OPMobility will receive a $558,000 incentive grant from Tennessee toward a $3 million expansion of its Spring Hill plant, which is expected to lead to 186 new jobs in Maury County.
Read the full storyCategory: Economy
As Inflation and Labor Cools, Traders Look to the Fed for Hints at a September Rate Cut
The Federal Reserve is expected to hold the bank’s key interest rate steady this week. Traders currently expect three rate cuts this year beginning in September. But, will the Fed deliver the first hint of a September rate cut?
Read the full storyU.S. Tech Company Pulls Olympics Ads Over ‘Mockery of the Last Supper’ at Opening Ceremony
A Mississippi-based telecoms and technology company swiftly pulled its advertising from the 2024 Olympics after drag queens apparently mocked the Last Supper during the opening ceremony.
Read the full storyJanet Yellen Calls for $78 Trillion to Tackle Climate Change
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said during a speech in Belem, Brazil, on Saturday that the price tag for a global transition to a low-carbon economy amounts to $78 trillion in financing through 2050.
Read the full storyNational Study Finds Giving Americans $1,000 per Month Results in Less Productivity
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.”
Read the full storyThousands Gather in Nashville for Former President Donald Trump’s Keynote Speech at Bitcoin 2024
Tens of thousands of people traveled to Nashville for former President Donald Trump’s keynote speech at the world’s largest Bitcoin conference, Bitcoin 2024, on Saturday at Music City Center.
Read the full storyUniversity of Tennessee Hires Development Group for Neyland Entertainment District
The University of Tennessee is hiring a group called the 865 Neyland Project Team to build an entertainment complex on the waterfront next to Neyland Stadium.
The project includes a hotel, rooftop restaurant, conference center, parking and a 175,000 square foot entertainment district between Neyland Stadium and Food City Center.
Read the full storyU.S. Oil, Gas Hit Record Production Despite Opposition from OPEC, Activists, and Biden Administration
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.
Read the full storyWoke 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.
Read the full storyKamala Harris’ Direct Connection to Bidenflation: a Tie-Breaking Senate Vote for Stimulus Package
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.
Read the full storyU.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.
Read the full storyNearly Four out of Five Americans Worry About Sky-High Home Energy Bills: Poll
More than 78 percent of U.S. adults say they are concerned about the energy bills, according to a recent CNET Money survey.
Read the full storyNational Debt Surpasses $34.9 Trillion for First Time in History
The national debt has surpassed $34.9 trillion for the first time in U.S. history.
It did so as the federal government’s “borrowing binge and spending spree continues,” EJ Antoni, an economist with the Heritage Foundation, said.
Read the full storyChinese-Owned EV Company Showered Dems with Campaign Contributions
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.
Read the full storyCommentary: New Paper Finds Childcare Regulations May Be Stifling Fertility
The population bust has made its way into popular discussion about the looming issues we face as a country and a world. After centuries with a growing population, humanity is finally projected to begin to shrink by the end of this century.
The realization of the downsides of fewer brains has dawned on many, including Elon Musk, who views it as a major problem:
Bureaucrats Worry Behind Closed Doors They’ll Be Sent Packing Under 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.
Read the full storyA $40 Billion Critical Mineral Supply Chain Could Start in Pennsylvania
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.
Read the full storyUnemployment Dips Again in Arizona
The unemployment rate in Arizona continues to stay below the national average.
The seasonally adjusted rate of 3.3% in June was 0.1% lower than May 2024, even though the U.S. rate was 4.1% compared to 4%. This is a new record low based on how employment numbers have been measured since 1976, as May’s numbers were touted as such.
Read the full storyKemp Outlines Breakdown of $1.5 Billion Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Spend
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.”
Read the full storySouth Carolina Transportation Officials Divide Additional Transportation Funding
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.
Read the full storyCommentary: An Assassination Attempt Reveals DEI’s False Promises
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.
Read the full storyTennessee 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.
Read the full storyNearly All Households Opt-In to East Palestine Settlement
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.
Read the full storyNew Arizona Semiconductor Apprenticeship Hopes to Bolster Local Workforce
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.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Federal Housing Agency Hasn’t Gotten Its Economic House in Order, Under Both Parties
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.
Read the full storyU.S. Oil, Gas Hit Record Production Despite Opposition from OPEC, Activists, Biden Administration
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.
Read the full storyTennessee Employers Sound the Alarm on Big Pharma Push to Drive Up Drug Costs
Tennessee employers are raising concerns with policies being considered in Washington they say would undermine business’ ability to sponsor high-quality and cost-effective prescription drug benefits for their employees.
Read the full storyGeorgia Lawmakers Propose Federal Dollars for Atlanta Water
Federal lawmakers from Georgia announced legislation they said would help pay for Atlanta’s water infrastructure upgrades.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both D-Georgia, introduced the City of Atlanta Water Infrastructure Enhancement Act. U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Georgia, introduced a companion piece in the U.S. House.
Read the full storyReport: NFL Teams Earned $400 Million from NFL Revenue as Public Incentives Escalate
The National Football League earned more than $13 billion and distributed more than $400 million in 2023 to each team from national revenue, Sportico reported.
The record distribution comes as teams across the league continue to push for public incentives for new stadiums and renovations.
Read the full storyTennessee Funds Food Access Through Cost Sharing Grants with Federal Funds
Tennessee sent federal funding to five small agricultural businesses to help with production increases through the Tennessee Urban Farm and Forestry cost share program.
The program’s goal is to increase access to nutritious food in urban areas of the state.
Read the full storyArizona Wildfire Funding Headed for Gila County
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.
Read the full storyReport: Ohio Rent-Wage Gap Continues to Grow
Full-time workers in Ohio need to make nearly $21 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in the state, according to a new report highlighting the gap between rent and wages.
The 2024 Out of Reach Ohio report details what the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing and Ohio calls a significant gap between renters’ income and the cost of rent.
Read the full storyRate of Office Vacancy Reaches Record High
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.
Read the full storyVirginia Named Best State for Business in Annual CNBC Ranking
Virginia has again ranked first in CNBC’s annual America’s Top States for Business index, its sixth time topping the chart since CNBC started the survey in 2007.
States are ranked on 128 metrics in 10 “broad categories of competitiveness” selected through consultation with business and policy specialists and the states.
Read the full storySmall Businesses Worry About Inflation, Survey Shows
Small businesses cite inflation as their number one concern, according to new survey data.
The National Federation of Independent Businesses released the survey results Tuesday, which show that 21% of small business owners cite inflation as “the single most important problem in operating their business,” more than any other issue.
Read the full storyAlmost Every AT&T Wireless Customer’s Call and Text Records Exposed in Huge Security Breach
The call and text message records of tens of millions of AT&T wireless customers and other non-AT&T customers were exposed in a huge data breach in mid-to-late 2022, the company said on Friday.
Read the full storyInflation Falls Below Expectations as Economy Cools
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.
Read the full storyCommentary: The World Needs Fossil Fuels
It’s summer, and the Sierra Club says: “This is climate change in action. We are living it.”
The United Nations’ secretary-general declares that “a fossil fuel phaseout is inevitable.” And The Lancet, a respected medical journal, insists that nations must swiftly transition away from hydrocarbons.
Read the full storyGrant Applications Open for Veterans Organizations in Arizona
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.
Read the full storyAtlanta Officials Consider ‘Blight Tax’ for Neglected Properties
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.”
Read the full storyRaise and Retention Bonus Lift Wisconsin Chancellor Compensation Past $1 Million
A raise of 10% and a retention bonus will lift Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin of the University of Wisconsin past $1 million in annual compensation.
University regents met Monday and approved the deal. Mnookin’s salary rises from $811,512 to $892,663 next year. The bonus is $150,000.
Read the full storyBiden White House Staff Is Largest Since Nixon, Costs Taxpayers $225 Million
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.
Read the full storyUnemployment Insurance Claims Continue to Rise
The number of insured unemployed individuals increased by 26,000 to 1,858,000, in the week ending June 29, the highest level since November 2021.
Seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims reached 238,000, marking an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 234,000.
Read the full storyEconomic Issues Top Voter Concerns in the Pennsylvania Swing State
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.
Read the full storyOhio’s First Innovation Hub Getting $40 Million in Taxpayer Funds
More than $40 million in state and local taxpayer money is expected to be spent creating Ohio’s first Innovation Hub.
Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced the collaboration, which officials say will enhance northwest Ohio’s position as a global leader in glass science, engineering, technology and production.
Read the full storyCommentary: An Economy That Only Works for the Rich and Powerful Is Not a Capitalist Economy
Capitalism is disappearing, but Socialism is not replacing it. What is now arising is a new kind of planned, centralised society which will be neither capitalist nor, in any accepted sense of the word, democratic.
George Orwell wrote those words nearly 80 years ago.
Read the full storyUnemployment Rate Climbs for Another Month as Job Gains Slump
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.
Read the full storyFunds for African Immigrants and Delivery Fee Among New Laws on the Books in Minnesota
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.”
Read the full storyMichigan Budget Includes Tuition-Free Pre-K and Community College
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.
Read the full storyDrivers Successfully Charge Their Electric Vehicles Only 78 Percent of the Time, Study Shows
Imagine going to gas stations to fill up your car and finding that two out of ten times, the pumps aren’t working.
That’s what electric vehicle owners are facing, according to a study by the Harvard Business School and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Read the full story