Trumponomics Watch: Trump’s Policies Already Clouding Mortgage Rates


“Donald Trump’s election win is clouding the outlook for mortgage rates even before he gets back to the White House,” the Associated Press reports. “The president-elect campaigned on a promise to make homeownership more affordable by lowering mortgage rates through policies aimed at knocking out inflation. But his proposed economic agenda could potentially set the stage for mortgage rates to move higher.”

Misinformation Drove Defeat of Democracy in 2024 Election

Source: Reuters-Ispsos Core Political

Brookings: For coming political battles, people need to be aware of how the current information ecosystem regularly is promoting falsehoods and skewing views about important issues. But we do not need to stand back and accept widespread misperceptions as the new reality. There are several things people and organizations can do to protect themselves for what will be a continuing wave of misinformation, disinformation, and false narratives.

There needs to be meaningful content moderation by social media platforms. Right now, many leading platforms are cesspools of rumors, false information, and outright lies. They are widely disseminated and seen by millions of people. If that continues, it will become increasingly difficult to discern fact from fiction—endangering our country’s ability to address major problems. Companies need to get far more serious about content moderation…

[…]

Hey Cat Ladies (and Men), Trump’s Tarriffs Would Raise Cat Food between 19% and 30%

Kitten eating solid food
Kitten eating solid food

GlobalPets.com: The Pet Food Institute (PFI) warns that imposing these additional tariffs on consumer goods will increase the production costs of canned cat and dog food. “Those costs will be passed down to Americans who rely on affordable, quality canned pet food,” the PFI warns.

The US does not manufacture a sufficient supply of tinplate steel and relies on imports from other countries. The trade association representing American pet food and treat manufacturers told GlobalPETS that around 62% of tinplate steel was imported last year.

Consumer Brands Association (CBA) stated that if the tariffs go into effect, companies will be forced to raise food prices, which could decrease domestic output, placing up to 2,800 tinplate manufacturing jobs in danger.

It is estimated that the cost of canned food and products could increase between 19% and 30% if the new tariff receives the green light from US officials. Additionally, up to 40,000 manufacturing jobs could be cut.

Size of Crowd for Harris’ Eclipse Speech Tops Trump’s on January 6

Crowd at the Eclipse in Washintgton, D.C. on October 29, 2024, for final campaign address by Vice Pres. Kamala Harris (Source: Lincoln Project)

Newsweek: More than 75,000 spectators gathered in Washington, D.C., to hear Vice President Kamala Harris’ closing argument speech at the same site of former President Donald Trump’s infamous “Save America” rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol…

Trump held his January 6, 2021, rally at the Ellipse on the same day a mob of his supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying the 2020 election in which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. According to the House Select Committee tasked with investigating January 6, around 53,000 people attended Trump’s speech before the attack.

At 100, Pres. Carter Casts His Vote against Fascism, for Kamala Harris

Pres. Jimmy Carter

Meidas Touch Network: [The president’s grandson] Jason Carter told the Journal-Constitution in August that the former president is “more alert and interested in politics and the war in Gaza.” In June, Jason told reporters that Carter was no longer awake every day, and was “experiencing the world as best he can as he continues through this process.” The former president voted in the Georgia primary in May.

Carter has been in hospice care since February of 2023 after receiving treatment for metastatic brain cancer. Carter’s wife of 77 years, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter passed away in November.

Madison Square Garden to Host First Fascist Rally Since 1939

Trump will hold a MAGA rally in the arena on Oct. 27

On Oct. 9, 2024, Donald Trump announced that he had added a rally to his campaign schedule for Oct. 27. “We just rented Madison Square Garden,” Trump told the crowd at campaign rally stop in Scranton, Penn. “We’re gonna make a play for New York, it hasn’t been done in a long time. It hasn’t been done in many decades.”

It has been eight and a half decades in fact. From NPR:

On the evening of Feb. 20, 1939, the marquee of New York’s Madison Square Garden was lit up with the evening’s main event: a “Pro American Rally.” The organizers had chosen the date in celebration of George Washington’s birthday and had procured a 30-foot-tall banner of America’s first president for the stage. More than 20,000 men and women streamed inside and took their seats. The view they had was stunning: Washington was hung between American flags — and swastikas.

The rally was sponsored by the German American Bund, an organization with headquarters in Manhattan and thousands of members across the United States. In the 1930s, the Bund was one of several organizations in the United States that were openly supportive of Adolf Hitler and the rise of fascism in Europe. They had parades, bookstores and summer camps for youth. Their vision for America was a cocktail of white supremacy, fascist ideology and American patriotism.

[…]

DeSantis Government Threatens to Imprison Tampa NBC Affiliate for Running Pro-Choice Ad

Another baby step on the march to the Handmaids' Republic of Giliead

Popular Information: On October 3, the Florida Department of Health sent a letter to Mark Higgins, the General Manager of WFLA, Tampa’s NBC affiliate. The letter, sent by Florida Department of Health General Counsel John Wilson, claimed that airing the ad violates Florida law. Wilson cites Florida’s law against “sanitary nuisance,” which prohibits “the commission of any act… by which… the health and lives of individuals… may be endangered.” Wilson argues that WFLA’s decision to air the ad could “threaten or impair the health and lives of women.” Wilson advised Higgins that, now that he has been notified that the ad is creating a “sanitary nuisance,” WFLA must stop airing it within 24 hours. Failure to do so, Wilson writes, would be a crime punishable by up to 60 days in prison under Florida law. The letter was first reported by investigative reporter Jason Garcia.