by Greg Valliere, AGF Management Ltd.
EVERYONE DROPPED THE BALL on the eviction moratorium — the Biden White House, Congressional leaders, state governments, etc. There’s a band aid on this controversy for the next few weeks, but a new issue may soon erupt: the student loan payment moratorium.
A TEMPORARY FREEZE ON LOAN PAYMENTS will expire on Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ends. Progressives who prevailed on the rent moratorium are demanding loan forgiveness — which won’t happen — so they are focusing on extending the moratorium into 2022.
THE MORATORIUM BEGAN UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP, allowing 42 million borrowers to halt payments, totaling $1.5 trillion, with the interest rate set at zero during the grace period. It now has become a cause celebre for progressives. The White House won’t get caught off guard on this one; an extension is likely.
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A POX ON ALL HOUSES: With the Delta variant running wild, as youngsters now seem vulnerable, polls show a predictably sour public mood. Virtually all politicians seem to have plunging job approval numbers.
A NASTY EXCHANGE OF TWEETS AND INSULTS has erupted between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Biden, as polls for each show some slippage. DeSantis has plans to run for president, but he’s now in a near-tie with Charlie Crist for the next Florida gubernatorial race. And Biden’s job approval rating has suddenly dipped below 50% positive in some polls.
THE PUBLIC SEEMS ANGRY AND CONFUSED over mask and vaccine messaging from the politicians, who have been caught off guard by the virulent Delta virus. The key is when the variant will peak; it could come in a few weeks.
BUT DO THE EXPERTS HAVE A CONTINGENCY PLAN if the next nightmare — the Delta-plus variant — breaks out of Asia this fall? At some point, the proliferation of variants will require another round of mass vaccinations, with the public in an unforgiving mood toward the politicians, who declared victory earlier this summer.
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AS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9-11 APPROACHES, a theme surely will be how the U.S. could have gotten caught off guard by the terrorist attacks. Twenty years later, who knows what we’re not focusing on adequately?
THE LOOMING THREATS:
More hacking and ransom demands;
Catastrophic California water and power shortages;
A potentially disastrous hurricane threat, about to ramp up;
An economy that may need more medicine, not less.
The inauguration in Iran today of an extreme U.S. enemy;
Illegal immigrants arriving in the U.S. in unprecedented numbers;
A further deterioration in U.S.-China relations, with U.S. arms sales to Taiwan infuriating Beijing.
Are the politicians ready for these challenges? They couldn’t even handle a rent moratorium.
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This post was first published at the AGF Perspectives Blog.
