Last quarter, our economy grew, sort of: GDP rose 2.0%, compared to 6.7% in the second quarter and 6.3% in the first quarter of this year. That first half of this year’s growth was heavily influenced by the growth that was beginning to boom in the latter half of 2020, as our economy and our nation were coming out from under the Wuhan Virus situation that had so heavily impacted our nation the first half of that year.

This year’s third quarter drastic slowdown, though, is the direct result of the Harris-Biden administration’s failures, of which two are critical to the slowdown.

One failure is Biden-Harris’ insistence on vaccine mandates as a condition of employment and of doing business, whether as a customer or as a business, and related Wuhan virus Delta variant restrictions on our economy. All of these have acted as a heavy drag on our businesses’—especially our mom-and-pop and middle-sized businesses’—ability to reopen and function at all after the prior year’s virus-related dislocations.

The other failure is Biden-Harris’ failure to perform, through their Transportation Secretary, regarding our supply chain. Indeed, the Secretary, who even looks somewhat like A E Neuman, acted on his “What, me worry?” philosophy and took off from work for two+ months—proudly so—on a “paternity leave” departure from duty while the supply disruption got into full swing (and still is growing).

Another factor in this administration’s failure to perform will impact the fourth quarter’s GDP and later quarters’: this added failure is the rampant inflation we’re experiencing now, an inflation driven by growth in consumer and business demand for goods and services and the components needed for producing them far outstripping production growth—that supply disruption.

That demand also is fueled by all the free money Biden-Harris and the Federal Reserve are pumping into the economy. That free money is both unneeded and itself artificially increasing demand.

And this: even if the present inflation is temporary, as I claim, the higher prices created by the present inflation—the prices that real consumers pay for gas, food, and energy and that real businesses pay for the supplies needed to produce and distribute gas, food, and energy—will persist, harming the middle and lower-rung classes severely. This bit may be being presaged by September’s consumer spending. We consumers spent only 0.6% more than in August, a decrease from August’s 1.0% increase over July.

If I’m wrong, the present inflation itself will persist, and prices will rise further, adding heavily to the damage already done.