Sunday November 16th

Welcome to this week’s edition of Red State Finance — the only publication that can explain America’s economic chaos and recommend the correct whiskey pairing to get through it.

Speaking of which, scientists now say more than two drinks a week for women and three for men increases your risk of fatty liver disease. So basically, the CDC wants you to “drink responsibly,” while Washington continues to drive the rest of us to drink. Perfect.

Politics & Policy

Donald Trump says Republicans “broke” Chuck Schumer during the shutdown negotiations — and judging by how fast Democrats turned on their own Senate leader, he might be right. Schumer spent the week dodging resignation calls from the same people who claim they can “save democracy.” So… the usual.

Meanwhile, Trump declared victory in Chicago after crime plummeted under his immigration blitz, and he wasted no time reminding the country that the “radical Democrats” who opposed him now owe the Windy City an apology. Don’t hold your breath.

Markets & Money

Trump also announced his plan to send $2,000 checks to every American, funded by tariff revenues — proving once again that the guy who was mocked for his tariff strategy now has the receipts. And he called the critics “fools,” which in economic terms is what experts refer to as “accurate.”

In other Trump-related financial news, he says he has an “obligation” to sue the BBC for $1 billion over their use of a doctored speech. Somewhere in London, a producer is Googling “how to get away with fake news.”

And then there’s the big debate: the proposed 50-year mortgage. Critics say it will bury Americans in debt. Supporters say it will help first-time buyers afford homes. Economists say it “addresses symptoms, not causes.” Translation: no one in Washington has ever built anything, so no one knows how to fix anything.

Business & Culture

Target fired the opening shot in the 2025 Holiday Retail War, slashing prices on 3,000 items — essentially telling Walmart, “If you want these customers, you’re going to have to fight for them… literally.” Expect a lot of smiling employees who absolutely, definitely, for sure want to be there.

Elsewhere in the corporate circus, hotel guests around the world were kicked out of their rooms mid-stay after Marriott’s partner Sonder collapsed into bankruptcy. Nothing says “hospitality” like being booted onto the sidewalk holding your room key, which now unlocks exactly nothing.

Walmart’s CEO shocked Wall Street by suddenly stepping down after 12 years, prompting analysts to wonder if he knows something we don’t — like whether self-checkout machines are finally gaining sentience.

Wendy’s announced plans to close about 250 U.S. stores next year, which is sad news for anyone who enjoys Frostys, square burgers, or the comforting glow of a drive-thru that’s open when you shouldn’t be eating fast food.

Mike Rowe and Ford’s CEO are waving the red flag on America’s manufacturing crisis, warning that China wants “every one of our jobs.” Don’t worry — Washington will get right on that as soon as they finish regulating plastic straws.

Thankfully, some companies still invest in America. Toyota just opened a massive $10B battery plant in North Carolina, bringing 5,000 new jobs. That’s right — while blue states bleed businesses, North Carolina is basically collecting them like Pokémon.

Winners:

Air Traffic Controllers
Deserved $10,000 bonuses for those who kept America flying during the shutdown. Still waiting on the bonus for the rest of us who survived TSA.

Rhode Island High School Conservatives
Students launched a conservative group after a teacher called Charlie Kirk “garbage” following his assassination attempt — and then mocked his death. The teacher is on leave… and the students are now building the next Turning Point USA. God bless America.

Losers:

Blue States — Again
Another major company — Coinbase — just ditched a blue state for Texas. At this point, the “blue state to Texas” pipeline needs its own highway.

Anyone Trying to Get $9 Coffee
1,000 unionized Starbucks employees walked out at 65 stores, leaving caffeine-dependent Americans wandering the streets like zombies. Workers are demanding better staffing, higher pay, and… you guessed it… resolution of hundreds of labor practice cases. The rest of us just want a latte that doesn’t involve political negotiations.

America Decides:

Last week’s poll came in loud and clear: 81% of you said the only thing rising faster than rent in NYC will be the crime rate — and honestly, that feels like the most accurate forecast Wall Street’s seen all year.

This week’s poll dives into one of America’s most persistent conspiracy-turned-maybe-not-a-conspiracy questions: is the government actually spraying the skies with nanoparticles — and if so, should anyone be okay with that?

When your pastor calls you out for only donating $1,235 instead of the “expected” $2,000… in front of the entire church.
If you think D.C. loves squeezing taxpayers, wait until you see Detroit’s newest “tithing tier list.”

President Trump is floating a 50-year mortgage, arguing it could finally make homeownership achievable for Americans who’ve been priced out for decades. Financial analysts, of course, immediately clutched their pearls, warning that a longer loan means more interest and potentially higher home prices. Trump’s team says it’s a “game changer.” The experts say it’s dangerous. And the average American says, “Wait… I might actually qualify for a house?”

Translation: Washington broke the housing market twenty years ago. Trump is at least trying to duct-tape it back together while the experts argue from their six-bedroom homes.

The U.S. housing market has officially hit the deep-freeze cycle: record-low sales, record-high prices, and a generation of Americans wondering if owning a home now requires winning the genetic lottery. Only 2.5 percent of U.S. homes changed hands between January and August — the lowest turnover in at least 30 years. Home prices keep rising, mortgage rates hover near 6 percent, and essentials like groceries now cost more than a starter apartment in 1995. With wages lagging behind everything except government excuses, experts warn the country is quietly shifting from homeowners to permanent renters.

Translation: Congratulations, America — we’ve reinvented feudalism. Only this time, the castles are $407,500 starter homes with vinyl siding, and the lords are Zillow and your local tax assessor.

Foreclosures are climbing again, and the charts look a little too much like the warm-up act for 2008. New data from ATTOM shows more homeowners slipping behind on payments as job losses stack up and living costs keep climbing. October alone saw 36,766 foreclosure filings, up three percent from September and a jarring 19 percent from last year. It’s the eighth straight month of increases, and lenders are already dusting off the default letters. Analysts insist this isn’t 2008 all over again… which is exactly what analysts said right before 2008 happened.

Translation: When foreclosures are rising, savings are shrinking, and mortgage payments look like phone numbers, the “everything is fine” crowd starts sounding a lot like the people who told us inflation was transitory.

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A longtime environmental researcher claims the US military has secretly dumped 60 million tons of toxic nanoparticles into the atmosphere in a decades-long attempt to slow global warming. According to Dane Wigington, the so-called “chemtrail conspiracy” isn’t just real — it’s allegedly backfired so badly that it’s now weakening the planet’s ability to repair itself. The theory argues that the government has been dispersing dangerous chemicals through aircraft for weather control, environmental manipulation, or, depending on who you ask, to make Americans sick. Officials deny everything, naturally — which, in this country, is also considered evidence.

Translation: Whether you believe it or not, one thing’s certain: if Washington really was running a secret global climate-spraying program, they’d somehow still manage to mess it up.

Florida’s Attorney General has opened an investigation into JPMorgan Chase after reports surfaced that the bank may have quietly “de-banked” Trump Media during a Biden-era FBI operation. Trump told CNBC earlier this year that major banks—including JPMorgan—refused to accept over $1 billion in deposits, forcing him to scatter funds across smaller institutions like he was running a financial scavenger hunt. JPMorgan denies any political motive, naturally, but Florida AG James Uthmeier says the bank may have coordinated with Jack Smith’s “Arctic Frost” operation to cut off Trump Media at a critical moment. If true, it would mark one of the biggest financial power plays since Operation Choke Point.

Translation: Big banks swear they don’t discriminate based on politics… right before every Republican organization mysteriously gets treated like it’s trying to open an account in Monopoly money.

Disney just pulled off a plot twist better than anything it’s put on screen lately: for the first time since 2019, the company’s annual business report contains zero mentions of “diversity,” “inclusion,” or “DEI.” Not one. In last year’s filing, these buzzwords had their own dedicated section; this year, they’ve disappeared faster than Disney’s box-office profits during the pandemic. While the word “equity” shows up about 130 times, it’s strictly the financial kind — not the social-engineering variety. After a year of quietly backing away from its most overcooked “woke era,” Disney appears to be signaling a return to… you know… actually making entertainment people want to watch.

Translation: When even Disney decides DEI is bad for business, you know the culture war pendulum has officially swung harder than a Florida hurricane.

USAA just announced a $500 million, five-year commitment to help veterans and military families build careers, strengthen financial stability, and support mental health — a rare example of a major U.S. institution actually investing in the people who protect the country instead of lecturing them. The funding powers the “Honor Through Action” campaign, designed to help transitioning service members navigate civilian careers, boost financial readiness, and support military spouses who still face an unemployment rate four times higher than everyone else. With fewer than one in five veterans feeling prepared for civilian employment, USAA says the mission is simple: take care of those who take care of America.

Translation: While Washington sends “thoughts and paperwork,” USAA is writing checks, building programs, and doing what real patriots do — putting their money where the country is.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lit up the political internet after effortlessly dismantling an MSNBC anchor’s attempt to frame a U.S. lending deal with Argentina as a “$20 billion bailout.” The anchor pressed him on why America was supposedly giving away billions, and Bessent responded with what liberals apparently consider advanced calculus: it’s a loan… that earns interest… for the United States. Argentina swaps depreciating pesos for stable U.S. dollars, we collect fixed-rate interest on up to $20 billion, and America makes money. It’s simple math — the kind that’s usually covered before high school graduation — but watching the exchange, you’d think Bessent was explaining quantum physics.

Translation: When the Treasury Secretary has to explain “loans earn interest” on live TV, the real crisis isn’t in Argentina — it’s in American journalism.

Joe Rogan rang the national alarm bell this week, warning that the U.S. is sliding toward a “bona fide civil war” as political violence spikes and everyday Americans start celebrating the deaths of people they disagree with. Speaking about the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Rogan said the reaction online — which included people openly cheering — pushed America from a “four or five” on the civil war scale to something closer to a “seven.” His point was simple and grim: once “regular people” are applauding murders on live television in front of a victim’s own family, the country is in darker territory than most want to admit.

Translation: When mainstream America starts acting like Twitter comment sections, the warning lights aren’t yellow anymore — they’re blinding red.

A new report shows New York and New Jersey have bled nearly $700 billion in resident income over the past decade, as taxpayers sprint toward states that don’t treat prosperity like a crime. According to data from the Census Bureau and IRS, New York alone lost a staggering $517.5 billion between 2013 and 2022, while New Jersey waved goodbye to $170.1 billion. Meanwhile, Florida and Texas rolled out the welcome mats — and the job offers — collecting the nation’s economic refugees and reshaping America’s financial map in the process.

Translation: When hundreds of billions of dollars flee blue states for red ones, it’s not a coincidence — it’s the market saying, “I’d rather sweat in Texas than be taxed to death in Manhattan.”

OpenAI just launched a program giving transitioning service members and new veterans a free year of ChatGPT Plus, aiming to help them move from the military into civilian careers without needing to decipher corporate HR-speak alone. Veterans within their first year of separation can access advanced AI tools, example chats written by other veterans, and onboarding support through OpenAI Academy. With nearly 70 percent of veterans saying employment is their biggest post-service challenge, OpenAI says the goal is simple: give America’s warriors the same career firepower civilian job applicants have enjoyed for years.

Translation: Silicon Valley usually spends its time lecturing America, but for once, a tech giant is actually helping the people who defend it.

For the past few years, every major corporation has sung the same convenient lullaby: “It’s not us, it’s inflation!” And Washington, being Washington, gladly took the blame — because when has the federal government ever turned down an opportunity to be the villain? Meanwhile, big business quietly used the chaos as cover to hike prices higher and faster than Jerome Powell could finish a press conference.

Take grocery chains, for example. Yes, food costs went up — but did Oreos suddenly cost 40 percent more to manufacture? Did chickens unionize? Did cows demand hazard pay? Of course not. Yet supermarkets kept jacking up prices because “inflation” became the all-purpose excuse for “we think you’ll pay it.”

Or look at airlines. Fuel prices came down. Travel demand went up. But somehow ticket prices stayed sky-high and every “fee” that used to be optional is now mandatory. Lost your bag? Your fault. Want an aisle seat? Pay up. Want to breathe? There’s probably a surcharge for that too.

And don’t forget the telecom and tech giants — the companies posting record-breaking profits every quarter while insisting they had to raise your monthly bill because of “supply chain pressures.” Sure. Funny how the only supply chain issue they never face is the chain that transfers your money into their pockets.

Here’s the truth no one wants to say out loud: inflation became the greatest corporate branding opportunity of the decade. Washington provided a convenient scapegoat, and big business took full advantage — squeezing consumers dry while pretending to wipe away a tear for the struggling American family.

Politicians might manipulate numbers, but corporations manipulate expectations — and lately, they’ve done it with surgical precision. If you want to know what’s really driving prices, don’t listen to the press conferences or the economic models. Look at quarterly earnings reports. Those don’t lie.

And until consumers push back, corporations will keep doing what they do best:
raising prices not because they have to — but because we’ve proven we’ll tolerate it.

In America, inflation may cool someday, but corporate greed? That chart only goes one direction.