Category: Economy

Illegal Immigration Under Biden Contributes to Housing Shortage, Experts Say

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Illegal Immigrants

The surge of illegal immigration under President Joe Biden has exacerbated an already costly housing market for average Americans by worsening a shelter shortage, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The U.S. currently has an estimated shortage of 4 million to 7 million homes as developers struggle to keep up with demand amid harsh financial conditions and burdensome regulatory processes, according to Pew Charitable Trusts. Average Americans looking for a home are being squeezed by rising housing costs due to inflation and elevated mortgage rates, but the recent influx of illegal immigrants is putting even more stress on the system by aggravating the current shortage of supply in the housing market at a rate that developers can’t keep up with, according to experts who spoke to the DCNF.

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Feds Send $75 Million for Georgia Semiconductor Manufacturing Plant

The Center Square
Semi Conductor Chip

Federal authorities are giving up to $75 million in federal tax dollars to a private company to help Georgia semiconductor manufacturing.

The money, part of the roughly $54 billion CHIPS Act of 2022, will go to Absolics, a subsidiary of South Korea’s SKC, to support the construction of a 120,000-square-foot facility in Covington. Officials said the project should create roughly 1,200 manufacturing and construction jobs.

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Luxury Electric Vehicle Maker Becomes Latest in Industry to Announce Huge Layoffs

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Lucid Motors

Electric vehicle (EV) maker Lucid Motors announced that the company would be laying off staff in a bid to lower expenses amid a slowdown in the market.

The layoffs will affect 6% of its workforce, equating to around 400 employees, and will trim from all employee levels, including leadership and mid-level management, according to a filing submitted Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lucid is one of several EV makers to announce layoffs in recent months as consumers decline to adopt the product at the rate expected.

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Former GOP Republican Presidential Candidate Buys Activist Stake in Left-Wing Outlet

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Vivek Ramaswamy

Former Republican presidential candidate and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy purchased an activist stake in BuzzFeed, according to a May Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Ramaswamy purchased a 7.7% stake consisting of 2.7 million shares between March 14 and May 21 at costs ranging from $1.47 to $2.51 per share, according to the filing. The businessman asserted in the filing that he feels the company’s shares are “undervalued and represent an attractive investment opportunity.”

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Ohio School System Faces $90M Deficit From COVID-19 Spending

The Center Square

Continued hiring and millions in building projects pushed an Ohio public school system to a financial cliff, including a projected $90 million deficit by 2028, state Auditor Keith Faber said.

A new state performance audit says the Mt. Healthy City School District in suburban Cincinnati hired dozens of new teachers and staff and advanced $18 million in building projects without formal plans or funding to sustain operations.

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‘Diverse Erie’ DEI Committee Excluded Pennsylvanians from $300,000 Grant Dispersal Based on Race

Tom Pappert
Diverse Erie

Diverse Erie, formerly known as the Erie County Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, on Friday distributed $300,000 in federal grant money.

The organization restricted the money to individuals that are part of the “BIPOC community,” which includes black, indigenous and all people of color, indicating only whites were precluded from applying for the funds.

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USDA Delivers Grants to Historically Black Land Grant Universities

The Center Square
Virginia Farmland

The United States Department of Agriculture is awarding $30.8 million to the nation’s 19 historically Black land-grant universities, including the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Virginia State University, for agricultural and nutritional research and growing extension programs.

“1890 Land-grant Universities are a vital part of our nation’s fabric,” said Manjit Misra, director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, in a statement. “This investment will strengthen the ability of 1890 Land-grant Universities to deliver innovative solutions that address emerging agricultural challenges impacting diverse communities.”

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Americans are Getting Poorer While Prices Keep Going Up

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Shopping

Americans’ real weekly earnings dropped sharply in April and still remain well below their level when President Joe Biden first took office, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Real average weekly earnings fell to $1,191.93 in April, declining by 0.4% in the month and 4.8% compared to the start of Biden’s term in January 2021, according to data calculated by the Daily Caller News Foundation from the BLS. Prices have risen over 19% since Biden first took office and 3.4% in the last year, degrading the value of Americans’ wages.

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Exclusive: Senator Blackburn Releases Guide on ‘True Cost of Bidenflation’

Peter D'Abrosca
Marsha Blackburn

While the Biden administration claims that the U.S. inflation rate is only 3.4 percent, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)  released a guide disputing that figure, with evidence showing that Americans are suffering far more than the administration is letting on.

“Inflation is a top concern for Tennesseans and Americans,” says a guide called “The True Cost of Bidenflation. “Under the Biden administration, inflation has hit its highest rate in 41 years, and prices across the board are up nearly 20%. Meanwhile, the administration touts that inflation is ‘only’ at 3.4%.

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Pennsylvania Independent Pharmacies Rally for Help Against ‘The Big Three’

The Center Square
Klingensmiths Drug Stores

Independent pharmacies took center stage earlier this month in support of a bipartisan bill that would rein in the “shadowy middlemen” who control contracts between their businesses and drug companies.

State Reps. Jessica Benham, D-Carrick, and Abby Major, R-Ford City, held a press conference with Dave Cippel, president and head pharmacist of Klingensmith Drugstores, at their Ford City location on May 10 to promote the legislation.

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Report: Equity Rich Mortgaged Homes See Third Straight Quarterly Decline

The Center Square
Home

The number of mortgaged homes that are equity rich have declined for three consecutive quarters, and the portion of mortgaged homes considered “seriously underwater” increased, according to a new report by ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property and real estate data.

ATTOM’s first-quarter 2024 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report found that 45.8% of mortgaged residential properties in the United States “were considered equity-rich in the first quarter, meaning that the combined estimated amount of loan balances secured by those properties was no more than half of their estimated market values.”

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Walmart Cuts Hundreds of Jobs, Requires Remote Workers to Come to the Office

Just the News

Walmart has announced layoffs impacting several hundred jobs at its campus offices and is requiring remote employees to come to the office. 

The retail giant said in a staff memo Tuesday most of the remote workers and personnel in its Dallas, Atlanta and Toronto offices will relocate to its primary offices in Bentonville, Arkansas; Hoboken, New Jersey; and the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Report: Homelessness May Be Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels in the Washington Metro Area

The Center Square

Over 9,770 people experienced homelessness in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area one day in January 2024, according to a recent report from The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, resembling pre-pandemic numbers for the first time, reaching an all-time high in supportive housing.

The Council has been collecting a snapshot of homelessness in the metropolitan region every year since January 2001, and for a long time, the number of homeless hovered around 11,500. In 2017 (not counting Frederick County, Md., as the current report does not), the number of homeless dropped by over 1,000. It continued to decline into 2022 when it reached a historic low of less than 7,400.

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Wisconsin Awards $32.6 Million in Grants to Housing Developers

The Center Square
Construction on House

Wisconsin housing developers are set to receive $32.6 million in housing tax credits for 2024, part of $525 million in workforce housing in this year’s biennial budget, Gov. Tony Evers’ office said.

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority received $56 million in grant requests from developers with 23 developments in 14 counties that will create 1,383 affordable housing units being awarded the grants.

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Tariff Proponents Say U.S. Needs Trade Fairness, but Critics Warn Costs of American Goods Will Rise

Just the News
Construction site

President Joe Biden held a press conference Tuesday extolling the tariffs on Chinese products — including steel, aluminum, electric vehicles, solar panels and semiconductors — he is rolling out. The president argued that China aggressively subsidizes the products America imports, which makes it difficult for U.S. businesses to compete.

“Back in 2000, when cheap steel from China began to flood the market, U.S. steel towns across Pennsylvania and Ohio were hit hard,” Biden said.

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Inflation Stays High as Rising Prices Continue to Squeeze Americans

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Grocery Shopping

Inflation ticked down slightly year-over-year in April but still remained high as rising prices continue to take a toll on average Americans’ finances, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) release on Tuesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the prices of everyday goods, increased 3.4% on an annual basis in April and 0.3% month-over-month, compared to 3.5% in March, according to the BLS. Core CPI, which excludes the volatile categories of energy and food, remained higher, rising 3.6% year-over-year in April, compared to 3.8% in February.

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Producer Inflation Makes Biggest Jump in a Year in Potential Warning Sign for Future Economy

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Factory worker

A measure of wholesale inflation that tracks prices before they reach consumers surged to its fastest annual rate since April 2023, according to new data released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.5 percent in April, totaling a 2.2 percent annual rate, far higher than estimates that the index would rise 0.3 percent in the month, according to the BLS. The report adds to fears that inflation is once again surging following the consumer price index jumping to 3.5 percent in March, up from 3.2 percent in February and far from the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.

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Arizona Local Governments, Charities Receive over $54 Million from Biden Administration to Care for Illegal Immigrants

Tom Pappert
Illegal Immigrants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced over $54 million in awards last month for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Shelter and Services program to Arizona entities to offset “costs incurred” due to the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.

According to funding awards posted publicly by FEMA last month, two Arizona-based charitable entities, Pima County and Maricopa County will collectively receive $54,573,093 to support illegal immigrants in the 2024 fiscal year.

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Over Half of Illegal Aliens in U.S. are Unemployed: Report

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Illegal aliens

A new report reveals that over half of the population of illegal aliens that have come into the United States under Joe Biden’s watch are unemployed, thus creating an even greater strain on the country.

As reported by Breitbart, the report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) released on Monday revealed that only 46 percent of illegals who came to the U.S. “in 2022 or later” were employed at the start of 2024.

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U.S. Spending on Interest Tops National Defense, Medicare

The Center Square
US Capitol building

Congress has spent more money on interest so far this year than it has spent on both national defense and Medicare. 

Spending on net interest hit $514 billion in the first seven months of fiscal year 2024. That’s more than spending on both national defense ($498 billion) and Medicare ($465 billion). Medicare is the federal health insurance program for those 65 and older and younger people with disabilities. During the same time period, the U.S. spent $873 billion on Social Security, the federal program that provides retirement, disability, survivor, and family benefits to more than 67 million Americans. 

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Renewables Provided 30 Percent of Energy in 2023, but Data Disputes Claims of an Overall Energy Transition

Just the News
Solar Panels

A new report from Ember-climate.org, which describes itself as “an independent energy think tank that aims to accelerate the clean energy transition with data and policy” touting that renewable energy provided 30% of electricity generation in 2023 is getting a lot of attention, with reports in The Guardian, Associated Press, and Reuters, and CNN.

“A permanent decline in fossil fuel use in the power sector at a global level is now inevitable,” the report by Ember declares.

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Commentary: Biden’s Punitive, Anti-Growth Tax Proposals

RealClearWire
President Joe Biden

President Biden’s 2025 budget proposal provides a salient reminder that he is no moderate, despite his attempts to position himself as one.

Biden’s tax proposals would effectively increase the top federal marginal tax rate on long-term capital gains to 44.6%, a record high since the tax was enacted in the 1920s. As a result, taxes paid on long-term capital gains would reach levels above 50% in some states after accounting for state capital gains taxes. Biden also proposed increasing the corporate income tax rate from 21% to 28% and presented a 25% tax on unrealized capital gains for individuals whose net worth exceeds $100 million.

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The 2024 Sunset of the Trump Tax Cuts Becoming Election Year Issue as Inflation, Cost of Living Climbs

The Center Square
Donald Trump

The sweeping Trump-era tax cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 are set to expire next year, setting up the tax debate as a potentially key political issue this election year.

While illegal immigration and inflation top Americans’ list of concerns, both parties are increasingly talking about the Trump-era tax cuts, which President Joe Biden has said he will allow to expire next year.

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Student Loan Rates to Reach 16-Year High

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College Graduation

As borrowing costs for student loans are already at unseen levels, rates are expected to rise even higher in the coming months to a high not seen in 16 years.

According to ABC News, the current interest rate on a federal undergraduate student loan, which is 5.5%, is expected to rise to 6.5% in July. This would mark the highest level since 2008. The borrowing rate for student loans is determined as a result of adding a fixed amount of 2.05% to the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond, which is set every May at an annual auction. On Wednesday, the 2024 auction saw 10-year Treasury bonds sold at a yield of 4.48%.

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Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Declares it ‘Impossible’ to ‘Bring These Prices Down’

Tom Pappert
Sen. Bob Casey

Video surfaced on Friday of U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) declaring in a political event that it will be “impossible” to lower prices that have increased since President Joe Biden entered the White House.

“I’m not proposing that we’re going to be able to bring these prices down. That’s impossible,” Casey acknowledged in a video posted by Donald Trump Jr. to the social media platform X.

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Elevated Gas Prices Poised to Rise More This Summer

The Center Square
Pumping Gas

Gas prices have been elevated in recent months heading into summer, when prices are expected to rise even more.

According to AAA, the average national price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.65 per gallon, up from $3.59 a month ago. The prices have fluctuated in recent days and are lower than the all-time high of $5.02 in the summer of 2022. However, prices overall have risen significantly this year and are on pace to rise more in the summer months.

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Analysis: Biden’s EV Mandates Would Hinder the Commercial Trucking Industry

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Truck on Road

Converting America’s medium- and heavy-duty trucks to electric vehicles (EV) in accordance with goals from the Biden administration would add massive costs to commercial trucking, according to a new analysis released Wednesday.

The cost to switch over to light-duty EVs like a transit van would equate to a 5% increase in costs per year while switching over medium- and heavy-duty trucks would add up to 114% in costs per year to already struggling businesses, according to a report from transportation and logistics company Ryder Systems. The Biden administration, in an effort to facilitate a transition to EVs, finalized new emission standards in March that would require a huge number of heavy-duty vehicles to be electric or zero-emission by 2032 and has created a plan to roll out charging infrastructure across the country.

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Loudoun Firefighters, County Board Ratify Collective Bargaining Agreement

The Center Square
Fire Fighters

Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors ratified a collective bargaining agreement with its firefighters Tuesday, the first such agreement in the county’s history and one of many popping up across the commonwealth.

“I don’t know when I’ve been happier and prouder to make a motion,” said Board Chairwoman Phyllis Randall, D-At Large. “If I were a crier – and I just might – I would be crying right now.”

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Commentary: China’s Land Grab

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Farmland

At both the federal and state levels, elected leaders are paying more attention to national security threats stemming from Chinese-owned real estate in the United States.

The totality of Chinese-owned real estate in the United States remains unknown and, under current law, is unknowable. For agricultural land, Chinese-owned acreage reportedly only constitutes a small share of the United States’ total, but has increased rapidly in recent years, suggesting a growing threat that would best be managed now before it turns into a significant problem.

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Many Popular Ohio Jobs Qualify for Government Assistance

The Center Square
Food Workers

Nearly half of the most popular jobs in Ohio pay the average worker so little employees qualify for government assistance to feed a family of three, a new report based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.

The findings in the Still working for too little in Ohio report from Policy Matters Ohio also showed that those four occupations employ 476,000 or 8.7% of all workers in the state.

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Dominion Energy Dismisses Attempts by Groups to Halt Offshore Wind Construction

The Center Square
Wind mills offshore

Three public interest groups are claiming a legal victory of sorts, saying their actions have led to at least a temporary delay in Dominion Energy’s efforts to begin construction on Virginia’s major offshore wind project – but Dominion disagrees.

The Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow and the National Legal and Policy Center have taken action against Dominion several times now regarding the project.

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Augusta Lands $184 Million Manufacturing Deal Bringing 350 New E-Mobility Jobs to Richmond County

Debra McClure
GF Casting Solutions Factory

GF Casting Solutions, a producer of lightweight components for the mobility and energy sectors, will invest over $184 million in a new manufacturing facility in Augusta Corporate Park. The facility, which is anticipated to start operations in 2027, will bring 350 additional jobs to Richmond County.

“Georgia is proud to carry the title of the No. 1 state for business to companies across the globe, bringing opportunities to communities in every corner of the state,” said Governor Brian Kemp in a press release last week.

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Tennessee Eagle Forum Honors State Sen. Kerry Roberts for Fixing 2022 Law that Granted Professional Licenses to Illegal Immigrants

Tom Pappert
Tennessee State Senator Kerry Roberts

The Tennessee Eagle Forum on Monday announced State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) was awarded the Tennessee Eagle Forum Award for 2024 due to his successful legislation that “effectively repealed” a 2022 law which enabled some illegal immigrants to receive state-issued commercial and professional licenses.

Roberts’ legislation, according to a Tennessee Eagle Forum press release, removed key language from Public Chapter No. 11, the 2022 legislation that allowed illegal immigrants to obtain professional or commercial licenses if they are “either a United States citizen or authorized under federal law to work in the United States as verified by the SAVE program.”

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National Environmental Group Plans Wednesday Rally in Nashville over TVA Energy Sources

Tom Pappert
State Rep Aftyn Behn

The Sierra Club will hold a demonstration at Lipscomb University in Nashville on Wednesday to protest the use of fossil fuels by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which is slated to hold a listening session earlier the same day.

A TVA web page explains the controversial group’s “Rally for the Valley” will feature a musical performance Nashville-based country music artist Jonathan Singleton and remarks by Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville).

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Americans Increasingly Turning to Discount Grocer Amidst Rising Prices

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Grocery Shopping

A German discount grocer has seen an increase in business from American customers over the last year, as inflation remains stubbornly high and presents an ongoing threat to Americans’ financial security.

The Daily Caller reports that Aldi, the German-based grocer, saw a staggering 26% increase in foot traffic at its store in March compared to March of 2023. This rise far surpassed increases at other popular grocery store chains, including the 6% year-over-year increase at Kroger and the 15% increase at Trader Joe’s.

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Latest Productivity Data Spells More Trouble for Future of American Economy

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Staff Meeting

U.S. productivity growth slowed in the first quarter of 2024, casting doubt on the American economy’s future growth, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on Thursday.

Growth in U.S. business productivity slowed to just 0.3% in the first quarter of 2024, below economists’ predictions of 0.5% and far lower than the 3.5% rate of growth achieved in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the BLS. Sluggish growth in productivity bodes poorly for broader gross domestic product (GDP) growth, which slowed to 1.6% in the first quarter of 2024.

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