Tag: inflation

Locked Out of the Dream: Regulation Making Homes Unaffordable Around the World

Next to inflation, Americans ranked housing as their top financial worry in a Gallup survey last May. It’s only gotten worse. January home sales were down 5% from last year’s dismal numbers. Record numbers of first-time buyers are stuck on the sidelines as housing affordability stands at the lowest level ever recorded, while one in three Americans now spend over 30% of their income on mortgage or rent. 

The housing crisis is not just an American problem, but a global phenomenon that hits the middle and working classes the hardest. Studies of the Canadian, British, European, and East Asian markets have also found that housing prices have risen far faster than household incomes and inflation. A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development concluded that “housing has been the main driver of rising middle-class expenditure.” In prosperous and communitarian Switzerland, Zurich studios sell for well over $1 million, and small houses even more, making downpayments unaffordable to affluent people despite the overwhelming financial advantages to homeowners. 

Underlying the plight of home buyers worldwide is a sometimes overlooked but profound influence – the spread of restrictive land-use regulations. It’s reshaping political and economic alignments in ways that may further destabilize the social order. Home ownership is strongly correlated with positive social indicators, and as renting grows twice as quickly as buying, this trend poses a threat to Western democracy by deepening economic inequality, depressing demographic vitality, and undermining the upward mobility that has driven Western progress for the past century.

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“Take Control Of Their Food Supply”: Tractor Supply CEO Says Backyard Chicken Demand Skyrockets  

President Trump’s swift action to combat soaring egg prices, caused by the Biden-Harris regime’s mass culling of egg-laying hens just before he took office, has been nothing short of spectacular.

Egg prices have since collapsed, forcing Democratic strategists to abandon their propaganda warfare efforts with corrupt leftist corporate media to blame “egg-flation” on Trump when, in reality, it was a crisis of Biden’s making through improper culling practices and no countermeasures to offset loss production. It’s almost as if the prior administration wanted consumers to feel pocketbook pain. 

Trump saves the day. 

Earlier this year, as egg prices spiked to record highs during the tail end of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter season, we urged readers to purchase backyard chicken coops and take control of their own food supply chains:

Months later, with the latest USDA retail egg prices down 62% from record highs of more than $8 per dozen, Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton confirmed to investors on an earnings call this week that the nationwide egg shortage sparked an unbelievable surge in chick demand at stores nationwide.

Here’s more from Bloomberg:

Tractor Supply Co., a rural retailer best known for its animal feed and ranching equipment offerings, expects to sell a record amount of chicks this year as customers expand their broods and first-timers seek to avoid record-setting egg prices.

Those novice poultry farmers are attempting to “take more control of their food supply,” Tractor Supply Chief Executive Officer Hal Lawton said during the company’s first-quarter earnings call Thursday, after egg prices more than doubled this year.

Mizuho Securities Director David Bellinger wrote in a note earlier this month that 7 million to 8 million of Tractor Supply’s loyalty members now own chickens. 

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Largest US Egg Producer Cal-Maine Under DOJ Price Investigation

Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation’s largest egg producer, on Tuesday acknowledged that it is being investigated by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division over the national increase in egg prices.

The brief admission in its newest financial report made headlines and the company’s shares fell by about 4 percent in after-hours trading.

“In March 2025, the Company received a civil investigative demand in connection with a widely publicized investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice into the causes behind nationwide increases in egg prices,” Cal-Maine said in its financial report for its third quarter on Tuesday. “The Company is cooperating with the investigation.”

Egg prices have hit record highs in recent months, largely due to a bird flu epidemic that has forced farmers to slaughter more than 166 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens.

One dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 in U.S. cities in February, up 10.4 percent from a year ago. That eclipsed January’s record-high price of $4.95.

The Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine accounts for roughly 20 percent of the nation’s egg supply.

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Repeal Government Regulators. Improve Safety and Quality, End Inflation

Voluntary cooperation is robust, multiply-protected, and loss-limiting, and brings healthy deflation. A government regulator makes a system fragile, fraught with a single point of failure, and loss-compounding, and brings sickening inflation.

Donald Trump and his unity team members Robert Kennedy and Elon Musk promise to limit cronyism and slash waste.

Both approaches deny that state-government and national-government administrative states are themselves peak cronyism. If government people stop hosting business-crony socialists but still host activist-crony socialists, that’s still tyranny. Also, it’s unconstitutional.Thomas J. DiLorenzoBuy New $11.57(as of 10:36 UTC – Details)

The only adequate approaches are to fully executively close and legislatively repeal.

When there are no government regulators, that doesn’t mean that there’s a vacuum. Instead, people naturally take care of themselves and one another.

Voluntary Cooperation Increases Safety and Quality

Many people take advantage of the considerable information they have available and use it to make the choices that they expect to be the best for them. In doing so, they self-regulate.

Their choices affect others, creating a network of interactions. In this network, people’s interactions with others regulate the others.

So then when people are free, they increase safety and quality by taking decentralized, interdependent actions:

  • Product raters compete to find and play up even small advantages and disadvantages.
  • Media people spread bad news very quickly.
  • Customers stop buying harmful products very quickly.
  • Retailers and distributors stop carrying harmful products.
  • Civil complainants can eliminate product lines and companies.
  • Insurers work to prevent and limit losses.
  • Producers anticipate problems and prevent them.

The resulting system is robust and resilient, and the people in it select naturally for improved performance. This is why freeing people to take care of themselves in the Dutch Republic, England, and the USA enabled people to create dramatic gains in how much value they added, bringing modern material comforts to the world.

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Seattle Economic Crisis: Proof That Democrat Wealth Taxes Lead To Disaster

To look at the Pacific Northwest today one would never know that 25 years ago the region was an economic powerhouse at the forefront of technology and business innovation.  At the time Portland and Seattle were known for constant rain as well as raining cash, and the “millionaire density” of the Seattle area was at historic highs.  The tech boom and international trade with Asia had created a Silicon Valley of the northern coast.  

Companies like Nike, Starbucks, Microsoft and Amazon established corporate offices and generated tens of thousands of jobs, and many of those jobs were considered high income.  People can debate the overall effects of the population surge to the region; there are many who would argue that Washington and Oregon were better off when they were considered backwoods fishing and lumber states.  That said, it’s undeniable that for a time the Northwest was one of the most desirable and lucrative places to live in the US.  

That’s all gone now.  The wealthy are leaving Seattle like it’s a leper colony and all that’s left are millions of broke activists, poverty stricken residents and illegal immigrants.  Some blame the constant riots or the steady stream of welfare recipients. Others say that the draconian covid mandates caused people to jump ship.  However, a primary factor in businesses (and money) leaving the city was the institution of a progressive “Payroll Expense Tax”.  

The PET is a quarterly tax approved by the Seattle City Council in 2020 in the middle of the Covid hysteria.  It increases taxes on businesses depending on how many employees they hire and how much their employees get paid.  In other words, it punishes companies that hire more people and pay them a good salary.  The conditions of the PET are very similar to what Democrats say they want for their “Wealth Tax” – An extra tax on top earners and large companies beyond the income tax.  

Democrats were high on their own supply in the early 2020s and in their fervor to destroy conservatives they instituted every suicidal policy imaginable, from defunding police to near-zero prosecution for property theft under $1000.  It’s not surprising that wealth taxes were established at the same time to “stick it to the capitalists”.  What they seem to have forgotten, though, is that communist tactics don’t work if people and businesses are able to walk away, and that’s exactly what has happened in Seattle.

Larger businesses are packing up and leaving the Northwest as quickly as they arrived.  Amazon, Meta, Google and Expedia are the most prominent examples of companies exiting the Seattle labor market and hiring elsewhere to avoid the Payroll Tax, but there are numerous others. 

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California’s Regulations, Not Price Gouging, Cause High Gas Prices, USC Study Finds

Gov. Gavin Newsom stands behind his claim that “Big Oil” is responsible for California’s higher gas prices and vowed on April 1 to continue his fight against the industry. The pledge comes after new research put the blame on state regulations and policies for the high prices at the pump.

California’s Democratic leaders have come out strongly against the oil industry in recent years, saying the companies’ gouging was causing record-high gas prices.

“Gov. Newsom has done more than any other governor in recent history to tackle the challenge of rising gas prices—despite what the oil industry and its allies say,” a spokesman for Newsom told The Epoch Times in an email Tuesday.

A new study published March 16 by Michael Mische from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California says the evidence contradicts Newsom. Mische’s research indicated California’s high gas prices were caused by the state’s regulations and policies.

“There is no economic data to support the allegation of price gouging,” Mische told The Epoch Times. “It just doesn’t exist.”

The professor also pushed back against Newsom’s claim that he was an industry ally.

“The data is the data,” Mische said.

Mische has been on the USC faculty since 1997, where he coordinates the business school’s management consulting undergraduate and graduate programs.

In March 2023, the governor signed a “windfall-profits penalty law” to target oil companies. The new law created a slew of regulations and extensive oversight for oil companies.

Newsom’s office said the governor saved Californians billions of dollars at the pump by signing the law.

The measure allows the governor’s appointed Energy Commission to fine and penalize oil companies if they earned profits beyond state-imposed limits.

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19 Reasons Why the Federal Reserve Is at the Heart of Our Economic Problems

Most Americans have absolutely no idea how we got into the mess that we are in today.  The reason why the U.S. government is 36 trillion dollars in debt and our society as a whole is 102 trillion dollars in debt is because the system is performing exactly as it was designed.  We have a system that was literally designed to create colossal amounts of debt.  But if you ask most Americans about this, they cannot tell you what the Federal Reserve is or why it is at the heart of our economic problems.  When Americans get into discussions about the economy, most of them still blame either the Democrats or the Republicans for our rapidly growing economic problems.  But the truth is that the institution with the most power over our economic system is the Federal Reserve.  So exactly what is the Federal Reserve?  Most people would say that it is an agency of the federal government.  But that is not entirely accurate.  In fact, the Federal Reserve itself has argued in court that it is not an agency of the federal government.   The truth is that the Federal Reserve is a privately-owned banking cartel that has been given a perpetual monopoly over our monetary system by the U.S. Congress.  This privately-owned central bank has been destroying the value of the U.S. dollar for decades, it has run our economy into the ground, and it has driven the U.S. government to the brink of bankruptcy.  The Federal Reserve operates in great secrecy  and it acts as if it is not accountable to the American people.  Yet the decisions that the Federal Reserve makes have a dramatic impact on the lives of every single American citizen.

If you really want to understand what is causing our economic problems, it is absolutely crucial that you understand exactly what the Federal Reserve is and how it is systematically destroying our economy.  Once you understand the truth about the Federal Reserve, you will view economic issues a whole lot differently.

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How Tariffs Will Lower The Cost Of Living

Critics of President Trump’s trade policy – tariffs, tariffs, and more tariffs – cry that tariffs will cause inflation and make Americans poor. This is false.

Although there will be a brief period where the market adjusts to the new normal, tariffs will not cause inflation. In fact, tariffs will lower the cost of living in the long run.

Perhaps the more interesting question to ask is: inflation of what? Consumer goods? Why are these critics not concerned about the inflation of assets like houses or investments that are caused by economic globalism and the trade deficit?  Why are the Democrats and Neocons so preoccupied with keeping the cost of disposable products low, when people cannot afford their rent or mortgages?

Contrary to popular belief, tariffs did not raise the cost of goods during President Trump’s first term, and they are not likely to do so the second time around. 

There are a few reasons for this.

First, a tariff is a tax imposed on imports. For example, a 25% tariff on steel would increase the price of steel coming from Canada or South Korea. However, that same tariff would not apply to steel that was made in America. In this way, tariffs are a completely avoidable tax. If you do not want to pay tariffs, buy American. Simple.

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Egg Price Collapse Scrambles Democrats’ Inflation Propaganda Against Trump

Democrats just had their egg-related misinformation and disinformation campaign against the president scrambled, as new USDA data reveals a third consecutive week of price declines at supermarkets. The drop follows President Trump’s recent countermeasures to stabilize national supply after the Biden-Harris administration’s reckless culling of 150 million egg-laying hens plunged the industry into turmoil and sparked egg-flation.

Even leftist ABC News had to acknowledge falling USDA egg prices. 

This followed weeks of Democrats and leftist corporate media attempting to pin the egg crisis on Trump. 

USDA egg prices hit a historic high of $8.17 per dozen on March 3, roughly two weeks ago. Since then, prices have more than halved.

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Do We All Have PTSD?

Just how much mental and psychological trauma exists in the country and world today cannot be quantified, and I would not trust any studies that tried. But this much is clear. We have lost our footing in knowing something that scientists long believed we could know: whether and to what extent an economy is growing and prospering or going the opposite way. 

Everyone seems just to be winging it these days. Ever since lockdowns utterly broke reporting, it’s been hard to tell up from down. 

The substantial hits taken by major financial indexes over the last two months seem to have triggered a shift in public sentiment from indifferent to gloomy. Probably this has nothing to do with the vast wealth held in invested retirement accounts. 

Each refresh of the page seems to deliver more bad news. 

This has in turn affected the willingness to spend and the outlook generally. 

And yet there is something strange going on. 

Inflation in real time is genuinely down from its 4-year trend and showing the best numbers since 2020. Even the CPI reflects this. The jobs outlook for the private sector is slightly improving. 

Why has consumer sentiment suddenly taken a dive? 

It’s odd because there is a paucity of evidence for a sudden shift, unless tariffs are to blame, which seems doubtful (to me). 

One possible theory: the public has a form of economic post-traumatic stress disorder, a clinical name for what was once called battle fatigue and shell shock. It is what happens to the human spirit in the face of something unexpected, terrible, and ultimately traumatizing. There are stages of recovery that move from denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, with acceptance as the last stage. 

That might be where we are. For years now, the national media and government agencies have claimed that all is well. Inflation is cooling. Job growth is strong. The recovery is upon us. Countless media articles have bemoaned the gap that separates real data and maudlin public perceptions. We are encouraged to believe that “shutting down the economy” is really no big deal, just something you do before turning it on again. 

Stop complaining! You are rich! 

It was the ultimate in economic gaslighting, something about which many of us have been kvetching for five years now. 

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