Sunday November 9th

Welcome to this week’s edition of Red State Finance — the only place connecting the dots between your wallet, Washington, and the weekly circus we call America.

If you traveled this week — congrats, you made it out alive. Between delayed flights, canceled routes, and airports looking like FEMA camps with coffee, “smooth travel” is officially a relic of the past.

Politics & Policy

The private sector cranked out 42,000 new jobs in October — shocking economists who, per tradition, once again predicted the exact opposite of reality. ADP beat expectations again, reminding us that when Washington stops tripping over itself, Americans actually get back to work.

But don’t get too cozy — in this economy, good news usually has a bad-news twin lurking right behind it… and you’re about to see exactly what we mean.

Meanwhile, Trump’s warning that Russia and China are testing underground nukes — but don’t worry, the same experts who told us inflation was “transitory” say everything’s fine.

And in New York City, nearly a million residents are apparently prepping to escape after Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani took the mayor’s seat. When even lifelong Yankees fans are Googling “Texas housing market,” you know it’s bad.

Markets & Money

Major financial firms are moving south — literally. JPMorgan now has more employees in Texas than New York, proving that freedom, brisket, and no state income tax beat overpriced bagels every time.

Tesla shareholders just approved Elon Musk’s $1 trillion pay package after he threatened to walk. Honestly, if anyone’s worth a trillion, it’s the guy launching rockets and building cars while Congress still can’t fix potholes.

And all eyes are on the Supreme Court as it reviews Trump-era tariffs that could swing $200 billion in trade. Translation: globalists are sweating harder than CNN during a Trump rally.

Business & Culture

Layoffs just hit a 22-year high — and now everyone’s asking the same question: is AI about to wipe out all human jobs? Maybe. But let’s be honest — some of those jobs were already running on autopilot long before the robots showed up.

Walmart’s CEO says AI will reshape every single job at the company. Great — now your self-checkout machine might actually talk back when it freezes.

And Dave Portnoy is threatening to move Barstool out of NYC after Mamdani’s win. Hard to blame him — the city’s turning into a live-action “what not to do” manual.

🏆 Winners:

💀 Losers:

America Decides:

Just so we’re all on the same page — 66% of you blamed Democrats for the shutdown last week. But let’s be honest: when people are angry, hungry, or out of work, Republicans start losing a little of that built-in sympathy. Hard times have a funny way of sharpening opinions.

And the Comment of the Week?

Now that democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s running New York City, IS the question not if it goes downhill — but how fast?

Nothing exposes socialism faster than asking students to share their grades.

The Oracle of Omaha just ghosted the stock market — again. Warren Buffett quietly dumped another $6 billion in shares last quarter, marking his third straight year of selling while the rest of Wall Street keeps pretending the party isn’t over.

At 95, the man’s seen every bubble, crash, and “this time it’s different” pitch in the book — and his decision to unload $184 billion in stocks since 2022 should make every trader sweat. When Buffett’s buying, the market listens. When he’s selling? You might want to start keeping cash under the mattress.

The kicker: his cash pile now tops $180 billion, suggesting he’s waiting for a major correction — or maybe just better deals when the “soft landing” crowd finally runs out of runway.

Translation: When the most patient man on Wall Street heads for the exits, it’s probably not because he forgot where the door is.

According to the New York Fed, American household debt just hit a record-breaking $18.6 trillion — because nothing says “strong economy” like maxed-out credit cards and overdue car payments.

Since 2019, debt’s ballooned by $4.4 trillion, and now even student loans are joining the all-time-high club at $1.65 trillion. Nearly 1 in 10 borrowers are over 90 days late on payments, but sure — let’s keep pretending everything’s “under control.”

Between mortgages, car loans, and inflation, Americans are juggling bills like circus clowns on caffeine. The only thing not going up? Savings accounts.

Translation: The Fed calls it “consumer confidence.” The rest of us call it “financial denial with a credit limit.”

While coastal states are busy taxing homeowners like it’s a sport, a handful of freedom-loving states are keeping property taxes refreshingly reasonable.

The cheapest place to own a home? West Virginia, where the average bill is just $728 — about what some Californians pay in parking tickets. Rounding out the top tier of tax sanity are Alabama ($804), Arkansas ($871), Mississippi ($1,034), South Carolina ($1,328), Tennessee ($1,333), Louisiana ($1,415), and Oklahoma ($1,481).

Translation: Move south or stay poor — the map doesn’t lie.

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Stop the presses — the media lied about Trump. Again. This time it’s the BBC, where an internal report just revealed they doctored footage of Trump’s January 6 speech. Because apparently “context” is optional when the headline writes itself.

Former adviser Michael Prescott blew the whistle after years of warning the network’s watchdog — and being ignored. His 19-page dossier exposed not just Trump-related manipulation, but also anti-Israel bias and censorship on the transgender debate.

The White House wasted no time calling out the taxpayer-funded network’s “journalistic malpractice,” while British politicians are scrambling for damage control.

Translation: Another day, another “trusted” media outlet caught editing reality to fit the narrative. At this point, CNN’s probably jealous they didn’t think of it first.

According to WalletHub’s new 2025 Safest Cities in America report, “safe” isn’t exactly how you’d describe large chunks of the country. After crunching data on crime, natural disasters, and financial risk, the study crowned the five most unsafe places to call home — and spoiler: it’s a greatest hits album of blue-city mismanagement.

🏚️ New Orleans, LA — Jazz, jambalaya, and carjackings.
🔫 Memphis, TN — Graceland’s still great; everything else, not so much.
⚜️ Baton Rouge, LA — Southern charm meets record-breaking violence.
🚨 Detroit, MI — Still waiting on that “revival” politicians keep promising.
💸 Baltimore, MD — Proof you can’t fix decades of decline with diversity training.

Translation: When crime’s up, taxes are higher, and “climate equity” replaces policing — don’t be shocked when people start Googling “homes for sale in Texas.”

Hours after New York voters handed the keys of the Big Apple to socialist Zohran Mamdani, Houston decided to roll out the welcome mat — and a job offer — for cops who’ve had enough.

The Houston Police Officers’ Union posted a photo of an NYPD officer packing up with Manhattan’s skyline in the rearview mirror and the caption: “NYPD, are you disgusted with the election of Zohran Mamdani? JOIN US!”

It’s the most Texas thing ever — turning another city’s bad decision into a recruitment campaign. And honestly, who can blame them? In Mamdani’s New York, criminals get therapy; in Texas, they get arrested.

Translation: The Left’s utopia is the Right’s job fair.

In a shocking twist from the land of palm trees and ballot harvesting, more than 500,000 Californians have signed a petition demanding a voter ID law — because apparently, democracy works better when everyone voting is actually, you know, alive.

The movement, led by Californians for Voter ID, seeks to amend the state constitution to require identification for all elections. Republican state Sen. Tony Strickland summed it up perfectly: “We had a dog that voted in the last couple elections.” (Fido’s political future remains uncertain.)

With outdated voter rolls, mail-in madness, and ballot harvesting run amok, Californians are finally calling for some good old-fashioned accountability at the ballot box.

Translation: When even California starts demanding voter ID, it’s safe to say the “no-fraud-here” narrative is officially out to lunch.

Add another entry to the “Things You Can’t Make Up” file: Melissa Fireside, a 44-year-old Democrat and former Clackamas County Commissioner, is now officially an international fugitive after skipping bail and allegedly bolting to Mexico.

Her rap sheet? Authorities say she tried to scam her mother’s 83-year-old boyfriend out of $30,000 — because apparently, compassion for seniors doesn’t apply when there’s cash on the table.

Fireside, who was elected just last year, resigned in disgrace after being charged with first-degree theft. But instead of facing trial this December, she reportedly grabbed her 9-year-old son, crossed the border, and disappeared faster than a DNC ethics complaint.

Translation: Another Democrat “fighting for the vulnerable” — right up until it’s time to rob them.

Well, that didn’t last long. ESPN and PENN Entertainment just called it quits on their high-stakes sports betting partnership — a $2 billion deal that barely made it past its first anniversary. Effective December 1, ESPN Bet will officially be benched.

The short-lived venture gave Dave Portnoy the chance to buy back Barstool Sports, while ESPN dove headfirst into gambling just as the sports world started panicking about gambling scandals. Great timing.

Now ESPN’s shifting gears, cozying up to the NFL with a deal to operate RedZone and other media assets in exchange for a 10% stake — a move that’s raising more eyebrows than Super Bowl officiating.

Translation: ESPN’s betting empire folded faster than a bad poker hand — proving once again that mixing sports, media, and gambling ethics is a losing parlay.

Common sense just made a comeback. The Supreme Court handed President Trump a major victory, ruling 6–3 that the State Department can require Americans to list their biological s*x — not their “gender identity” of the week — on new and renewed passports.

The Court’s majority didn’t mince words, noting that displaying someone’s s*x at birth “no more offends equal protection than listing their country of birth.” In other words, it’s a fact, not a feeling.

The decision overturns a lower court’s attempt to block the policy and marks another step in Trump’s effort to restore sanity — and biology — to government records.

Translation: The Supreme Court just reminded America that passports are for travel, not therapy.

According to Standard Chartered’s crypto guru Geoffrey Kendrick, Bitcoin’s latest slip below $100,000 might be your last chance to buy before it goes stratospheric. Yes — he said “the last one ever.”

With Bitcoin hovering around $103,000, Kendrick outlined a three-stage buying plan tied to the 50-week moving average and the Bitcoin-to-gold ratio hitting 30 — technical talk for “this is the moment.”

The bullish call comes as Bitcoin flirts dangerously close to key support levels — just $1,100 above the line separating “correction” from “capitulation.”

Translation: Wall Street’s finally saying what crypto diehards have been yelling for years — buy the dip, or spend the next decade explaining to your grandkids why you didn’t.

(Spoiler: Only if they remember who they’re fighting for.)

It’s the question hanging over every red-state barbecue, Wall Street boardroom, and Fox News panel: Can Republicans win without Trump leading the ticket?

The short answer? Yes — but only if they stop trying to be Democrats with better suits.

Let’s be honest — Trump didn’t just win elections, he rewired the political map. He turned the GOP from a party of polite think-tank talking points into a movement for working Americans. Without him, Republicans need more than nostalgia and name-calling. They need a playbook that hits home — literally.

Affordability.
Voters don’t care about your committee assignments. They care about paying rent, buying groceries, and affording a life that doesn’t feel like it’s slipping away. If Republicans can’t hammer home real-world costs — from gas to groceries — they’ll keep losing to candidates promising “free stuff” that taxpayers end up funding.

Jobs.
Bring back pride in American work. Support small businesses, manufacturers, and the trades. No one’s inspired by another “innovation hub” funded with government grants and buzzwords. Americans want jobs that matter, not press releases that vanish after election season.

Common Sense (Anti-Woke).
The GOP’s greatest weapon? Reality. If Democrats want to argue that men can give birth and speech is violence, let them. Republicans should plant their flag in sanity — protect women’s sports, end taxpayer-funded gender experiments, and put facts over feelings.

Freedom of Speech.
The left has Silicon Valley; the right has common sense. Republicans win when they defend free thought, not just free enterprise. Censorship doesn’t sell — truth does.

America First.
Not as a slogan — as a standard. Secure borders, fair trade, strong military, independent energy. Stop funding foreign countries that hate us while Americans can’t afford a mortgage.

Family-Centric Policies.
Rebuild the family, and you rebuild the nation. Tax incentives for parents, school choice, protection of parental rights — that’s the real “social justice.”

Immigration.
It’s a tightrope. Voters want strong borders, but not viral videos of ICE raids gone wrong. Republicans must lead with law and order, not optics of chaos — and pair border security with legal pathways that make sense. Compassion and control aren’t mutually exclusive.

Young Voters.
They’ve been raised on Wi-Fi, weed, and welfare checks. “Free college,” “free rent,” and “cancel your loans” sound great when you’ve never had to earn it. Republicans need to offer a better deal: freedom over dependency. Teach the value of ownership, not entitlement.

Messaging.
Too often, Republicans sound like accountants at a barbecue. Facts matter, but emotion wins elections. The GOP has truth on its side — they just need to say it like they mean it.

Unity.
Infighting makes for great headlines and bad elections. America needs a party that looks forward, not one that keeps reenacting 2016 like it’s a greatest hits tour.

Republicans don’t need Trump’s name on the ballot — they need his blueprint. Speak directly to working Americans. Defend freedom. Stand up for families. Use plain language and backbone, not focus groups and fear.

Because if the GOP forgets who it represents — the builder, the parent, the soldier, the small business owner — it won’t matter who’s on the ballot.
America First will be just another campaign slogan instead of the movement it was meant to be.

What do you think?
We want to hear from you — drop your comments, takes, and hard-hitting feedback below. We’ll read every one of them (yes, even the bold ones) and feature the best responses in next week’s issue. Keep it sharp, keep it honest… and maybe keep it printable.