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Yikes U.S. Rent Prices vs Income

We all intuitively know that prices are rising faster than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicates. We feel the pain every time we go to the grocery store or gas station. But just how much is price inflation impacting us here on Main Street? I started pondering this question the other day when I ran across a graph tracking the price of a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup since 1895. You’ll notice an interesting phenomenon. The cost of a can of soup remained relatively stable until around 1973, when it suddenly started to climb more rapidly. And what happened in...

The Iran War, the Epstein files and even the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have prompted fierce debate on Capitol Hill since Donald Trump’s return to the White House. But there was one topic that even Washington’s political class probably didn’t expect to cause a storm among Republicans this week: the humble burrito. It began on Tuesday with a post on X from Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for Turning Point USA. Recounting a recent conversation with one of the conservative group’s student supporters, he wrote: “One of our TPUSA college students gave me his take on affordability. A burrito shouldn’t cost...

"The conservatives on here denying the affordability crisis are engaged in what I can only describe as an act of political suicide. They're also lying, which is the worst part. Grocery prices are up. Housing. Energy. Insurance. Health care. Basic living expenses. It's real. It's happening. Denying it just makes you look out of touch, deceitful, and untrustworthy. It's also a completely unnecessary and unforced error. No credible person is claiming that Trump caused these price surges. You don't have to disgrace yourself by denying the reality in front of your face just to prove your loyalty to Trump. The...

Governor Gavin Newsom announced Friday that California’s statewide minimum wage will increase to $17.40 per hour beginning January 1, 2027. The rate is higher than any current statewide minimum wage in the nation and nearly two-and-a-half times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. The increase is already automatic under California law, which adjusts the minimum wage annually to keep pace with inflation. Newsom, who is expected to run for president in 2028, contrasted himself against President Trump in announcing the increase. “For years, Donald Trump and Republicans have blocked efforts to raise the federal minimum wage while handing...

The 2026 midterm elections are 100 days away as Republicans and Democrats will battle in Congress and statehouses across the country for control over the future of the country in what is expected to be a contentious and expensive campaign season. Republicans currently hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, controlling the House with a razor-thin 218-212 edge, with one independent and four vacancies, and the Senate with a 53-47 advantage, including two independents who caucus with Democrats. With every House seat and 35 Senate seats on the ballot, Democrats need a net gain of just six House seats...

President Donald Trump is marching full steam ahead in support of “absolutely incredible” data centers being built across the United States, and told Americans: “You’re becoming a utility.” The remarks came during Trump’s roughly 20 minute remarks during a Thursday visit to Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters in Washington D.C., during which he called data centers a “really important subject.” “It is something that you’re very familiar with. The people in the room are real doers. It’s an amazing group,” Trump continued. “We are here today to continue the incredible progress we are making in communities nationwide, to ensure that as...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was asked during a Capitol Hill press conference on Tuesday at what point he will move to use Congressional power to check President Donald Trump’s war in Iran. Johnson pointedly ended his reply by saying “we’ve got to wrap it up” in Iran, which many pundits and political insiders have warned is an additional threat to the GOP keeping its majorities in Congress. Johnson’s answer appeared to be at odds with Trump, who vowed earlier in the day to continue bombing Iran until they come to the negotiating table in good faith. “You repeatedly said...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump’s return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump’s previous tariffs and must be held accountable.The official insisted on anonymity on a call with...

The doom feed says home affordability locked a generation out. The math on the payment you actually write says something the headlines won’t.Here are the “facts” that the media tells you about home affordability.Let’s start with a recent survey. Two out of three Americans now say it’s a bad time to buy a house, the most negative reading Gallup has ever recorded. Another study showed that a record 25.2 million adults under 35 are living with their parents. Scroll any feed, and you’ll hear that home affordability has priced an entire generation out for good. Those are the “facts” according...

U.S. home prices surged to an all-time high in June according to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) report released last Thursday. The report found that the median existing home price in June reached $440,660, an increase of 1.8 percent year-over-year and a new high according to the NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun. Housing sales declined to 2.4 percent month-over-month in June and 2.8 percent, seasonally adjusted, since June 2025. The NAR’s Housing Affordability Index is up 6.8 points since June 2025 at 102.3, signaling that home prices are more affordable relative to the median family income. Yet the index...

Republicans returned to Washington on Monday night in an increasingly dour mood about the state of their party: Growing fears of a November wipeout. A Middle East war with no end in sight. A feeling of loss after the sudden death of their longtime colleague Lindsey Graham. Now, with President Donald Trump’s attention focused on Capitol Hill for what could be the party’s final legislative sprint before the midterms, a restless House Speaker Mike Johnson is racing to reverse Republicans’ political fortunes. Johnson is privately pushing a major legislative push centered on Pentagon funding, cutting government fraud and a new...

Inflation slowed more than expected in June, easing to an annual rate of 3.5% from 4.2% in May as lower gasoline prices helped cool price growth, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. By the numbers Economists polled by the financial data firm FactSet predicted June inflation would rise at an annual rate of 3.9%. The cooler reading comes after three consecutive months of increases that pushed the CPI to its highest level in more than three years. Inflation slowed as a result of declining energy prices, with gasoline prices tumbling 9.7% in June from a month earlier. June's decline...

Donald Trump has reinstated his naval blockade of Iran, barring ships from entering or leaving their ports, days after Tehran attacked another commercial vessel and declared the Strait of Hormuz closed. The President also claimed the US would be paid a 20 percent tariff for securing safe passage for commercial vessels through the Persian Gulf. The details of Trump's demand were not immediately clear. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US 'will be, from this point forward, known as "The Guardian of the Hormuz Strait."' 'The process and formation will begin immediately. Thank you for your attention to this...

Walmart is lowering prices on thousands of products, including beef, Coca-Cola and laundry detergent, saying the cuts are aimed at reducing the costs of seasonal summer items. The largest U.S. retailer on Monday said the price cuts will be available in its stores and in Sam's Club locations, on Walmart.com, SamsClub.com, and through the Walmart and Sam's Club apps. The reductions apply to groceries and other household items, such as grills, sunscreen and lawn mowers. President Trump praised Walmart for the reductions and sought to claim credit for the decision. "I have just been informed that one of the biggest,...

Ninety-five per cent of Americans believe the US is suffering an affordability crisis, as many report trouble with the rising cost of groceries and gas, according to a survey, conducted by Harris Poll. Despite stable employment and record-high stock markets, more Americans believe the overall economy is getting worse (57%) than in February (46%), when the poll was last conducted and before the war in the Middle East sent gas prices soaring. Fewer people today also believe the economy is getting better (16%, compared with 28% in February) and more say their financial security has gotten worse. Even rural Americans,...

I have used USAA for my auto insurance for 11 years and have been reasonably satisfied with them.However this morning I got an email from them informing me my auto insurance rate is going up by 20%, TWENTY PERCENT!I have no traffic violations, speeding tickets or other violations and the only time I've used them was 9 years ago with a car tow.My credit score is 700+ BUT I am turning 75 years old this month and that has to be the reason for the huge rate increase.Although I've been loyal to USAA I'd like some other auto insurance companies...

The Federal Budget Deficits are large by historical standards. The deficit totals $1.9 trillion in fiscal year 2026 and grows to $3.1 trillion in 2036. Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit is 5.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2026 and increases to 6.7 percent in 2036. Deficits averaged 3.8 percent of GDP over the last 50 years (see Chapter 1). Debt held by the public rises from 101 percent of GDP in 2026 to 120 percent in 2036, well above the previous record of 106 percent just after World War II. Outlays are large by...

A new Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas working paper estimates the record surge in illegal immigration during the Biden administration boosted employment while driving up home prices by as much as 30% and rent by 20%. The paper combined immigration court records with government administrative data to create the first ever calculation of how a wave of 7 million illegal immigrants from 2021 through 2024 affected local labor and housing markets. "From early 2021 to early 2024, the U.S. experienced an unprecedented boom in unauthorized immigration, followed by a rapid slowdown beginning in mid-2024. We provide the first systematic empirical...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was the Trump administration’s frontman for waging war on Iran during weeks of kinetic operations aimed at decimating its nuclear threat. Since President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran to end the war, without securing significant concessions on its missile or nuclear stockpiles, Hegseth has said little about the shift in strategy — as Vice President Vance takes the spotlight in defending the tenuous diplomacy. The public positioning of the top Trump advisers reflects reporting on their private counsel to the commander in chief, with Trump saying in March that Hegseth was “the...