Morning Wire XX
[0] Inflation hit 9 .1 percent, a four -decade high, and wage increases aren't keeping up with prices.
[1] The largest increases were for essentials, food, gas, and rent, another blow to America's struggling middle class.
[2] We speak to an economist about what got us here and what comes next.
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Thursday, July 14th, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] House Democrats are pushing two abortion bills through Congress, and some of the language related to gender and women is sparking controversy.
[6] We discuss the bills and the debate over who can get pregnant.
[7] And Starbucks is forced to close several stores in major cities due to a wave of crime and violence, and 7 -Elevens might be next.
[8] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[9] Stay tuned.
[10] We have the news you need to know.
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[19] The Consumer Price Index rose a surprising 9 .1 % in June year -over -year, much higher than expected.
[20] According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this is the highest rise in 41 years.
[21] The biggest increases were for fuel, food, and rent, spelling trouble for Americans trying to make ends meet, as wages just aren't keeping pace with rising prices.
[22] A report by Moody's analytics says the average American will need $493 more per month to pay for the same expenses.
[23] The bad news doesn't end there.
[24] The core index, which omits food and fuel, rose 5 .9 percent, again, higher than economists predicted.
[25] And these increases happened even though the Fed raised rates three -quarters of a point.
[26] Some are now calling for a rate hike of a full point next round to slow the economy.
[27] For an explainer on all these issues, I spoke to former chief -efficient.
[28] Economist for the White House National Economic Council, Joseph LaVornia.
[29] Now, on Wednesday, we got the June inflation numbers.
[30] It was 9 .1%.
[31] Was that about on par with what you expected?
[32] They were on par with what I had expected, but they were worse than what most other investors were anticipating.
[33] A new record high in inflation and most troubling is the fact that the breadth of the gains is across the board.
[34] Pockets of the CPI are showing stickiness, which means.
[35] means it's unlikely these terrible inflation pressures are going to abate anytime soon.
[36] Now, even if inflation starts to slow, what would that mean for prices?
[37] Are these prices the new normal?
[38] Generally, high prices are a cure for high prices.
[39] Unfortunately, given the backdrop we've got on the fiscal and regulatory side, the burden is going to fall on the Fed to hike rates and perhaps hike rates more than what is prudent, prudent in the sense that the Fed may have to engineer a recession in order to bring inflation down.
[40] So there is a real concern in the markets that, and of course on Main Street, that we could have a recession because of this inflation.
[41] It's what I would call an inflationary recession, if you will.
[42] Now, we have been hearing about a looming recession, but some people are now saying it may not be as bad as predicted earlier.
[43] For example, there's been some indications that production is ramping up.
[44] What are your expectations?
[45] The consensus is that it won't be deep if we have one, but this is the problem.
[46] The consensus has been wrong on transitory and the consensus has been even more wrong on the trajectory of the economy.
[47] Whether it's serious or not, partly it'll be a function of luck, what happens with geopolitics and commodity prices, but also what does the Fed do and what other fiscal policies might be coming down the pike.
[48] So the seriousness is still to be undetermined, still undetermined, but if you look at measures of consumer and business confidence, it suggests the economy is in recession right now.
[49] We know the first quarter real GDP shrunk at a 1 .6 % annualized rate.
[50] The Atlanta Fed the other day had current quarter growth, or I should say Q2 growth now that we're in July, at minus 1 .2.
[51] So by the GDP definition, the economy is in recession.
[52] Whether it's serious, we'll see.
[53] But it is a recession.
[54] And unfortunately, that means lower asset prices.
[55] and it does mean a rising unemployment rate.
[56] Now, if you were advising the president, as you did in the last administration, what would you tell him to do both to shore up the economy in the short term and then also in the long term?
[57] Very simply, I would increase supply.
[58] You do that by pursuing a more pro -growth regulatory policy.
[59] I would first make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
[60] I'd make that permanent because companies need to plan long term.
[61] they need to make capital decisions.
[62] And if they believe that policy will be reversed, they're not going to undertake those capital investments.
[63] If they don't undertake those capital investments and it's not enough capital for a given amount of labor, their wages won't be as strong.
[64] So that's what I mean by investing in the supply side.
[65] We need businesses to be confident that the tax structure is not going to be changing with every new election.
[66] As I said, I like to see more done on the supply side to meet, to create the product, to meet the demand that's out there.
[67] and if we don't do things to increase the supply side of the economy and grow of the economy, then we're going to run into these capacity constraints, and this inflation will be more permanent, and that would be a very bad situation.
[68] All right.
[69] Well, Joe, we're just about out of time, but thank you so much for coming on.
[70] Thank you, George's pleasure being on.
[71] Thank you so much.
[72] That was Joe LaVorna, former chief economist for the White House National Economic Council.
[73] Coming up, two House abortion bills add more fuel to the gender debate fire.
[74] As of this month, we've had a 40 -year high inflation at 9 .1%.
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[79] House Democrats are pushing two abortion bills through Congress.
[80] one designed to restore abortion access provided by Roe v. Wade, the other to protect women who cross state lines for an abortion.
[81] But the abortion provisions in the bills aren't the only things causing controversy.
[82] So is the language, specifically language related to gender and who can get pregnant.
[83] Daily Wire Culture reporter Megan Basham joins us now to break down these bills and explain the gender controversy.
[84] So, Megan, first let's start with what's in these bills.
[85] Well, the first bill, the Women's Health Protection Act, as John said, seeks to codify Roe into law.
[86] So essentially, it's an updated version of a bill that passed the House late last year.
[87] But it stalled in the Senate when all Democrats but Joe Manchin voted for it.
[88] Now, that bill didn't just codify Roe, though.
[89] It also expanded abortion protections through all nine months of pregnancy.
[90] And it also would have overruled those state laws that prohibited abortion.
[91] based on race, sex, or disabilities.
[92] So this new bill is more narrowly focused on simply restoring the access that Roe had provided.
[93] Now, the second bill is aimed at states that might seek to criminalize trying to get an abortion out of state.
[94] And how likely is it that these bills will pass?
[95] Not very.
[96] So the conventional wisdom is that it's going to be near impossible for either bill to overcome the filibuster's 60 -vote threshold in the Senate.
[97] But what these bills will do is keep the issue at the forefront of voters' minds.
[98] Democrats believe this issue helps them because they can tell their base that they tried and they can make a pitch to the American public that they need more Democrats in the Senate if they want to restore nationwide abortion access.
[99] Okay, so let's talk about the other controversy, the language.
[100] What phrase or phrases are people talking about?
[101] So really mirroring the 2020 directives from the United States, nations regarding that gender inclusive language.
[102] The House bill has a section that states terms like woman and women in the bill are simply meant to reflect the majority of the people that the bill will target.
[103] Basically, what it argues is that other people can also get pregnant, including trans men and non -binary individuals.
[104] So clearly, the Democrats are trying to thread a very difficult needle here in that they still want to frame abortion as a women's rights issue, while also not offending the part of their base that finds the word woman exclusionary in this particular context.
[105] So this was Missouri Republican Josh Hawley Tuesday questioning a pro -abortion witness in a Senate hearing about just this.
[106] You've referred to people with a capacity for pregnancy.
[107] Would that be women?
[108] Many women, cis women have the capacity for pregnancy.
[109] Many cis women do not have the capacity for pregnancy.
[110] There are also trans men who are capable of pregnancy as well as non -binary people who are capable of pregnancy.
[111] So this isn't really a women's rights issue.
[112] We can recognize that this impacts women while also recognizing that it impacts other groups.
[113] Those things are not mutually exclusive, Senator Hawley.
[114] So your view is that the core of this right then is about what?
[115] So I want to recognize that your line of questioning is transphobic, and it opens up trans people to violence by not recognizing that.
[116] Wow, you're saying that I'm opening up people to violence by asking whether or not women are the folks who can have pregnancies?
[117] Do you believe that men can get pregnant?
[118] No, I don't think they're going to get pregnant.
[119] So you are denying that trans people like this thing?
[120] And that leads to my...
[121] Now, to put this in broader context, just this week, the World Health Organization announced that it would update its current gender mainstreaming manual to reflect the organization's belief that gender, quote, exists on a continuum.
[122] Now, the previous guidance already included gender expansive language, but they're reportedly moving to make it even more expansive and to address what they're calling intersectional dynamics of power and depression.
[123] Now, that sparked a lot of outcry from medical experts who say that this directive is, quote, dismissal of basic biology.
[124] And what they say is that it could lead to poor health outcomes for women because it's going to unnecessarily distort data and overly complicate medical advice.
[125] But what seems very clear is that this is a example of a political issue that's becoming deeply complicated by this gender identity debate.
[126] Right.
[127] And it's really the focal point of the culture war here in the states.
[128] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[129] Yeah, my pleasure.
[130] That was Daily Wire Culture reporter, Megan Basham.
[131] Starbucks announced this week that it would be closing 16 stores across the U .S. due to safety issues such as drugs and crime.
[132] The 16 locations are all in coastal cities, including six in Seattle, six in Los Angeles, two in Portland, Oregon, one in Philadelphia, and one in Washington, D .C. Here to discuss the announcement is Daily Wire Senior Editor Ash Short.
[133] So Ash, first off, what's going on with Starbucks?
[134] So Starbucks received numerous reports from employees at various locations regarding incidents of drug use and safety issues, and the companies decided to close locations that present a safety concern to employees and customers.
[135] Starbucks said the stores that are closing were chosen because of the area's crime level and if there were any indication crime would be reduced in the near future.
[136] For example, one of the Starbucks shops in Seattle that's slated to close is just steps away from a light rail station where just a few months ago a woman was violently attacked at random.
[137] And when will these stores be closing?
[138] By July 31st, so just a few weeks away, Starbucks did say that employees at stores set to be closed will be transferred to other stores.
[139] Starbucks also announced that it would give store managers in the remaining stores more freedom to restrict access to the bathrooms or limit seating or even reduce hours due to increased security concerns.
[140] Now, we mentioned that Starbucks was closing six stores in Los Angeles.
[141] We also saw a headline this week that several 7 -Eleven stores in L .A. were also closing due to crime.
[142] Tell us about that.
[143] Right.
[144] So there was a string of robberies at 7 -11 locations in L .A. between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
[145] And as a result, the chain advised all 711 locations in the city to close early as a precaution.
[146] Although, to be clear, they aren't closing down the store locations.
[147] They're just advising the franchisees to restrict their hours.
[148] Now, this story is reminding me of a previous segment we did about several Walgreen stores closing in San Francisco because of crime and at least one target as well in San Francisco.
[149] Right.
[150] Ash, thanks for reporting.
[151] You're welcome.
[152] That was Daily Wire's senior editor, Ash Short.
[153] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[154] Dave Chappelle's controversial Netflix special, The Closer, has been nominated for an Emmy.
[155] The special caused major backlash over jokes about transgender people.
[156] Pope Francis named three women to the dicastery of bishops, the Vatican office responsible for appointing new bishops to the Catholic Church.
[157] President Biden visits the Middle East this week to discuss.
[158] oil, the Iranian threat, and Russian and Chinese intervention.
[159] He arrived in Israel on Wednesday and we'll meet with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia later this week.
[160] Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
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[163] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[164] Thanks for waking up with us.
[165] We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.