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Roughly 42% of younger working Americans — spanning Gen Z, millennials and Gen X — report having no spare savings after covering their basic living expenses, according to the analysis, which surveyed about 3,600 workers and 1,500 retirees. Among those just getting by, about three-quarters said they are struggling to save for retirement, the survey found. The share of U.S. workers in this precarious financial position has grown significantly since 1997, when 31% lived paycheck to paycheck, according to Goldman. The investment bank projects that figure could climb to well over half of Americans by 2033 as essentials like housing...

@RonPaul President Trump is considering "stimulus" checks (again). We should all remember the last time that President Trump sent out "stimulus" checks. It was the "CARES Act," which ignited the massive inflation that we're still suffering from today. How can a government that has no money, that racks up record deficits, be in a position to give out "rebates" anyway? They're not. Tariffs revenues (that Americans overwhelmingly pay) don't put the government into the black, and capable of giving "rebates." The government is way in the red. That means the "stimulus" checks will have to come from the Fed counterfeiting...

The Trump administration is planning to roll out the first tranche of bailout payments for farmers in the coming weeks, likely using billions of dollars in funding from an internal USDA account, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. But it won’t be enough: USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation fund — which President Donald Trump previously tapped to provide $28 billion in farm aid during his first-term trade war with China — has just $4 billion left in the account. Trump officials, including those at the Treasury Department, are looking at how to tap tariff receipts or other...

We sure have seen a lot of really crazy things happen so far this year. But in the minds of most Americans, there is one crisis that far outweighs everything else. As I have been documenting for years, our standard of living has been collapsing as the cost of living has risen must faster than our incomes have.As a result, 67 percent of U.S. workers are now living paycheck to paycheck. We are in the midst of the worst cost of living crisis in modern history, and Statista has found that Americans consider it to be the biggest challenge that...

The threat of a U.S. government shutdown surged on Friday, as the U.S. Senate rejected a short-term funding bill to keep federal agencies operating after September 30 and then left town for a week-long break. The lawmakers voted 44-48 to defeat a stopgap spending bill that would have kept federal agencies operating at current funding levels through November 21. The measure faced near universal opposition from Democrats, who demanded increased healthcare funding. Republicans said they could vote again on September 29, just a day before funding is due to expire, when senators return from a break.

The Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point interest rate cut, the first of 2025.The decision follows slowing job growth and rising inflation, challenging the Fed's dual mandate.Criticism from investors and political pressure influenced the Fed's decision to cut rates.

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved a widely anticipated rate cut and signaled that two more are on the way before the end of the year as concerns intensified over the U.S. labor market even as inflation is still in the air. In an 11-to-1 vote signaling less dissent than Wall Street had anticipated, the Federal Open Market Committee lowered its benchmark overnight lending rate by a quarter percentage point. The decision puts the overnight funds rate in a range between 4.00%-4.25%. Newly installed Governor Stephen Miran was the only policymaker voting against the quarter-point move, instead advocating...

Inflation has remained relatively high, meaning goods are becoming more expensive, particularly the cost of food, official figures show. The rate of price rises remained at 3.8% in August, the same as in July, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Food and non-alcoholic drinks price rises, however, accelerated from 4.9% to 5.1%, far higher than the headline rate and other measures of inflation. It's the fifth monthly rise in a row and the first time in 18 months such a high has been reached. "Small increases" were seen in vegetables, cheeses and fish, the ONS said....

The federal government's budget deficit reached $2 trillion for the current fiscal year as the deficit has widened by nearly $100 billion from last year. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its monthly budget update for August, which showed the deficit reached $1.989 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2025. That amounts to a $92 billion increase in the deficit when compared with the first 11 months of fiscal year 2024. Overall, federal spending was up by $391 billion from a year ago, an increase of 5%, while tax receipts rose $299 billion, or 7%, in...

Keep your tip-sy to yourself! Gov. Kathy Hochul is in hot water for telling parishioners at a largely black church not to buy booze with their incoming state “inflation refund” checks — with fellow pols slamming her comments as tone-deaf and “demeaning.” “It reduces whole communities to harmful stereotypes and strips away the dignity of parents and children alike,” said her estranged Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, who, along with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), blasted Hochul as racially insensitive. Hochul was speaking about rebate checks — which will be sent to eligible residents starting later this month through November — at...

As the national debate intensifies over the solvency of Social Security, Truth in Accounting (TIA) is urging policymakers and the public to look deeper: beyond “trust fund” projections and into the silent erosion of benefits through inflation. TIA board member Chuck Chokel has compiled a sobering analysis of the dollar’s decline over three overlapping 50-year periods. His findings illustrate that even if Social Security checks keep coming, their purchasing power has steadily—and dramatically—shrunk: 1925–1975: $100 in 1925 had the purchasing power of $33.21 in 1975, representing a 67% decrease in purchasing power. 1950–2000: $100 in 1950 was worth just $13.92...

Gold prices reached unprecedented territory on Tuesday, breaking through the $3,500 per ounce barrier and establishing a new all-time high. This milestone comes amid a combination of market factors that have strengthened the precious metal’s position as a preferred investment. The price surge occurred as the U.S. dollar weakened against other major currencies, making gold more affordable for international investors. Simultaneously, financial markets have increasingly priced in expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its September meeting. The dollar’s recent performance has played a significant role in gold’s ascent. As the greenback loses value relative to other...

Less than 1 percent of Democrats say they are satisfied with the direction of the country, according to a new Gallup poll. Why It Matters This is the lowest level of satisfaction among Democrats in at least 25 years, according to Gallup's polling, and it comes at a time when Republican satisfaction is near record high levels. The polling shows that Democrats' satisfaction with the direction of the country quickly dropped after President Donald Trump, a Republican, returned to office in January, while GOP supporters' satisfaction spiked. According to Gallup, 31 percent of Americans currently say they are satisfied with...

Gold prices surged to a one-month high above $3,400 an ounce Thursday, supported by persistent U.S. dollar weakness. Analysts at Bank of America expect the rally to continue, maintaining their forecast that the yellow metal will hit $4,000 an ounce by the first half of 2026. In a report published last week, the bank said falling interest rates and a weaker dollar will underpin the metal’s gains. “Potential rate cuts amid increasing inflation create fertile ground for dollar depreciation,” analysts wrote. “Rate cuts in an environment of continued elevated inflation would, in all likelihood, push the precious metal higher.” Spot...

VIDEORemember when the liberals were rejoicing in early Spring when they were oh so sure that President Trump's tariffs would cause high inflation, tank the economy, and bring a downfall of the Trumpocalypse? Well, much to their great disappointment, that Hopium scenario did not play out especially as inflation continued to fall. However, they haven't given up. Jim VandeHei, the CEO of Axios, has inhaled another strong dose of Hopium and is now predicting a big rise in inflation resulting in the downfall of MAGA. And when this latest round of Hopium does not pan out, I am sure VandeHei...

Do you feel knots in your stomach due to financial stress? If so, you certainly have lots of company. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about the cost of living and prices are rising by double-digit percentages all around us. There are so many people out there right now that feel like they are “drowning” because no matter how hard they try there simply isn’t enough money for everything. Unfortunately, we are being warned to brace ourselves for even more inflation in the months ahead.When I heard that the cost of vegetables in the United States had gone up...

Newsdump Alert: Trump Seeks Peace Agreement In Ukraine War Following Putin Meeting... Newsdump Update: Jihadist Attack In Iran... Support Free Republic... Your host with another attempt at media excellence powerless over Jewish women at times in my life so... Does God have a sense of humor Helen Shapiro sang this 'corny' hit song in the recording studio in London back in the early 1960's... "We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds. You say, "I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity'" Psalm 75:1-2 NIV Bible......

Wholesale inflation increased much more than expected in July, raising concerns about a resurgence of inflationary pressures in the economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday released the producer price index (PPI) for the month of July, which showed an increase of 0.9% from the prior month and 3.3% from a year ago. Those PPI figures were much hotter than the forecast of prices rising 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.5% from last year that was estimated by economists polled by LSEG. Core PPI, which excludes volatile components like food and energy, also rose 0.9% from last month...

U.S. wholesale inflation surged unexpectedly last month, signaling that President Donald Trump’s sweeping taxes on imports are pushing costs up and that higher prices for consumers may be on the way. The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers— rose 0.9% last month from June, biggest jump in more than three years. Compared with a year earlier, wholesale prices rose 3.3%. The numbers were much higher than economists had expected. Prices rose faster for producers than consumers last month, suggesting that U.S. importers may, for now, be eating the cost...

The U.S. government’s gross national debt has surpassed $37 trillion, a record number that highlights the accelerating debt on America’s balance sheet and increased cost pressures on taxpayers. The $37 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report issued Tuesday which logs the nation’s daily finances. The national debt eclipsed $37 trillion years sooner than pre-pandemic projections. The Congressional Budget Office’s January 2020 projections had gross federal debt eclipsing $37 trillion after fiscal year 2030. But the debt grew faster than expected because of a multi-year COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020 that shut down much of the U.S....