Free Republic

President Donald Trump is searching for ways to ease the affordability squeeze on American households, but nearly every proposal is colliding with another part of the economy.Beef relief risks hurting ranchers. Restricting fuel exports could distort energy markets. A proposed $5,000 payment to American adults would require congressional action and could add enormous new spending power to an economy where inflation remains above the Federal Reserve’s target.For investors, the bigger story is becoming clear: there may be no quick political fix for an affordability problem being driven at the same time by energy costs, interest rates, inflation and weak purchasing...

Yes, the gas prices are high, but I live in California, where gas prices are always going to be higher than in the rest of the country. I don't blame President Trump, nor do I blame the conflict in Iran. If Iran wasn't trying to blow us up in a nuclear holocaust, then there would have been no reason for the United States to attack them! California shut down two refineries, and they add taxes and fees on top of more taxes and fees. Don’t scream at Trump, blue state residents. Blame your own incompetent state governments! Am I happy...

Apparently, Democrats’ internal polling suggests gas prices won’t be enough to sweep them into power in the Midterms. They may also suggest endlessly mouthing “affordability” isn’t that hot either, which is plausibly why AI, in development for many years, has suddenly become their newest source of imminent doom. Happily, for Americans, it appears AI hysteria isn’t going to work very well either. Americans seem to have learned from the COVID hoax. The other day, I paid $4.17 for gas. That didn’t make me happy, but I know it’s temporary. President Trump’s policies, based in reality and a solid understanding of...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are preparing a vast oversight agenda, with investigations of President Donald Trump, his family and his administration if the party sweeps control of the chamber from Republicans in the November elections. The undertaking is as robust as it is daunting, spanning several House committees. With majority power comes bigger budgets and staff, and the ability to investigate, subpoena and potentially course-correct what the Democrats say are widespread corruption and abuses of power. Impeachment of the Republican president and Cabinet officials is not off the table. “There is a cost to the American people of the...

Did you know that recently released Census Bureau statistics show the poverty rate in the United States fell to a record low in 2025? That's an extraordinary development, but it has so far not attracted a lot of media coverage and discussion. What about a big White House event featuring President Donald Trump touting a welcome decline in poverty and increase in income? There hasn't been one. "I dunno, but if I were president and the poverty rate dropped to the LOWEST RATE ON RECORD, I might make a big deal out of it — a lot bigger deal than...

Add it all up, and the future looks more expensive. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated that if yields remain more than 80 basis points over baseline projections, the U.S. will spend $2.7 trillion on annual interest payments by the end of the decade—more than Medicare or Social Security retirement benefits. “The real threat is the debt spiral. If interest begets debt, and debt begets interest, eventually debt will spin out of control. A fiscal crisis, once unthinkable, is now a distinct possibility,” Maya MacGuineas, president of the CFRB, said on Monday. The budget watchdog and others have...

The Iran and Ukraine wars have exposed the world’s reliance on the Middle East and Russia for diesel Persian Gulf states and Russia have invested tens of billions of dollars in refineries over the past decade to grab a bigger share of the global diesel market. Now, war in both regions has sent exports plunging, squeezing supplies of a fuel that powers much of the global economy. Diesel prices are soaring—they eclipsed $6 a gallon in the U.S. for the first time last week and have kept climbing, hitting $6.45 on Friday. The surge has rattled governments and markets around...

A new poll suggests Medicare for All could benefit Republicans in some of the country's most competitive House races, especially as progressive Democrats increasingly embrace the idea. The survey, conducted by Republican polling firm FabrizioWard on behalf of Seniors Matter for America, found that voters in battleground congressional districts would favor a Republican candidate by a 50 percent to 38 percent margin if the Democratic candidate supported replacing existing health coverage with a government-run system. The poll surveyed 1,000 likely voters across 37 House districts rated Toss Up, Lean Republican, or Lean Democrat by the Cook Political Report between August...

Investors on Wall Street and observers of the Federal Reserve in Washington largely expect the central bank to raise interest rates when it meets this week, but some prominent economists are warning that such a move could prove to be a mistake. They see the economy as more vulnerable to a steep slowdown in growth than commonly believed. The Fed’s job is to keep employment steady and inflation under control. If central bank officials raise rates on Wednesday, the goal will be to cool inflation. But these economists worry that a rate hike could cause a sharp cut in economic...

President Donald Trump is promising a $5,000 payment to every adult American citizen if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress in November. The proposal could cost roughly $1.2 trillion, require congressional approval and inject a massive new variable into the outlook for inflation, interest rates and federal borrowing. Trump Ties $5,000 Payments to the Midterm ElectionsTrump unveiled what he called the “Trump Dividend” during the Republican Party’s midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday night.“Here is my promise: if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them… because of our tremendous strength...

Voters going to the polls in Sweden...latest set of polls showing a tighter race... Today's US inflation report showing the Consumer Price Index remained at 3.4... More than 3300 deaths now reported from the Ebola outbreak... 44 people hurt...train derailment in northwestern France... On the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States family members called on President Trump to hold Saudi Arabia to account... In Brazil...Supreme Court and Federal Police opening a corruption probe...leading opposition candidate Flavio Bolsonaro... North Korea launching a projectile eastwards... In the British House of Commons assisted death legislation failing... "BRICS" leaders...

Prices increases remained stubbornly high in August with little relief in sight for weary American consumers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that consumer prices rose by 0.4 percent in August month over month, leaving the annual CPI inflation rate at 3.4 percent, flat with the 3.4 percent figure in June. 'Apart from the hot core inflation, today’s data doesn’t even cover the most recent oil price spike above $100,' Nic Puckrin, markets expert and former Goldman Sachs analyst, told the Daily Mail. The August inflation numbers are the last impactful data report to come out before the Federal...

Diesel prices have climbed above an average of $6 a gallon in Arizona, putting pressure on truck drivers, business owners and consumers.

President Donald Trump used the Republican Party’s first midterm convention to justify the Iran war rather than trying to put it behind him, as escalating violence and spiking oil prices loomed over the elaborate Trump-centered showcase in Dallas. In a speech billed as an opening argument for the peak campaign season, he defended his record and encouraged supporters to vote as if he were on the ballot. He also debuted a new enticement, promising to reward Republican congressional majorities by giving every American a $5,000 dividend to spend within the country.

President Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of issuing every American adult a $5,000 “dividend” check if his party kept control of the House and Senate in November — an extraordinary offer that would cost more than $1 trillion and likely would require congressional approval. “It will be called the Trump dividend,” he said at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. He added a caveat: The money must be spent in the United States, though he did not say how the government could track where private citizens used the funds. He offered few additional details about the idea. How could...

President Trump’s pledge to distribute $5,000 to every U.S. adult if Republicans win the midterms is drawing backlash from Republicans and Democrats as the president’s allies are forced to explain and defend the proposition. Fiscal hawks, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), openly questioned how the government would be able to afford to pay 270 million Americans that much money, while others have likened Trump’s proposal to bribery. “Maybe some of us think dependency is evil & soul-sucking in all its forms,” Roy wrote in a post on the social platform X, referring to Trump’s idea. Former Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.),...

President Donald Trump pledged that he will send a $5,000 dividend to all American adults if Republicans hold their majorities in Congress in November. Trump made the promise in what he called maybe “the best part” of his keynote address at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday before a packed crowd at the American Airlines Center. “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our… tremendous economic success—like in history we’ve never had anything like what’s happening—but because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will...

President Trump pledged a $5,000 payout to U.S. adults on Wednesday, but only if Republicans hold onto their majority in Congress come November. “Here is my promise: if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” he said at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas, Texas. The legality of this disbursal is unclear. There are about 270 million adults in the U.S. Trump told attendees Wednesday that...

President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an extraordinary gambit to reverse his party’s sagging fortunes in November. The dubious promise would likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country’s nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation. “If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000,” Trump said during the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas. “It will be called the Trump Dividend.”

Crude oil prices jumped 3% on Wednesday as fighting between the U.S. and Iran escalates in the Persian Gulf, raising investors fears that energy exports through the Strait of Hormuz will fall. Brent futures were up 3% at $100.86 a barrel by 8:29 a.m. ET. It is the first time the international benchmark has crossed the $100 threshold since July. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures traded 3% higher to $95.84. The U.S. military destroyed five Iranian crude oil tankers Tuesday in retaliation for attempted attacks on an American warship. The U.S. warship successfully evaded Iranian attack and no American personnel...