The Dow at 50K... Your 401(k) at $955

If you’ve got a spare $30 million lying around, you can pick up a 650-acre private island in the Bahamas. Yes, the one that used to belong to Shakira. Apparently hips don’t lie… and neither does real estate appreciation. Bonds Cay just hit the market for $30 million — about double what she paid for it back in 2006. Not bad. Meanwhile, back here in the real world, most Americans would settle for their grocery bill not doubling.

Which brings us to this week.

Because while celebrities flip islands, Washington is flipping the script.

Politics & Policy:

January jobs came in hotter than expected. Economists were bracing for around 70,000 new jobs. The economy delivered roughly 130,000 instead. So much for the “imminent collapse” tour we were told to prepare for.

Inflation? Down again. The Consumer Price Index eased to 2.4% — the lowest in nine months. After years of getting bludgeoned at the checkout line, Americans finally caught a break.

And in case you missed it, the IRS will not be snooping through your Venmo and CashApp transactions after all. The previous administration’s plan to track everyday transfers? Scrapped. You can now send your buddy $600 for the Airbnb without feeling like you’re filing a corporate merger.

On the legal front, Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC is heading to trial next year in Florida. Turns out some people are tired of “creative editing.”

Meanwhile, immigration enforcement in Minnesota is being reevaluated after tragic shootings involving federal agents. Politics is messy. Governing is messier. But at least it’s being handled in the open — not behind a press conference podium blaming “misinformation.”

Markets & Money:

Housing is still a pressure cooker.

Foreclosures are up for the eleventh straight month — more than 40,000 properties hit filings in January alone. Home sales dropped 8.4%, the biggest slide in four years. High rates don’t ask for your feelings.

California reminded everyone why people are moving out.

Super Bowl LX players will take home nearly half their bonus after the state’s “jock tax” does its thing. Winning players pocket about $86,000 after taxes. Losers get around $49,800. Nothing says “celebrate excellence” like a government skim.

And then there’s this: President Trump predicted the Dow could hit 100,000 before he leaves office in 2029. The Dow just crossed 50,000 for the first time. Ambitious? Yes. Impossible? Four years ago people said 50,000 was fantasy.

Business & Culture:

Stellantis just took a $26.5 billion charge after EV subsidies disappeared. Turns out government sugar highs don’t last forever. Ford and GM already felt it. Now Stellantis joins the club.

Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy. Nearly 200 stores at risk. Heineken plans to cut up to 6,000 jobs in the name of AI “productivity savings.” Translation: robots don’t call in sick.

In New York, prediction market platform Polymarket is launching what it claims is the city’s first free grocery store. Fully stocked. No purchase required. Only in Manhattan can betting on world events somehow turn into a pop-up supermarket.

Winners:

Walmart Workers:
Walmart boosted pharmacy pay and created thousands of new roles without requiring college degrees. Team leads can now earn up to $42 an hour, plus bonuses. That’s over $87,000 a year for someone willing to work. Radical concept.

Coffee Drinkers:
Harvard researchers say two cups a day may help reduce dementia risk. Finally, a health recommendation most Americans can get behind.

Losers:

A Colorado Family:
Out $219,000 after a contractor allegedly abandoned their rebuild mid-shell. They’re now sleeping in a trailer without running water. Accountability matters — especially when it’s your life savings.

CNN:
If you drop from roughly 1.3 million primetime viewers in 2016 to just over 500,000 today — and call it “evolving viewer habits” — that’s not evolution. That’s denial with a press release.

America Decides:

Last week’s poll told a story the halftime show producers probably don’t want to hear. After all the manufactured outrage and endless cultural commentary, 68% of you said you’d be watching Turning Point’s alternative show instead. Another 22% said you wouldn’t be watching the game at all because you’ve completely lost interest. That leaves just 10% sticking around for the NFL’s halftime production.

Take that as you will, Roger.

This Week

We all know the national debt isn’t a rounding error anymore — it’s a full-blown monster.

Some say legalizing marijuana nationwide and taxing it like cigarettes could bring in billions. Others say that’s just another short-term cash grab with long-term consequences.

Is this a real solution… or just another budget Band-Aid?

Against our better judgment, we launched a store. We didn’t think anyone would care. We were wrong. You guys made this the best-selling product in the shop’s first week.

We genuinely appreciate every single one of you who’s part of this community.

Watch this clip of Kamala Harris trying to explain why voter ID laws are supposedly ‘dangerous’.

It’s pure word salad. And even she doesn’t look like she believes it.

You need an ID to drive. To fly. To buy cold medicine. To open a bank account. To check into a hotel.

But to vote? Suddenly that’s unacceptable.

We are the luckiest country on earth that she is not president.

The left, ladies and gentlemen.

The median American worker has just $955 saved in a 401(k)-style retirement account. Fidelity says you should aim for 10 times your annual income by age 67. Instead, most people have barely enough to cover a surprise car repair.

Translation: “Work 40 years and relax” sounded better in the brochure.

Tax season is here, and one simple rookie mistake could delay your refund for months — or wipe it out entirely. A new law signed last year is quietly shifting how the Treasury sends money, phasing out most paper checks after September in favor of electronic payments.

The pitch? Modernize the system. Reduce fraud. Streamline administration.

Miss the memo? You might be waiting a while.

Translation: The IRS went digital. Hope you did too.

Mortgage affordability just hit a four-year high after rates on 30-year loans dropped below where they were this time last year. The White House is crediting President Trump’s housing policies and his promise to “unlock” homeownership for American families.

After years of “starter homes” priced like beachfront property, even a small rate drop feels like oxygen.

Translation: When rates fall, doors open. Literally.

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RFK Jr. is finally sounding the alarm: Americans are being “MASS POISONED.”
And it’s worse than you think…

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And why this might be the biggest cover-up yet.

A California homeowner just lost his $1.5 million property after an alleged identity theft scheme sold the home without his knowledge. Prosecutors say a real estate agent and several co-conspirators stole the owner’s identity — along with a fake buyer’s — to secure a $975,000 loan and push the sale through.

No broken windows. No moving trucks in the night. Just paperwork.

Translation: In 2026, you don’t need to steal the house. Just the name on it.

President Trump revoked the EPA’s 2009 “endangerment finding” — the Obama-era ruling that labeled greenhouse gases a public health threat and became the backbone for federal vehicle emissions limits. The administration says scrapping it will cut red tape, deliver over $1 trillion in regulatory savings, and lower the cost of new cars by thousands of dollars.

Emission standards on automobiles tied to that ruling are being eliminated as well.

Translation: Fewer mandates. Cheaper cars. Expect a debate.

Two Philadelphia men admitted to traveling to Minneapolis to run a $3.5 million housing fraud scheme targeting Minnesota’s Housing Stabilization Services program. Prosecutors say they used AI to fabricate records, set up sham provider businesses, and marketed themselves at homeless shelters as “The Housing Guys.”

The HSS program was designed to help vulnerable individuals — seniors, people with disabilities, and those struggling with mental illness or substance abuse — find and maintain housing. Federal officials previously noted the program had low barriers to entry and minimal documentation requirements for reimbursement.

That combination? Apparently irresistible.

Translation: When oversight is optional, fraud isn’t.

The New York Times editorial board just admitted the country may have gone “too far in accepting and even promoting” marijuana use. In a piece titled “It’s Time for America to Admit That It Has a Marijuana Problem,” the paper walked back parts of its long-standing support for legalization.

Back in 2014, the Times ran a six-part series comparing the federal marijuana ban to alcohol prohibition and pushed for repeal. Now? They concede not all of that aged well.

Turns out consequences exist.

Translation: When even your biggest cheerleader re-reads the fine print, something changed.

Jimmy Donaldson — better known as MrBeast — just bought youth-focused financial app Step, officially stepping into fintech. The app helps teens and young adults manage money, build credit, and learn the basics most schools somehow forgot to cover.

He says nobody taught him about investing or credit growing up — so he’s building something that does.

From viral stunts to debit cards.

Translation: When YouTubers start teaching finance, maybe the education system missed a chapter.

Thousands of Costco shoppers are now holding restaurant gift cards that don’t work after Synergy World, Inc. — the company behind them — collapsed. The San Diego-based firm once had its cards accepted at more than 300 restaurants nationwide. Now? Those vouchers are essentially decorative cardboard.

You paid cash. The partner vanished.

Translation: When the middleman goes under, so does your dinner.

Just when you thought tipping culture had peaked, a pizza shop asked for two separate tips on a single order — one for the driver and another for “those preparing your meal.”

Customers were already rolling their eyes at delivery gratuity prompts. Now it’s a full-blown participation trophy system for the entire supply chain.

One guy summed it up perfectly: he just wanted dinner, not a guilt-powered funding round.

Translation: If I’m tipping everyone, I might as well own the franchise.

Let’s start with something rare in modern politics: acknowledging results.

Tariff revenue has blown past expectations. Foreign investment is flowing back into the United States at record levels. Gas prices are sitting at multi-year lows. Inflation has cooled. Roughly 130,000 jobs added last month alone. Tax cuts passed. Regulations slashed. The stock market climbed past 50,000 on the Dow. Mortgage rates have eased. The border is tighter than it’s been in years. Crime and murder rates are trending down. DEI mandates are quietly disappearing from corporate boardrooms. Wars abroad are winding down instead of spinning up. Even the war on drugs is being attacked with actual force instead of press conferences.

That’s not a small list.

If you strip away the daily outrage cycle and just look at the scoreboard, it’s objectively a strong run. Anyone capable of critical thought — meaning they don’t stop their analysis at “Trump is mean” — has to admit the macro picture looks a lot better than it did a few years ago.

But grown-ups can walk and chew gum at the same time.

There’s still work to do.

Ask anyone at the grocery store if food feels affordable again. It doesn’t. Inflation slowing is not the same as prices reversing. If you rent in America right now, you’re still feeling squeezed. The healthcare system remains a pay-to-play maze that benefits insurance executives far more than patients. That hasn’t been fixed.

Optics matter too. Masked ICE agents operating in American cities may be legal and justified in many cases — but perception shapes public trust. The administration would be wise to understand that strength doesn’t have to look theatrical.

Education is another unresolved mess. Public school withdrawals are at record levels. Parents are voting with their feet. Reform is still more slogan than structural overhaul.

And then there’s the legacy media machine — still allergic to acknowledging anything remotely positive if it has an “R” next to it. Whether fair or not, that means this presidency is constantly fighting a public relations war on top of governing. You can win policy battles and still lose perception battles.

So where does that leave us?

In a place that’s actually healthy for a republic: results on the board, problems still on the table.

No presidency is flawless. No movement is immune from blind spots. The question isn’t whether Trump has delivered wins — he clearly has in several major categories. The real question is whether the momentum can translate into sustainable, day-to-day affordability and institutional reform that outlasts this ‘term’.

Now we want to hear from you.

What has Trump done exceptionally well so far?
Where has he missed?
What should be the top priority for the next phase?

Send us your thoughts. We encourage actual debate — not a Karen screaming match.

Common sense can disagree without imploding.