Cloward/Piven Alert! Why We Need D.O.G.E. … And Where Was Joe Biden? (21 Million People At Age 100 And Above Receiving Soc Sec Pmts, 60 Million More Receiving Social Security Payments Than There Are People In The USA!)

The left has come out in force to attack D.O.G.E. and Elon Musk. Why? First, The Left doesn’t want to upset the candy apple cart (government waste and corruption). Second, the Left wants to pretend that they hate the rich (although George/Alexander Soros are huge donors, not to mention Bill Gates and most of Hollywood elites are billionaires/millionaires). But the saddest act of all are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. These two clowns had the Social Security data and never looked at it … allegedly.

What would they have found if they had looked at the Social Security books? According to Elon Musk, they would have discovered 20,788,904 people at the age of 100 and above. That is significantly higher that the entire population of Naples Florida at 19,704.

Here is what Elon Musk discovered about people receiving Social Security (and disability payments). Joe and Kamala didnt notice someone that was between 360 and 369 years of age??

The point is that this is a collosal embarrasment. And epic fraud. And even more vexxing is that 394,943,364 are collecting Social Security while the total population of the USA is 334 Million?? That leaves 60 million more people receiving Social Security payments than there are people in the USA!

Don’t tell Elon about candied apples that have replaced government cheese in the Federal government giveaway program for votes! And Cloward/Piven!

Has Bitcoin Peaked Vs Gold? Mike McGlone Thinks So (Gold Is Winning!!)

Mike McGlone has an interesting perspective on Bitcoin versus Gold.

Gold $3,000, Bitcoin $70,000?

Is there good reason for reversion lower? My bias is leaning that way, especially if the US hashtag#stockmarket reverses some of last year’s almost $12 trillion advance, about 40% of GDP.

Bitcoin approaching $150,000 in 2025 might suggest another $12+ trillion year of US stockmarket wealth creation, inflation and Fed tightening. Heading toward $50,000 could coincide with some typical deflation following the inflation and put the Fed at ease. Up about 10% since Bitcoin first closed above $100,000, gold may sniffing out a bit of risk-asset normalization. So it appears gold is winning.

Full disclosure: I own both. Plus silver. And a house.

US Industrial Production Surges Most Since Oct 2022 (Capacity Utilization Rose To 77.8%, But Still Below The Critical 80% Barrier)

Silver Thread and Golden Needles under Trump? Yes, while under Biden/Harris we had lead thread and pyrite needles (governmrnt directed investment).

In January, US Industrial Production rose 2.00% YoY, the strongest growth rate since Oct 2022.

Capacity Utilization accelerated again in January (2nd straight month), rejecting the recessionary red flags. But CAPUTE remains below the critcal measure of 80.

Biden/Harris’ economic policies were no good.

Is The Mortgage Market Back?Mortgage Refinance Applications Increased in Weekly Survey (+10 Percent) While Purchase Applications Increased (+4 Percent)

The mortgage market is back in town!

Mortgage applications increased 2.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 7, 2025.

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 6 percent compared with the previous week. The unadjusted Purchase Index increased 4 percent compared with the previous week and was 2 percent higher than the same week one year ago. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index decreased 2 percent from one week earlier.

The Refinance Index increased 10 percent from the previous week and was 33 percent higher than the same week one year ago.

Prepays are down significantly since 2021 which marks the beginning of The Fed starting to raise rates.

Aggregate prepayments for agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) fell 12% in January, with housing seasonals declining and mortgage rates lingering near 7%. MBS turnover speeds have bounced back considerably relative to 2023 lows, though high rates may be starting to take a toll. Even at current elevated rates, GNMA streamline refinancings are picking up as loans issued in spring of 2024 pass out of the refi lockout period.

Why Doge? Federal Deficit Is Up $306 Billion Compared to Same Period Last Year (Long-run Deficits Are Grim!)

When the (fiscal) music’s over. For corrupt politicians, that is!

Mike Shedlock (aka, Mish) had a great article on the fiscal dumpster fire facing the Trump Administration. After you get a load of the long-run deficits and debt load, you can understand why Trump wants to cut Federal waste (Doge).

The US deficit for the first four months of fiscal Year 2025 is $838 billion, up $306 billion. Adjusted, the increase is more like $157 billion to $225 billion.

The federal budget deficit totaled $838 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2025, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. That amount is $306 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last fiscal year. Revenues were $11 billion (or 1 percent) higher, and outlays were $317 billion (or 15 percent) higher.

The change in the deficit was influenced by the timing of outlays and revenues, which decreased the deficit during the first four months of fiscal year 2024 but increased it during the same period this fiscal year. Outlays in October 2023 were reduced by shifts in the timing of payments that were due on October 1, 2023, a Sunday. (The payments were made that September.) Outlays in the first four months of 2025 rose, on net, because payments due on February 1, 2025, a Saturday, were made in January. If not for those shifts, the deficit so far this fiscal year would have been $750 billion, or $146 billion more than the shortfall at this point last year. Part of the deficit increase in 2025 also arises from the postponement of some tax deadlines from 2023 to 2024 (described below), which boosted receipts in 2024.

The long-run deficits are grim, according to the CBO.

Outlays in the first four months of fiscal year 2025 were $2.4 trillion, CBO estimates, $317 billion more than during the same period last year. If not for the timing shifts discussed above, outlays so far in fiscal year 2025 would have been $157 billion (or 7 percent) greater than outlays during the same four months in fiscal year 2024. The discussion below reflects adjustments to exclude the effects of those timing shifts.

Maxine Waters is an unhappy girl along with most Democrats about Trump and Musk looking into USAID.

Welcome to a new world under Trump.

Economic Heartbreaker! Over 1 Million Foreign-Born Workers Found A Job In January But Virtually No Native Borns

It’s no fun paying for illegal aliens. And under Biden/Harris, there are a lot of them in the USA. And they have been taking American jobs too.

Most of the job gains in the past few years, and especially 2024, were a mirage, and following the dramatic August 2024 preliminary data revision which vaporized 818K jobs (which had never existed in the first place.

Over 1 Mmillion foreign-born workers found a job in January … but virtually no native borns.

And in the longer view, you can see the Biden/Harris effect after 2021.

Biden/Harris were economic heartbreakers. For the middle class, not for the Elizabeth Warren/Bernie Sanders class who made out like bandits under Biden’s corrupt leadership.

Big pharma owns Bernie, Liz, Chuckie, Patty Murray, Warnock and Wyden.

Bummer! January Jobs Growth Below Estimates Amid Massive Revisions, Job Gains At +143k (New Sheriff In Town!)

Biden is out and so are the crazy job preferences of his administration (e.g., green energy). There is a new sheriff in town (Donald Trump).

Here’s what the BLS reported in Trump’s first official jobs report since he returned to the White House: total payrolls printed at 143K.

down sharply from an upward revised 307K (256K originally) and missing estimates of 175K.

Looking further back, the change in total nonfarm payroll employment for November was revised up by 49,000, from +212,000 to +261,000, and when adding the +51,000 revision to December employment in November and December combined is 100,000 higher than previously reported

But while the sequential change in the Establishment survey was notable, what was far more remarkable was the Household survey where we saw massive population related revisions (discussed last night), which pushed the civilian labor force higher by 2.2 million to 170.744 million, while the number of employed workers also increased by over 2.2 million to 163.895 million. As a result, the Household survey has finally caught up to Establishment survey.

Where the jobs are.

Revisions?

The Presidential portrait of Joe Biden.

Trouble In (Potomac) River City! $9.2 Trillion In US Debt Needs To Be Refinanced In 2025 (DOGE Making A Dent In US Debt Owed)

Oh we’ve got trouble in (Potomac) river city … with a capital P and that rhymes with D and that stands for DOGE. But can DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency

In 2025, $9.2 TRILLION of US debt will either mature or need to be refinanced. The US now holds $36.2 trillion worth of government debt, meaning 25.4% of the total is set to mature.

The total debt owed by the free-spending Federal government stands at $36+ trillion and growing. The DOGE clock stands at $64 billion and hopefully keeps growing.

Here is Elon Musk warning the members of Congress and the bloated Federal bureaucracy of the wasteful spending by the Feral government.

4 Of USA’s Most Affordable Cities Are In Ohio (Cleveland, Dayton, Cincinnati, Columbus), None In California (Ohio Requires 10 Workdays To Afford Monthly Mortgage Payment)

No, its not 1903. Its 2025 and Dayton Ohio is the third most affordable city in the USA.

Ohio, the cradle of American Presidents (McKinley, Grant, Taft, Benjamin Harrison, Hayes, Garfield, Harding), is also home to 4 of the most affordable cities in the USA, according to The Virtual Capitalist.

Workdays required to afford a monthly mortgage payment is 10 days, near the lowest in the USA (behind West Virginia, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi). California is by far the highest at 28 days.

Of course, Ohio will be clobbered by the polar vortex.

Canadiam PM Justin Trudeau will think this is evidence of Trump trying to screw Canada.

Tariffs, Gold And Bitcoin! Gold Stable, Bitcoin And Stock Market Down, Mexican Peso Down And On Verge Of Collapse

As expected, the Trump Administration levied tariffs against Canada, Mexico, China, etc. The short-term result? Gold is stable, Bitcoin fell. Or as Gene Autry sang, “South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)”.

The stock market? Down -1.53%.

And then we have the doom porn about Mexico’s “impending” collapse. The Peso is declining, and Senator Chuck Schumer is getting hysterical about Mexican exports to the USA for Super Bowl Sunday. He incorrectly claimed that most beer is imported from Mexico and avacados for guacamole. Avacados are also grown in the USA, Peru, etc.

Bear in mind that Mexico is like California where the Left holds a supermajority. Hence, Mexico employs destructive economic policies (it could only be worse if California Governor Gavin Newsom was President of Mexico. But Mexico’s impending collapse is years in the making and Trump’s tariffs were only the last nudge over the cliff. Mexico COULD try to get control over the drug and human trafficking cartels, stop illegal immigration and stop the flow of fentanyl.