Sunday December 14th

Welcome to Red State Finance — groceries cost more, homes cost more, but common sense is still free. For now.

Affordability, it turns out, is a selective problem in America.
A YouTube star was just charged with tax evasion after buying a $400,000 Ferrari — then destroying it for clicks.

And yes… that pretty much sums up the week.

Politics & Policy

New York City’s socialist mayor-elect apparently decided the best way to fix “public safety” was by hiring a former armed robber to help run it. Bold strategy. Let’s see how that works out.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is backing a GOP plan that would put $1,500 straight into Americans’ health care accounts— real dollars, real relief, and zero bureaucratic middlemen skimming the top.

And if you’re wondering how serious the border conversation has become, foreign tourists may soon be required to hand over five years of social media history just to enter the United States. Welcome to the modern immigration debate.

Markets & Money

First they scrapped the penny. Now paper checks are likely next — and honestly, it’s about time we retired something that slows everything down.

Home prices just went negative for the first time in over two years, a not-so-subtle sign that the “everything is fine” narrative may be running out of runway.

And in the least surprising headline of the week, another “activist leader” story imploded, as a BLM OKC figure was charged in a $3.15 million fraud and money-laundering scheme. Thoughts and prayers to the fact-checkers.

Business & Culture

Gen Z is now saying working from home made them lonely — after spending years demanding it like it was a constitutional right.

Costco, meanwhile, is doing what America does best: selling pizza, pie, and freedom at scale, shattering records while everyone else overthinks it.

Jamie Dimon poured some cold water on the AI panic, saying machines aren’t about to wipe out jobs overnight — despite what the doomers on X keep posting.

And if your steak dinner suddenly feels like a luxury purchase, you’re not crazy. Beef prices are up 7–10%, and steakhouses across America are officially tapping out and passing the bill to you.

Winners:

Grady Judd (Polk County, FL - Sheriff)
Once again proving he’s a national treasure. Sheriff Judd addressed the arrest of eight youths accused of stealing over $2,000 from Dick’s Sporting Goods while in Florida for a football game. Instead of football, they allegedly chose crime — and got handcuffs. Judd also scorched the team’s coach for reportedly asking officers to let the kids go.
Accountability. Consequences. No excuses. America needs more of this.

FIFA’s Bank Balance
The 2026 World Cup coming to the U.S. is already smashing records. Final tickets are reportedly topping $7,000, resales pushing $38,000, and private suites climbing toward $200,000 — putting it on track to become the most expensive sporting event on planet Earth.

Losers:

Tim Walz
After overseeing billions in COVID-era fraud, Minnesota’s governor is back in the headlines as an inmate freed early under a controversial release program is now being actively hunted by police. Different scandal, same outcome: taxpayers pay, criminals roam.

The Former Michigan Football Coach
A full collapse in under 24 hours. Fired from a $6M-a-year job with no payout, an affair exposed, a mistress quietly boosted with a 71% pay raise, and then got himself arrested. Efficiency — just not the kind you want.

America Decides:

How You Voted Last Week: A decisive 93% of readers said drug-boat strikes are exactly the right move to help win the war on drugs flowing into America.

This Week’s Big Issue: As we mentioned in our intro, the border conversation is getting a lot more serious.

Trump is backing a proposal that would require foreign tourists to hand over FIVE YEARS of social media history before being allowed into the United States. Supporters call it common sense — if you openly hate America, you shouldn’t be vacationing here. Critics warn it’s another step toward government overreach and speech policing.

This is where border security and free speech collide.

Remember the video we shared last week about Ed Bambas — the 88-year-old still working, still in debt, after losing his pension and his wife, yet somehow still standing strong. A quiet example of American resilience. This is the follow-up.

Ed showed up with the $400 tip from the original video still in his pocket, insisting on returning it. Not because he didn’t need it — but because integrity still matters to him. It’s hard not to take something from that.

Watch & take inspiration. And if you can, go do a good deed for someone who could use it. There’s still plenty of goodness in this country — we just don’t spread it nearly enough.

A new study finds younger Americans are taking riskier investment bets and spending more on nonessential items — not because they’re careless, but because homeownership is starting to feel unattainable. After years of skyrocketing prices and higher rates, the housing market has pushed affordability into crisis territory.

Researchers from Northwestern and the University of Chicago found that Americans born in the 1990s are on track to reach retirement with a homeownership rate nearly 10 points lower than their parents. When the traditional path to wealth gets blocked, people look for alternatives — even if they’re riskier.

Translation: When you price Americans out of homes, they don’t stop chasing the dream — they just chase it somewhere else.

Residents in Las Vegas are pushing back after their HOA attempted to jack up monthly fees by a staggering 78% — a move that would have pushed dues from $275 to $490 almost overnight. For many homeowners, especially seniors and those on fixed incomes, the increase wasn’t just painful — it was potentially financially devastating.

The Richmond Park HOA, managed by Level Community Management, planned to implement the hike starting in January, leaving residents scrambling and fearing they could be priced out of homes they already own.

Translation: When housing costs are already out of control, an HOA demanding a 78% fee hike isn’t “management” — it’s a threat to homeownership itself.

Google just released its Year in Search 2025, and it offers a rare, unfiltered look at what Americans were actually paying attention to — not what media editors wished they were.

The top trending search in the U.S. was Charlie Kirk, following the tragic shooting of the Turning Point USA founder during a campus event at Utah Valley University in September. The moment sparked nationwide attention and debate, driving a massive surge in search activity.

Rounding out the top five were Netflix’s hit film KPop Demon Hunters, the viral Labubu plush craze, Apple’s iPhone 17, and the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law in July. Other major spikes included New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, the AI platform DeepSeek, the government shutdown, the FIFA Club World Cup, and renewed interest in tariffs.

Translation: Ignore the pundits — America’s search history tells you exactly where attention, anxiety, and power really collided in 2025.

Food isn’t getting cheaper — and neither is retirement.
Social Security won’t cut it. Sitting in cash won’t save you.

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President Donald Trump unveiled a new $1 million “Gold Card” visa, offering legal status and a pathway to U.S. citizenship for applicants willing to pay the premium — all as part of a broader immigration crackdown.

The program allows individuals to apply directly with the full payment, while corporations would be required to pay up to $2 million per foreign-born employee. An official application website went live this week as Trump launched the initiative alongside business leaders at the White House.

Translation: Legal immigration is welcome — but access to America isn’t free, and it’s no longer being handed out without serious commitment.

New data shows Americans are rethinking the pandemic-era move — and it’s not California leading the exit list anymore. After years of people flooding into Texas, Florida, and other Sun Belt states, the migration wave is slowing.

A Realtor analysis covering September 2024 through August 2025 shows Kansas City, San Antonio, and Indianapolis now seeing the highest turnover, each with about 45 home sales per 1,000 units.

Translation: Affordability chased Americans across state lines — and then quietly disappeared.

A Texas family saw their holiday spirit ripped away after thieves stole expensive Christmas decorations straight from their front yard. The decorations — including inflatables, lights, and festive displays — were taken late Sunday night, leaving the yard stripped bare and damaged.

The homeowner reported the theft to police, who are now reviewing nearby security footage. The story struck a nerve online, with many Americans sharing how their own Christmas joy has been dimmed by similar acts of theft.

Translation: When thieves feel comfortable stealing Christmas, it’s no longer about decorations — it’s about a breakdown in respect, accountability, and basic decency.

A 73-year-old woman has landed on the FBI’s most wanted list after allegedly conning banks out of roughly $30 millionby posing as an airline heiress. According to federal authorities, Mary Carole McDonell claimed she was in line for a secret $80 million trust fund tied to McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corporation — a fortune that never existed.

The FBI says McDonell used the story to swindle $14.7 million from one bank and another $15 million from additional financial institutions across Los Angeles and Orange counties, money she allegedly knew she was never entitled to and never repaid.

Translation: Even in a system packed with compliance officers and safeguards, confidence and a good story can still beat common sense — and taxpayers usually end up holding the bag.

A Hollywood director tied to Keanu Reeves’ 47 Ronin has been found guilty of defrauding Netflix out of $11 million, turning production money into a personal spending spree worthy of satire.

Federal prosecutors say Carl Erik Rinsch took funds meant to finish his delayed sci-fi series White Horse and instead poured the cash into crypto speculation, luxury furniture, Swiss watches, and a fleet of exotic cars — including five Rolls-Royces and a red Ferrari. Prosecutors detailed millions spent on credit card bills, antiques, mattresses, and high-end toys, while the show itself went nowhere.

Translation: When accountability disappears and money flows freely, even billion-dollar companies can get played — and “creative vision” turns into luxury shopping real fast.

Instacart is under fire after a new investigation revealed it’s using AI-powered pricing experiments that charge different customers different prices for the exact same groceries. According to researchers, price differences reached as high as 23% when shoppers were told to buy identical items at the same time.

The result? Families may be unknowingly paying up to $1,200 more per year for food — not because of inflation or shortages, but because an algorithm decided they could afford it.

Translation: This isn’t dynamic pricing — it’s digital price discrimination, and Americans are being quietly taxed by algorithms at the checkout line.

Cannabis stocks surged after reports that President Donald Trump plans to reclassify marijuana at the federal level, significantly easing restrictions through an executive order. The move would shift cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, dramatically changing how the industry is regulated and taxed.

Markets reacted immediately. Tilray Brands jumped more than 25%, with Canopy Growth posting similar gains. Cannabis-focused real estate firm Innovative Industrial Properties rose over 8%, while the Amplify Seymour Cannabis ETF surged nearly 30% on the news. The reclassification would allow cannabis companies to operate under more favorable tax rules and could unlock new investment across the sector.

Translation: Markets don’t wait for speeches — they move on policy. One regulatory shift from Trump was enough to light up an entire industry overnight.

Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year, an icy white shade called “Cloud Dancer,” has sparked predictable outrage online, with woke critics labeling the choice “racist” and “tone-deaf.”

Pantone described the color as a symbol of calm — “a whisper of peace in a noisy world.” Unfortunately, the internet chose noise. Critics compared the announcement to recent ad controversies, coined the term “Pantonedeaf,” and even dragged unrelated brands into the meltdown. One commenter asked if actress Sydney Sweeney had a say in the color choice — because apparently everything must be political now.

Translation: When a neutral color becomes offensive, it’s not the shade that’s extreme — it’s the culture reacting to it.

Self-checkout was supposed to make life easier. Faster lines. Less hassle. A little more freedom for shoppers who just wanted to grab their groceries and go.

Instead, it’s quietly become a symbol of something else entirely — the breakdown of trust between businesses and customers.

Companies laid off cashiers, replaced them with machines, and shifted the work onto shoppers, all under the banner of “efficiency.” But then came the cameras, weight sensors, flashing warnings, and alarms that treat every customer like a suspect. You’re doing the job once handled by an employee — and still being watched as if you can’t be trusted to do it right.

Now the predictable result. A recent survey found 1 in 4 people admit they haven’t scanned everything at self-checkout. Not because Americans suddenly lost their values, but because the system itself feels transactional, impersonal, and hostile to honest behavior.

Self-checkout isn’t all bad. It’s convenient. It’s fast. And for plenty of Americans, it beats standing in line behind someone paying with a check like it’s 1998. There’s a reason people keep using it.

But convenience without trust comes at a cost. When businesses remove human accountability, they also remove human connection. When automation is paired with surveillance, respect for the system starts to erode. Customers stop feeling like partners and start feeling like suspects.

That’s the real issue here — not the missed scan or the blinking screen.

So here’s the question worth asking: if corporations replace people with machines, shift responsibility onto customers, and assume guilt by default… who actually broke the social contract first?

Sound off in the comments — we want your take.