Since 2001, the last time the federal budget was balanced, federal revenues have shown healthy growth of 3.9% annually, while inflation averaged only 2.5%. These figures would normally signify a sound, sustainable economy. But spending has grown at a rate of 5.5%, so instead we have a destabilizing gross federal debt of $36 trillion. The response of the Biden/Harris administration to this looming catastrophe was to double down on spending. In an era of relative peace and prosperity, they kept mindlessly passing out money to win political points. Reforming an entrenched bureaucracy, much less eliminating it, is extraordinarily difficult. Yet the present could be a rare opportunity to repair this destruction to our way of life. We must be fearless and strategic in reducing government excess and providing a successful economic future for our descendants.
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/piggy-bank-u.jpg339509Thomas C. Pattersonhttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngThomas C. Patterson2024-12-10 00:30:092024-12-08 06:17:56Is This The Golden Age For American Government Reform?
During the Gilded Age of 1865 to 1900 — a moniker coined by Mark Twain — the United States was on the gold standard, government regulation was slim to none, federal government deficits were nearly nonexistent and economic liberty was paramount. Consumer price inflation was essentially nonexistent. There was no central bank. And one of the results of all this was that real wages grew by about 40 percent between 1860 and 1890. The country prospered as never before. Now we have a central bank, we are off the gold standard, we have millions of federal government employees, federal regulations are piled to the sky, and federal government debts and deficits are spiralling up out of sight. And how has the average guy fared after all these changes? Very poorly indeed — real wages per hour for production workers and nonsupervisory employees in February 1973 was $23.24. In March 2019 it was — get ready for it — $23.24. So what all these changes have yielded us is a 46 year period where real wages for the average guy haven’t risen at all.
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/wages.png8801120Mark Wallacehttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngMark Wallace2024-12-09 00:30:152024-12-06 06:51:33It All Fits Together If You Know Where To Look
According to exit polling from Blueprint, a firm built to assist Democrats, the Trump campaign’s decision this fall to hit Kamala Harris on her transgender agenda provided Trump a 25-percentage-point advantage with swing voters. And for the swing voters who ended up swinging to Trump, the gap was a thunderous 28 points. Few issues swung voters harder against Harris. While Trump was the primary beneficiary, the triumph also belonged to the New Left.
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/american-flags-2756185__340.jpg340648Ken Braunhttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngKen Braun2024-12-08 00:32:472024-12-08 05:50:14The New Left’s Total Victory in 2024
Editors’ Note: While the US has not yet reached Argentina’s extremes in terms of inflation and welfare dependency, we are headed in that direction. Therefore, the Milei approach in Argentina is worth noting. A significant overhaul of the US regulatory state, tax simplification, and budget control are needed. Trump has never been a budget cutter. […]
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/milei-scaled.jpg17062560Michael N. Petersonhttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngMichael N. Peterson2024-12-07 00:28:122024-12-05 08:21:33Javier Milei’s ‘Shock Therapy’ Is Working
The best way to promote fertility isn’t funding parenthood. It’s stopping the government programs that discourage people from having babies. Birth rates are plummeting in the United States and globally, forecasting a political and financial crisis. The most recent estimate predicts the average American woman will have 1.6 children in her lifetime, far below the […]
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/iStock-1173180630-scaled.jpg17072560Jay P. Greene and Lindsey M. Burkehttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngJay P. Greene and Lindsey M. Burke2024-12-06 00:28:332024-12-05 08:19:45Here’s How To Actually Reverse The Baby Bust
Office-to-residential conversions are growing, but are minuscule because not many towers are suitable for conversion. The delinquency rate of office mortgages that have been securitized into commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) spiked by a full percentage point in November for the second month in a row, to 10.4%, now just a hair below the worst months […]
Over the weekend, the incoming President sent a stern message to the BRICS nations, a group that now includes many more countries than the original Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It includes US enemies such as China and Iran but ‘friends’ like India and the UAE. Starting an international trade war and experiencing the collapse of the international monetary and banking system is a great way to start a global depression. Trump may need to tread carefully. As we recently observed, many of our institutions have become corrupt and wandered far away from their original purpose. There is a good argument that we need a “disruptor” right now. Trump was hired to play that role. However, the world is a complicated place and very over-indebted right now. Disruption has its risks, and it may begin a chain of events with unknown consequences.
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/unclesammoney.webp10241792Neland Nobelhttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngNeland Nobel2024-12-03 00:30:572024-12-04 13:51:33Trump Throws A Brick At the Brics
Republicans should take the side of their own voters instead of listening to decadent union goons like Sean O’Brien. Donald Trump’s cabinet picks have been mostly stellar. They have signaled Trump’s administration will enforce U.S. immigration law, pursue a firm but less adventurous foreign policy, and most importantly, empower the people at the expense of […]
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/US_Dept_of_Labor.jpg480640Nathan Richendollarhttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngNathan Richendollar2024-12-03 00:26:212024-12-04 13:51:38Lori Chavez-DeRemer Would Be A Disaster As Labor Secretary
The U.S. government got off to a very bad start for its 2025 fiscal year. The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government spent $257 billion more than it took in as revenue in October 2024. That is the second-worst figure ever recorded for the first month of the fiscal year. Only October 2020 has seen a bigger deficit. Of course, October 2020’s deficit of $284 billion happened during 2020’s coronavirus pandemic. That was when government-mandated lockdowns shut down much of the U.S. economy. Those lockdowns shrank the U.S. government’s tax revenue by billions while it spent billions to compensate for their negative impact. That’s what it took to make the worst-ever start of a fiscal year for the U.S. government in the modern era.
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/iStock-1199137983-scaled.jpg20482560Craig Eyermannhttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngCraig Eyermann2024-12-02 00:30:032024-12-04 13:51:39U.S. Government Starts 2025 Fiscal Year Deep in the Red
Why should the government be funding a CIA cut-out to meddle in politics abroad and at home? The new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should seriously consider the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for its high priority list of federal cost cutting measures in 2025. It’s not only a sinkhole of American taxpayer dollars—over $1 […]
https://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/doge-1-scaled.jpg17072560Kelley Beaucar Vlahoshttps://pricklypear.news/wp-content/uploads/logo_2023.pngKelley Beaucar Vlahos2024-12-02 00:28:492024-12-04 13:51:40DOGE’s Best First Target: the National Endowment for Democracy
Is This The Golden Age For American Government Reform?
/by Thomas C. PattersonSince 2001, the last time the federal budget was balanced, federal revenues have shown healthy growth of 3.9% annually, while inflation averaged only 2.5%. These figures would normally signify a sound, sustainable economy. But spending has grown at a rate of 5.5%, so instead we have a destabilizing gross federal debt of $36 trillion. The response of the Biden/Harris administration to this looming catastrophe was to double down on spending. In an era of relative peace and prosperity, they kept mindlessly passing out money to win political points. Reforming an entrenched bureaucracy, much less eliminating it, is extraordinarily difficult. Yet the present could be a rare opportunity to repair this destruction to our way of life. We must be fearless and strategic in reducing government excess and providing a successful economic future for our descendants.
It All Fits Together If You Know Where To Look
/by Mark WallaceDuring the Gilded Age of 1865 to 1900 — a moniker coined by Mark Twain — the United States was on the gold standard, government regulation was slim to none, federal government deficits were nearly nonexistent and economic liberty was paramount. Consumer price inflation was essentially nonexistent. There was no central bank. And one of the results of all this was that real wages grew by about 40 percent between 1860 and 1890. The country prospered as never before. Now we have a central bank, we are off the gold standard, we have millions of federal government employees, federal regulations are piled to the sky, and federal government debts and deficits are spiralling up out of sight. And how has the average guy fared after all these changes? Very poorly indeed — real wages per hour for production workers and nonsupervisory employees in February 1973 was $23.24. In March 2019 it was — get ready for it — $23.24. So what all these changes have yielded us is a 46 year period where real wages for the average guy haven’t risen at all.
The New Left’s Total Victory in 2024
/by Ken BraunAccording to exit polling from Blueprint, a firm built to assist Democrats, the Trump campaign’s decision this fall to hit Kamala Harris on her transgender agenda provided Trump a 25-percentage-point advantage with swing voters. And for the swing voters who ended up swinging to Trump, the gap was a thunderous 28 points. Few issues swung voters harder against Harris. While Trump was the primary beneficiary, the triumph also belonged to the New Left.
Javier Milei’s ‘Shock Therapy’ Is Working
/by Michael N. PetersonEditors’ Note: While the US has not yet reached Argentina’s extremes in terms of inflation and welfare dependency, we are headed in that direction. Therefore, the Milei approach in Argentina is worth noting. A significant overhaul of the US regulatory state, tax simplification, and budget control are needed. Trump has never been a budget cutter. […]
Here’s How To Actually Reverse The Baby Bust
/by Jay P. Greene and Lindsey M. BurkeThe best way to promote fertility isn’t funding parenthood. It’s stopping the government programs that discourage people from having babies. Birth rates are plummeting in the United States and globally, forecasting a political and financial crisis. The most recent estimate predicts the average American woman will have 1.6 children in her lifetime, far below the […]
Office CMBS Delinquency Rate Spikes to 10.4%, Just Below Worst of Financial Crisis Meltdown. Fastest 2-Year Spike Ever
/by Wolf RichterOffice-to-residential conversions are growing, but are minuscule because not many towers are suitable for conversion. The delinquency rate of office mortgages that have been securitized into commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) spiked by a full percentage point in November for the second month in a row, to 10.4%, now just a hair below the worst months […]
Trump Throws A Brick At the Brics
/by Neland NobelOver the weekend, the incoming President sent a stern message to the BRICS nations, a group that now includes many more countries than the original Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. It includes US enemies such as China and Iran but ‘friends’ like India and the UAE. Starting an international trade war and experiencing the collapse of the international monetary and banking system is a great way to start a global depression. Trump may need to tread carefully. As we recently observed, many of our institutions have become corrupt and wandered far away from their original purpose. There is a good argument that we need a “disruptor” right now. Trump was hired to play that role. However, the world is a complicated place and very over-indebted right now. Disruption has its risks, and it may begin a chain of events with unknown consequences.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer Would Be A Disaster As Labor Secretary
/by Nathan RichendollarRepublicans should take the side of their own voters instead of listening to decadent union goons like Sean O’Brien. Donald Trump’s cabinet picks have been mostly stellar. They have signaled Trump’s administration will enforce U.S. immigration law, pursue a firm but less adventurous foreign policy, and most importantly, empower the people at the expense of […]
U.S. Government Starts 2025 Fiscal Year Deep in the Red
/by Craig EyermannThe U.S. government got off to a very bad start for its 2025 fiscal year. The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government spent $257 billion more than it took in as revenue in October 2024. That is the second-worst figure ever recorded for the first month of the fiscal year. Only October 2020 has seen a bigger deficit. Of course, October 2020’s deficit of $284 billion happened during 2020’s coronavirus pandemic. That was when government-mandated lockdowns shut down much of the U.S. economy. Those lockdowns shrank the U.S. government’s tax revenue by billions while it spent billions to compensate for their negative impact. That’s what it took to make the worst-ever start of a fiscal year for the U.S. government in the modern era.
DOGE’s Best First Target: the National Endowment for Democracy
/by Kelley Beaucar VlahosWhy should the government be funding a CIA cut-out to meddle in politics abroad and at home? The new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) should seriously consider the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for its high priority list of federal cost cutting measures in 2025. It’s not only a sinkhole of American taxpayer dollars—over $1 […]