Friday, May 29, 2026

And A Splendid Friday Was Had By All

KUDLOW: Are we really gonna have a $250 bill with Donald Trump's picture on it?

BESSENT: So, for the 150th there was a Calvin Coolidge coin with his image on it. We are going to have the image of President Trump on a coin, and there is proposed legislation in the House to put President Trump on the $250 bill. President Trump should be on there.

KUDLOW: I'm sure the demand for them will be huge
There’s still a huge market for those Gerald Ford coins they minted in ‘76. Oh, wait….
Following the money:
"Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer during the George W. Bush administration, said aides to the president should not be intervening in contracting and lending decisions by agencies, particularly in matters that financially benefit the president’s family."

"'This is our money they’re spending,' Painter said. 'This is corruption we pay for.'"
Crying “Wolf!” once too often.
Economy then vs now:

GDP growth:
2024 2.8%
2026 1.6%

Inflation:
2024 2.9%
2026 3.8%

Wages:
2024 rising faster than inflation
2026 rising slower than inflation

Unemployment rate:
2024 4%
2026 4.3%

Jobs added per month:
2024 >120,000
2026 76,000

Jobs vs Unemployed:
2024 7.6 million job openings vs 6.9 million unemployed
2026 6.8 million job openings vs 7.2 million unemployed

National Debt
2024 $35.5 trillion 2026 $39 trillion

Deficit
2024 $1.8 trillion
2026 CBO projection $2 trillion

Uninsured Americans:
2024 27 million
2026 CBO projection 30 million

Gas prices per gallon:
December 2024 ~$3.00
Today $4.43
Rich man pours oil on troubled waters. ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคฃ๐Ÿคช๐Ÿซ  (Trump was convicted on 34 counts if financial fraud.) It's been more than twice that: But for rich guys, twice nothing is still nothing. Now, the Lord’s gonna trouble the waters. And that’s a good thing: And the beat goes on:
A federal judge in Virginia has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving ahead with plans to create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who it says were wrongly targeted by the government in the past.

The brief order from US District Judge Leonie Brinkema says the administration cannot take any action “pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund.”

She set a hearing for June 12 to hear arguments over whether she should issue a more lasting pause on the government’s efforts to set up the fund, which is being challenged by a diverse coalition of critics and entities who say they’ve been targeted by the Trump administration and are ineligible to receive money from it.

Brinkema, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, said she was pausing work on the fund for now to maintain the status quo while she considers the legal challenge. She pointed to the fact that the Justice Department had not committed to holding off on transferring money into it or processing payments while initial court proceedings played out.
No word on whether a federal court in Texas will enjoin this injunction and insist it alone has jurisdiction of this case, any rulings of the appellate court to contrary notwithstanding.

๐ŸŒฎ 
And worth paying attention to: After all: Low-T Trump?

1 comment:

  1. I don't believe Trump likes women at all. I'm not sure, other than maybe Roy Cohn and/or Jeffrey Epstein, he has ever liked anyone. I mean, really. Does anyone think the guy has ever called someone up just to say "hi", or asked anyone how they were doing and *meant* it?

    ReplyDelete