Trump's Economy: Weak Job Growth, Unemployment Rises

 

The bumbling, somnolent Malignant Fascist's economy is sinking everyone except for his family and fellow Epstein class oligarchs:

The U.S. labor market slowed during the month of September, according to new data Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The economy added only 29,000 jobs, fewer than expected by economists. The unemployment rate rose to 4.2%.

Average hourly earnings for workers rose only 0.1% from the prior month and 3% from a year ago. Friday’s data marks the sixth straight month of wages tracking below inflation. BLS will report September inflation numbers on Oct. 14.

Additionally, 60,000 jobs were revised out of previous months’ initial readings.

“The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised down by 31,000, from +21,000 to -10,000, and the change for August was revised down by 29,000, from +162,000 to +133,000,” the BLS said in a statement.

Overall, economists expected an addition of 84,000 jobs, an unchanged employment rate at 4.1% and earnings that increased by 3.1% from a year ago, according to a Dow Jones survey.

Friday’s data marks the final monthly employment report that will be issued before the U.S. midterm elections.

For months, the Republican Party and President Donald Trump have faced sagging poll numbers on the economy, as trade wars rage with close allies like Canada, the Iran and Ukraine wars drag on and tariffs continue to roil the global economy...

Despite his constant lies, blame-shifting, and gaslighting, the American public feels the effects of his incompetent, cruel policies on a daily basis.  They know his Republican party/ cult is mostly sticking with him, and they're going to vote accordingly.

(Photo:  to wake, or not to wake / Reuters / Yonhap)

The Trump Economy: Mortgage Rates Top 7 Percent

 

The Trump Golden Age of Affordability, prospective homebuyers!

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose this week above 7% for the first time since January 2025, the latest affordability setback for prospective homebuyers following a five-week run of rate increases.

The weekly average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan rose to 7.03% from 6.95% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.30%.

The average rate is now the highest it’s been since Jan. 16, 2025, when it was at 7.04%.

“Beyond the immediate financial constraints, the 7% threshold is a foreboding psychological barrier,” said Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS. “Crossing this mark could create a chilling effect on the market” that would lead to a considerable slowing of home sales transactions this fall.

Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month to borrowers’ costs, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power. As rates rise, that can also lead prospective home shoppers to delay buying.  [snip]

The housing market has been stuck in a rut this year in large part because of elevated mortgage rates, which have been climbing in the months since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.

Mortgage rates are influenced by inflation, Federal Reserve policy and bond-market investors’ expectations for the economy, among other factors. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.  [snip]

The latest increase in the 10-year Treasury yield suggests that “upward mortgage rate pressure seems likely to linger,” said Anthony Smith, senior economist at Realtor.com... (our emphasis)

More fallout from Trump's economic (tariff) policies and his war of choice, Operation Epic Quagmire!

(Image:  Getty Images)

Stagflation

 

The Trump economy:

Economic growth was weaker than expected in the second quarter though underlying drivers were mostly solid. At the same time, inflation in June held well above the Federal Reserve’s goal and complicated the central bank’s policy path, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services, increased just 1.5% for the April-through June period, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis numbers adjusted for seasonality and inflation.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a growth rate of 1.8%, following the 2.1% increase in the first quarter.

A separate report showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the Federal Reserve’s primary forecasting gauge, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3.7%. The readings were in line with forecasts.

Excluding food and energy, core PCE posted a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual level of 3.3%, against respective forecasts for 0.2% and 3.3%...

We of a certain age used to hear a lot about "stagflation" starting in the 60's and 70's as a portmanteau for "high inflation, stagnant economic growth, and elevated unemployment."

Today, it's a budding new reality under the mismanagement and incompetence of the Malignant Fascist's Epstein class of grifter/ advisors.  Tariffs, the Iran war of choice, and the MF's chaotic decision-making are all impacting the economy and people's pocketbooks negatively.  Every day, the MF and his minions try to put lipstick on the pig of their economy, but Americans who work for a living and those on a fixed income know the reality.  They know "affordability" isn't a hoax or a word Democrats made up.  And now, we need them to show up in November and give the MF a dose of reality.

Inflation Continues To Rise (UPDATED)

 

The Consumer Price Index rose 4.2% in May, the highest in three years, indicating inflation is on the rise, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  From CNBC:

"The consumer price index, a broad gauge of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.5% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 4.2%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Both numbers were in line with the Dow Jones consensus though the monthly number was 0.1 percentage point below the April reading.

Inflation climbed above 4% for the first time in three years, though the increase met expectations amid concerns over how much the surge in energy prices would impact the economy. The level was the highest since April 2023 and above the 3.8% reading from April. [snip]

'Americans are getting squeezed financially by inflation that’s back at a 3-year high,' said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. 'The frustration for many Americans is that so many of the basics are up in price right now -- gas, food, electricity, and medical care are all clear pain points that are above 3% inflation. Ending the war in Iran will help to moderate inflation, but the worst is likely still to come for rising food prices.' [snip]

With the U.S. caught in ongoing hostilities with Iran, concerns are rising that the surge in oil prices could spread to other energy-sensitive parts of the economy. Markets were rattled again Wednesday when President Donald Trump warned that Iran will “pay the price” for not taking a peace deal." (our emphasis)

The demented and ignorant Malignant Fascist's reckless war on Iran, coupled with his lawless and punitive tariffs, have caused consumers to pay more for less and less.  However, the out of touch MF has indicated on numerous occasions that the rise in product costs (gas prices are "peanuts") are nothing to be concerned about, since he doesn't think about American's financial situation as he plows ahead with his regime change war on Iran.  His cult may eventually see things differently.

UPDATE:  And the demented Malignant Fascist?  He LOVES inflation:

President Donald Trump insisted he loves inflation caused by his war in Iran and claimed he tanked the stock market on purpose.

The 79-year-old president spoke to reporters Wednesday in the Oval Office, where he was asked about year-over-year inflation hitting a three-year high of 4.2 percent last month as his war pushed energy prices higher, and he claimed that was part of his broader strategy for launching the attack in the first place.

"No, I love it – the numbers were great," Trump said. "You know what I really love? I love the inflation. You know why? Because as soon as this war is over, you know, I can say it now, something you didn't know. You know, we've been taking out millions of barrels of oil, nobody knows it. You know who doesn't know about it? Iran, until right now we took out the other night 22 ships late at night with no lights because they don't have any radar because we blasted the crap out of it. We took out, that's why oil is $85 a barrel."  (our emphasis)

A soundbite for every Democratic candidate's ads from now until November.

Today's Snapshot Of Trump's "Golden Age"

 

News Item 1:

Wholesale prices rose sharply in February, providing another sign that inflation continues to percolate even aside from rising energy costs.

The producer price index, a measure of pipeline costs that producers receive for their products, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% on the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core PPI increased 0.5%.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for increases of 0.3% for both measures.

For the all-items index, prices rose faster than the 0.5% pace in January. However, the core increase was less than the 0.8% for the prior month.

On a 12-month basis, headline PPI inflation was at 3.4%, the most since February 2025, while core was at 3.9%, according to the BLS. The Federal Reserve targets inflation at 2%...  (our emphasis)

News Item 2:

Oil and gas prices rose sharply on Thursday as strikes on key energy infrastructure in the Middle East exacerbated fears of a global supply crunch.

Qatar said Wednesday that Iranian missile strikes had damaged a key liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility. The action followed Tehran’s warning about attacking energy facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for Israel’s bombing of a natural gas processing facility in Iran.

International benchmark Brent crude futures with May delivery rose nearly 7% to $114.66 per barrel, paring gains after briefly climbing above $119 earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures, however, slipped 0.3% to $96.17.

Gas prices also moved sharply higher. The front-month gas price at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) hub, a European benchmark for natural gas trading, traded up over 16% at 63.42 euros ($72.75) per megawatt-hour.

U.S. natural gas prices were last seen 2.8% higher, trading at $3.15 per million British thermal units. Front-month Nymex RBOB gasoline for April delivery, meanwhile, rose 2.6% to $3.18, reaching a near four-year high... (our emphasis)

News Item 3:

The numbers are striking: 80 percent of ACA marketplace enrollees say their health care costs are now higher since enhanced premium tax credits expired. More than half — 55 percent — have cut spending on food or other basic household expenses just to keep their coverage. And roughly 1 in 10 have dropped their marketplace plan altogether and are now uninsured, according to a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey of marketplace enrollees released Thursday.

The findings arrive as health care costs have emerged as a defining issue heading into the midterm elections — one that Democrats are betting will drive voters to the polls.

For Cyndi Freeman, a freelancer in Brooklyn, the expiration reshaped the family budget overnight. Her household’s monthly premium jumped from $461 to $801.

“At this point, budgeting for the future feels uncertain,” Freeman said. “We’re focused on getting through month to month.”  [snip]

The picture is similarly grim for Ellen Allen, an affordable health care nonprofit director in West Virginia, whose monthly premium has climbed to $2,000 — a roughly 300 percent increase she described in visceral terms.

“Psychologically, you know, that has an impact,” Allen said. “That’s like, gosh, a third of my take-home pay.” 

Allen has pared back spending on travel and home renovations, and says she is counting the months until she turns 65 and qualifies for Medicare. “I never thought I’d look so forward to turning 65,” she said.

For Kai Samuelson, a small business owner in Asheville who survived cancer 11 years ago, going uninsured isn’t a realistic choice — but the current marketplace leaves him deeply uneasy.

“I’m going to continue voting for people who believe that health care is a right, not a privilege,” Samuelson said. He added that he senses a shift in public awareness. “I’m starting to get the sense that people are starting to see that one side is clearly not interested in our welfare.”...

You see, Trump's "Golden Age" is reserved for himself and his corrupt crime family, and his Epstein class of contributors and oligarchs who shore up his kakistocracy. 

(Image:  gold for me, not for thee / Bonnie Cash via CNP/ZUMA Press)

 

FAFO, Manufacturing Edition

 

Here's another instance among countless others across the U.S., where MAGA voters express worry and regret for the unhinged and reckless Malignant Fascist's disastrous and illegal tariff policies, as reported by the Associated Press:

"Jay Allen is a fan of President Donald Trump, and voted for him on the belief that the Republican would cut taxes and trim regulations, helping his manufacturing business in northeast Arkansas.

But the tariffs at the core of Trump’s economic agenda have wreaked havoc on his company, Allen Engineering Corp., which makes industrial equipment used to install, finish and pave concrete. The import taxes have raised the costs of engines, steel, gearboxes and clutches made abroad that Allen needs to build power trowels that can sell for up to $100,000 each.

Allen’s experience embodies a growing body of evidence that the tariffs that Trump said would help American factories are, in fact, squashing many of them. The problem could get worse as the administration scrambles to craft new tariffs to replace the emergency import taxes that the Supreme Court ruled illegal in February." (our emphasis)

As they say Mr. Allen, F*ck Around And Find Out.  The MF isn't concerned with your success or failure, and tariffs have been his obsession for decades if you'd bothered to check it out.  Every time he raged against countries "screwing us" in trade, he was promising tariffs.  Instead of protecting domestic businesses, it's ruining them, because unbeknownst to the ignoramus, the U.S. is part of a global economy, where imports and exports are woven into our economic fabric. Tariffs cost not only the consumer more, but also the business community.  More from the AP report:

"Trump’s core rationale for tariffs has been that they would force more factories to open in the U.S. and would generate enough revenue to close federal budget deficits. But that hasn’t materialized.

Factories continue to shed workers, with 98,000 manufacturing jobs lost during Trump’s first full 12 months back in the White House. American companies that foot the bill for tariffs are now suing the Trump administration for more than $130 billion in tariff refunds. Meanwhile, the federal deficit is projected to climb over the next decade."  (our emphasis)

MAGAts always assumed that their vote for the vengeful MF was a vote against their political, cultural and, yes, racial enemies, and not something that would affect them negatively.  They're finding out differently and we couldn't be more satisfied.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

In a victory for Voice of America staffers, a federal judge ruled Saturday that Kari Lake unlawfully ran the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) for several months last year.

The mass layoffs and other actions undertaken during that time “are void,” US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth wrote.

The ruling was a remarkable rebuke of Lake, a failed Arizona gubernatorial and US Senate candidate and fierce loyalist of President Trump.

Lake immediately called the judge an “activist” and said the agency would appeal. 

The plaintiffs who sued Lake to save their jobs and defend the agency amid Trump’s attempts to dismantle it said they felt “vindicated and deeply grateful.”

“The judge’s ruling that Kari Lake’s actions shall have no force or effect is a powerful step toward undoing the damage she has inflicted on this American institution that we love,” the plaintiffs, Patsy Widakuswara, Kate Neeper, and Jessica Jerreat, said.

“Even as we work through what this ruling means for colleagues harmed by her actions, it brings renewed hope and momentum to the next phase of our fight: restoring VOA‘s global operations and ensuring we continue to produce journalism, not propaganda,” the plaintiffs added.

Reporters Without Borders, which joined the staffers in filing suit, said the case was “proof that fighting for press freedom matters."...

Lake is now a failed administrator in addition to being a failed gubernatorial and senatorial candidate. If this ruling has any chance of restoring the professional journalism to VOA and squashing MAGA propaganda, it indeed is a victory for freedom of the press.  Let's hope it withstands appeals.

The bad:

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday would not commit to blocking any additional funding for the war in Iran, saying the president has so far failed to justify the war but “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

The New York Democrat was asked on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” whether House Democrats would move to block a funding request if the White House were to ask for more money for the military.

Jeffries said the administration has so far “failed to make its case ... for this war of choice in the Middle East,” and unless President Donald Trump provides a “compelling rationale,” he’s “going to have a difficult case to make on Capitol Hill.”

Congress last year approved a $900 billion defense spending bill as part of routine annual budget appropriations, and the president signed the bill into law in December. But since the U.S. began its military operation in Iran, lawmakers have been considering the need to pass additional defense spending to bolster the U.S. military.

On Tuesday, following a classified briefing for senators about the war, several lawmakers including Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told reporters that they expect the Trump administration will ask for supplemental funding for the war effort. Coons added that he would support additional funding for troops, but, like Jeffries, he demanded more information from the administration about the war...

There's no excuse for this behavior from Democratic "leaders."  To participate in any way in the Malignant Fascist's Operation Epic Epstein Fury is to be 100% complicit.   If Democrats are lucky enough to win back the House (and avoid an MF coup), Jeffries needs to go.  If lightning strikes and Dems win the Senate, Sen. Schumer needs to go, too.  If this country is ever to be reconstructed, these enablers and quivering, turtling Democrats must be sidelined and tough, junkyard dog Democrats who'll fight the fascists must lead.

The ugly:

President Donald Trump promised that 2026 would be a bumper year for economic growth, but instead it has kicked off with job losses, rising gasoline prices and more uncertainty about America’s future.

In his State of the Union address less than two weeks ago, the Republican president confidently told the country: “The roaring economy is roaring like never before.” The latest batch of data on jobs, pump prices and the stock market suggests that Trump’s roar has started to sound far more like a whimper.

There is a gap between the boom that Trump has predicted and the volatile results he has produced — one that could set the tone in this year’s midterm elections as he tries to defend his party’s majorities in the House and Senate. With Trump’s tariffs drama ongoing, the war in Iran has suddenly created inflationary concerns regarding oil and natural gas. To the White House, it is still early in the year and stronger growth is coming.

“WOW! The Golden Age of America is upon us!!!” Trump posted on social media Feb. 11 after the monthly jobs report showed gains of 130,000 jobs in January.

Since then, the job market has evaporated in worrisome ways.

Friday’s employment report showed job losses of 92,000 in February. The January and December figures were revised downward, with December swinging to a loss of 17,000 jobs. Monthly data can be rocky, but a trend has emerged that shows an enduring weakness. Without the health care sector, the economy would have shed roughly 202,000 jobs since Trump became president in January 2025. Still, his administration notes that construction job gains outside of the housing sector point to future hiring growth...

"The Golden Age of America!"  The Golden Age of the Epstein Class more like it.  But, Commander Cankles is taking a "so what!" approach the signs of collapse all around him.  He'll  somehow manage, we're sure.

 

Trump Driving Our Trading Partners Away

 

We noted Tuesday that the EU and India agreed to a blockbuster trade deal that signifies a move away from the unpredictable and damaging U.S. trade policies, which change on the whim of the vindictive, profoundly ignorant and demented Malignant Fascist.

Here are just a few more examples of how the MF has ruined our relationships with nations that we had previously had good trade relations with:

Starmer and Xi Call For Deeper UK - China Ties As Trump Shakes Up Global Relations

Vietnam and EU Upgrade Ties As U.S. Tariffs Reshape Global Trade

Dollar Falls to Four-Year Low As Trump Insists U.S. Currency Is "Doing Great"

More agreements cutting the U.S. out will certainly follow.  The negative economic impacts will be felt on U.S. consumers, as our trading partners seek out new, more stable markets for their goods and services and decline to purchase ours.  In just one year, the MF has undermined almost 80 years of steady and predictable post-WW II trade relationships that have benefited America and the world we trade with. 

(photo: He's identified the source of the problem.)

 

Unemployment Now Highest Since 2021

 

Trump did that 👇:

The latest jobs report shows U.S. hiring slowed in November and employers shed jobs in October, providing a clearer view of the labor market after months of data disruptions. 

American employers added 64,000 jobs in November, after an estimated loss of 105,000 in October led by a decline in federal government workers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Dec. 16. The report also revealed the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, up from 4.4% in September and 4% at the beginning of the year. It's the highest unemployment rate since September 2021.

"The good news is that we finally get federal data on the job market after the logjam caused by the government shutdown. The not-so-good news is that it isn’t pretty,” Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick said in a note...

Economist Heather Long adds,

“The US economy is in a hiring recession,” Heather Long, chief economist at the Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a post on X. “Almost no jobs have been added since April. Wage gains are slowing. 710,000 more people are unemployed now versus November 2024.”

Long blamed the hiring recession on “a combination of tariff impacts, AI, and cost cutting. Americans are feeling it.”

Trump's "Golden Age of America" is already here, but only for oligarchs and the top 1 percent.

Public Isn't Buying Trump's "A +++++" Economy

A new AP-NORC poll finds that the public is noticing higher prices for a range of items, forcing them to cut back on dolls and pencils basic goods and Christmas gifts. It's a threat to the lying Malignant Fascist for the mid-term elections, as he continues to claim that the economy is going great (for him and his cronies).  From the Associated Press:

"The vast majority of U.S. adults say they’ve noticed higher than usual prices for groceries, electricity and holiday gifts in recent months, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Roughly half of Americans say it’s harder than usual to afford the things they want to give as holiday gifts and similar numbers are delaying big purchases or cutting back on nonessential purchases more than they would normally.

It’s a sobering assessment for the Republican president, who returned to the White House in large part by promising to lower prices, only to find that inflation remains a threat to his popularity just as it did for Democrat Joe Biden’s presidency. The poll’s findings look very similar to an AP-NORC poll from December 2022, when Biden was president and the country was grappling with higher rates of inflation. Trump’s series of tariffs have added to inflationary pressures and generated anxiety about the stability of the U.S. economy, keeping prices at levels that many Americans find frustrating." (our emphasis)

According to the poll, a whopping 68% of the public says the economy is "poor." The MF's rating of the economy as "A +++++" in a recent interview comes across as both out of touch and deceitful. If you're a billionaire grifting off of crypto, collecting bribes from domestic and foreign parties, and selling trinkets with your name emblazoned on them to rubes, then the economy looks good. For the rest of us, nah.

 

National Debt Soars To $38 Trillion Under Trump

 

According to Treasury Department reports, the U.S. national debt has reached the $38 trillion mark, with the fastest accumulation of debt aside from the COVID pandemic in 2020.  From the Associated Press:

"In the midst of a federal government shutdown, the U.S. government’s gross national debt surpassed $38 trillion Wednesday, a record number that highlights the accelerating accumulation of debt on America’s balance sheet.

It’s also the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic — the U.S. hit $37 trillion in gross national debt in August this year.

The $38 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report, which logs the nation’s daily finances.

Kent Smetters of the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model, who served in President George W. Bush’s Treasury Department, told The Associated Press that a growing debt load over time leads ultimately to higher inflation, eroding Americans’ purchasing power."  (our emphasis)

With punitive tariffs adding to consumer expenses, with Federal furloughs and firings rippling through the economy, and with inflation on the rise, the Malignant Fascist has done significant damage to the economy already, and a rapidly increasing debt on his watch is another flop of his to deal with.

The Golden Age Trump Economy

The Golden Age is already here!

Rising electric bills

Household electricity bills have increased by 10% since Donald Trump re-entered the White House, a new report has found, with its authors highlighting the impact of the president’s datacenter boosterism and cuts to clean energy projects as part of the cause. [snip]

...[S]tudies have found that Trump’s pro-fossil fuel, anti-renewable energy policies will raise prices. A July report from climate thinktank Energy Innovation, for instance, found that the Republicans’ spending megabill that the president signed last month could increase wholesale electricity prices by as much as 74%, largely due to its repeal of many Biden-era green energy incentives.

According to the new report from advocacy group Climate Power, which is based on an analysis of data from the US Energy Information Administration, those price increases are already beginning to take hold.

“Republicans are fueling an energy crisis and inflicting a massive utility bill hike on Americans across the country,” said Climate Power senior adviser Jesse Lee. “This is nothing short of a betrayal of their own voters. Families are losing jobs while their bills climb, all because Republicans would rather protect their donors than lower costs.”...

Trump's tariffs...

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Tuesday it is hiking steel and aluminum tariffs on more than 400 products including wind turbines, mobile cranes, appliances, bulldozers and other heavy equipment, along with railcars, motorcycles, marine engines, furniture and hundreds of other products.

The department said 407 product categories are being added to the list of “derivative” steel and aluminum products covered by sectoral tariffs, with a 50% tariff on any steel and aluminum content of these products plus the country rate on the non-steel and non-aluminum content.

 

Evercore ISI said in a research note the move covers more than 400 product codes representing over $200 billion in imports last year and estimates it will raise the overall effective tariff rate by around 1 percentage point.

 

The department is also adding imported parts for automotive exhaust systems and electrical steel needed for electric vehicles to the new tariffs as well as components for buses, air conditioners as well as appliances including refrigerators, freezers and dryers.

 

A group of foreign automakers had urged the department not to add the parts, saying the U.S. does not have the domestic capacity to handle current demand.  [snip]
 

The new tariffs take effect immediately and also cover compressors and pumps and the metal in imported cosmetics and other personal care packaging like aerosol cans...

 

... and their inflationary fallout

Almost a third of U.S. businesses have said in a survey that they’re likely to raise prices by the end of 2025 as they adjust to increasing costs and inflation, according to a new report.

The online lending marketplace LendingTree issued a report stating that more than 30 percent of businesses included in the company’s survey expect their prices to rise within the next six months. Roughly five percent said their prices would go down, and 65 percent estimated that they would remain the same.

The report comes as uncertainty grows regarding President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and continued tension stemming from inflation. 

LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst Matt Schulz stated in a press release that “Tariffs are likely playing a significant role in these concerns, but so is the overall sense of uncertainty that remains in the American economy.”

“There are so many unknowns that it’s nearly impossible to predict what the next few weeks will look like, much less six months from now,” he added. “However, this report makes it clear many businesses see continued rising prices ahead.”...

FAFO vox populi

... It’s a massive cosmic joke that people voted for Donald Trump to lower prices, but if the guy whose only significant legislative initiatives of his first term were 1)a massive upper-class tax cut and 2)taking healthcare away from tens of millions of people to pay for another massive upper-class tax cut was able to get treated like an economic populist when running for re-election, what else can you say but LOL nothing matters when our democracy is controlled by the random whims of people who consider Joe Rogan a deep thinker? 

And, scene. 

 

Analyst: Trump Policies Would Crater The Economy

 

Economic analyst Steven Rattner contrasted the economic plans of Vice President Harris and the Malignant Loser on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today.  Here are three key charts explaining what the impacts would be under their proposals, and why a majority of 39 economists surveyed support Harris' main policy proposals:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch Rattner explain the charts:

 

For anyone who wants to stake their family's financial stability on the notion that, "Oh, Trump won't do all of that!," we have a $100 $100,000 Trump watch for you (Trump Coins not accepted!).

All You Need To Know About Trump's Economic "Plan"

In one tweet:

Moody's Analytics, effects of economic plans compared to current law in 2020: Clinton +3.3-M jobs, Trump -7.6-M jobs

— John Harwood (@JohnJHarwood) August 6, 2016

That's plus 3.3 million jobs under Clinton's plan, and minus 7.6 million jobs under Trump's.

That's not even touching on the effect of Trump's "plan" on the national debt (adding $12 trillion), the reliance on debunked "trickle down" economics through tax policies favoring the rich and corporations, and gutting regulations to allow the polluters and banksters to run roughshod over the environment and economy.  So much for Trump's phony populism.  As one writer put it:

On immigration and trade, he is a pitchfork-wielding Pat Buchanan Republican; on taxes and regulation, he is a dark-suited Paul Ryan Republican. Perhaps the old saying is right and consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

Little hands, little, uh, mind.

BONUS:  Let's give it the Andy Borowitz treatment:

At a speech in Detroit on Monday, the Republican Presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump, spelled out the details of his economic plan, which calls for every American to inherit millions of dollars from his or her father.

"The Biggest Threat To The Economy" (UPDATED)

In a speech to be given later today in Columbus, Ohio, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is expected to flay what passes for the economic "policies" of neo- fascist dimwit Donald "Rump" Trump.  It's a particularly well- timed speech, in that those "policies" have come under scrutiny from a respected economic analysis firm, Moody's Analytics, and what they have to say is devastating [pdf]:

... [W]hat he is asking for is fiscally unsound. His tax and spending proposals will result in very large deficits and a much higher debt load. A future Congress may be able to rein in this profligacy, but it will not be easy, as there is a gulf between what he says he wants on taxes and spending and what it will take to make the budget arithmetic work. 

He is also very suspicious of globalization. His willingness to threaten higher tariffs on U.S. trading partners and his sharp criticism of major trade deals signal a reversal on the long-running expansion of U.S. trade and foreign investment. Requiring millions of undocumented immigrants to leave the country also signals less openness to the rest of the world. 

The upshot of Mr. Trump’s economic policy positions under almost any scenario is that the U.S. economy will be more isolated and diminished.  (our emphasis)

Not that this should be surprising to anyone who follows Rump's hare- brained "policy" prescriptions on any topic.  After all, he's the epitome of post- policy Republicanism. Nor is the warning likely to penetrate the skulls of a large portion of Rump's frothing base: endlessly aggrieved white working- class Americans.  After all, contrary to corporate media myth- making, it's not "economic anxiety" that's driving these voters;  it's racial/ cultural anxiety.  So, what would be the reward for these folks in a Rump presidency?  Catherine Rampell puts it like this:

Overall, the picture painted by these forecasts is terrifying. It suggests voters here — not so unlike our friends across the Atlantic who favor Brexit — may voluntarily bring a Category 5 economic hurricane upon themselves. And for what? To “shake things up”? To give the middle finger to “the establishment?” To make Washington a little more entertaining, or a little less politically correct?

Are 9.4 million fewer jobs and the longest recession since the Great Depression really worth those meager rewards?

Moody's isn't the only voice warning of Rump's catastrophic plans.  As Rampell goes on to note:

... A Trump presidency is considered one of the top 10 risks facing the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. It’s rated above an armed clash in the South China Sea, a fracturing of the European Union and even the rising threat of jihadist terrorism. 

And with Rump's proposed $10 trillion in tax cuts skewed to upper income brackets, who do you think would be the "winner" while the majority of us would be "losers" in a Rump Recession?  Why, none other than Donald "Rump" Trump!  Shocking, we know.