They would rather that people remain miserable than see Trump and the country do well.

Breitbart News reports:

Leftists Pledge to Load Up on Supplies Before Biden Leaves Office, Buy Nothing ‘for the Next Four Years’ to Tank Trump Economy

Leftists have a master plan to ensure that President-elect Donald Trump’s economy tanks: They are not going to buy anything.

Leftists across the country are still reeling from Trump’s historic comeback victory, which saw him sweeping all seven swing states, garnering 312 electoral votes and also winning the popular vote after making historic gains in traditionally blue areas.

There was a sizable shift in the electorate and a clear mandate for change, but some leftists ardently disagree and have a plan to tank what everyone anticipates to be a strong economy under Trump’s leadership.

“Trump will not have a good economy because we don’t have to let him. I myself plan on paying my bills and saving every penny beyond that. I will not contribute to this economy in any other way,” one leftist X account with the handle @PrezLives2022 said to 127.1K followers, previewing plans to strategically purchase clothing “before he takes office and make sure I have everything I need for the next four years.” […]

— Read More: www.thegatewaypundit.com

Harmon, 41, ran a Bitcoin mixer called Helix that was “highly sought after by online drug dealers who needed to launder their illicit proceeds,” said a Nov. 15 statement from the department.

A mixer is a service that allows customers to send cryptocurrencies—in this case Bitcoins—to designated recipients in such a way that crypto owners remain concealed.

Helix was “one of the most popular mixing services on the darknet,” the DOJ notes. Between 2014 and 2017, “Helix processed at least approximately 354,468 bitcoin—the equivalent of approximately $311,145,854 in U.S. dollars at the time of the transactions—on behalf of its customers.

“Much of those funds were coming from or going to darknet drug markets. Harmon retained a percentage of these transactions as his commissions and fees for operating Helix.” […]

— Read More: www.theepochtimes.com

This increase is attributed to soaring home prices and nearly doubled mortgage rates over the past five years, the New York Post reported.

Housing affordability has plummeted, with only 36% of households able to purchase a home in 2024 compared to 59% in 2019.

The least affordable markets include cities like San Jose, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Honolulu, where fewer than 15% of households can cover housing costs. In contrast, the most affordable cities, such as Cleveland, Detroit, and Oklahoma City, have housing costs ranging from $64,600 to $75,300, making homeownership accessible to about half of local households.

Midwestern and Southern cities like Decatur, Illinois, and Charleston, West Virginia, top the list of most affordable areas, with nearly two-thirds of residents earning enough to purchase a home. Meanwhile, the median U.S. home sale price climbed to $394,000 in June 2024, a 4.4% year-over-year increase, according to Redfin. […]

— Read More: dallasexpress.com

Led by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), the senators wrote in a letter dated Nov. 14 that the independent Cyber Safety Review Board (CSRB) had announced in late October that it would initiate a review “at the appropriate time,” a DHS spokesman confirmed in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, following media reports that Salt Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored threat group, had breached several U.S. telecommunications companies.

The Epoch Times contacted the DHS for comment but has not received a response by publication time.

The senators noted that the CSRB’s announcement “is a good first step.” The CSRB, established by the DHS in 2022, consists of federal officials and private-sector cybersecurity experts.

“We are deeply alarmed DHS has not publicly disclosed when this investigation will begin,” the senators wrote. “While details of the attack are still being revealed, the scope of this attack is historic in nature and the hacking technique used by Salt Typhoon holds countless senior U.S. officials and millions of U.S. citizens at risk. […]

— Read More: www.theepochtimes.com

President-elect Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, securing more than the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the presidency in the early morning of Nov. 6 after making substantial gains among both black and Hispanic voters in pre-election polling, largely due to the economy. Democratic strategist Fred Hicks claimed the party was engaged in “soul searching” when he claimed the “economy was strong.” (RELATED: ‘I Would Love An Answer’: Faulkner Asks Dem Guest Point-Blank If His Party Is Actually Accepting Drubbing With Grace)

“Donald Trump won the election, and Democrats are very clear on that. Some people who wonder if there was some monkeying around with it,” Hicks claimed. “We have except the results of the election in 2024. We saw that last week when President Biden welcoming president-elect Donald Trump to the White House. With that being said, at the same time, we’re trying to figure out what happened because the economy was strong and is strong.”

Since President Joe Biden and Harris took office in January 2021, prices rose by over 20%, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached a high of 9% in June 2022. By comparison, the CPI grew 1.4% year-over-year in January 2021, when Trump left office, while the average price for a gallon of gas was under $2.25 the same year, according to GasBuddy.com.

“You say that but people were not strong. You look at America but you don’t see the Americans who said they were not strong in the pocketbook. That food prices were too high. You are still saying it,” Faulkner told Hicks, who responded by claiming it was a “disconnect” between them. […]

— Read More: dailycaller.com

Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued and announced Executive Order 42 in Thursday at the annual Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference.

The order brings the commonwealth’s economic development and housing authorities together to collaborate on a newly announced Workforce Housing Investment Program. It requires localities applying for funding for the Virginia Business Ready Sites Program to “include a housing plan to match the job potential of each site.”

“It is clear that Virginia is growing and we need to make sure the supply of housing can meet our surging demand,” Youngkin said. “The private sector is ready to step in and meet the needs of our growing workforce with much needed workforce housing, and today’s announcement advances these efforts by accelerating workforce housing development and requiring local governments to support the housing growth that Virginia needs.”

Housing development in Virginia is substantially lagging job growth, and the state is about 550,000 housing units short of meeting current demand, according to the order. […]

— Read More: justthenews.com

Ramaswamy, whom Trump picked to lead the brand new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) along with Elon Musk, spoke to Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” about plans to cut the federal bureaucracy.

“We expect mass reductions,” Ramaswamy said. “We expect certain agencies to be deleted outright. We expect mass reductions in force in areas of the federal government that are bloated. We expect massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are overbilling the federal government … I think people will be surprised by, I think, how quickly we’re able to move with some of those changes, given the legal backdrop the Supreme Court has given us.”

Today on @SundayFutures with @MariaBartiromo, @VivekGRamaswamy spoke about the goals for the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.@FoxNews pic.twitter.com/Sh9CA5KZZ6

— SundayMorningFutures (@SundayFutures) November 17, 2024

Ramaswamy argued that slicing down parts of the Executive Branch can begin right away through executive action. He indicated that “over half-a-trillion dollars that’s spent every year right now was not even authorized by Congress in the first place,” and said that would be their area of focus.

“The dirty little secret right now … is people we elect to run the government, they’re not the ones who actually run the government. It’s the unelected bureaucrats in the administrative state. That was created through executive action. It’s going to be fixed through executive action,” he said. […]

— Read More: www.dailywire.com

Texas again grew jobs at a faster annual rate than the national job growth rate over the year in October. It also set a new record high for the greatest number employed in the civilian labor force and a new record high for total Texans working, including the self-employed, according to new data from the Texas Workforce Commission.

Over the year, from October 2023 to October 2024, Texas added 274,600 jobs. Its annual nonfarm growth rate was 2%, outpacing the national growth rate by 0.6%.

In October, Texas reached a new record high recording the largest labor force in state history of 15,497,100, after adding 47,300 workers over the month. This marks the 10th consecutive month of growth for Texas’ civilian labor force, the TWC said. Over the year, Texas’ civilian labor force added 360,800 workers, according to TWC data.

Texas also reached a new high for Texans working, including the self-employed, of 14,858,700.

“Texas grows jobs at a faster annual rate than the U.S. because Texas moves at the speed of business,” Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Meeting the changing needs of Texas entrepreneurs and businesses is paramount to ensure ongoing job growth across industries. That is why the state of Texas invests in workforce development and career training to prepare our young and growing labor force for high-demand, good-paying jobs. With more than four million Texans participating every year in those skills training programs and Texas removing regulatory roadblocks that burden small businesses and job growth, we will build a bigger, better Texas for all.”

The Financial Activities industry reported the largest over-the-month increase in October, adding 6,200 jobs. It grew by 3.1% over the year, outperforming the national growth rate by 2.8%. Not far behind was the Leisure and Hospitality industry, which added 4,900 jobs over the month, followed by Information, adding 1,900 jobs and Manufacturing industry adding 1,900 jobs.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment dropped slightly to 14,276,300 after reporting 10,600 fewer jobs over the month, according to the data.

Since Gov. Abbott’s been in office, Texas has added more than 2.4 million jobs.

The not seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Texas was 4.1%, higher than the national rate of 3.9%.

Of Texas’ Metropolitan Statistical Area not seasonally adjusted unemployment rates, Beaumont-Port Arthur reported the highest of 5.8%, followed by McAllen-Edinburg-Mission’s 5.5%, and Brownsville-Harlingen’s 5.1%.

Midland reported the lowest of 2.8%, followed by Amarillo’s 3.1%, and College Station-Bryan’s 3.1%.

“Texas has experienced remarkable workforce growth, with over 360,000 people joining the civilian labor force in the past year,” TWC Commissioner Representing Labor Alberto Treviño III said. “TWC offers a wide variety of training programs and resources to help Texans gain new skills and achieve their career goals in our robust Texas economy.”

The TWC offers free in-person and online learning programs and resources through local Workforce Solutions offices, which can be found here.

Who Killed the Electric Vehicle?

Over the past year, there have been indicators that the electric vehicle market might be struggling despite the billions of dollars in federal and state subsidies. It comes down to one fact: Consumer demand is not there. At least, that is what one of the biggest car brands in the world is saying.

Speaking at a virtual media roundtable event on November 8, Jack Hollis, the chief operating officer of Toyota Motor North America, stated that the government’s electric vehicle mandates are “impossible” to meet. He referenced California’s “Advanced Clean Cars II” regulations, which force 35% of 2026 model-year automobiles to be zero-emission vehicles. The California Air Resources Board suggests that 12 states and Washington, DC, have implemented such rules. Other states have similar regulations but with a 2027 starting date.

And, yes, one glance at the calendar suggests these cars will be rolled out quite soon.

“I have not seen a forecast by anyone … government or private, anywhere that has told us that that number is achievable. At this point, it looks impossible,” Hollis said. “Demand isn’t there. It’s going to limit a customer’s choice of the vehicles they want.” […]

— Read More: www.libertynation.com

DOGE co-leader Elon Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla and is one of the richest people in the world, is working with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to find top talent to cut wasteful spending, overburdensome regulations and re-structure federal agencies. Neither Musk or Ramaswamy will be paid for their work.

“We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE,” the new advisery group said in a social media post. “We don’t need more part-time idea generators. We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.”

Candidates can send their resumes to the DOGE account on X.

“Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants,” according to the post. […]

— Read More: justthenews.com