National Study Finds Giving Americans $1,000 per Month Results in Less Productivity

People Getting Money

Giving Americans $1,000 per month in taxpayer-funded guaranteed income makes them worse off, says a new three-year, 3000-participant study. The National Bureau of Economic Research’s massive study found recipients and their partners work and earn less, with the negative effect on wages and earnings getting worse over time.

While proponents of universal basic income theorized such programs would improve non-economic metrics for recipients, the study surprisingly showed leisure time only increased as recipients spent less time on sleeping, child care, community engagement, caring for others, and self improvement. Transfers also reduced recipients’ non-transfer incomes significantly, with the study finding “for every one dollar received, total household income excluding the transfers fell by at least 21 cents, and total individual income fell by at least 12 cents.”

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U.S. Oil, Gas Hit Record Production Despite Opposition from OPEC, Activists, and Biden Administration

Oil Rig

The United States is producing more oil now than any nation in the world has ever produced. In 2008, the U.S. produced only 5 million barrels of oil a day. Last year, the country produced 13 million barrels daily.

The United States’ record-breaking production is often used to knock back the argument President Joe Biden’s energy policy aims to minimize domestic fuel fuel production – to cut carbon emission and make way for more renewable energy.

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Woke 2.0: ESG Critics Say the Same Movement Marches on, Only with a New Name

BlackRock began renaming environmental, social and governance (ESG) earlier this year. It’s now calling it “transition investing.”

The company recently updated its climate and decarbonization stewardship guidelines. The document makes no mention of ESG, but it shows in many ways, the world’s largest investment manager with $10 trillion in assets under management is still pursuing many of the same goals.

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Kamala Harris’ Direct Connection to Bidenflation: a Tie-Breaking Senate Vote for Stimulus Package

Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate for the first COVID-19 stimulus package in 2021 which led to inflation, in what critics call a sign of what’s to come in a possible Harris administration.

Harris, who is the President of the Senate, has cast the most tie-breaking votes in the Senate of any vice president, a total of 33 thus far. Her second tie-breaker was for the stimulus package at the beginning of the Biden administration, which has significantly impacted the economy, as inflation has skyrocketed.

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U.S. Economic Growth Beats Expectations in Second Quarter

The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024, according to gross domestic product (GDP) statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Thursday.

Higher growth in the second quarter follows poor growth in the first quarter of 2024, which measured 1.4 percent after being revised down from an initial estimate of 1.6 percent, according to the BEA. Economists expected that GDP would increase by around 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2024, in line with typical U.S economic growth rates.

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Chinese-Owned EV Company Showered Dems with Campaign Contributions

BYD Car

The U.S. subsidiary of a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer and its top executive have given hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash to Democrats in recent years.

Stella Li, a top executive for BYD Americas, and the company itself have given tens of thousands of dollars in campaign cash to Democratic candidates and organizations in California and beyond over the past decade, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of federal and state political spending records. Based in China, BYD is the biggest EV producer in the world, and Congress moved in January to ban the Pentagon from buying its batteries due to security risks, according to Bloomberg News.

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Bureaucrats Worry Behind Closed Doors They’ll Be Sent Packing Under Trump

Donald Trump

Government workers are reportedly in a state of panic over the prospect of former President Donald Trump winning another term in office, according to E&E News.

Bureaucrats up and down the federal hierarchy are concerned that a second Trump administration could cost them their jobs and put an end to liberal programs they worked to implement under President Joe Biden, E&E News reported. Trump has, if elected, pledged to implement reforms that would allow him to fire up to 50,000 civil servants at will, with the former president singling out workers who are incompetent, unnecessary or undermine his democratic mandate.

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A $40 Billion Critical Mineral Supply Chain Could Start in Pennsylvania

Acid Mine Drain

Pennsylvania has a mine pollution problem. America has a critical mineral shortage.

And both problems may get solved as researchers find these critical and strategic elements in the polluted waters that come from acid mine drainage. If all goes well, Pennsylvania could become a leader in boosting national security — while potentially creating billions of dollars in value from environmental hazards.

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Kemp Outlines Breakdown of $1.5 Billion Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Spend

Brian Kemp

Georgia plans to spend about 40% of the $1.5 billion in additional transportation funding lawmakers approved on increasing the Georgia Department of Transportation’s capital construction program.

In January, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced a plan to include an additional $1.5 billion in the state’s amended fiscal 2024 budget for the Georgia Department of Transportation for projects that “directly help move commuters and freight.”

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South Carolina Transportation Officials Divide Additional Transportation Funding

Justin Powell

South Carolina transportation officials have approved updates to the state’s bridge program, deciding how to allocate $200 million in additional money state lawmakers approved.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation Commission directed half the $200 million in one-time funding to bridges on secondary roads. The remaining $100 million will go toward bridges on primary and interstate routes.

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Commentary: An Assassination Attempt Reveals DEI’s False Promises

Kimberly Cheatle

For over a half century the proponents of DEI and its intellectual precursors have fought from high ground, not from a moral position, but a tactical and strategic one secured by Marxist indoctrination that has pervaded nearly every corner of society. 

The deliberate and methodical campaign has successfully muted public criticism, although privately most Americans felt that there is something terribly wrong with a philosophy that prioritizes appearance over ability. 

DEI’s commanding role in all branches of the military has resulted in no tangible benefits but a myriad of failures—falling morale and standards, recruitment shortfalls, plummeting public confidence in the military, poor leadership, and with the exception of the Marine Corps, the inability to fulfill basic mission requirements at an acceptable level. 

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Tennessee Lottery Raises More than $519 Million for Education in Fiscal Year 2024

The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation announced Tuesday that it raised $519,322,000 for education in the Volunteer State during Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), setting a new Fiscal Year record for the amount generated for education.

FY23, which spanned from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, surpassed Fiscal Year 2023’s proceeds – the previous fiscal year record – by more than $4 million.

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Nearly All Households Opt-In to East Palestine Settlement

East Palestine Train Derailment

According to court-appointed class attorneys, less than 1% of the nearly 200,000 households involved in the East Palestine train derailment settlement opted out of the $600 million deal.

A court filing after the July 1 opt-out and objection deadline showed 0.09% of the 190,887 households in the settlement class opted out of the agreement. The settlement class includes households in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

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New Arizona Semiconductor Apprenticeship Hopes to Bolster Local Workforce

Intel Headquarters

Intel is starting up a workforce development program with some help of the state of Arizona in order to bolster the state’s growing semiconductor industry. 

The program is meant to train people to become manufacturing facility technicians in a formal apprenticeship, the first of its kind in the United States from the technology company. According to a news release, the apprenticeship will feature educational components from the Maricopa County Community College District. 

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Commentary: The Federal Housing Agency Hasn’t Gotten Its Economic House in Order, Under Both Parties

Apartments for Rent

Paul Fishbein’s conviction on rent fraud charges in New York City last year was a feast for the tabloids.

The story was crazy enough to get readers to click. Prosecutors said that Fishbein, 51, somehow convinced local housing agencies that he owned dilapidated apartment buildings that he didn’t, enabling him to move in tenants and skim government rent subsidies meant for lower-income, disabled, and elderly residents. Fishbein kept the con going for more than years. His take: $1.8 million.

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U.S. Oil, Gas Hit Record Production Despite Opposition from OPEC, Activists, Biden Administration

Oil Field

The United States is producing more oil now than any nation in the world has ever produced. In 2008, the U.S. produced only 5 million barrels of oil a day. Last year, the country produced 13 million barrels daily.

The United States’ record-breaking production is often used to knock back the argument President Joe Biden’s energy policy aims to minimize domestic fuel fuel production – to cut carbon emission and make way for more renewable energy.

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Arizona Wildfire Funding Headed for Gila County

Arizona Wildfire

Four hundred thousand in state taxpayer dollars will be open for assisting Gila County as the Watch Fire persist in eastern Arizona.

The fire is largely impacting the San Carlos Apache Tribe as over 1,000 acres have burned and some people have lost homes, according to Arizona’s Family. The money is coming from the Joint Heat Relief Initiative through the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, according to a news release.

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Rate of Office Vacancy Reaches Record High

Empty Office

The second quarter of 2024 saw the rate of office vacancy in the United States hit a record high total of 20.1 percent, according to Moody’s tracking.

As reported by Axios, the rise in office vacancy in the last several months has been unusual compared to past trends, as such rates usually only rise during economic downturns. Thus, the rate continuing to increase despite the economy remaining relatively stagnant is an indication of consumers’ and business owners’ ongoing negative sentiments about the current state of the economy.

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Inflation Falls Below Expectations as Economy Cools

People in grocery checkout line

Inflation ticked down slightly year-over-year in June as rising prices continue to weigh on average Americans’ finances, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) release on Wednesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the price of everyday goods, increased 3.0 percent on an annual basis in June and decreased 0.1 percent month-over-month, compared to 3.3 percent in May, according to the BLS. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile categories of energy and food, remained high, rising 3.3 percent year-over-year in June, compared to 3.4 percent in May.

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Grant Applications Open for Veterans Organizations in Arizona

Veterans

Arizona veterans organizations can now apply for grants through the state’s Department of Veterans Services.

The application for the Veterans’ Donation Fund reopened on July 1 and is intended for 501(c) groups seeking $4,999 or less in state assistance. The state also sometimes doles out more significant veteran-related grants ranging from $5,000-75,000, but that application is currently closed. 

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Atlanta Officials Consider ‘Blight Tax’ for Neglected Properties

Neglected House

Atlanta officials are considering a new tax to target neglected properties that result in “blighted conditions and disinvestment” in some Atlanta neighborhoods.

Mayor Andre Dickens, working with Councilmember Byron Amos, announced legislation to create a “blight tax.” If approved, the legislation would allow the municipal court to tax neglected properties, which officials said would change the “economics of neglectful land speculation.”

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Biden White House Staff Is Largest Since Nixon, Costs Taxpayers $225 Million

Joe Biden Staff

President Joe Biden has spent $225 million paying hundreds of White House staffers since the 2021 fiscal year, federal records show.

The president’s spending on staffers totaled $60.8 million for the 2024 fiscal year, marking the highest level adjusted for inflation recorded over the past two presidential administrations, according to an analysis conducted by Open The Books. Biden employed over 500 staffers in three of the four fiscal years he has been in office, including 565 during the 2024 fiscal year, a headcount benchmark not hit since the Nixon administration in 1971.

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Economic Issues Top Voter Concerns in the Pennsylvania Swing State

Polling Station

Economic issues dominate the list of top concerns for Pennsylvania voters ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election, a new poll finds.

A quarter of voters in the swing state ranked “inflation/cost of living” as the No. 1 issue facing Pennsylvanians in a survey released Tuesday from the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative-libertarian think tank in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

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Unemployment Rate Climbs for Another Month as Job Gains Slump

Office Work

The U.S. added 206,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in June as the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday.

Economists anticipated that 190,000 jobs would be added in June, far fewer than the initially reported 272,000 gain seen in May, and the unemployment rate would remain steady at 4%, according to U.S. News and World Report. Strong topline job gains in recent months have led some top economic officials, like Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, to push back against claims that the economy is stalling, despite slow economic growth and high inflation.

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Funds for African Immigrants and Delivery Fee Among New Laws on the Books in Minnesota

African Immigrants

The latest round of legislation passed by the Minnesota Legislature includes $1 million in funding for the African Immigrants Community Services nonprofit and an added delivery fee on retail orders.

The Minnesota House of Representatives released a list of legislation which was due to go into effect on July 1, all of which were sponsored by members of the DFL. Chief among the pieces of legislation passed during the most recent session is new spending. $23.85 million was delegated to the Department of Employment and Economic Development for “job training and economic development programs in fiscal year 2025.” Included in that spending was “$1 million to African Immigrants Community Services for workforce development for new Americans” as well as “$1 million to the Minnesota Black Chamber of Commerce for technical support to Black-owned small businesses.” Furthermore, “the law also appropriates General Fund money to support programs through Explore Minnesota Tourism,” including “$400,000 to Ka Joog for Somali community and cultural festivals and events.”

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Michigan Budget Includes Tuition-Free Pre-K and Community College

Gretchen Whitmer

The recently passed Michigan budget would guarantee tuition-free community college for all residents, and expands access to tuition-free preschool.

The tuition-free community college program is paid for by $330 million in taxpayer dollars, an increase of $30 million from last year. The new program gets rid of income caps, so any student can receive free tuition at an in-district community college.

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