ECONOMY


Death of a Coin
Trump Just Pulled the Plug on the Penny It’s official. After 232 years in circulation, the humble penny is finally meeting its maker. The Treasury has confirmed it. The penny is being discontinued. The writing has been on the wall, with Musk’s DOGE being on the penny’s case pretty much since day one of […]

The Fed’s New Old Tool: Quantitative Easing Repackaged and Running Just Fine
The Fed is buying treasury bonds… An old system under a new name. After the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2007–2008, the Federal Reserve implemented quantitative easing (QE) to stabilize the economy, restore confidence in financial markets, and spur growth. Back then, the Fed’s QE programs involved large-scale asset purchases […]

10 Signs Of The Tremendous Economic Suffering That Is Quickly Spreading All Around Us
I am so tired of hearing that “everything is fine” when everything is most certainly not fine. Every day, I hear from people that are really suffering in this harsh economic environment. Some can’t find work, others are stressed out of their minds because they can’t make ends meet, and […]

The Ratchet Effect: Easy to Spend More, Spending Less Triggers Collapse
What’s required is not just a revised spreadsheet but an entirely new culture and value system. I’ve been referencing The Ratchet Effect since 2010 as it explains why shrinking bloat is so much harder than expanding bloat. A common example is household income and spending. When the couple were just starting out, they […]

MANNARINO: The Final Chess Move
The elites clearly know the dollar system is failing, and they are about to replace it. NOTE TO READERS: The following is one of dozens of articles in this week’s issue of The Trends Journal. Consider subscribing here for in-depth, independent geopolitical and socioeconomic trends and trend forecasts that you won’t find anywhere else. BY […]

30 Trillion Dollars In 30 Years – The Greatest Party In The History Of The World Has Destroyed America’s Future
When you spend 30 trillion dollars that you do not have, it is easy to create an illusion of prosperity. In 1995, the nation was obsessed with the O.J. Simpson trial, “Toy Story” was the biggest movie of the year, the Sony Playstation made its debut in the United States, […]

Los Angeles Passes New $30 Minimum Wage for Hotel and Airport Workers
With benefits, the effective wage is $38.35. This is inflationary. New Minimum Wage AI Overview Los Angeles is moving towards a $30 minimum wage for hotel and airport workers by 2028, a move supported by unions and some council members who believe it will benefit the local economy. The city […]

Government Free Money Accounts for 19 Percent of All Personal Income
Free money includes Medicare, Medicaid, SNAP, Social Security, and more, discussed below. Some may object to the term “free money” but the definition of Personal Current Transfer Receipts (PCTR) is “Payments to individuals for which no current services are performed, representing a component of personal income.” I don’t want to get […]
My Job Is to Say No–with One Exception
As long as there’s a way to borrow more money, there’s no discipline pushing efficiency. There seems to be a large number of people with this job description: my job is to say no, with one exception. And what is the exception, the one circumstance where the answer is invariably yes? Borrow […]