White House War policy starts a squeeze on gasoline prices (and lots of other prices) while Congress watches.
Concord Coalition’s Steve Winn tells the story of the soon-to-be-diluted U.S. Dollar destined to buy less and less of everything.

“The White House itself has projected a return to trillion-dollar deficits, starting with the current fiscal year. This new borrowing will all be added to the current debt, which is approaching $21.5 trillion….   Under the regular budget process, Congress is supposed to approve 12 spending bills to provide so-called “discretionary” funding for everything from defense to environmental protection, to law enforcement….  But the budget process has broken down repeatedly in recent years, with Congress falling back on stop-gap measures that keep the government running by generally continuing current levels of spending.”

Reuters News Service report on September 11, 2018 entitled:  As Trump embraces more tariffs, U.S. business readies public fight.  This story asserts that major business interests are challenging surging fuel prices to the public, stating:  “After months of waging a behind-the-scenes war against President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs that have escalated far beyond what business groups once imagined, more than 85 U.S. industry groups launched a coalition on Wednesday to take the fight public.”
Gordon Gray, HSBC Bank’s global head of oil and gas equity research, suggests the possibility of much higher gasoline in another Reuters story:

“While we aren’t explicitly forecasting Brent to rise to $100 a barrel, we see real risks of this happening. The fact that much higher supply is already needed from the likes of Saudi Arabia – and the low levels of spare capacity remaining – leaves the global system highly vulnerable to any further significant outage….  The launch of Americans for Free Trade comes as Trump increasingly warms to using tariffs.  He has imposed levies on billions of dollars worth of goods on trading partners, prompting retaliation against U.S. exports.

A lot of other interest groups thought they wouldn’t go this long or go this deep, but the layering effect (of tariffs) has finally gotten everyone to say: ‘Enough is enough,’” said Nicole Vasilaros, the top lobbyist for the National Marine Manufacturers Association, (NMMA hereinafter) whose members are weighing layoffs after costs rose as much as 35 percent.”

WHTT adds: The rise in oil and gas prices is primarily the result of deliberate political acts by the White House designed to mortally wound Iran, Iraq, South Sudan and Yemen.  What is never discussed is the added cost to consumers resulting from this “shortage” artificially created by sanction, embargo, blockade, and U.S. President initiated tariffs on countries with whom we deal.
It’s obvious the Administration plans “regime change” in the Middle East.  Most drivers over the age of 30 can remember when it cost $100 to fill an average gas tank!  Once again, we consumers will soon pay the cost at the pump for what the White House and its internationalist bankers are setting up.  Most of us could care less who runs Iran, so long as we are at peace, and their fuel is a bargain.
A simultaneous glance at fuel pump prices and at the price of the war stocks, Boeing, Lockheed, General Dynamics, Raytheon and others, reveals that most of these are selling for $200-$350 per share, and most have doubled in price during the 2 years of the current administration, a strong sign that we are being marched toward more wars!

As Trump embraces more tariffs, U.S. business readies a public fight

Members of Congress have failed to slow the President’s protectionist march, and few have been willing to speak out publicly against it.  Simply stated, the administration admits it is out to destroy Iran economically, but it stops short of admitting another war is possible.  What if Iran is squeezed to the wall hard enough to bait its leaders into some foolish act that can be construed as a war trigger – – might the White House jump on any excuse to order an escalated bombing there? We can not know
Gordon Gray tells us this self-serving business coalition “hopes to push Republican lawmakers to press Trump to abandon tariffs by convincing him that his trade policy could undo his tax and deregulation push.”
While We Hold These Truths may not agree with all the objectives of trade group NMMA or with HSBC Bank, we can acknowledge the correctness of their arithmetic.  We are being led into a climactic inflationary cycle by the political party and the persons who claim to be most “conservative,” meaning they supposedly will not sell out our financial future for their own short-term political interests. But where do they stand on war as the the time honored way out of a botched up economy?
According to Reuters, “The White House itself has projected a return to trillion-dollar deficits starting with the current fiscal year. This new borrowing will all be added to the current debt, which is approaching $21.5 trillion….  Under the regular budget process, Congress is supposed to approve 12 spending bills to provide so-called “discretionary” funding for everything from defense to environmental protection to law enforcement…But the budget process has broken down repeatedly in recent years, with Congress falling back on stop-gap measures that keep the government running by generally continuing current levels of spending.”
This “business coalition,” this writer adds, is self-serving and does not raise the real question as to the constitutional authority – – or lack of authority – – for the President to:  (1) levy taxes on other trading partners (which taxes fall on us consumers and are called “tariffs,” and (2) to initiate hostile acts for “regime change,” that do not directly demand war, but do inevitably lead to it!
I learned in high school civics class that “only Congress” had the power to levy taxes that fall on Americans to pay, and to initiate acts that can be construed as war, or result in war.  Do we not think these rules still apply?  Where is our cowardly Congress while the White House levies tariffs that amount to taxes on us, and which taxes push us toward wars, and cranks up the uncontrollable inflation pump?  This bankers’ push to control the tariffs is not coming from our Congress, but from corporate businesses whose interests are being financially threatened by the Administration’s acts – –  acts that this writer doubts are within the Administration’s Constitutional authority.  We are glad IBM and others are blowing the whistle, but we should not have to depend upon them for justice!  No, our elected representatives are supposed to protect us from war-making dictators in the White House, and from business lobbies which hold views of short-term cash flow for their own security!
Reuters is correct:

“The sugar high of the lower taxes, and the reduced rules that have fueled the stock market since the president was elected, are in jeopardy,” said Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Technology Association, whose members include IBM Corp and Facebook Inc.  He warned that some of his members were considering layoffs.

We Hold These Truths chose our name from a founding document in American history.  Another such document, the US Constitution, was written in part to limit acts of aggressive Presidents who might later come to power.  It’s hope toward accomplishing this aim was to protect us by placing the most important decisions in the hands of our elected Senate and House. We should not have to depend on IBM and Facebook to tell us when our President’s actions are out of line with the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Please do not tell us, Congressmen, that you or some former lawmakers gave away our right to the Executive branch, because if you did, we demand you take it back now!  Followers of Christ should recognize and reject those we know to be harming us.  They are a known evil to be turned out.
In our sequel to this story we will delve into what Jesus would say about this matter, and how He and His followers dealt with the political power structure of Rome, which, strange as it may seem, is much like the Zionist power structure that the Palestinians face in everyday life.  We can learn from them.         CEC