US Loses 92K Jobs

The US economy lost 92,000 jobs in February largely attributed to lower employment in health care ‘reflecting strike activity,’ according to the Labor Department, though even accounting for that, the number was worse than economists expected. Health care job growth has been propping up employment gains in recent months. The economy continues to lose information sector and federal government jobs. The unemployment rate inched up 0.1 points to 4.4%. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

FRIDAY 3/6/26

Israel Hits Beirut – After mass evacuations in Lebanon’s capital, Israel has launched its heaviest air strike on Beirut since its 2024 war with Iranian-backed militias, The New York Times reports early Friday. Israel also is hitting Tehran while air defenses battled incoming missiles from Iran.

Choose the leader we want … After admitting most of his administration’s favored candidates for replacing the late Ayatollah Khamenei were killed in the initial US-Israeli air attacks last Saturday, President Trump encouraged the Iranian people to choose their new leaders. Then on Thursday, Trump told Reuters in an exclusive phone interview: “We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future.”

Fuel prices … Gas and diesel prices have been steadily rising since the US-Israeli war on Iran began nearly a week ago. The AAA reports the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular was $3.32, up from $2.982 February 27. Diesel – used in trucks that deliver much of the goods we buy, as Trump reminded us during his 2024 campaign -- averaged $4.33 a gallon, up from $3.757.

“If they rise, they rise,” Trump said. The president says he has no intention of tapping the national strategic reserves, currently 57% full, according to APR’s Marketplace, which reports most economists agree with Trump that the increases are temporary – so long as the war is short-lived.

•••

Gonzales Out – Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) was headed for Texas’ May 26 runoffs after “The AKA Guy” Brandon Harris edged him out in Tuesday’s GOP primary, 43% to 42%. That changed late Thursday when Gonzalez announced he is dropping his re-election bid, leaving the Republican nomination for Texas’ 23^rd District to YouTuber and gun manufacturer Harris, Punchbowl News reports.

Herrera will face Democratic candidate Kathy Padilla Stout for Texas’ 23^rd District seat, which includes Uvalde. –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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FRIDAY 3/6/26

…meanwhile…

TUESDAY 8/5/25

House Arrest for Bolsonaro – Brazil’s supreme court has ordered house arrest for the country’s Trumpy ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for an alleged coup plot to remain in office after his 2022 re-election defeat, The Associated Press reports. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said Bolsonaro had spread content through his three lawmaker sons, thus violating precautionary measures imposed on the former president.

Coffee talk … Thanks to the simpatico between President Trump and Bolsonaro, Trump has set the tariff on Brazil – which imports most of the coffee beans the US consumes – at 50%. The US already has a trade surplus with Brazil.

•••

Will Israel Annex Parts of Gaza? – As Canada, the UK and France prepare to recognize a Palestinian state in September amidst piling evidence that the Israeli Defense Force is starving citizens in Gaza in its fight against Hamas, the Israeli government has “floated” the possibility of extending its military offensive and annexing parts of the strip, The Guardian reports. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene Israel’s security cabinet in the coming days to discuss options.

This follows collapse of indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas led by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff last Saturday.

•••

Harm Reduction Redacted – The Trump administration is quickly phasing out “harm reduction,” the key method for states, localities and communities to respond to the drug overdose epidemic, according to Roll Call. In the past week, the administration began removing educational materials from government websites, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration told states that harm reduction is used to “advocate for policies that are incompatible with federal laws and inconsistent with this administration’s policies.”

Trump in July issued an executive order targeting homeless people that criticizes “harm reduction” and “safe consumption” efforts. --TL

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MONDAY 8/4/25

Messing With Texas – President Trump called on the Texas legislature, which consists of 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats, to redraw US House districts in order to add five Republicans to the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterms. State House Republicans obeyed and were to begin voting on a new map Monday in a special session that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called in order to take up measures regarding the deadly Independence Day Hill Country floods, stiffer regulations for hemp and other GOP-leaning issues.

On Sunday, at least 51 of those 62 state House Democrats fled Texas, mostly for Chicago (where Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has been one of the more effective Democrats pushing back against Trump’s politics and policies), as well as New York, NPR and Houston Public Media reports on Morning Edition.

The Texas House does not have a quorum and thus cannot conduct business if fewer than 100 of its members are present, according to The Texas Tribune.

“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” state Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus said in a statement. Wu, according to the Tribune, accused Abbott of “using an intentionally racist map to steal the voice of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal.”

Abbott issued an ominous statement of his own.

“The truancy ends now,” the Texas governor said. “The derelict Democratic House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025. For any member who fails to do so, I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House.”

Abbott would then appoint his own Republican replacements for the missing Democrats, HPM reports.

As of Monday, two weeks remain in Abbott’s special session.

•••

Drowning the Numbers – The Trump Camp including such supporters as our own right-column contributing pundit Rich Corbett were caught in celebration over a “booming” economy unhurt by White House tariff negotiations when, inconveniently, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest numbers showing just 73,000 jobs added to the economy in July. What’s worse, the BLS revised heavily downward by 258,000 jobs combined its earlier reports for May and June, to just 19,000 and 14,000 jobs added, respectively.

The unemployment rate remains low, at 4.2%.

It must be noted here that the BLS often makes such revisions upward as well as downward. The May and June revisions indicate a lag in counting the effects of the “Liberation Day” tariffs, April 2, which Trump delayed numerous times as he reportedly negotiated deals. These are ongoing.

Trump took it out on BLS administrator Erika McEntarfer, a Biden appointee.

“I believe the numbers were phony, just like before the election. And there were other times” President Trump Truth Socialed Friday, according to RealClear Politics.

The BLS reported the US economy added just 114,000 jobs in July 2024 and a healthier 142,000 for that August. September 2024’s job report was stronger, with 254,000 added, but for October 2024, the US economy added just 12,000 jobs according to a report issued that November 4 – the day before election day.

“So you know what I did?” Trump continued on Truth Social. “I fired her. And you know what? I did the right thing.

“She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified. Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, and they can’t be manipulated for political purposes,” Trump said.

Ironically … These poor employment growth numbers would have given Trump appointees to the Federal Open Market Committee, Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, a better argument for lowering interest rates at the Federal Reserve’s regular confab two days earlier. Both dissented against the 10 others on the FOMC by calling for a quarter-point cut in interest rates, in line with Trump’s criticism of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s reluctance to do so.

Waller, who has made clear his interest in replacing Powell as Fed chair when Powell’s term ends next May said on July 17, according to the New York Post, “the economy is still growing, but its momentum has slowed significantly, and the risks to the FOMC’s employment market have increased.” --Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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MONDAY 8/4/25

…meanwhile…

Federal Reserve interest rate cut, here we come. The US economy added just 142,000 jobs in August according to the Labor Department, with the biggest gains in construction and health care, as the unemployment rate inched down by 0.1 points to 4.2%. The Fed, whose chairman Jerome Powell, recently said “we do not seek or welcome further cooling” of the economy, is expected to lower interest rates later this month. [Chart: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

FRIDAY 9/6/24

Trump Sentencing After Election -- New York Judge Juan Merchan has delayed sentencing of Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump for his conviction of falsified business records -- the "hush money case" -- to November 12, one week after the presidential election (per NPR's All Things Considered). The sentencing hearing was to be held September 18, eight days after the Harris-Trump debate on ABC TV.

This represents a double-edged sword for Trump, whose attorneys asked for the delay and yet could have grown his popularity over having to campaign from jail or while under probation. It's was a damned if you do/don't proposition for Merchan, who would have been accused of election interference with a jail sentence or probation ahead of the election, and is still accused of such with a sentencing date (hopefully) after we know who has won and before Trump or Vice President Harris will take the White House.

•••

Arlington Altercation Update – NPR’s Morning Edition has identified Trump campaign officials accused by an Arlington National Cemetery employee of shoving or pushing her aside when she tried to prevent the campaign from filming the ex-president’s appearance there with Gold Star families. The two involved in the altercation are Justin Caporale, deputy campaign manager, and Michael Picard, a member of Trump’s advance team, a source has told NPR.

Trump this week insisted on his Truth Social website the incident did not happen even after the campaign posted video of the event with families of soldiers killed at the Abby Gate of Kabul International Airport during the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Army in a rare rebuke issued a statement that the Trump campaign violated cemetery rules and federal law by taking photos and video at Section 60, where soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried. The cemetery employee who says she was shoved in the incident reportedly does not want to press charges for fear of retaliation by Trump supporters.

•••

Is it the Stupid Economy? – Donald J. Trump did not fare much better at the Economic Club of New York, where he was to reveal his “big policy agenda” for the nation’s finances, according to New York.

The magazine’s Intelligencer called the speech before the Trump-friendly group “a bomb of a speech a day after Kamala Harris unveiled a major tax-policy proposal and a pledge to support 25 million new small businesses.”

“We delivered an economic miracle that Kamala and Joe turned into an economic disaster,” Trump said.

The single bit of news, according to Intelligencer is that Tesla/X/SpaceX chief Elon Musk has agreed to lead a commission on government fraud and abuse for a second Trump administration. The Government Accountability Office estimates such fraud and abuse totals more than half a trillion dollars a year, the magazine notes, and the plan to put Musk in the driver’s seat would save “trillions” of dollars over an unspecified period, Trump told the Economic Club.

Note…Trump’s plan is “similar to the GAO’s Biden-era approach for rooting it out,” Intelligencer reports. Also notable is that Musk, who has said he’d take the role for zero compensation, has over the years fought federal probes ranging from his comments about Tesla stock to the automaker’s self-driving technology.

At the Democratic National Convention, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain announced his union had filed a National Labor Relations board complaint against Musk and Trump over their comments regarding Musk’s alleged worker intimidation at Tesla.

•••

President’s Son Pleads Guilty – Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea in Los Angeles Thursday over federal tax charges, to avoid a trial that was expected to reveal details about past business deals. Prosecutors were expected to argue “he spent freely” on illicit drugs and escorts while neglecting tax obligations, says The Wall Street Journal. Speaking with reporters on Air Force One Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeated President Biden’s pledge he would not use his clemency powers to pardon his son, or commute potential sentences.
--TL

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THURSDAY 9/5/24

Trump’s Town Hall with Hannity – It was no debate, as originally proposed for Fox News September 17 to have been moderated by Martha McCollum and Brett Baier. Instead, the hour-long “town hall-style” interview (conversation?) with Sean Hannity was a taped and edited interview with ex-President Trump, held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The editing left in Trump’s argument that a Harris presidency would lead to another Great Depression and illegal immigrants would be eating up Social Security and Medicaid.

There was no mention of Hannibal Lecter or electric boats v. sharks, though there were high school-style nicknames like “Comrade Kamala” (with accent on the second syllable of Harris’ name) and projection of Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz’s high school criticism of the Trump/Vance ticket.

“There’s something weird about that guy,” Trump said of Walz. “I’m solid as a rock.”

Oh, the Orbánity… Trump began the interview quoting Hungary’s authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, “Bring Trump back and we won’t have these problems.”

We do it all for you… Apparently an issue on Fox News and perhaps other conservative news outlets is they can find no evidence Vice President Kamala Harris ever worked at a McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, an issue Hannity raised Wednesday night.

•••

Cheney to Vote for Harris – Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who lost her seat after voting to impeach then-President Trump over the January 6 attack on the US Capitol said at an event at Duke University Wednesday she will vote for the Democratic presidential ticket.

“Because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” she said (per The New York Times). She went on; “I don’t believe we have the luxury of writing in candidates’ names, particularly in swing states.”

•••

Economy v. Economy – Goldman Sachs, the second-largest investment bank in the world according to Wikipedia, says US economic growth would get a bigger boost from a Harris presidency than with a Trump presidency.

Why? Mostly the return of Trump tariffs and more strict immigration policies, the bank said in a release late Tuesday (per Reuters).

Job growth also would be greater under a Democratic sweep – meaning, House and Senate (unlikely) as well as White House. New spending and expanded middle-income tax credits would “slightly more than offset” the lower investment that higher corporate taxes would cause.

“We estimate that if Trump wins in a sweep or with divided government, the hit to growth from tariffs and tighter immigration policy would outweigh the positive fiscal impulse,” Goldman Sachs said, which would result in an 0.5% decline in GDP in the second half of 2025 that would abate in 2026.

•••

Headline Redux – Wednesday’s tragic school shooting in Winder, Georgia, where two students and two teachers were killed has activated The Onion’s boilerplate headline, “No Way to Prevent This’ Says Only Nation Where this Regularly Happens.”

--TL

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Campaign Season Notes – Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump tapes a “town-hall-style” event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, with Sean Hannity of Fox News set for broadcast at 9 pm Wednesday night. …

Meanwhile, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is in North Hampton, New Hampshire to tout her small business plan, which includes a tenfold tax credit for new businesses, from $5,000 currently to $50,000 (NPR). She hopes to cull a record 25 million new small business applications over four years of a presidential term. …

The youngest son of the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, Army 1^st Lt. Jimmy McCain has changed his registration from independent to Democratic and says he will vote for Harris/Walz in November. He made the announcement in a press release and on social media Tuesday. McCain also expressed “outrage” over the Trump video altercation at Arlington National Cemetary, calling it a “violation” and a “painful experience.” …

George Conway, the conservative attorney, Trump critic and ex-husband of Kellyanne Conway last July launched the Anti-Psychotic PAC with plans to spend more than $100,000 on anti-Trump ads. Conway has launched the PAC’s first 60-second ad featuring clips of Republicans bashing Trump.

--TL

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Russia Strikes Central Ukraine – At least 41 were killed and more than 180 injured by two Russian ballistic missiles in a strike on Poltava Tuesday, an otherwise quiet city in central Ukraine, according to NPR. The strike prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to call for more Western air defenses and to allow his country to strike deeper into Russian territory with long-range missiles, The Guardian reports.

“We keep telling everyone in the world who has the power to stop this terror: Air defense systems and missiles are needed for Ukraine, not in a warehouse somewhere,” Zelenskyy said.

•••

Netanyahu Remains Defiant After Protests – In retrospect, it was inevitable that the latest round of ceasefire talks with Israel over its war on Gaza and Hamas would stall. This time, it was over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intransigence in giving up Israeli control of Philadelphi, a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt that Netanyahu’s government says Hamas uses to smuggle weapons into Gaza and which Egypt and Hamas deny.

Even after Israeli protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv by the “hundreds of thousands” last weekend according to The Associated Press, to protest the killing of six Israeli hostages, demanding a ceasefire deal and immediate release of hostages, Netanyahu pushed back, saying “No one will preach to me.”

The UK Tuesday, led by its first liberal leader in 14 years Tuesday morning said it is suspending certain arm sales to Israel, NPR’s Morning Edition reports, though it will have little effect on Israel’s military capability, as the US and Germany are its two biggest arm suppliers.

•••

U.S. Steel should remain domestically owned, Vice President Kamala Harris said in Pittsburgh in her first joint campaign rally with President Biden, the AP reports. Harris and Biden opposition to the $14 billion sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan is echoed by Harris’ opponent in the presidential race, former President Donald J. Trump.

“U.S. Steel should remain American-owned and American-operated, and I will always have the backs of America’s steelworkers,” Harris said at a Labor Day rally before cheering union members.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

…meanwhile…

CPI Falls to 4.0% -- The Consumer Price Index fell to an annual rate of 4.0% in May, down from 4.9% in April, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. Prices were up 0.1% on a monthly basis, with highest increase for shelter, followed by used cars and trucks, according to the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Food prices were up 6.7% on an annual level, offset in part by an 11.7% drop in energy prices. The CPI for all items less food and energy was +5.3% in May.

Most economists believe the Federal Reserve, which holds its latest regular meeting Tuesday through Thursday will forego an interest rate increase for the first time in about two years.

•••

Truce for McCarthy and Freedom Caucus – Last week’s disagreement between Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and “conservatives” dominated by the Freedom Caucus, which clogged up legislation in the House is over for now, Roll Call reports. “Members of the rebel bloc made it clear” Monday “it may not be the end of trouble” for McCarthy.

There were even whispers last week of the possibility of a motion to vacate, in which one representative can call for a vote that would recall the speaker. The brouhaha stemmed from Freedom Caucus members who objected to what they saw as a debt ceiling deal favoring President Biden. Last week, the hard-right bloc blocked votes on bills otherwise favorable to them, including one that would prevent regulation or banning of gas stoves.

Trouble ahead: The MAGA/Freedom Caucus bloc reopened the House floor to action this week in exchange for renegotiating the “power-sharing” agreement they worked out with McCarthy to give him the speaker’s gavel, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told reporters Monday. Short of unspecified “progress” Gaetz said, “perhaps we’ll be back here next week.”

Why the quote marks?: We put “conservatives” in quotes, above, because we presume most, if not all, 222 House Republicans consider themselves leaning right. The Freedom Caucus currently counts 46 members, a bit more than one-tenth the size of the House membership.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

…meanwhile…

TRUMP’S PERP WALK – Does Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg have a case against Donald J. Trump? Read our center-column analysis of Bragg’s 34-count indictment charging the ex-prez with “Falsifying business records…” scroll down this center column, then read right- and left-column opinions.

Congress remains on Easter/Passover/Ramadan break. Both chambers return Monday, April 17, with the House in session through Thursday, April 20, and the Senate in session through Friday, April 21. The Hustings returns that week.

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FRIDAY 4/7/23

Economy Adds a Cool 236k Jobs – The Labor Department counted 236,000 new jobs added in March, compared with 326,000 jobs in February, indicating a cooling economy, finally; a sign the Federal Reserve’s efforts to bring down inflation with nine consecutive interest rate increases is taking hold. Despite the new jobs number released by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday, the unemployment rate fell slightly from 3.6% in February to 3.5% in March, and average hourly earnings were up 4.2% last month, “also easing from recent months” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Job growth continues in leisure and hospitality, government, professional and business services, and health care, the BLS reports.

Lingering question: Will the Fed’s interest rate increases lead the economy to a “soft landing,” or are we headed for a recession?

--TL

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Does Bragg Have a Case?

By Todd Lassa

New York County Indictment #71543-23 had Democratic pundits, anti-Trump-leaning independents and never-Trump Republicans feeling anxious about the solidity of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr.’s 34-count case against the former president.

Was it the wrong case to come first – or at all -- considering Fulton County, Georgia’s recording of Donald J. Trump calling on the secretary of state for 11,780 more votes in his favor after the 2020 election, last year’s investigation by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol, and a stash of classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago after Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46^th president?

Bragg’s indictment accuses Trump of “Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree in violation of Penal Law 175.10.”

“The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an invoice from Michael Cohen dated February 14, 2017, marked as a record of the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.”

Repeat – no rinse – 34 times.

Former attorney and Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen already has served time for perjury in relation to his falsifying records. Cohen paid adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in “hush money” prior to the 2016 presidential election to silence her story of having sexual relations with Trump, who then allegedly reimbursed Cohen after winning the election, for “attorney’s fees.” Bragg’s case also draws in $150,000 paid to former Playboy model Karen McDougal via the National Enquirer by former publisher of the tabloid and Trump ally David Pecker in a “catch and kill” scheme to suppress salacious stories.

In a statement on the indictment, DA Bragg said he is charging the former president “for falsifying New York business records in order to conceal information and unlawful activity from American voters by and after the 2016 election. During the election, Trump and others employed a “catch and kill” scheme to identify, purchase and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects. Trump then went to great lengths to hide his conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”

But is a business records fraud case based on suppression of a political sex scandal enough?

Justice Juan Merchan has given Trump more than seven months to hone and repeat his 2024 presidential campaign, setting December 4 for his next court date, just two months before the Iowa GOP caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, according to The Hill. Trump added Merchan to his long list of grievances in his Tuesday night echo-chamber speech at Mar-a-Lago, attended by such acolytes as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and MyPillow guy Mike Lindell.

On CNN, former Obama advisor David Axelrod likened Trump’s airing of grievances at Mar-a-Lago to “a guy on a barstool telling you about his bad divorce.”

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

SOTU is Tuesday

MONDAY 2/6/23

(Strong new jobs numbers certainly will be a key subject in President Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday. Scroll down to read about last month's job growth numbers and 3.4% unemployment rate.)

President Biden gives his State of the Union address Tuesday, February 7 at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Look for the president to tout last week’s surprise jobs numbers, and the big spending programs Republicans want to diminish in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

Biden has been touring East Coast cities in recent weeks to promote bridge and tunnel rehab projects that will be funded by last year’s bipartisan infrastructure bill.

China’s Spy Balloon … certainly will come up. U.S. military shot it down at 2:39 Eastern time off the coast of South Carolina, immediately drawing the ire of China despite Beijing describing it as a “civilian” balloon that went off course. Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), already considered a potential presidential candidate for 2024 had criticized the White House for failing to drop the balloon from the sky the moment it entered U.S. airspace.

The Politics: Biden is expected to announce his run for a second term soon. Much of Tuesday’s SOTU will be about his agenda, and his campaign arguments.

White House Links: The Biden administration offers this handy link on how to watch the annual State of the Union address Tuesday: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/blog/2023/02/04/how-to-watch-president-bidens-2023-state-of-the-union-address/

--TL

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...meanwhile...

SAT-SUN 2/4-5/23

New Early DNC Primary Schedule -- The Democratic National Committee has knocked the Iowa caucus out of the pole position for its 2024 early primary schedule, The Hill reports. DNC committee members moved South Carolina, the state that saved Joe Biden’s candidacy in 2020, to the lead for next year, at its winter meeting in Philadelphia.

The early schedule, per Ballotpedia:

February 3, 2024: South Carolina

February 6: New Hampshire and Nevada

February 13: Georgia

February 27: Michigan

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...meanwhile...

FRIDAY 2/3/23

Huge Job Gains in January – The U.S. economy added 517,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department reports Friday, and the unemployment rate slid slightly to 3.4%, lowest since 1969. Despite a wave of high-profile layoffs at tech companies, there was widespread job growth across many industries, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says, though it highlights the usual suspects; Leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and health care. There were also job gains in government, the BLS notes, reflecting workers returning from a strike.

•••

Spy Balloon Over Montana – Beijing is looking into reports of a Chinese spy balloon spotted over U.S. airspace, including three nuclear silo fields at Malstrom Air Force Base in Montana, NPR reports. Spokesperson Mao Ning said she has no information on whether U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China next week, as planned. Blinken would be the highest-ranking Biden administration official to visit the country.

The U.S. has not shot down the Chinese surveillance balloon, which is flying well above commercial airspace, for fears of the potential danger of falling debris.

The report comes a day after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed an agreement in Manila to open four additional U.S. military bases in The Philippines in support of America’s allies in the region.

This Just In: Beijing has “expressed regret” for the Chinese surveillance balloon spotted flying over the U.S. (The New York Times) and says it’s for “civilian research” and drifted off-course. Meanwhile: Blinken has postponed his trip to China in light of the balloon, The Washington Post reports.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Inflation Eases Slightly to 7.7%

The Consumer Price Index dropped to 7.7% in October compared to an 8.2% annual rate in September, the Labor Department announced Thursday. The October rate was slightly better than the 7.9% level Marketplace reported economists had expected.

Used car and truck prices have eased to a CPI of 2%, while new vehicles are up 8.4% year-over-year. CPI for shelter is 6.9%, with food up 10.9% and food at home up 12.4%.

The month-over-month CPI rate was 0.4%.

--Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

261K Jobs Added Last Month

The U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs in October, signaling a “softening” of the economy as the Federal Reserve continues to hike interest rates in order to ease inflation. The number is a bit higher than the low-200s number some economists had predicted.

The jobs number was low enough to tick up the unemployment rate, to 3.7% from a 3.5% rate in August and September. But any unemployment number under 4% is still almost unnaturally low. The combo of a better-than-expected jobs increase and two-tenths uptick in the unemployment rate also is seen as a sign the Fed’s aggressive interest rate increases could result in a “soft landing” instead of a 2023 recession.

The Labor Department reported job gains in health care, professional and technical services, and manufacturing.

•••

Trump Marks Calendar for November 14 – Donald J. Trump’s “inner circle” are targeting November 14 as the date the former president will announce his run for the 2024 GOP presidential election, Jonathan Swan scoops in Axios Friday. The potential date comes after the midterms and before Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis would announce his own candidacy and challenge Trump. Swan tells MSNBC’s Morning Joe that Trump’s team will use the date to schedule a series of rallies and appearances and take credit for the election victories by the ex-president’s endorsees.

The date remains tentative, Swan emphasizes, as it is very likely control of the Senate will have not been determined six days after the midterms. If neither incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock nor Trump-endorsed Republican challenger Herschel Walker reach at least 50% of the vote in Georgia’s Senate race, for example, they will face each other again in a runoff scheduled for December 6.

•••

Confirming the Obvious – United Nations inspectors have found no evidence of “dirty bombs” being developed by Ukraine, NPR reports. The UN inspection was made under dubious circumstances, as it was a claim made by Russia to divert attention from its own atrocities over its invasion of the country. With the UN report, only Vladimir Putin and his allies will continue to push the false dirty bomb story.

Meanwhile: Ukrainian officials have signaled an assault to take back its Kherson region “could be imminent,” The Washington Post reports, which could become the “best test” of whether Russia will hold any significant piece of territory after its February invasion.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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'Democracy on the Ballot' (THU 11/3/22)

President Biden called on voters to consider the future of our republic when casting ballots in the midterm elections, in an address Wednesday evening from Washington’s Union Station. His speech began with a detailed description of the attack the prior Friday on Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband. Biden blamed former President Trump for ongoing threat to American democracy in a speech that will be seen as political, especially by Fox News and media outlets to its right.

“Democracy is on the ballot” in the November 8 midterms, Biden said. “So today I appeal to all Americans regardless of party to meet this moment of national and generational importance. We must vote knowing what’s at stake and not just the policy of the moment.”

Recent polls have shown that while the future of American democracy is an underlying issue in the midterms it is not as important to most voters as inflation and the economy. The fear here is that the current 8.5% inflation rate will help propel election deniers into office and potentially give them power over the way future elections are conducted.

•••

Fed Rates Up Another ¾ Point – As every professional- and armchair economist had predicted, the Federal Reserve raised its “key policy rate” by 75 basis points for the fourth meeting in a row, indicating it is not done with its attempt to tighten the economy and lower inflation, the investment site Seeking Alpha reports. That brings it to the current rate of 3.75%, says Marketplace, which notes that Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed may slow increases “very soon,” as early as its next meeting, or the meeting after that.

Which does not amount to the much-expected “Fed pivot,” says Marketplace’s Kai Risdahl. The next Fed board meeting is December 13-14, Risdahl says, and there will be a “whole lot” of economic data out between now and then.

Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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The Cost of Free College

By Andrew Boyd

To start where Charles Dervarics‘ column concludes, I‘d submit that free is never free, with the possible exceptions of hope, love, compassion and sorrow. So, let’s dispense with the notion of “free college.”

In the realm of public goods and investments, we don’t say free military might, free infrastructure, or free police protection; but it certainly makes sense to think about education as a public good, although, unlike an interstate highway, most if not all the value of a higher education accrues to the individual in such a way for which free-market mechanisms can account.

In terms of the mechanism, I’d be more inclined to support tax credits and/or subsidies for higher education with associated economic means testing and requirements for some base levels of effort and achievement on the part of the student, not unlike the kinds of constraints we place upon things like welfare and unemployment, although the erosion now on those constraints, I’d propose, has serious and even dire implications for our social and economic well-being.

Statistically, Americans with a college degree on average earn twice that of those with a high-school diploma. This, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for CY2019. Of course, if you increase the supply of something (those with college degrees), the price (wage) is likely to fall, so there is the notion of diminishing returns. Also, there’s strong evidence that many people might derive greater benefit from a vocational degree. It took me 10 phone calls this week to find an electrician who would even respond to my work request, and I’ve yet to even get him to show up. You can’t outsource that value to Indonesia or Lethoso, after all.

Ideologically, if we’re prepared to swallow the moral hazard of yet another social welfare program, a.k.a compelled spending (at the threat of harm, which only the government can do) and all the attendant inefficiencies and market distortions, I think it should at least be accompanied by some strategy that ties back to our national economic wellbeing – a degree in underwater basket weaving not being the same, in this context, as one in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

Finally, let’s not set aside the growing menace of our national spending problem and the increasingly unbearable financial burdens we’re placing upon future generations, which at something like $90,000 of public debt per American, might be thought of as a pretty significant offset to the economic benefits of more education. At what point, I wonder, do we have “the talk” about how much of America's productivity should rightly be consumed by compelled spending, propped up by a fiat currency and the utter foolishness of modern monetary theory? A column for another day perhaps.

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