Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!
Dorothy sang that warning as she followed the Yellow Brick Road to Oz, accompanied by a Tin Man without a heart, a Lion without courage, and a Scarecrow without a brain.
A remake of the movie using contemporary characters would considerably shrink the cast. Dorothy could be played by the American people, and the roles of the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow could be consolidated into one... Joe Biden.
As for the Lions and Tigers and Bears... just consider them as inflation, crime, and now, the stock market. Yesterday, it officially became a "bear market," defined as a period of prolonged selling where market valuation drops over 20%. That translates into trillions of dollars lost by investors... and that includes anyone with an IRA or a 401K; it also discourages future investment. The losses result in lower market capitalization for businesses, causing a rise in unemployment which decreases demand for goods and services and, in turn, takes even more money out of the economy. That leads to a diminished tax base, necessitating more deficit spending which raises the national debt along with inflation and interest rates... a vicious cycle that results in a recession. Or worse.
For most, the machinations of macroeconomics is a trip through the Haunted Forest, a dark, scary place that makes no sense to most. But everyone understands the effects of poor management on their own budgets, so when they see economic mismanagement at the national level, when they feel the pain of it in almost every aspect of their personal lives, they don't need a degree from Wharton to know it.
And so... when Joe Biden and his democrat congressional majorities take power, and in the course of 15 short months, the economy goes from less than 2% inflation, $2.50 gas prices, and a soaring stock market, to nearly 9% inflation, $5 plus gas prices, and massive stock market losses, Americans know exactly who to blame... and it isn't Putin.
But Joe Biden doesn't care; like the Tin Man, he hasn't a heart. Nor will he fix any of the problems he's created because, like the Cowardly Lion, he hasn't the courage to face down the people who take him places and program his teleprompter. And don't expect Joe Biden to recognize, understand, or acknowledge any of the destruction he's causing because he's little more than a doddering, often incoherent, senile old man... like the Scarecrow, Joe Biden hasn't a brain, either.
The Emerald City is on the horizon, though... the midterm elections draw ever-closer. Alas, suffering Americans who hold out hope that a republican majority will save them from the damages democrat politicians have wrought, had better pay attention to the man behind the curtain who would remind everyone that the help needed to turn the country around will never come from politicians. Whether democrat or republican, most are intransigent political partisans who put the interests of their party... and themselves, over the people.
Politicians are a big part of the problems Americans are currently facing, problems politicians continue to create, and they don't seem ready to stop. The Wicked Witch may meet her dissolution in November, but another just as bad will take Nancy Pelosi's place... and far too many incumbents will remain in power
The Scarecrow is one of them; sadly, Dorothy may never get home again.
