Car repos now surpass the 2008 “financial crisis”. Fed Chairman Powell’s rate cut won’t be a quick fix.Photo above - hoax AI generated picture of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell riding a bicycle to work. Although Powell has claimed that he bikes to work, no photos exist. If he did, he would probably wear a helmet, right? Stop smirking that your... See More » (1)
California finally cracks the affordable housing code? Maybe . . .Photo above - will former California flower children like Jorma and Creach consider moving to new affordable transit hub apartments, even if there aren't enough parking spots for everyone? The link below is to “SB79”, California’s newly drafted... See More » (1)
Democrats threaten government shutdown unless $1 trillion is added to the national debt for their programs. Are they bluffing?Photo above - today's quiz: when was the last US government shutdown, and what was closed other than the Statue of Liberty? Do shutdowns even accomplish anything? Full disclosure – I have NOT read the 1,500-page legislation which politicians... See More » (1)
Lights out in Cuba- electric grid failed. Should the US rebuild it in exchange for free elections, and disbanding their secret police and army?Photo above - Grand Theft Auto? No . . . Cubans desperate to reach a non-communist landfall (with electricity) rely on this ingenuous approach to sea travel. At some point Cuba is going to get new electric generators. I can’t predict if these... See More » (1)
China subsidizes its EV makers. Should the US do it too? (The lesson from Tesla)Photo above - the 2025 Rivian R1S costs $106,000. Which may be why you see so few of them in the wild. Drivers' Ed 101 - please think twice about taking your Rivian EV on a road trip to Alaska - battery range is cut shockingly short by subzero... See More » (1)
US government to save $30 billion by NOT sending migrant South Koreans to Alligator Alcatraz, then Africa?Photo above - The King of Swaziland has renamed his nation "Eswatini" and is now accepting deportees from America. Make Swaziland Great Again !!! Whew . . . was that ever a close one! 300 illegal alien workers at the giant Hyundai plant in Georgia... See More » (1)
Photo above - Matt Deitke, the 24-year-old guy who is getting paid $250 million by Meta to make their AI work better. Presumably his salary will be paPhoto above - Matt Deitke, the 24-year-old guy who is getting paid $250 million by Meta to make their AI work better. Presumably his salary will be paid by our user fees to access their Llama 4- Behemoth software? Anyone who has ever supervised... See More » (1)
Malls are dead. What happens if Amazon also kills Costco, Sams Club and BJ’s?Photo above – Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolf prepare to shop at Costco in the 2006 film “Idiocracy” Streaming is killing cable, because of cable box subscriber fees. Could the same happen to warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club? How many... See More » (1)
California evades balanced budget law by borrowing through agencies like BART (Bay Area Rapit Transit).Photo above - the BART "Fremont" station which takes commuters on a 6-minute train ride to the nearby Tesla facility. Suppose we can't afford everything, and are forced choose between trains and EV subsidies? Last week’s urban transit horror... See More » (1)
80,000 new jobs were created last month. But 4 million people graduated from college already this year.Photo Above - ICE agents keeping us safe from migrant nannies. If she's detained, does this count as a new job opening? 80,000 new jobs created, just after high school and college graduation? That doesn’t sound like enough. An annualized job... See More » (1)
Bad news boomers (to kids): we’re NOT selling, but we're refinancing to drain the equity from the home you thought you'd inherit.Photo above - Make an offer? This charming 'manufactured home' is for sale about a mile from where I live. Rattlesnake inspection not completed yet. Or I could buy a condo in Tampa with a $225 monthly HOA fee. Advice, please . . . Wait . . . let... See More » (1)
50 years of US presidential tariffs undone by last week's court ruling? Say hello to low cost Toyota monster pickups!Photo above - This writer re-imagines herself as a proud Toyota T-1000 pickup truck owner, once those LBJ era Japanese truck tariffs are finally eliminated. (Screen shot courtesy of Mad Max Fury Road) Let’s wind the clock back to December 1963.... See More » (1)
Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy – again. PLEASE . . . no more bailouts or government guaranteed loans !!!![i]Photo above - A Spirit Airlines customer in distress is assisted by air marshals. The circumstances are unclear, but possibly she might have just learned the airline has filed bankruptcy again. Full disclosure: I’ve never flown on Spirit... See More » (1)
GM curtails EV Hummer production, pivots to revival of Chevy Bolt.Photo above - there are a number of aftermarket parts and accessories for your Hummer EV to make it more distinctive. Wow . . . who would EVER have guessed this? After 13,994 Hummer EV trucks have been sold, the market is saturated and nobody... See More » (1)
This is what happens when a city blocks new housing, and people couldn’t afford it anyway due to sky high mortgage rates.Photo above: the abandoned Atlanta Constitution newspaper building in downtown Atlanta. Near public transportation and has plenty of parking. Don't ask why this isn't site isn't being converted to affordable housing. The relationship between FICO... See More » (1)
The new Amtrak trains are only 10 mph faster, and 11 years behind schedule. Don’t blame Trump – or Biden.Photo above - great moments in railway history: Burt Lancaster and Jeanne Moreau prevent the Nazis from looting the Louvre and sending everything back to Hitler. Okay . . . I admit that $180 for a (one way) ticket on the current Amtrak Acela might... See More » (1)
Why is the US government buying Intel stock (INTC) when we’re already $37 trillion in debt, and paying trillions more in interest annually?Photo above - The White House announces it is buying a 10% stake in Intel. INTC stock shares soared 20% this month. MAGA is losing their minds. They have declared Trump’s government stake in Intel as “socialist”. The BBC, which actually IS a... See More » (1)
Colorado faces trillion dollar budget shortfall after DOGE and HR1 federal funding cuts.Photo above – Kevin Costner plays with stunt wolf “Teddy” in the hit 1990 film Dances with Wolves. Colorado may be forced to cancel its wolf reintroduction program because of a budget crisis. At first I was worried that Colorado politicians were... See More » (1)
Are failing public transit systems the canary in the coal mine for entitlements in general?Photo above - Philadelphia's SEPTA transit system is on the ropes. Would pounding raw meat help? Full disclosure. I have never been on a SEPTA (Philadelphia) bus or train. And I may never have the opportunity now. SEPTA is eliminating dozens of... See More » (1)
“Buy (stocks) on rumor. Sell on fact?” An oft repeated aphorism. But traders did the opposite yesterday.Photo above - Thumper says "Buy stocks now!" He is NOT a cast extra from "The Last of Us" (fungus zombie TV show). This is an actual rabbit infected with a virus. The virus did NOT come from a Chinese military lab. If you believe the Wall Street... See More » (2)
Texas ends scholarships for undocumented students. This sounds cruel, until you realize almost every nation has the same policy.Photo above: Dolores and Maeve from Westworld. “This is the new world. And in this world you can be whoever the f**k you want . . . “ At first my heart went out to Ximena, an undocumented 18-year-old who was planning to get a PhD in Chemistry, but... See More » (1)
California closes two more gasoline refineries. Is this a ploy to eliminate ICE cars completely?Photo above - Shots fired at a Shell station in 1996's "Romeo+Juliet" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Clair Danes. Spoiler alert - high pump prices weren't reason why guns were drawn. And just like that . . . California loses another 250 million... See More » (1)
Crisis! Too many homes for sale. Last year’s crisis: not enough homes for sale.Photo above - that cute little house used in "The Truman Show" is a real 2,100 foot home in Florida. It's listed at $2,417,700 - over $1,200 per square foot. It previously sold for $60 a square foot a couple of decades ago. A 2,000 percent profit?... See More » (1)
MSN reports California has America’s highest unemployment rate but misses the real story . . .Photo above – On the same day California's crippling unemployment rate was disclosed, Gavin Newsom flipped the script and announced his candidacy for the White House: “CALIFORNIA WILL DRAW NEW, MORE BEAUTIFUL MAPS, AND THEY WILL END THE TRUMP... See More » (1)