Being on the upper end is easier said than done. A lot of it can be out of your own control.
The economy
- Thread starter Rastafarian
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true to a point...that's why I bring up investing...a little here, a little there and, if invested wisely over time, your money makes more money than you do.
And, depending on your individual pension situation, unless you have a defined benefit plan, at some point in your life you're going to need very hardworking money.
IMO, that's because there is a direct link of the Iran war to higher gas prices and therefore to trump. A direct cause and effect.
Most don't see the war as as being worth higher gas prices because Iran hasn't yet dropped a nuclear weapon on top of NYC, or hasn't used the threat of doing so to blackmail the rest of the world.
I'd bet (figuratively) that if you asked the vast majority of those included in the poll "how much bomb grade enriched uranium did Iran tell US negotiators they had" most would have no idea what you were talking about. And most of those polled would have never thought about the implications for the free world of a rogue state having a nuclear bomb. And, with this generation few would understand the concept of MAD and why nuclear weapons have not been used since WW eleven.
Now having said that, in spite of all these factors, the numbers do not bode well for either Trump or republicans
see, all the more reason why something needed to be done about Iran's enriched uranium..That dumb president in 2018 cancelled the agreement and the dumb 46th president apparently ignored the enrichment that was going on.
My biggest concern is the national debt and imminent devaluation of the USD
The ramp up in crude oil in combination with treasury yields has put a temporary net under the USD with petrodollar demand for US gas supplies.
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The UAE abrupt withdrawal from OPEC may end up putting much of the needed supply into the market while also putting a strangle on Iran's ability to export through the strait
It would also seem to offer more opportunities away from the petrodollar tether
It would also seem to offer more opportunities away from the petrodollar tether
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No fertilizer. No crops. No food.
Farm bankruptcies are up 46% in 2025.
160,000 farms closed since 2017.
Less than half of all farmers will even turn a profit this year.
They're not struggling. They're being wiped out.
And the media is busy covering everything else.
Farm Bankruptcies Continued to Climb in 2025
U.S. farm bankruptcies rose to 315 in 2025, up 46% year over year, as declining farm income, rising debt, and higher costs strain farmers and increase the risk of more farm closures.
www.fb.org
Is America on the cusp of a farm crisis?
Rising prices for fertilizer and diesel are driving up costs for farmers — squeezing an industry that's already under intense pressure.
www.nbcnews.com
Starbucks was started in 1971 in downtown Seattle. Howard Schultz bought it in 1987 and took it public in 1992 with 140 stores, then grew it to 677 locations by 1995. Today it has 38,000 stores across more than 80 countries.
Katie Wilson was just elected Seattle Mayor on November 13, 2025 when she called for a boycott of Starbucks.
Starbucks officially announced their new headquarters with 2,000 employees in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 21, 2026.
Another example of how democrat socialist policies actually work out.
Everyone should have to write a check, no witholdings. The government would change very quickly.
It’s amazing how many people were in a panic about inflation and gas prices when a dem is in the White House and then stay silent when it’s a Republican. I just don’t understand how so many people can be manipulated into whatever ******** right wing media is feeding them.
No doubt Americans spend too much money on stupid stuff like new cars and delivery meals. But housing costs have skyrocketed, health care and insurance costs have skyrocketed, and public schools have gotten worse. If you live in a large city, it doesn’t take a life of luxury to be making $500k and live paycheck to paycheck. $50k per year per kid for school. $2mm for a 3br house in a decent area. All while paying federal taxes that act as if you live like a king. And that is just the cost of living for folks who want to educate their kids, keep them healthy and keep them safe.
We really need policies that promote remote work. Give someone the opportunity to have a NYC job but live in Asheville, Chattanooga, he’ll, even Nashville. That will fix the affordability crisis better than any of the stupid ideas proposed by our politicians.
Unfortunately, it's just the byproduct of having a Troll King as POTUS, supported by smaller trolls. It's all about "winning" - where "winning" is defined as getting one over on the opposition. They don't really have any morals or standards. Most of them don't have a clue what's actually going on. "We're completely against war! Neocons suck! Liberals suck! This is what we voted for! No war! We're totally for war! If you don't support this war, you're not American!" They wait for what some Fox News (or similar outlet ... or, increasingly, random social media propagandists) talking head tells them to think, and then they just regurgitate it until that handler tells them to think the next thing. They don't know and/or don't care if they contradict themselves, or if the stuff even has any truth to it.
It's just the rush to troll that gets them going.
that's one way to look at it...another way is that some today seem concerned about $4.50/gal when during Biden years it reached over $5....and it seems as if those on the left seem more concerned about the high prices today than they did when Biden was president....
That's not to imply that going from under $3 pre Iran and reaching $4.35 (where I live) is not caused specifically by the Iran war.
We seem to be really concerned when prices rise during the administration of the opposing party than when our party is in power...human nature
I have not been silent fwiw. I have continnually said Trump needs to get the price of gas down if they want to win. The same thing i said under Biden. If Trump does not get the price of oil down, republicans wont win midterms.
Trumps trick to bring down the record biden admin inflation was to get energy prices lower. The green new scam had a lot of fat built into energy prices. This is what allowed him to keep inlfation coming down while implementing his tarrifs.
However, now that oil and energy prices are higher, inflation is rearing it's ugly head. Inflation hurts the lowest class the most. Inflation is stealing your money. The citizens don't want high inflation, it was the #1 issue last election.
To me it's the biggest issue for Trump right now and I think Iran also knows that.
That being said, there is a lot of time between now and mid-terms. If the price of oil shows decline before the end of summer, it will quickly become a non-issue.
First time following politics? It’s the same thing as the RWers crying during the high gas prices during Biden and now shrugging it off as no big deal.
Inflation absolutely was the #1 issue in the last election. Covid spending was the cause of inflation for biden. This stupid war and his stupid tariffs are the cause for Trump. He’s just lucky the economy is poor across most sectors or it would be much worse.
Fiscal Data Explains the National Deficit
Check out @FiscalService Fiscal Data’s new national deficit page! #NationalDeficit
fiscaldata.treasury.gov
CEA projected deficits would fall from $1.8 trillion in FY 2024 to $1.6 trillion in 2025, $1.7 trillion by 2026, and $1.5 trillion by 2034.
The actual deficit was $1.8 trillion in FY 2025.
Under CBO’s February 2026 Baseline, deficits will reach $1.9 trillion in 2026 and rise to $2.8 trillion by 2034. Under the President’s Budget, OMB projected deficits will peak at $2.1 trillion in 2026 before declining to $1.7 trillion by 2034.
Covid spending under Trump contributed to inflation but it was a two party thing. The "never let a disaster go to waste" theory was in full swing as the country probably spent twice what should have been spent. It was ridiculous to pay people more not to work than to work and it was ridiculous to provide stimulus payments to the 90% of Americans who were still working. Same with a lot of subsidies to businesses.
The biggest contributor to inflation was an extra $3.5 trillion above and beyond spending initiated by Biden as Covid was winding down. We already had pent up demand and now all kinds of extra money was being handed out. More demand without more supply = higher prices.
Tariffs have had a minimal impact. The biggest affordability concerns are health insurance, housing, and groceries and those things are largely produced/provided domestically.
The war is definitely contributing to inflation with higher fuel prices and I don't expect prices to get back to where they were anytime soon. Just a guess on my part but best case would be for some things to open up in the straits and gas prices to fall from $4.40/gal to $3.80. But shippers and insurers will both remain on edge for some time.
Under the current tariff regime, the average household will pay an extra $570 in 2026 due to tariffs, according to a March 9 analysis by the Yale University Budget Lab, a nonpartisan policy research center.
Household tariff costs: Why some families will pay more than others
"Analyses from groups like the Tax Foundation and congressional Democrats indicate the bill's benefits skewed heavily toward higher earners and corporations, with tariffs estimated to add $600–$1,700+ annually per household and elevated gas prices (over $4/gallon nationally) eroding refund gains for many."
From your article:
"The household cost burden would have been higher had the Supreme Court not ruled in February that the centerpiece of the Trump administration’s tariff agenda was illegal, according to both groups’ analyses."
This is why economists call tariffs a “regressive” tax: Because they place a larger relative cost burden on lower earners.
Lower-income households generally spend a greater fraction of their income than higher-income households, economists said. Higher earners devote a lower share of their income to necessities and have more disposable income to save and invest, in addition to buying things, they said.
Further, low earners tend to buy more goods and fewer services relative to high earners, economists said."
Disgusting. I wasn't sure if this should go in the corruption thread or this one. Ahole knocks down the East Wing without consulting anyone and to soothe everyone's nerves he promised that it would be privately funded.
At first, it was going to cost 200 million, then it jumped to 400 million and now it's a billion dollars of OUR tax money.
Impeach this thief.
At first, it was going to cost 200 million, then it jumped to 400 million and now it's a billion dollars of OUR tax money.
Impeach this thief.
no this falls into bait and switch
EDIT: From what I read this morning sounds like the $1billion might be for security upgrades as opposed to simply the ballroom..Devil is in the details, I guess.
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Covid may have been a cause of inflation but it wasn’t the only cause. There was plenty of time for Biden to get prices down and the people voted and decided he didn’t do it fast enough.Inflation absolutely was the #1 issue in the last election. Covid spending was the cause of inflation for biden. This stupid war and his stupid tariffs are the cause for Trump. He’s just lucky the economy is poor across most sectors or it would be much worse.
Fiscal Data Explains the National Deficit
Check out @FiscalService Fiscal Data’s new national deficit page! #NationalDeficit
CEA projected deficits would fall from $1.8 trillion in FY 2024 to $1.6 trillion in 2025, $1.7 trillion by 2026, and $1.5 trillion by 2034.
The actual deficit was $1.8 trillion in FY 2025.
Under CBO’s February 2026 Baseline, deficits will reach $1.9 trillion in 2026 and rise to $2.8 trillion by 2034. Under the President’s Budget, OMB projected deficits will peak at $2.1 trillion in 2026 before declining to $1.7 trillion by 2034.
Trump is running the same risks.
I am a strong Trump supporter...MAGA all the way and im not happy with gas prices. The fact is I know Trump had the national average for gas under $3 per gallon recently so his general management of gas is correct. We have a supply issue due to the Iran conflict. I dont like paying more but I know gas prices would be very high even with no war if a Democrat was potus. Im sticking with Trump. Trust in Trump.