Category: Economy

Buying the News: Documenting the Takeover of Local Journalism by Leftwing Donors

RealClearWire
"The Chronicle" Newsroom, 2007

American journalism has experienced a spectacular collapse in the last 25 years – daily newspaper circulation has declined from over 60 million subscribers to just over 20 million. And the trend is accelerating: According to the Pew Research Organization, the average monthly number of unique visitors to the websites of the country’s top 50 newspapers plummeted 20 percent in one year from 2021 to 2022.

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Ohio Labor Crisis Easing for Small Businesses

The Center Square
Small Business Owner

Despite slight easing, finding employees continues to be a major issue for small businesses in Ohio.

The National Federation of Independent Business showed in its September jobs report that 34% of small business owners nationally continue to report job openings they can’t fill.

That’s a better number than in previous months, but NFIB Ohio State Director Chris Ferruso thinks business owners are still working to end the year strong.

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Report: Arizona Households Paying Nearly $10K More a Year Due to Inflation

The Center Square
Family Broker

The Common Sense Institute’s “Inflation Misery Index” said that inflation continues to have a stinging impact on Arizonans’ wallets.

According to the report, Arizonans spend $9,996 more each year compared to 2019. When adjusted for the usually expected 2% inflation yearly, it’s still a $6,276 difference. The report adds that 24% of the average Grand Canyon State’s household income was eaten up by inflation, or roughly $25,000.

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Gov. Josh Shapiro Confirms Elon Musk Considering Investment in Pennsylvania After Billionaire Spoke at Trump Rally in Butler

Tom Pappert
Shapiro and Musk

Governor Josh Shapiro confirmed on Thursday that he spoke with Elon Musk about potential investments in Pennsylvania after the billionaire executive spoke at the rally held by former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Shapiro explained to NBC News that Musk was attending a Pittsburgh Steelers game with entrepreneur Thomas Tull, who called the governor to connect him with the world’s richest man.

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Inflation Ticks Down Less than Expected as Fears of Hot Economy Grow

Daily Caller News Foundation
Couple Shopping

Inflation fell slightly in September amid fears of a hotter-than-expected economy following strong job gains in the month prior, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) release Thursday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the price of everyday goods, increased 2.4% on an annual basis in September and rose 0.2% month-over-month, compared to 2.5% in August, less than the 2.3% rate that was expected, according to the BLS. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile categories of energy and food, rose 3.3% year-over-year in September, compared to 3.2% in August.

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Catholic Healthcare System Plays Outsized Role in Transgender Surgery, Drugs for Kids: Database

Just the News

America’s fourth-largest Catholic healthcare system performed so-called gender affirming surgeries on 81 children and prescribed puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to 113 over the past five years, according to a national database launched Tuesday by Do No Harm, which fights identity politics in “medical education, research and clinical practice.”

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U.S. Hospitals Raked in $120 Million Performing Sex Changes on Thousands of Kids, New Data Shows

Daily Caller News Foundation
Surgery

U.S. hospitals charged nearly $120 million over five years for sex-change procedures performed on around 14,000 children, according to new data compiled by medical watchdog Do No Harm.

The first-of-its-kind database, which logs sex-change procedures given to children nationwide between 2019 and 2023, catalogs a total of 5,747 minors who underwent sex-change surgeries, along with 8,579 who obtained puberty blockers or cross sex hormones.

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Commentary: Hispanic Entrepreneurs Have an Affinity Towards Trump’s Economic Agenda

Admin
R&R Upholstery in Phoenix

Arizona is home to a dynamic small business ecosystem — nearly one-fifth of which are Hispanic-owned. This entrepreneurial community — along with the state’s 2.3 million Latino residents — will have a big voice in the upcoming election. As a Hispanic small business owner myself, it’s obvious which candidate’s policy agenda will foster more economic opportunity.

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Purdue Survey Finds More Farmers Worried About Economy

The Center Square
Farmer

Farmer pessimism about the economy is at its lowest in nearly a decade. That’s according to a recent survey conducted by the Purdue Center for Commercial Agriculture.

The Purdue University-CME Ag Economy Barometer Index for September was at 88. That’s down 12 points from the August survey and 25 from July’s results. It’s also down 18 points from where the index was a year ago, with growers’ concerns for both the future and present leading to steep drops in both subcategories.

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Over 800,000 Fewer Native-Born Americans Are Employed than Last Year

Daily Caller News Foundation
Co-Workers

More than 800,000 fewer native-born Americans are employed than last year as job gains among Americans continue to lag behind those of foreign-born workers, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The number of foreign-born workers employed increased by approximately 1.2 million year-over-year in September, while 825,000 fewer native workers were employed, BLS data shows. The large annual difference is in spite of the roughly 920,000 upward employment fluctuation for native-born workers in September compared to August, after a 1,325,000 drop from July to August.

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September Job Growth Exceeds Expectations as Unemployment Falls

Daily Caller News Foundation
Job Interview

The U.S. added 254,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September as the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists expected 150,000 jobs to be added in September, slightly higher than the initially reported 142,000 job gain in August, and the unemployment rate to remain at 4.2%, according to MarketWatch. Meanwhile, previously reported job gains for July and August were revised up by 55,000 and 17,000, respectively, breaking a trend under the Biden-Harris administration of overestimating employment growth in initial estimates, with the cumulative number of new jobs reported in 2023 roughly 1.3 million less than previously thought.

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‘A Danger to the U.S.’: Coalition Negotiating with Striking Dock Workers Represents China-Owned Shipping Company

Daily Caller News Foundation
Port Workers Strike

The coalition negotiating on behalf of employers in the ongoing dockworkers strike includes a Beijing-based shipping company, raising concern over potential Chinese economic and political influence.

Thousands of dockworkers at 14 different major ports along the East and Gulf Coasts went on strike shortly after midnight Thursday, with experts claiming the move could wreak havoc on U.S. supply chains and cost the economy as much as $5 billion a day. China Ocean Shipping Company’s (COSCO) membership in the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) — the group responsible for hammering out a deal with the port workers — means China could wield significant influence over the labor negotiations, according to experts who spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Biden to Stay Out of Port Strike as Trade Flows Halt, Union Boss Threatens to ‘Cripple’ Economy

Just the News
Port Strike

The White House has remained firm in its position that it will not intervene in negotiations between port workers and dock employers as trade flows screech to a halt and the lead union boss threatens to “cripple” the economy less than 35 days before the presidential election.

A general strike spread across most of the major ports on the U.S. East Coast Tuesday as the labor union representing the workers, International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), said dock employers failed to give in to their demands.

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Swing States Hurting from Inflation, Want More from Trump, Harris on Energy Policies

The Center Square
Oil Rig

Swing state voters are feeling the pain of high prices and want to hear more from presidential candidates about their energy policies, newly released polling data shows.

A new Morning Consult/American Petroleum Institute poll obtained exclusively by The Center Square surveyed registered voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

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U.S. Auto Sales Remain Stuck Below Pre-Pandemic Levels

Daily Caller News Foundation
Car Shopping

U.S. car sales remain stuck below pre-pandemic levels amid a struggling auto market, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Higher borrowing costs and increased prices on new vehicles are two key factors steering consumers away from buying, according to the WSJ. Many customers have looked to lease cars to avoid out-of-pocket costs and have turned to purchasing smaller and more affordable vehicle models.

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Ohio Unemployment Remains Steady in August

The Center Square
Office Work

Ohio continues to buck a national trend of job gains after the latest numbers from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services showed the state lost jobs in August.

According to figures released from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the state’s unemployment rate was unchanged from July to August at 4.5%. The labor force participation rate was also steady at 62.3%.

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Boeing Union Strike to Pummel Workers and Shareholders, New Analysis Finds

Daily Caller News Foundation
Boeing Workers

The International Association of Machinists (IAM) union strike against Boeing is expected to result in a $1.05 billion loss for the company and its shareholders, as well as a significant loss for its workers and suppliers, according to an analysis by consulting firm Anderson Economic Group (AEG) released Thursday.

Boeing and company shareholders are set to lose an estimated $1.05 billion, with workers and suppliers losing $351 million from Sept. 13 to Friday due to the IAM union strike, according to AEG’s analysis of the company’s lost wages and shareholder earnings. The firm’s report does not estimate separate damages to consumers or customers for the first two weeks of the strike.

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Biden-Harris Admin on Track to Oversee Massive $1 Trillion in Improper Payments, Watchdog Group Finds

Daily Caller News Foundation
Congress Spending

If current trends persist, the Biden-Harris administration will have made over $1 trillion in improper payments by the time President Joe Biden leaves office, according to a report released by the watchdog organization Open The Books on Thursday.

An improper payment is a disbursement “made by the government to the wrong person, in the wrong amount or for the wrong reason,” per federal guidelines. The Biden-Harris administration, between 2021 and 2023, oversaw $801.4 billion in such payments after adjusting for inflation, according to the report.

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Kamala Harris Silent as Law She Helped Pass Could Land 33 Million Small Business Owners in Prison over Financial Form

Tom Pappert
Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris and her presidential campaign did not respond to The Tennessee Star when asked whether she regrets her role in passing the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021, which could result in severe fines or imprisonment for 33 million small business owners in the United States next year.

Harris was one of the 86 senators who voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2021 in December of 2020, which included the Corporate Transparency Act after Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) successfully included the bill that failed to pass as standalone legislation in 2019.

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Solar Developments Are Spreading Across America, Threatening Farmers and Local Communities

Just the News
Solar Farm

Fueled by massive federal subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), solar developers are looking to the wide open spaces of rural lands as the best places to site their projects. This is also where much of America’s farm and range land is located, as well as communities that like the existing look and character of their neighborhoods.

Last week, President Biden said of the IRA, “I’m proud to announce that my, uh, my investments, that through my investments, the most significant climate change law ever. And by the way, it is a $369 billion bill. It’s called the — uh, we, we should have named it what it was.”

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Automakers Hit Reverse on Idealistic Electric Vehicle Targets Despite Billions in Biden-Harris Subsidies

Admin
Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Automakers have continued to backpedal on electric vehicle (EV) targets over the last year as a slackening of consumer demand has hampered growth despite the billions in subsidies lavished on the industry by the Biden-Harris administration.

A wide array of auto manufacturers have abandoned key EV goals since February, with Volvo, Ford and Mercedes-Benz all dialing back electric quotas or dropping previously planned product lines. The shifts in corporate strategy suggest the EV transition — once touted by auto executives like Ford CEO Jim Farley as the industry’s future — may not be as feasible as once thought due to consumer aversion to lower mileage ranges, a lack of charging infrastructure and higher prices, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Loudoun County Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Voted Down

The Center Square
Counting Money

After months of discussion and the adoption of similar programs by some of its neighbors, Loudoun County leadership voted down a guaranteed income pilot program.

In a surprising turn of events, Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors abandoned the pursuit of a new economic mobility pilot in a 3-5-1 vote. Months earlier, in May, the board had voted 6-2-1 in favor of appropriating $2 million of county fund balance dollars to the program’s development.

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Commentary: An Economy That Serves Nobody Except Those in Charge

American Greatness
Suits

As we outlined in Part One, here in California, we have an economy that would be the fifth largest in the world if it were to be separated as a standing nation. Home to Silicon Valley, Hollywood, world-class agriculture, and medical schools, California is an economic powerhouse.

Yet we, in California, have the highest poverty rate in the nation. We have a majority of the nation’s homeless people. We have the highest overall tax rates in the nation. Our energy costs are double that of the national average. Our per-student spending in schools is well above the national average, yet our students consistently have below-average grade-level test scores. Our major cities are crime-ridden, our power grid is woefully vulnerable, and our beaches are regularly closed due to raw sewage contamination.

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Dave McCormick Highlights Job Losses in Pennsylvania Town amid Influx of Haitian Migrants Compared to Springfield

Tom Pappert
Dave McCormick

Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dave McCormick on Friday visited Charleroi, Pennsylvania, which has seen a 2,000 percent increase in the arrivals of migrants to the community, to attend an event with residents affected by the closure of a glass plant.

“I’m here today to stand in solidarity with these workers in the fight to keep these jobs here, to build a vibrant economy for our Commonwealth, and to ensure that these Pennsylvania communities are not left behind,” said McCormick during a Charleroi stop on his Poor Leadership Tour that included a joint appearance with workers affected by the closure of a Corelle glass plant owned by Anchor Hocking.

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Fed Chairman Suggests ‘Influx’ of Migrants Are Contributing to Rising Unemployment

Daily Caller News Foundation
Farm Workers

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested migrants are helping drive rising unemployment during a press conference on Wednesday.

Powell spoke to reporters after the Fed announced it would lower its federal funds rate by 0.50% following disappointing job growth in both July and August. Unemployment currently sits at 4.2% — up from 3.4% in April 2023 — in what Powell suggested was largely a product of migrants crossing into the United States.

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Report: A Tipped Workers Minimum Wage Credit May Actually Help Arizonans

The Center Square
Waiter

A new report put out by the Arizona Common Sense Institute has found that allowing employers to pay tipped workers 25% less than the state minimum wage could actually help secure jobs for employees in the restaurant and service industries.

The report is an analysis of Proposition 138, an amendment that would allow for tipped workers to be paid 25% less per hour than the minimum wage if any tips received by the employee were not less than the minimum wage plus $2 for all hours worked. Arizona voters will decide the measure’s fate in the upcoming general election.

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FBI Report Estimates $5.6 Billion in Cryptocurrency Fraud Losses

The Center Square
Currency, cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency scams and fraud in 2023 contributed to an estimated $5.6 billion in losses, a report from one of the federal government’s top law enforcement agencies says. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Cryptocurrency Fraud Report for 2023 found that the vast majority of losses – about $3.9 million – were related to cryptocurrency investment scams. 

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Billions Gone and Little to Show for It Years After Rampant COVID Fraud

The Center Square
Capitol Money

Years after the passage of federal COVID-era relief and the subsequent loss of likely hundreds of billions of those taxpayer dollars, lawmakers are still unsure where that money went, how to get it back, and seemingly have done little to prevent it from happening again.

Federal watchdog and other reports estimate anywhere from $200 billion to half a trillion was lost to waste, fraud and abuse across various federal and state COVID-era programs.

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