Tag: inflation

Thirstdaz Bumper Sticker

And they Voted Blue.

Trump’s agenda has lost popularity. Democrats swept the mid-terms. Hope this is the start of something more.

Maybe it was the destruction of the White House East Wing and the construction of that ballroom while the government is idled by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, the ongoing Epstein Shutdown of 2025.

The smirker-in-chief, with his smirking BFF, Jeffrey Epstein, of the Epstein Files.

Perhaps Farmers have become convinced, or people employed in factories where productivity is declining, or people in danger of losing their homes because they can’t afford them any longer. Perhaps it’s the measles outbreaks and the loss of SNAP benefits, or Kennedy’s vacuous guidance on medicine that’s contrary to established facts.

Perhaps it’s because he capitulated to China on tariffs, showing that he is TACO. Maybe it’s the Epstein Files or ICE’s cruel, illegal raids, or Trump sending National Guard units in to U.S. cities to intimidate U.S. Citizens, or the fact that prices are going up, not down, in general, or that Trump is using the U.S. military to attack and kill unarmed civilian combatants at sea. Or maybe it’s because of Project 2025, Trump’s continual overreach, or open and widespread greed, or the fact that he’s enshittifying the United States at an incredible pace and scale. I don’t know. But people Voted Blue.

Jill Dennison gives us the deets.

The People Have Spoken …

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Twozdaz Wandering Political Thoughts

The Trump Regime is warning us about chaos!

That’s like a dog warning us there’s going to be barking.

The Trump Regime’s chaos warning would be funny and ironic under other circumstances. They are, by popular agreement, the greatest agents of chaos in the world. Trump has broken trade agreements and withdrawn from commitments whenever and wherever his whim strikes.

Judging from his texts, speeches, and decisions, Trump seems to thrive on chaos. “I’m raising tariffs on China by one billion percent! I’m going to bomb Venezuela. I’m not going to bomb Venezuela. I love Russia! Jeffrey Epstein is a great guy! I might bomb Nigeria! I’m going to build the biggest, greatest and most beautiful ballroom ever and will not touch the White House East Wing. The Gulf of Mexico is now the Gulf of Trump! I’ll stop inflation the first day I’m in office! Google google gaga. Lowering inflation is hard and I can’t do it! I’m lowering prescription drug prices by six thousand percent! We hate Ukraine. I have the concept of the health plan I promised to give you ten years ago! I’ve never heard of Jeffrey Epstein! We love Ukraine. China and I made a deal and I’m lowering tariffs on China by two billion percent! We’re demolishing the East Wing to build my big beautiful ballroom! Russia is mean! I will release the Epstein Files as soon as I’m elected. I saw a giraffe when I was at the doctor! Jeffrey Epstein is a hoax! He’s AI invented by the mean Democrat deep state who run everything out of a bathroom in Bill Clinton’s bathroom, an idea he stole from me, by the way. Tuesdays will now be called Trumpsday. God told me so when I was making water.”

Yes, I made some of that up. But in fairness, it doesn’t include all the crap Trump did through Elon Musk and Doge and the chaos which that spawned. Nor does it address the chaos spread by the dog-killer known as Noem and the extra-military troops known as ICE which she sics on anyone who sneezes the wrong way.

But here is a headline hot off the net about that vacuous agent of chaos, Donald Trump, warning us that because of the Epstein Shutdown which he started and will not address until the Democrats completely capitulate to him and promise to never ever have any more children, the Trump Regime will need to close some air space, which may cause travel chaos.

Trump admin warns of pending airspace closures due to shutdown—’chaos’

It is just one piece of chaos after another with the Trump Regime.

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Sundaz Theme Music

November 2, 2025, has taken hold. It firmly established that today’s season is autumn. Golden leaves are becoming golden brown leaf drifts. Naked branches shiver with the wind. 45 F now, worry not because today’s high will zoom to 57 F. Must say, yesterday’s 68 felt like a faux offering.

We lit a candle for Steve at 5 PM yesterday, per his widow’s request. That flame called to mind Frank, but also Chuck. Chuck is Bonnie’s hubby. I met him but twice, I think. Now he’s into hospice. Mom, meanwhile, has bounced back in a strong way. Physical therapy is being scheduled. This is Mom’s way, to bounce back, gain confidence and strength, only to be zapped by some new fall, injury, or organ issue. Been going on for a decade. Each time she bottoms out, it’s a little deeper, and the crawl out is slower and more energy consuming. We talked together about an actor dying when they were 100, June Lockhart. Mom said, “I don’t think I’ll get anywhere near that,” with glum introspection.

Today’s music is another gift of The Neurons. “I Wouldn’t Want to Be Like You” is a 1977 Alan Parsons Project creation. The song popped up in the morning mental music stream as I read about Trumpy’s Halloween gala, the one thrown while so many sink deeper into food insecurity.

Here are the lyrics, offered up by Songmeanings.

If I had a mind to
I wouldn’t want to think like you
And if I had time to
I wouldn’t want to talk to you

I don’t care
What you do
I wouldn’t want to be like you

If I was high class
I wouldn’t need a buck to pass
And if I was a fall guy
I wouldn’t need no alibi

I don’t care
What you do
I wouldn’t want to be like you

Back on the bottom line
Diggin’ for a lousy dime
If I hit a mother lode
I’d cover anything that showed

I don’t care
What you do
I wouldn’t want to be like you

I did a glance of the news. Did Trump recall the time he landed on the moon? He was the first one there, took the first steps for man, “Beautiful steps,” he said, “everyone told me they were the most perfect steps. They couldn’t believe how perfect they are.”

I imagine that somewhere in Trump’s altered reality, he’s a great friend to people of color and a champion to the poor. Bet he remembers marching across the bridge and standing for integration at Selma. Bet he recalls a time when he landed at Normandy and fought the Germans, who, he thought, “Were pretty good guys, really, just working hard, doing their jobs.” Trump believes with a glint of teary eyes, he is as persecuted as Jesus, nailed to a cross. Then he wipes the tears away, visits his new cold, black and white, dull, creativity-empty bathroom, beaming at its wonderful hard angles and linear symmetry, and then goes out and golfs, because he deserves a break. MAGAts everywhere breathlessly applaud, then hurry to buy meat before the prices go up, happy they have an extra freezer to store it because it’s gonna get pricy, they’ve heard the fake news, scowling at the homeless, stepping around the poor, reminding themselves to clean the house, because cleanliness is next to godliness.

Meanwhile, is that Epstein in the clouds, smirking at Trump, remembering how they used to run together, shaking his head with a laugh and whispering, “Oh, that Donnie. He never changes. He just gets more Donnie.” Perhaps someday they’ll meet and Trump will regale Epstein with details about how he starved the poor during the Great Epstein Government Shutdown of 2025. “You should’ve seen them, Jeffie,” Trump says, then launches into a mocking imitation of a person begging for food. “Please, we’re starving.” The two bodies shake with merriment.

Hope grace and peace find us today and every day. Even for just a nano. Coffee has found me and is shaking hands with some Neurons, making plans. I’m sure they’ll let me know what’s going on in a little bit. Cheers

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Satyrdaz Theme Music

Suddenly, it’s November — again! Yep, we’ve leaped onto Satyrda, November 1, 2025 in Ashlandia, where the temperature is 52 and sunshine is singing praises to blue skies. The thermometer is expected to hop up to 68 F in our area.

Seems like it was just last year when it was November and we were voting on the nation’s future in the United States. The scandal-plagued, greed monger formally known as Trump, more informally known as TACO – Trump Always Chickening Out — won the 2024 election, to the joy of racists, white supremacists, and reactionaries everywhere. The rest of us were less sanguine about it. Now, just a year after that election, the Federal government is grinding to a halt. Under Trump, the government has been shut down for a third time, and Republicans, ‘led’ by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Hell), are refusing to work. Air traffic control and the military are working on promises to be paid, along with TSA. No worries, they’re just the backbone of safety and security. Thanks to DOGE, multiple agencies which helped farmers and families are struggling to function. Trump has stripped funding away from activities and canceled projects regardless of Congressional approval. Congress, remember, are our delegates, voted into office to work for We the People as our servants, just as Trump is supposed to be our servant.

What a servant. Stealing from us. Wrecking the White House. Trying to rewrite history and wipe out our heritage. Arbitrarily deciding what is a crime and who is a criminal, a total 180 of what is supposed to be ‘the American Way’. Taking bribes. Killing in the name of peace. Hounding and persecuting political enemies without evidence, trying to trump up charges that will stick. Dismissing real and meaningful work in the Department of Justice. He’s fired almost all of the Inspector Generals, who were there to investigate the government’s functions to ensure everything was being done legally. A general sense of disarray circles around D.C. It’s like a storm system building toward a hurricane. Distrust of Trump is growing. Disapproval is increasing as the fog thickens about what Trump is doing and how much is legal. Disapproval is rising as citizens and their families starve, employment falls off, inflation grows, and Trump goes golfing.

We still don’t know what it says in the Epstein Files against Trump. Maybe the Andrew formerly known as a prince can illuminate those things for us. I’d love to see that smirk chased off of Trump’s face.

Just a reminder to Trump, the Heritage Foundation and their Project 2025 wet dream, and MAGAland. We the People said No Kings in 1776. We the People said no to fascists in the last world war. We meant it both times. We the People still mean it.

My dreams featured hills, so The Neurons plugged a familiar song about hills in the morning mental music stream. Mind you, one major dream also featured food. People were plying me with sandwiches and desserts wherever I went, doing so as a way of thanks for stepping up and helping them. The food was so delicious and fresh! Kind of amused me in the dream, as I was just a dog with a bone, organizing things because that’s what was needed and that’s my strength. For a time, Der Neurons did consider songs like”Mean Mister Mustard” and “Long Tall Glasses” in the morning mental music stream. But ultimately, they went with “Over the Hills and Far Away” by Led Zeppelin.

We really need more peace and grace in this world. It’s a struggle to get it with Trump and his agents of chaos and destruction. May peace and grace emerge and grow and spread soon. Till then, be strong. Cheers

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Twozdaz Wandering Political Thoughs

Just a reminder of what Saint Ronnie said…not that it matters to the MAGAlodytes. History is not their forte. Nor is critical thinking or bucking their beloved Trump, he who speaks from his ass, but says what they want to hear.

Meanwhile, back where the GOP controls the House, Senate, and the building formerly known as the White House, Trump shows his contempt and hatred for the United States and its citizens.

The poor should starve, says Trump administration

Sure, why not let Americans starve? There’d be less of ’em to grift, sure, but less of them to feed, less of them to criticize Trump, less of them to complain. Plus, with less ‘Muricans out there, simple supply and demand kicks in. Less people = less demand = less inflationary pressures = lower prices = happier people. That’s Trump’s ‘thinking’. All will be happy except those mourning the dead and those with the thinking set to see where all that will lead. Trump never did get the whole empathy and love thing. Never will. “Me, me, me,” is all he ever thinks and says. Which means he’ll screw We the People and the Constitution every time.

Trump really is a radical rightwing despot. So deranged. So radical and VERY LOW IQ. He proves it with his tweets on a regular basis. People read his tweets and ask, “How can this man walk and breathe at the same time? His IQ is too low to walk and breathe at the same time.” If it wasn’t for Putin, Trump would’ve already been imprisoned for his crimes against the United States. Should have happened after his first term. But Putin intervened and said, “No, he is a useful fool. Do what we can to get him re-elected so we can use his hatred of the United States so we can destroy it as an economic powerhouse and democracy once and for all.”

Trump doesn’t understand math. Third grade arithmetic. History. Science. Medicine. Sports. Cheats at everything. Everything. When he took the cognitive test, he paid people off to help him identify the animals. They were cheaply paid off, of course. Took just the promise of money. They’ll never see that money. He always breaks all of his promises.

That’s the Trump bottom line. Terrible person. Breaks everything. Breaking the nation. Destroying the White House. Cratering the economy.

But at least ‘the left’ is upset. So MAGAland is happy.

For now.

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Fridaz Theme Music

Frida in Monroeville, PA, a Pittsburgh suburb arrives as a near duplicate of our Ashlandia weather. 49 F now, we expect a mid 50s high.

We had successful and straightforward travel. All went as if designed with us in mind. Cool. But, the hotel, Courtyard by Marriott, is another matter. That’s for another post, I think.

Inflation picked up. Not as much as expected. An Economist article included the idea put forward by many economists that companies are sucking up tariffs for the short term. Their reasoning was that Trump was inconsistent, rolling out tariffs, then pulling them back. Also, companies and countries had found some temporary workarounds. The workarounds are ending as the tariff picture sharpens in focus. They expect it to get worse.

Alongside that, Trump announced he’s no longer negotiating with Canada over tariffs. As befits a person of little understanding of negotiating, tariffs, and history, Trump is whining about ads which Canada had in which Saint Ronnie badmouthed tariffs. Trump, of course, cried, “Fake new!” Naturally, he offers no evidence, instead just screaming in infantile all caps in his trage.

Trump says he’s ending trade talks with Canada over TV ads

“The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts,” Trump wrote on his social media site. “TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”

Of course, for some reason, the US national deficit shot up a record rate to a record number. Doesn’t have anything to do with PINO Taco, of course. yes, snark.

US hits $38 trillion in debt, after the fastest accumulation of $1 trillion outside of the pandemic

After a solid day of traveling, a good night of sleep, and some weirdly interesting dreams, The Neurons rewarded me with Pat Benatar singing “Heartbreaker” in the morning mental music stream.

Off to see Mom shortly. First, food somewhere, I think. I’m waiting for my wife to finish dressing before we go about it. Hope peace and grace finishes its break and finds you, me, the nation, and the world in general. Till then, cheers.

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Fridaz Wandering Political Thoughts

Lemme get this right.

Blue states and blue cities are run by Democrats.

Trump hates Democrats.

Democrats are Americans. United States citizens.

So Trump hates Americans. United States citizens.

To prove the depths of his hatred of United States citizens, Trump is following a course to destroy United States blue cities.

First, he disrupted supply chains by breaking trade agreements and declaring outrageous tariffs. That slowed imports. That damaged business, business planning, and employment.

That severely affected farmers in rural areas. In red states. Which means the nation produces less food. Which drives up the cost of food. So more food needs to be imported. Like beef. But tariffs increase the costs of importing food. Like beef.

Right?

Trump then marched in national guard units to patrol city streets, but only in blue cities. Even though they were safe.

The Trump Regime threatened media outlets that are less than flattering to Trump. Trump threatened to take away licenses to broadcast if they are critical or factual in their reporting about what he’s doing. He threatened networks which allowed comedians to make fun of him.

In parallel, Trump expanded his ICE police force and filled cities with ICE in masks, with guns, to sow terror, grab people and disappear them, just as we’ve seen and read about happening in all those stories about nations led by dictators, or places like the Soviet Union, NAZI Germany, North Korea, and Red China. Without due process. Without evidence.

Right?

Trump began persecuting political opposition through DOJ. If a prosecutor failed to fall in line, they were removed and replaced. As we’ve read about happening in the Soviet Union. NAZI Germany. North Korea. Red China. And many other countries ruled by despots.

Then Trump installed federal law enforcement units to protect the storm troopers from Americans trying to save and help their fellow citizens.

How am I doing so far? Do I have this right?

And as Americans stand up to protest Trump and these actions, Trump and his mouthpieces like Ted Cruz, Mike Johnson, and JD Vance accuse these Americans of being anything and everything except Americans exercising their Constitutional rights.

Then, this self-declared law and order prezzy cut funding to fight terrorism and other crimes, pouring Federal monies into his maligned destruction campaign against blue states and cities.

But –

Most revenues in the United States come from blue states and cities.

Red states and cities are poorer. Proven fact. They receive more from the Federal government than they give. And red cities and states dominate the crime statistics.

Blue states and cities dominate as centers of education, research, technology, business, and trade.

The money these blue states and cities make are paid into Federal coffers as taxes and fees to support people in red states and cities.

Right?

If you destroy blue states and cities, make them unlivable with heavy military and law enforcement presence, and disrupt their business means, their revenue to the federal government will drop.

Which means the red states will get less money. Which means red state voters and children will have less food to eat, less healthcare, be less secure, and have less education. So, red state citizens will be sicker. Poorer. Unhealthier.

All this is supposed to ‘make America great again’?

Do I have that right?

This is Trump’s alternate world as designed by Project 2025.

The Federal government is made a political tool. Oppression through the government against citizens and the media is increased.

Citizens are turned against citizens. The voter systems are handicapped. Protest and criticism are attacked. Employment falls. Health and safety systems are dismantled. Education is crated. They recklessly and wantonly destroy our national heritage and censor history. Only white history matters in their world.

This is to make us as a nation, ‘greater’.

Right?

No.

It is clear. Trump hates the United States. As do the leaders and architects of Project 2025. They’re out to destroy the nation. And Mike Johnson, JD Vance, the Roberts Court, and the GOP are happy to stand by and let them.

No matter what it takes, no matter what it costs, no matter how illogical, depraved, illegal, immoral, inhumane, or un-American it is.

I mean, it is only logical and makes sense if Trump is trying to destroy the United States. Because the actions he takes against the blue states and cities will affect and damage the red states and cities. That means that all United States citizens will be affected. If they have wealth, they can rise above the fray. Like Trump. Vance. Johnson. Billionaires.

Did I get that right?

3

Thirstdaz Wandering Political Thoughts

TL/DR: Donald Trump lies. So does Rep. Mike Jonson. The Epstein Shutdown continues. Trump continues his march toward being a dictator.

The Trump Regime continues to attack American cities. It’s a move that most U.S. citizens do not approve.

Polling Shows Americans Reject Trump’s Threat to Militarize US Cities

From Truthout:

A Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday found that Americans largely disapprove of troops being deployed to U.S. cities when there isn’t an external threat. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans, 58 percent, said the president should only deploy troops to areas of the country facing an external threat, while fewer than 3 in 10 Americans, 25 percent, disagreed with that sentiment.

A plurality of respondents, 48 percent, said they were opposed to a president sending troops to a state if the governor of that state disapproves of such an action. Only 37 percent said a president should be allowed to send troops to a state without the governor’s consent.

The Epstein Shutdown of 2025 continues. Speaker Johnson (R-Hell) continues his very Christian lying. He continues to lie and blame Democrats but he’s been exposed.

Ashen-Faced Johnson Dressed Down on Live TV by Voters

The Louisiana Republican looked visibly tense as caller after caller unloaded on him during the rare televised segment on the Washington Journal, the first time a House speaker had taken live questions from voters on the network in 24 years.

The most searing exchange came from “Samantha,” a self-described Republican military mother calling from Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Fighting back tears, she accused Johnson of failing troops and their families as a missed paycheck deadline loomed.

“I’m begging you to pass this legislation,” she said. “My kids could die.”

Samantha said her husband, a veteran with PTSD after two tours in Afghanistan, was struggling to keep their family afloat. “As a Republican, I’m very disappointed in my party, and I’m very disappointed in you,” she continued. “You could stop this. You could be the one to say, ‘Military is getting paid.’ The audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane.”

Johnson, maintaining a measured tone, told her he was “so sorry” and “so angry” about her situation—before blaming Senate Democrats for blocking troop funding. “Democrats are the ones preventing you from getting a check,” he said, calling any House vote on a standalone pay bill a “show vote.”

Guess the Trump Bible says nothing about lying.

I’m not surprised by Johnson’s lying. His hero and inspiration consistently lies. CNN has a fact check about the number of lies Trump told in a recent cabinet meeting.

Fact check: Trump makes numerous false claims at Cabinet meeting, many about vaccines

President Donald Trump made numerous false claims during a Cabinet meeting Thursday at the White House – many of them about vaccines.

He wrongly asserted that babies are given 82 vaccines in a single shot (not even close to true). He wrongly asserted that babies are given vaccine doses the size of two glasses of water (a standard dose is a small fraction of a teaspoon). He wrongly asserted that Amish people don’t take vaccines or pills (many do) and don’t have any autism (they do). And he wrongly asserted that the measles vaccine is already given separately from other vaccines (no separate measles shot is available in the US).

Trump was also wildly inaccurate on other subjects.

He again claimed each alleged Venezuelan drug boat kills 25,000 Americans, a number that is plainly absurd. He again used mathematically impossible figures in promising that drug prices will fall by hundreds of percent. He again declared that he had settled seven wars even before the new ceasefire he brokered in Gaza, though his figure includes a war that hasn’t ended and two situations that were not wars during his presidency.

He revived his usual lie that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 election he legitimately lost to Joe Biden. And he declared once more that the big domestic policy bill he signed earlier this year includes “no tax on Social Security,” though that’s not what the bill says.

As far as the Epstein Shutdown, we know that’s it first about protecting TACO from the Epstein files contents. Second, Project 2025 needs Trump chaos to distract and give TACO cover to further his ambition to be the first Dictator of the United States, DOTUS. We know stuff is probably in the Epstein file about Trump because TACO is working so hard to deny that he ever really knew his BFF, Jeffrey Epstein, and convince everyone that the Epstein files is a hoax, blaming Democrats, of course.

Trump and Epstein of the Smirketeers.

Meanwhile, the Trump Misery Machine continues to work destruction and misery on the population. Beef prices are at a record high. Trump is pretty mum on the subject. MAGAts will try to pin it on Democrats. But dwindling herds are a problem. Herds have been cut because drought is drying up pastures. Basic supply and demand. But wait, there’s more: Trump’s 76% tariffs on Brazilian beef have contributed to beef shortages and rising prices. NPR reports.

Why beef prices are higher than ever (and shoppers are finally resisting)

In July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture continued to record a shrinking number of U.S. cattle and calves, forecasting that beef production would decline 4% over this year and another 2% in 2026.

Meanwhile, foreign imports are also down. Brazilian beef faces a 76% tariff. Fears about the screwworm parasite have led the USDA to block livestock from crossing from Mexico to the U.S. to safeguard the nation’s food supply.

It is time to change the channel on Trump and his enablers from Faux and Project 2025. Step out and make your voice heard.

Take action with no kings.

Looks like if we’re going to restore democracy in the United States, it’s up to We the People to do it.

1

Sundaz Wandering Thoughts

It’s a sign of the times! My spouse and I ventured into a Dollar Store for a 2026 calendar. Despite computers and phones, she still tracks things on paper calendars. Anyway, there in a Dollar Store aisle was a machine attached to a pillar. “Price Checker” said a large red and white.

A price checker. For the Dollar Store.

Well, yeah, as we all know because the Dollar Store announced it, inflation has caused the Dollar Store to start charging more than a dollar. In this case, the Dollar Store calendar was $2. Made in China, I expect the price to go up.

0

Wenzdaz Wandering Political Thoughts

Breathe deep, I remind myself. So much shitty news roils my complacent sailing. I seethe against Trump and the GOP. My specific seething target is that waste of space, Mike Johnson (R) – Hell. When questioned and pressed for an opinion about Trump suggesting that United States cities should be used as a training ground for the military, Johson squirms like a worm putting put on a hook. The Daily Beast reports via MSN.

Mike Johnson Cornered Over Trump’s Dark Military Threat: ‘Answer the Question!’

“I don’t serve in the Pentagon. I run the House of Representatives, and what we need to be talking about today is real harm that the American people are going to feel because of what Chuck Schumer is doing,” Johnson replied, referencing the government shutdown that Republicans are trying to pin on Democrats.

Yes, squirm, worm, squirm!

Shutdown Blues are sweeping the country. Trump seems pretty unconcerned from what we’ve seen and heard of him. Hell, he’s still getting rich, stealing from the government and scamming folks from the Offal Office. More than that, in his altered reality, he’s probably being cheered and feted with confefve from adoring crowds. Yet, coupled with the government shutdown and the impact that’ll splash over into the economy and the United States’ credit and bond ratings, people should be bracing themselves for rising prices, falling services, failing and businesses, and well, greater yet enshittification. This is the kind of event that’ll sweep over all facets of society. Trump seems oblivious, but that just released ADP jobs report is ugly. UPI feeds us the deets.

ADP report shows 32,000 loss in jobs in September

Oct. 1 (UPI) — Private companies’ payrolls dropped by a seasonally adjusted 32,000 jobs in September, according to an ADP report released Wednesday.

The figure represented the largest decline since March 2023. ADP also revised its August numbers — from an increase of 54,000 jobs to a drop of 3,000.

Well, tourism is down. Prices are rising as tariffs kick in and stock built up before Trump’s tariffs were announced dwindle. Beyond that, Trump’s erratic rollout, as consistent as a tide on a stormy beach, confuses business leaders and encourages distrust. Disrupted supply chains and doubtful, worried consumers encourages suspicions about what will happen next. Trust, once broken, isn’t easily regained.

UPI‘s story goes on to note,

The ADP report showed a 28,000 overall drop in service-related jobs, including leisure/hospitality (19,000), professional/business services (13,000), financial activities (9,000), trade/transportation/utilities (7,000) and other services (16,000). There was a rise in education and health services jobs — by 33,000 — and in information jobs — by 3,000.

Meanwhile, MarketWatch reports on deeper, ongoing problems.

The vital signs for the U.S. jobs market were already flickering before the employment report was delayed. Just how bad is it?

The health of the labor market is the single biggest worry of the Fed — even more than a recent rise in inflation. The central bank trimmed a key U.S. interest rate in September in what appears to be the beginning of a rate-cutting cycle to shore up the economy.

Most top Fed officials continue to call the labor market stable. Yet they are increasingly alert to the possibility of “more meaningful and unwelcome increase in the unemployment rate” that could damage the economy, as Boston Fed President Susan M. Collins said Tuesday.

But is the labor market really stable? On the surface, it appears so.

The economy is still adding jobs, if at a glacial pace, and the unemployment rate is quite low historically at 4.3%.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week is also surprisingly low, a sign that businesses are mostly avoiding layoffs. Instead, they simply aren’t filling open positions after former employees leave — what economists call “attrition.”

Dig a little deeper, though, and the vital signs for the labor market don’t look nearly so good.

Start with a decline in hiring — the number of new hires per 100 workers. The hiring rate among private-sector businesses fell again in August to 3.5%, matching a five-year low.

The slowdown in hiring is glaring in the most recent U.S. employment reports. The economy added an average of just 25,000 new jobs a month from May through August, marking the weakest four-month stretch since 2010, ignoring the COVID-19-era period.

Not only that, but employment actually fell in June for the first time since 2020.

“Low hiring remains the main driver of weaker labor market,” economists at Citi Research said.

Trump has a proven history of trying to hide from facts and pretend that all is not just great, but the greatest ever. It’s not a deep surprise that the BLS Jobs Report will be delayed. Many, including moi, think Trump’s minions will outright game the numbers to tell a wholly different story. While that might appease his MAGA base and buy time with lockstep Republicans, business people, critical thinkers, and, well, citizens residing in the real world will react with greater distrust and suspicion.

Seasonally, we should be seeing a jump in sales and employment in the United States. It’s the economic fourth quarter. Black Friday is coming, along with the big holiday season that so many love and loathe. The portents are mixed about what will happen. As Paul Krugman likes to remind us, hard data is catching up with soft data.

Time will tell for us but despite his appearances, Trump knows the clock is running. Tick, tock, TACO, tick, tock.


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