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--:-- John Bickley: Good morning, I'm John Bickley, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Wire, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And I'm Georgia Howe. It's Friday, October 14th, and we're here to bring you the latest news and analysis on the issues that matter most.
--:-- John Bickley: New inflation numbers have stunned economists and sent shockwaves throughout the political world. Why are some calling this a nightmare scenario? And where will Americans feel the price spikes most?
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. We have the latest on inflation and its impact on the economy. Joining us is Daily Wire senior editor Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- John Bickley: So, Cabot, what's the latest on inflation?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, as Forbes put it, it is a nightmare scenario. The so-called core measure of the Consumer Price Index, which basically tracks the cost of the most basic goods, saw its largest spike since 1982. It was up 6.6% compared to this time last year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a huge increase. What are some of the products that are seeing the high prices?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Take your pick. I mean, it's really across the board. Airline tickets are up 42% in the last year. Eggs are now up 30%. Electricity, 15%. Bread 14%, furniture 10%, and used cars up 7%.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Wow, those are staggering numbers. And what about the real hourly earnings rate? How's that looking?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: It's also worth pointing out that inflation is hitting areas in the market that have typically been viewed as safe havens for more cautious investors. For example, bonds have had their worst year since 1931, aka the Great Depression. They've fallen 11% this year alone.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a huge drop. And what about the federal government's response to this? Are they doing anything to address the issue?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, for starters, the new figures almost guarantee that the Fed will implement another large interest rate hike at their meeting next month. The Social Security Administration announced Thursday that recipients would be receiving an 8.7% increase in their payments next year. That is the largest increase we've seen in more than four decades.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a big increase, but it's still not keeping up with inflation. How does this factor in with the midterms?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, you bring up a good point. This was the final inflation report before Election Day. So Democrats were hoping it would show some signs of things going in the right direction. But obviously, it showed the opposite. There's just no denying it.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. And how are Republicans responding to this news?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: As you can imagine, they've been quick to point out that President Biden has been predicting for months now that inflation was going to go down. And we just have not seen it. And another message we've seen from the right has sort of been, I told you so.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. And we have a clip from Brian Deese, the President's chief economist, on CNN.
--:-- [Clip from CNN plays]
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Yeah, that's right. Brian Deese saying that the United States is in a better and stronger position to take this challenge head on than virtually any other country in the world.
--:-- John Bickley: But that's not reassuring to many Americans, is it?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: No, it's not. And it's not surprising that Republicans are pouncing on this.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, Cabot, for breaking it down for us.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- John Bickley: Now, let's move on to another story. NBC News reporter Dasha Burns is facing backlash for raising questions about Democrat John Fetterman's mental fitness after his stroke.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. Joining us to discuss this is columnist David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- John Bickley: So, David, what did Burns say and why are people so upset about it?
--:-- David Marcus: Well, Burns said on air that before the closed captioning got up and running, Fetterman had a hard time understanding the small talk they were engaged in.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And why are people so upset about it?
--:-- David Marcus: Well, many liberals and Fetterman allies took exception to this and openly attacked Burns. Even her own network questioned the reporter segment.
--:-- John Bickley: And what about the argument that this is ableism?
--:-- David Marcus: Yeah, that's a good point. There are claims of ableism, that any concern about his speech or comprehension is tantamount to anti-disabled bigotry.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But isn't this a cognitive impairment, not a physical handicap?
--:-- David Marcus: That's right. Fetterman's allies argue that this use of closed captioning devices is really no different than if a blind or deaf senator needed assistive technology. But a blind or deaf senator can still make unimpaired decisions.
--:-- John Bickley: And how is this impacting the campaign?
--:-- David Marcus: Well, it really circles back to the medical records question. Certainly Oz and Republicans and some independent voters have real questions about whether this is something that is purely mechanical or if there is a cognitive aspect to it.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about the media's reaction to this?
--:-- David Marcus: I think it's fair to say that the media is on its heels, balancing respect and discretion with newsworthiness.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks, David, for coming on the show.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, let's move on to another story. The group that organized the recall effort against Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon announced this week that it plans on suing the county's registrar of voters.
--:-- John Bickley: That's right. Joining us to discuss this is Daily Wire reporter Brandon Dray.
--:-- Brandon Dray: Thanks for having me on the show.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, Brandon, what's the recall committee arguing here?
--:-- Brandon Dray: They're arguing that the bar was set too high for the total of voters and too many of the signatures were invalidated.
--:-- John Bickley: And what's the basis for this argument?
--:-- Brandon Dray: Well, independent and nonpartisan analysts estimated that L.A. County active voter rolls were overshot between at least 200,000 and 500,000 voters when county officials initially set the bar of valid signatures for the recall to qualify.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And what about the registrar's counting process?
--:-- Brandon Dray: The committee officials say the registrar's counting process was seriously flawed, resulting in substantial errors, the wrongful invalidation of many valid signatures, and the disenfranchisement of thousands of Los Angeles County voters.
--:-- John Bickley: And what kind of timeline are we looking at here for any kind of real action?
--:-- Brandon Dray: Well, the recall committee said that with the current restrictions imposed by the registrar, the process would take more than a year to review the invalidated signatures.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks, Brandon, for coming on the show.
--:-- Brandon Dray: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: Before we go, we want to let you know about a new show, Election Wire, that's airing on this feed on YouTube and dailywire.com this Sunday.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's right. Election Wire, which features John and Cabot Phillips, offers the latest election news and will air every week leading up to the election.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And don't forget to download the Daily Wire Plus app to get the latest news and commentary delivered right to your phone.
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for listening to Morning Wire. We'll see you tomorrow.
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