidents, the far-left Mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, asked citizens to “call the police” if they see protesters “dressed in all black.” It is much too little, much too late for Wheeler, who has been punched and ridiculed by Antifa affiliated thugs. He has not been able to enjoy a meal in a restaurant or even live peacefully at his home. Protesters, dressed in black, staged a sit-in at Wheeler’s condo building and even hurled “bags of rubbish” and other objects at him as he was walking down a street.

The chaos is also continuing in Seattle, the epicenter of Antifa related violence. In this city, the far left created an autonomous zone, attacked a police precinct headquarters, and basically declared war on law abiding citizens. The craziness never stopped due to incompetent and fearful leadership.

This week, Motion Church, based just south of Seattle, was forced to cancel a speech by Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA. After the speech was announced, a Seattle Antifa organization threatened to destroy the church.

This threat forced the church’s Pastor, Roger Archer, to make his decision. According to Archer, “cops don’t have the manpower to protect the several properties used by the church.” He claimed, “the soft targets of churches, the elderly, women, children, and law-abiding citizens are vulnerable to anarchists who live free of the fear of reprisal.”

Archer also correctly noted that “What recent history has taught us is there’s an apparent lack of interest at the state level of leadership to protect decent, taxpaying citizens. Those terrorist mobs know that there is no consequence for their lawlessness. They have nothing to lose and nothing to fear.”

Archer is right, while the FBI and Department of Justice are busy arresting and prosecuting all the individuals who entered the U.S. Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, there have been few, if any, repercussions for those involved in approximately 275 riots that have occurred in Seattle and other cities across the country since last summer.

Americans can thank the woke Mayors and the woke Department of Justice for contributing to the anarchy and destruction on the streets of America’s cities.

This is especially true in New York City, led by hopelessly left-wing Mayor, Bill de Blasio. During his tenure, New York is being decimated by not only the pandemic, but also by rising crime. In 2020, shootings increased by almost 100%, while murders increased by 44%.

One factor in this increase is that New York police officers do not feel any support from the Mayor. There have been multiple incidents, many captured on video, of police officers being viciously attacked by criminals, who face almost no penalties for their actions.

It is no surprise that in 2020, an astounding 5,300 police officers retired or quit. This is a 75% increase from 2019. As more police officers leave, the crime rate will continue to rise, and taxpayers and business will continue to flee. In response, Mayor de Blasio has continued to pander to the far left and failed to address the concerns of police and terrified citizens.

In Minneapolis, weak, woke leftist Mayor Jacob Frey has turned over his city to protesters demanding “justice for George Floyd.” However, the no-go zone created near the intersection where Floyd died has seen an enormous reduction in customers, mostly hurting local African American business owners.

One area restaurant proprietor, Alexander W., told the New York Post that city leaders “left me in danger.” He said, “They locked us up…left us behind…left me with no food, no water, nothing to eat.”

Hopefully, the citizens in these woke hellholes will eventually realize that the best way to improve their plight will be to stop voting for Democratic Party politicians, who deliver only poverty, misery, violence and, ultimately, failure.

President Joe Biden is a shadow of his former self. Long gone is the aggressive, pugnacious, and partisan Democrat who mistreated Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in his confirmation hearings. Today, Americans see a President who is clearly mentally diminished and is getting worse on a daily basis.

During the campaign, Biden refused to submit to a cognitive test. When asked by CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett if he would take a test, Biden snapped, “No, I haven’t taken a test. Why the hell would I take a test? Come on man, that’s like saying, before you got in this program, if you take a test where you’re taking cocaine or not. What do you think? Huh? Are you a junkie?”

Biden refused to take a test because it would show he is in mental decline. His last medical report was issued in December of 2019. While his doctor, Kevin O’Connor of George Washington University, labeled Biden “vigorous” and fit to successfully perform as President, that view was not shared by other experts.

Dr. David Scheiner, the former personal physician for Barack Obama, claimed that Biden was “not a healthy guy.”  In fact, U.S. Congressman Ronny Jackson (R-TX), the former White House physician for President Obama and President Donald Trump, said Biden “does not have the mental capacity, the cognitive ability to serve as our Commander-in-Chief and head of state.” He also reiterated a concern shared by many Americans, “I really think that he needs some type of cognitive testing before he takes over the reigns as our Commander-in-Chief.”

Unfortunately, no such testing has been conducted in recent months. Americans have no idea when Biden took his last cognitive test. Biden is now President and Americans are being subjected to the uncertainty of a person with serious mental issues serving in the most important position in the world.

Ever since his inauguration, President Biden has been making frequent misstatements and obvious gaffes. The most recent episodes occurred on Friday. Earlier in the day, he forgot to put on a mask after finishing a speech. Then, after a trip to Houston, TX, Biden made a series of troubling statements. He referred to high profile U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) as “Shirley.” Also, he mispronounced the name of Congresswoman Lizzie Pannill Fletcher (D-TX) twice. After the mistakes, he asked “What am I doing here?”

Ironically, Biden stumbled upon the ultimate question that needs to be answered. In his first two presidential campaigns, Biden was a stunning failure. In 1988, he was forced out of the race after his repeated plagiarism was discovered. In 2008, he bombed again as a presidential candidate, barely registering 1% support.

Biden was rescued politically when Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama chose him for the vice-presidential slot. This selection was not made because of any great chemistry between the two men. Obama chose Biden even though he made a stunningly racist comment. Biden referred to Obama as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”

Clearly, Biden was chosen because he was born in Pennsylvania and could theoretically appeal to white, working class voters in the Rust Belt. During eight years on the same ticket, President Obama did not value Biden as a Vice-President and never invited him to his personal quarters in the White House for a visit. Biden admitted this embarrassing fact in a recent CNN town hall meeting.

Obama held Biden in such low regard that he did not encourage him to run for President in 2016. Instead, he endorsed Hillary Clinton. In the 2020 election, Obama only endorsed Biden when it was apparent to everyone that he would be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.

Obama’s reluctance about Biden extended to many leaders in the Democratic Party. It was only after the surge of U.S. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the presidential primaries that leading Democrats decided to rally around Biden. Top Democrats knew a socialist like Sanders could not win the presidency and they reluctantly backed a mentally compromised Biden as their choice.

In the presidential campaign against Trump, Biden barely left the basement of his home. He held few events and news conferences so he would have few opportunities to stumble. Although he performed adequately during the two presidential debates, he made plenty of other verbal blunders and curious comments during the race.

After the election, his mental decline has become obvious. To cover for his cerebral issues, he has not held a formal press conference and has only been interviewed a few times by friendly reporters. His one town hall meeting was broadcast on CNN, a pro-Biden network that supports his agenda and uses most of its airtime fuming about President Donald Trump and his supporters.

On a typical day, Biden will make a statement or issue an executive order. He will give a speech filled with bumbled or contorted language and then immediately exit the room as reporters are ushered out shouting questions. This is in contrast to President Trump who gave impromptu press conferences constantly.

Sadly, the liberal mainstream press is covering for Biden. If Trump had acted in such a manner during his first five weeks, there would have been a press uproar. Eventually, these mental problems will be too severe to hide and even the liberal media will have to report on these issues.

Biden is mentally deteriorating as most astute observers knew he would. His condition has become so worrisome that 31 House Democrats are demanding the control of the “nuclear football” be removed from the sole authority of the President.

In the background, smiling and patiently waiting, is Vice President Kamala Harris, a socialist with radical views on a range of issues. To bolster her position, she has the full support of former President Obama and his political entourage.

She knows that her ascendancy will come sooner rather than later.

Harris is biding her time, as the countdown has begun.