inflation – Ecological Era

What looked an awful lot like Donald Trump wishing he could make the stock market numbers rise by tampering with the central bank, lowering the cost of money to a percentage or less, we receive the employment data from the government.

Google points out: “in August 2025, U.S. employment growth slowed significantly, with nonfarm payrolls adding only 22,000 jobs.”

Employment data july 2025

More from Google:

“Job growth in May and June was drastically weaker than initially reported, with Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showing May’s gain revised from 144,000 to 19,000 jobs and June’s from 147,000 to 14,000 jobs. These downward revisions, totaling a 258,000 job difference, reflect a significantly weaker labor market than previously understood, with job gains falling to their lowest points since December 2020.

Google search May and June job growth

When the latter was released, the downward revisions, Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics leader Erika McEntarfer. He apparently felt the numbers were wrong, that unemployment was not growing under his bourgeois rule. At the same time he was pressuring Jerome Powell, the Central Bank leader to resign, and cut the interest rate.

If there was no employment problem, why would Trump cut interest rates, except to buoy the stock market? If he knew the number of workers employed was hardly rising fast enough to stop greater unemployment, why fire Erika McEntarfer.?

Jerome Powell will probably now raise rates, given August’s poor showing in job creation. Which is what Trump originally wanted. The only differences now we get to see some real numbers, the kind that indicate interest rates have to fall, due to the prospect of a coming recession.

With the reserve army of unemployed workers growing, and lowering interest rates a way to make the markets keep rising, regardless of the real health of the economic system, it begins to look like Trump’s first term, when the federal funds rate was about 1%.

The market responded to the massive influx of state money positively, at least as far as the numbers went. Everything on the exterior looked fine, but the milk was being dumped, and the price supported at $2.19 a gallon. Clearly there was a crisis.

If Powell was really concerned about inflation, he would not lower the rate of interest. Inflation is already here, any proletariat can tell you prices at the store are growing higher. Automobiles are getting more costly, tariffs are stopping Chinese autos from competing with non metric American large engine petroleum vehicles. The tariffs are causing inflation, the price of commodities is rising.

What has been rather humorous is Trump’s efforts to remove Central Bank employees he dislikes.

“The U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal mortgage fraud probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and has issued grand jury subpoenas out of both Georgia and Michigan, according to documents seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the matter.

The investigation, which followed a criminal referral from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte…”

“Pulte, who was appointed by Trump, has accused Cook of committing fraud by listing more than one property as a primary residence when she applied for mortgages, potentially to secure lower interest rates. Cook owns properties in Michigan, Georgia and Massachusetts.

Trump terminated Cook over Pulte’s allegations, prompting her to file a lawsuit challenging his effort to oust her.

Reuters https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-justice-department-opens-criminal-mortgage-fraud-probe-into-fed-governor-cook-2025-09-04/

Then we find out:

“Close relatives of the federal official who has accused a Federal Reserve governor of improperly claiming primary residence on two properties have declared the same status on two homes in two different states, public records show.

“Local tax officials in both states told Reuters that claiming more than one home as a primary residence isn’t generally allowed in their jurisdictions and could be punishable by fines or back taxes. After Reuters contacted tax officials in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, to inquire about the dual claims, Darrin Kraatz, director of assessing, on Thursday said the township “as of today” would revoke the exemption on the Pultes’ residence there.”

“The claim of more than one property as a primary residence has been the basis for Bill Pulte’s accusations against Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor Trump fired as a result and who has since filed suit against the president to fight the dismissal. Pulte referred the matter to the attorney general, prompting a probe of Cook by the Justice Department.”

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bill-pulte-accused-fed-governor-lisa-cook-fraud-his-relatives-filed-housing-2025-09-05/

Clearly there is trouble in the Central Bank, and it looks like they are all spending a good deal of time and money to evade paying taxes.

“The salary for the Chair of the Federal Reserve is set by the U.S. Congress. In 2025, the annual salary for the Fed Chair is $250,600. The yearly salary of the other Fed Governors is $225,700.”

Google Search: Central Bank governors salary

Apparently they felt they were not receiving enough money, so did tax evasion? A simple scam too, declaring two primary residences, which is illegal. First we find Lisa Cook guilty of tax evasion, then Bill Pulte, the very official who just accused Cook of fraud.

All this to lower interest rates. What a circus.

WIth inflation returning due to tariffs, it seems reckless to lower rates. The employment rates falling could be seen as a recession coming, which could be perhaps avoided with cheaper money. But it is a bail out when rates are a percent or less. It may be good for the stock market numbers, but will not lower the inflation problem caused by Trump.

If he lowered the tariffs, the tax on imports, prices would fall. Inflation is higher prices. The tax is due on the importer of foreign goods, who is subject to paying the tariff once the commodity reaches America. If he tacks it on to his price, the next seller of the commodities also tacks on the price increase, and the next one too etc. until eventually it is the consumer who pays the tariffs.

It is only another form of surplus value, Trump’s money raised from tariffs, it is taxes on the consumers in America, mostly those who ship at places like WalMart or Amazon who buy imported cheap commodities. Trump is the tax man. He taxes the workers, with a zeal. He said his favorite word was tariffs. He meant it too.

The economy is slowing, due to Trump’s governing. More unemployed workers, the prospect of bailouts, massive debts created by his Big Beautiful Bill, payable through taxes.

Nicholas Jay Boyes

Milwaukee Wisconsin

American Democratic Republic

9 7 2025

It’s always interesting to try to figure out what the central bank is going to do next. Previously, under Joe Biden, they raised rates as inflation was rising. They thought it would lower demand, which was supposedly why the prices of commodities were above their value.

Well here we go with Jerome Powell again, who is under pressure from Donald Trump to lower interest rates. Trump has raised tariffs to most of the rest of the world, and the prices of products at the store are already starting to rise.

When the price of commodities rises, it is referred to as inflation. Yet Powell is under great pressure to lower rates, which is the exact opposite of what he did last time inflation was an issue.

Given the weak jobs report that came out last week, and the lowering of gross domestic product under Trump, signs point to efforts to bail out the companies again with low interest rates.

Trump wants the state to subsidize capitalist industry, by having a low or no interest rate at all. During the pandemic the rates were a percent or so. We remember when they were dumping the milk, yet it was record after record for the stock market numbers.

Why not, it worked for Don then? This time when Don got jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing poor job growth, he fired the leader of the group, and installed a loyalist who helped write the Heritage Foundation’s project 2025. Now it is no longer providing monthly job statistics. Soon it may be like trying to get real numbers out of the press about profit, surplus value, the expenditures on labor as compared to the whole investment including the constant capital. It may become even more of a free masonry regarding the average rate of profit.

Which leaves one wondering just what these big investors go on when they invest in a company?

Perhaps they are privy to more than the Washington Post or Reuters. But without government data, how can they predict what the market is doing, especially the bond market? All we know is the BLS data Don banned is showing the economy is slowing down. That makes a rate cut likely.

But that is the exact opposite of what Don was trying to prove. He wanted the jobs numbers to reflect strength, which they did not. The clever bail out of free credit to bourgeois owned industry seems to be in order, the rates may fall.

Again we have to question Powell, whose raising of the interest rate under Biden occurred. We were told to keep inflation at 2% of GDP the interest rate, the cost of money, had to rise. Now we see inflation rising again, but this time in conjunction with the economy shedding jobs. What will he do?

He could keep the rates where they are, and let the next Central Bank chairman who will be appointed by Trump lower rates. He has to wait until May when Trump gets to appoint whoever he likes the post of Chairman.

Use of the state to prop up failing industry is common in capitalist Germany. In their case, the state buys stocks in the distressed companies, with no votes in decision making. They sell the shares after the company can again make a profit without the state assistance. It is an example of why nationalized companies do not always represent something radical, like socialism. The key here is the government pays for the shares, they do not simply appropriate them.

Trump’s bailout is coming; it will be here by May. Farm subsidies are already here, at 12 billion dollars for large farms. Among Trump’s ideas about the state one might find unusual is his tariffs. When you tack on a money amount to a sale, it just gets passed on to the next seller or buyer; it changes nothing to the buyer as he simply passes on the additional sum to the next seller. It is the consumer who pays ultimately for the tacked on cost, the tariff. That is why prices are rising at the store, the consumer is paying for the tariffs.

But here comes Trump with the tariff money he gained, which he considers surplus value. It’s the value of the product, which he obtained through taxing imports. He touts this as progress, a sign of his strength he can raise taxes at his discretion.

But in the end the taxes are paid for by the consumer, even if the buyer or seller simply passes on the cost to the next guy, with no real effect on the merchant.

Another clever use of the state, this time to bring in additional taxes by taxing imports. Trump has his billions from tariffs. But inflation is the result. Which puts Powell in an uncomfortable position; will he bend to a bailout, even though inflation is rising? Again, it is the exact opposite to what he put Biden through when he raised the interest rate due to inflation.

These bourgeois slight of hand games change nothing about the fact the taxes, profit , etc. all represent surplus value. The tariffs and taxes now have in common with profit; it is not a transparent process; with the statistics people compromised, no one will have any way of knowing the real numbers, perhaps until it’s too late.

Prepare for Trump’s big bailout, anything to keep those stock market numbers rising.

Nicholas Jay Boyes

Milwaukee Wisconsin

American Democratic Republic

8 15 2025

I edited this 9:23 2025. Powell’s rates fell a quarter percentage.point yesterday.