Editor's note: Before reading this article, watch Steve Cortes’ “Chalk Talk,” where he defines the housing issue.
Even CNN admitted the inescapable, brutal truth about the hangover of Bidenomics, posting the headline “US Home Sales in 2024 Fall to the Lowest Level Since 1995.”
The text of that article concedes: “sky-high home prices and elevated mortgage rates squeezed home buyers.”
That dismal data point joins a torrent of similar dreadful statistics about the state of the economy, after four years of “Bidenomics” mismanagement. Back in January of 2021, Donald Trump bequeathed to Joe Biden an economy that was roaring back to life following the Covid panic, as America reopened with minimal inflation.
Now, Biden hands a mess back to President Trump.
Thankfully, no group is better equipped to confront this predicament than Trump and his key economic advisors, especially Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Budget Director Russ Vought. But no one should underestimate the difficulty -- and the urgency -- of the task ahead, as proven by the latest economic releases, detailed below.
Though the corrupt corporate media continues to push a ridiculous “the economy is great” narrative, that propaganda does not fool sensible Americans who know very well their own economic reality. For example, regarding the housing affordability crisis of Joe Biden, the University of Michigan survey on buying conditions for housing recently hit an all-time low, in a survey that goes back to the 1960’s! This academic survey center has long been the gold standard to measure consumer sentiment, so this collapse carries foreboding weight.
Of course, the primary driver of housing unaffordability is the runaway inflation created under Biden & Harris that forced interest rates into orbit. Specifically, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate recently surging back above 7.00% again. In the Fall of 2023, Biden previously set the ignoble record for the highest mortgage rates in two decades.
Now, there is evidence that inflation reignited just as Biden left office. The PCE inflation gauge, the preferred inflation read for the Federal Reserve, just came in hot, at 7-month highs – a twisted economic “goodbye kiss” from Biden. See the chart here:
Anyone who shops at the grocery store knows that prices have stayed stubbornly sky-high.
This anxiety unfortunately coincides with an economy that slowed materially into the end of the Biden tenure. Just-released data now confirms that topline GDP national growth only expanded at a sluggish 2.5% rate for 2024, down from 3.2% for the previous year. The details in that GDP report were even worse than the headline, as business investment actually receded in the first quarter.
For many Americans, they see no growth at all in their lives. Important survey data reveals that the Biden economy was misery for working-class Americans. It worked well for the credentialed elites, but not for the masses. My polling for the League of American Workers reveals that among middle-income earners who make $50-75,000 per year, only 31% say Biden’s policies “helped my family” while 57% reporting Bidenomics was “hurting” them.
But thankfully, hope really does spring eternal since Trump’s November triumph. My poll also found that voters now grow enthusiastic under President Trump. Specifically, by a +9% margin, their economic confidence has “improved” vs. “worsened” since Trump’s election, 47-38%.
That confidence in Trump and his team will be validated by an aggressive pursuit of new policies to rein-in profligate spending, smash onerous regulations, restore fiscal sanity, and implement populist nationalist economic policies.
So, we must get realistic about spending. Here are ideas for reforms to reverse budgetary profligacy:
-External Revenue Service – as outlined in Trump’s Inaugural Address, charge tariff premiums for foreign access to the “premium seats,” the American consumer market, which is the envy of the world.
-DOGE activism – ruthless efficiency must prevail, through technology, staff cuts, and impoundment of needless expenditures. Crush the regulatory leviathan so that private sector productivity can soar and pay down this mountain of public debt.
-Medicaid scrutiny -- expenditures have exploded, and the program now undoubtedly suffers from systemic levels of fraud. So, continue taking care of our seniors on Medicare while eliminating exploitation of Medicaid.
-Close the “carried interest” loophole. Force financiers to pay taxes in a manner consistent with middle-class wage earners.
-Tax remittances to foreign countries. Heavily.
-Tax university endowments - especially at the wealthiest, most corrupt schools.
-Restrain Defense outlays - especially through an America First foreign policy of realism and restraint. For example, get out of Ukraine
-Sell federal assets, especially land – vast government holdings should be privatized.
Whichever specific measures get passed through Congress and signed into law, a sense of urgency must prevail, because the Biden economic handoff is a disaster.
The American people grow optimistic, though. They believe that the entrepreneur and builder-in-chief can deliver on a return to prosperity, so let’s make certain that confidence is well-placed.
Steve Cortes is former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance. He traded Treasury bonds for 25 years and is a former commentator for Fox News and CNN. He is now president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group.
Original article link
USAID Spending Priorities
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt recently released a list highlighting examples of USAID spending. Considering that the U.S. is $36 trillion in debt and pays more in annual interest than the entire Pentagon budget, you can judge for yourself the prudence of this spending.
1. $2 million for sex changes and “LGBT activism” in Guatemala.
2. $6 million to fund tourism in Egypt.
3. Spent $20 million on “Ahlan Simsim” — a new Sesame Street show in Iraq.
4. Over $4.5 million to “combat disinformation” in Kazakhstan.
5. Up to $10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to al Qaeda-linked terrorist group the Nusra Front.
6. $500,000 to a group that “empowers women” in an attempt to solve sectarian violence in Israel just 10 days before Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.
7. Awarded nearly $25 million to Deloitte to promote green transportation in Georgia (the country).
8. $4.67 million to EcoHealth Alliance, one of the key nongovernmental organizations funding bat virus research at Wuhan Institute of Virology, in late 2021. Later refused to answer key questions about the funding.
9. $20 million for the Strengthening Transparency and Accountability through Investigative Reporting program which used the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project as its implementing partner. The OCCRP was cited four times in the whistleblower letter that led to the Russiagate impeachment.
10. USAID’s 2022-2030 climate strategy outlined a $150 billion “whole-of-Agency approach” to building an “equitable world with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.”
11. $7.9 million to a project that would teach Sri Lankan journalists to avoid “binary-gendered language.”
12. $1.1 million to an Armenian LGBT group.
13. $1.2 million to the African Methodist Episcopal Church Service and Development Agency in Washington, D.C., to build “a state-of-the-art 440-seat auditorium.”
14. $1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers.
15. $1.5 million to promote LGBT advocacy in Jamaica.
16. $1.5 million to “rebuild” the Cuban media ecosystem.
17. $1.5 million for “art for inclusion of people with disabilities.”
18. $2 million to promote “LGBT equality through entrepreneurship … in developing Latin American countries.”
19. $2.1 million so the BBC can strengthen the media ecosystem in Libya, “designed to value the diversity of Libyan society.”
20. $2.3 million for “artisanal and small-scale gold mining” in the Amazon.
21. $2.5 million to promote “inclusion” in Vietnam.
22. $3.9 million to LGBT causes in the Western Balkans.
23. $5.5 million to LGBT in Uganda.
24. $6 million to advance LGBT in “priority countries around the world.”
25. $6 million to “Transform Digital Spaces to Reflect Feminist Democratic Principles.”
26. $6.3 million to men who have sex with men in South Africa.
27. $8.3 million for “USAID Education: Equity and Inclusion.”
28. Another $16.8 million to a separate group in Vietnam for “inclusion.”
Source: Washington Examiner
Related TIPP Insights Editorial: RIP USAID
TIPP Picks
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Trump 2.0
1. Trump Has Become 21st-Century George Patton—Victor Davis Hanson, The Daily Signal
2. The Deep State’ Dies in Daylight: A Public Role in Ending Systemic Government Abuses—Thaddeus McCotter, American Greatness
3. I love the President—Elon Musk, X
4. Trump has developed a paternal affection for Musk and agrees that the richest man in the world “possibly” sees him as a father figure—Miranda Devine, New York Post
5. Musk’s Lost Boys and Trump’s Mean Girls—Maureen Dowd, The New York Times
6. These Two Trump Executive Orders Get Little Love From Voters. Why?—Editorial Board, Issues & Insights
7. Trump Bars Men From Women’s Sports, Women’s Groups Urge Congress To Codify Protections—Moira Gleason, The Daily Signal
8. Speaker Johnson Backs Trump’s Gaza Plan—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
9. Most Americans Support Trump’s Use Of Tariff Threats Against Colombia In Deportation Of Illegals, Poll Finds—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
10. Trump Pentagon Reportedly Preparing To Close Curtain On America’s Syria Excursion—Wallace White, DCNF
11. Former Clinton Pollster Warns Democrats That ‘Scaring People’ During Trump Term Losing Strategy—Harold Hutchison, DCNF
12. Dems Seem To See Fighting Trump’s Foreign Aid Dismantling As A Losing Battle—Adam Pack, DCNF
13. Scott Turner Clears Senate To Become 12th Trump Nominee Confirmed—Adam Pack, DCNF
14. White House Press Selects Queer, Anti-Racist ‘Comedian’ To Host Trump’s Correspondents’ Dinner—Leena Nasir, DCNF
Politics
15. Obscene $8M Politico Payout Just One Way Feds Reward Their Lapdog Media—Benjamin Weingarten, New York Post
16. Dem Who Failed To Make 3 Trump Impeachments Stick Gives It Another Shot—Adam Pack, DCNF
17. Jim Jordan Readies His Committee For Another Showdown Against Administrative State—Harold Hutchison, DCNF
18. Senators Introduce Bill To Protect Supreme Court Justices—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
19. Education Groups Say Linda McMahon’s Confirmation Is Essential To Overhaul ‘Years Of Incompetence’ At Dept—Jaryn Crouson, DCNF
20. Vance Addresses Religious Liberty Leaders In Washington—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
21. WaPo Columnist Spends Segment Trying To Shout Down Scott Jennings. He Fails To Silence Him.—Harold Hutchison, DCNF
22. Reddit Bans Liberal Community After Death Threats Pour In Against DOGE Workers—Timothy Sekerak, DCNF
23. Mitch McConnell Confined To Wheelchair After Falling Down Senate Stairs—Ilan Hulkower, DCNF
24. Independent In Name Only: Maine Senator Consistently Votes Liberal Democratic Party Line—Peter Parisi, The Daily Signal
25. Washington State Bill Would Force Catholic Priests to Violate Church Law—Jaryn Crouson, DCNF
26. Virginia Residents Ask School To Overlook Trans Sex Offender Caught Naked In Girls’ Locker Room To Keep Gender Policy—Jaryn Crouson, DCNF
27. Null And Void?—Paul Driessen, CFACT
28. The Downfall Of Ibram X. Kendi - Christopher F. Rufo, City Journal
Foreign Affairs
29. How USAID Damages US Relations With Foreign Countries—Jarrett Stepman, The Daily Signal
30. USAID Using Taxpayer Funds To Back Left-Wing Causes Globally—David Sacks, X
31. RIP USAID—Editorial Board, TIPP Insights
32. Donald Trump’s Gaza Mirage—Larry C. Johnson, The Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity
33. Netanyahu And Trump Discuss Fate Of Middle East—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
34. Foreign Flags, Foreign Protestors—Steve Cortes, TIPP Insights
35. Border Patrol Says It’s Ready For Increased Threats—Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal
36, Expert: US Also Protected By Its Investment In Israel—Virginia Allen & Crystal Bonham, The Daily Signal
37. Fight For Formosa Or Not?—Murray N. Rothbard, Mises Wire
38. Biden Admin Filled Terrorist Coffers With Over $1.3 Billion Before Trump Took Wrecking Ball to Foreign Aid—Hudson Crozier, DCNF
Economy
39. Elon Musk Should Take On Social Security—Star Parker, The Daily Signal
40. Economic Calculation And The FAA: Why Air Traffic Control Systems Are Outdated—William L. Anderson, Mises Wire
41. An Ill Wind Blows Toward Offshore Turbines—Bonner Cohen, DCNF
42. Bill Demands Accountability For Universities’ Investments In Foreign Adversaries—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
43. ¡No Mas!: Time To Halt Funding Of Smithsonian’s Latino Museum—Alfonso Aguilar & Mike Gonzalez, The Daily Signal
