David Anderson: A legendary life well lived

The world has lost a great man.  You won't find his obituary in the New York Times.  His story is written on the hearts of those he left behind. Rich memories--overflowing with love, tenderness, unselfishness, devotion and unbridled joy. That's the legacy of David Anderson, Dianna's twin brother.

David departed his earthly home January 23, surrounded by his devoted wife of 60 years Ruth Ellen, their three children, grandchildren and family at a nursing home.  They sang David's favorite gospel hymns, holding his hands and stroking his head as life's light dimmed.

Ruth Ellen, a fierce advocate for David's care, caressed his hand.  "It's time to go home," she told him. "No more moves." David and Ruth Ellen changed addresses 22 times during their life together without ever leaving Seguin. Her poignant message resonated in the small room as David slipped into eternity.

He left behind the scourge of Alzheimer's disease, which held him hostage in a nursing home for more than three years. Even as his memory faded, David never lost his smile nor his generosity.  He faced his disease with uncommon courage.  Visitors  left uplifted by his indomitable spirit.

It's impossible to tell David's life story without first highlighting his faith. David gave new meaning to being a Christian.  He emptied himself for others for 78 years. He prayed often, even in public. He was devoted to Jesus and was unabashedly proud to share his faith with others. His faith defined his life.

One of his favorite exclamations was, "Praise God." And he didn't just say the words.  David volunteered in a prison ministry, sharing the gospel with inmates.  He assisted with vacation bible school, served on numerous church committees and was a deacon at First Baptist Church of Seguin.

David dug water wells in improvised communities in Central America. He delivered food to senior citizens via Meals on Wheels. He visited friends and strangers in nursing homes.  Neighbors knew they could always call on David if they needed a helping hand. 

After a 33-year career at Southwestern Bell, David joined his daughter Dawn, teaching math and reading in the Seguin school system. He also served as a sign language facilitator and library aide before retiring from the Seguin ISD after nine years.

After retirement from his second career, David volunteered at the Guadalupe Regional Medical Center and was eventually hired as a hospital chaplain, serving in hospice care.  He continued his service right up until the time cognitive issues arose.

In fact, even when David was receiving memory care in a nursing home, he was still touching others.  He would visit patients in their rooms, often stopping to pray and share a kind word.  David was upbeat in the face of a disease that would eventually rob him of his mobility and relegate him to a bed. 

David was so much more than his biography. His authenticity and humility shone through the stories recalled by those who knew him best. His youngest son Rob, who operates an investment firm, remembers his Dad's genuine love for everyone, especially the outcast.  

He recalls asking his Dad: "Who's your hero?"  He expected David to name Roger Staubach, the star quarterback of David's favorite NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys. David demurred a minute and said, "Dennis Osteen." He was the most courageous person I've ever known, David told his teenaged son. 

Rob was confused because he had never heard that name.  So he quizzed his Dad.  David explained Dennis suffered from multiple sclerosis. He struggled to walk, grappled with learning disabilities and his speech was halting and slurred.  Most people shunned Dennis. Not David. 

David befriended Dennis, encouraging him and showering him with love. Dennis went on to become a deacon in David's church, serving others. At age 33, cancer snuffed out the fire in Dennis's life.  David visited Dennis regularly until the end.  He never abandoned his friend.

There was nothing unusual about David's outreach to others.  It was his life's calling.  In high school, everyone wanted to be with David.  He was voted class favorite every year at Seguin High School.  He was named Mr. Seguin High School his senior year.  He was a star football player who excelled on the gridiron and in the classroom. 

Dianna basked in David's achievements.  A lesser person might have been jealous.  But she was proud of David and he in turn boasted about his twin sister. Dianna remembers her friend Carla, who had four sisters, once confessing she wished David was her brother.  Everyone loved David.

David was always checking up on his Mom and Dad as well as his siblings. "It seemed he always knew when I needed to hear his voice," Dianna says.  "He would call.  We shared an amazing connection. He was and will always be my hero."

Growing up on a farm, Dianna and her three brothers and her sister, had daily chores.  There might have been a few grumbles, but not David. He was first to finish his chores and then he lent a helping hand to his siblings, Dianna remembers.  He was hard-working, generous and supportive.  

David honored his parents--John and Dorothy Anderson--with a lifetime of affection and support.  He was there when illnesses struck...when their house was flooded three times...when work needed to be done on their farm, such as harvesting the pecan crop.  And he never missed their family celebrations. 

David's daughter Dawn eulogized her Dad, recollecting his unwavering support for her and her two brothers.  "Daddy was there for us growing up and throughout our lives," she said.  As a requirement in high school, Dawn had to pick a sport to play as part of her physical education course.

Dawn chose tennis, a sport she had never played.  She admits she was not very good, in fact awful. She begged her Dad not to attend the tennis matches, because she was only going to lose.  Winning didn't matter to David. He attended every single match.  Showing up for family was David's life's passion.  

When I met Dianna 60 years ago, the first family member I encountered was David. We immediately bonded, since we both shared a love for Dianna.  I will never forget the kindness he showed me when I had my first visit to the family farm.  He made sure this city boy felt at home in the country.   

Over the years, David always made it a point to tell how proud he was of my career, beginning with my career in journalism.  Later, we both worked for Southwestern Bell. Whenever I got a promotion, he was first to say, "Praise God!" He was more than a brother in law.  He was a good and loyal friend. 

He was fun to be around because he was never despondent. I learned embracing the joy of life, even in the worst of times, was a gift from above.  I still remember David praying over meals, even in a restaurant, never hesitant to thank God for every life's blessings. 

David Anderson will be missed by hundreds of people he touched in his nearly eight decades on this Earth.  But he will never be forgotten for his endearing zest for life, his gentleness, compassion, goodness and charitableness. Rest well David.  You have finished the race. 

ICE And The Kent State Moment

The inevitable inevitably happened.  A year of escalating attacks on immigration enforcement agents stirred by incendiary political rhetoric ignited an ugly incident in Minneapolis.  A protestor impeding agents was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.  

This may be the Kent State moment for the immigration issue.  More than 55 years ago four students were killed and nine others wounded when several Ohio National Guard soldiers opened fire during a Vietnam War protest on the campus.  In the aftermath, protests surged with escalating confrontations.  

Minneapolis erupted in the wake of the shooting, egged on by the governor and mayor.  In the chaos, an ICE agent was ambushed while attempting a traffic stop.  Two illegal immigrants pummeled the agent with a shovel and broom handle.  An agent fired his weapon, wounding an immigrant. 

Then Sunday a mob of anarchists intruded on a church service, claiming an ICE agent was a pastor at the house of worship.  Parishioners feared for their lives as dissidents harassed the worshipers.  Angry instigators bullied parishioners and videoed their terrorizing of innocent churchgoers.  

While there are disputed versions about the deadly shooting, there is no disagreement that anti-ICE activists have escalated attacks on law enforcement officers. Since January, 2025, there have been 238 reported assaults on officers, a 1,150% increase over 2024 when 19 cases were documented.  

ICE agents have been pelted with rocks.  Injured by bricks. Hit with projectiles, including water bottles. Sprayed with chemicals. Dodged concrete cinder blocks tossed from buildings.  Been shoved by agitators. Cursed and spit upon.  Hit with pyrotechnics.  Activists cars have blocked federal agents path.  

Some radicals have clutched the hoods of law enforcement vehicles, daring agents to run them over.  From January 21 of last year until January 7 this year, there have been 66 vehicular attacks on agents. There were only two in 2024.  This represents a 3,200% hike in vehicular skirmishes.

In San Antonio, an illegal immigrant rammed his car into two unmarked ICE vehicles, injuring one agent, who was hospitalized.  A news report said an agent had ordered the immigrant to exit his vehicle.  The man refused and crashed into two vehicles.  The assailant was arrested.  

This vehicular escalation is deliberatively provocative.  Dissidents are trained on kindling confrontations. They covet a belligerent ICE reaction that could be captured on a cell phone and posted online.  Instigators' goal is to prevent arrests, including illegal immigrants with criminal records.

In Minnesota, a loose coalition of groups called ICE Watch, offers training, a manual and support for agitators.  The group published its goals online in 2024, calling for revolutionaries to interfere with law enforcement officers performing their duties.

Among the tactics ICE Watch endorses is "pushing and pulling" an agent off someone arrested.  The collective recommends "totally surrounding" officers and "blocking them and/or their vehicles." Interfering with law enforcement operations is a crime, both at the federal, state and local level.  

An app, ICE Block, was developed by activists to track ICE agents and vehicles with the aim to alert illegal immigrants of an impending raid. The administration took down the app but others have sprouted in its place to thwart the efforts of ICE to arrest illegal immigrants criminals.

Other factions supporting the war on ICE include socialist and communist protest organizations.  Those comprise the Democratic Socialists of America, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, The Peoples Forum and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization.  There are too many others to list 

ICE Agents have not been the only target.  Members of groups use cell phones to identify agents. Troublemakers have doxxed agents families, engaging in cyberbullying, releasing information on agents' home addresses and minor children's schools.  Is it any wonder that ICE agents wear masks? 

Clearly, the aim is to stop the enforcement of immigration law, including the deportation of criminals and terrorists who live among law-abiding illegal immigrant community.  While protests spiraled out of control in Minneapolis, ICE arrested numbers of murderers, robbers, child molesters and rapists.  

Minneapolis is a symptom of an epidemic of lawlessness.  Last summer assailants ambushed officers at an ICE facility in Alvarado, Texas.  Shots were fired, hitting one agent in the neck.  Three days later, a man unleashed a barrage of gunfire at a Border Patrol facility in McAllen, sending three law enforcement officers to the hospital. 

ICE offcials cite politicians' inflammatory rhetoric for fueling the violence.  Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has vilified ICE as the "modern day Gestapo."  The Gestapo operated as the state secret police during the Nazi regime in Germany.  They employed notoriously brutal methods to suppress opposition.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal called ICE agents "deranged" and advocated the obstruction of immigration enforcement. Rep. LaMonica McIver declared "we are at war" with ICE. Represenative Stephen Lynch smeared ICE agents as "nondescript thugs." Rep. Becca Balint referred to agents as "vigilantes."

There are dozens of examples of other Democrats dehumanizing ICE with Nazi terms, including their favorite, Gestapo.  Comparing law enforcement to Nazi Germany murders is deliberately egregious, emboldening disrupters to adopt the mantle of heroes, saving the country from Hitlerism.

The turmoil, rebellion and demagogic language are ripped from the Democrat playbook for the midterm elections. The party and its loosely affiliated groups are fomenting chaos in communities in an effort to defund and get rid ICE to cripple enforcement of immigration law.

Democrats allege law abiding citizens and legal immigrants are being unfairly targeted, often with no evidence.  The party also refuses to acknowledge that ICE has the authority to apprehend and detain noncitizens who violate immigration laws.

If Democrats disagree with the law, they should lead an effort to change it instead of demonizing ICE agents. They haven't done so because it is politically unpopular nationally. Democrats during President Obama's term supported ICE's efforts to remove illegal immigrants. 

If local police in Democrat-run sanctuary cities assisted ICE, it would eliminate the need for a large law enforcement present on the streets. For instance, just honoring ICE detention orders, would allow for the orderly transfer of illegal immigrant criminals in local jails to federal custody.

However, this is not just a controversy over sanctuary city policies. There is a political calculation for Democrats.  In the U.S. Census, every person is counted in the population, not just citizens.  The population figure is used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives.

Non-partisan Pew Research ran the 2020 Census numbers and conservatively estimated that six primarily Democrat states would lose a seat in the house if illegal immigrants were excluded.  Those include Illinois, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. 

Texas would gain two instead of three seats, if illegal immigrants were subtracted from the total population.  California would lose two seats and Florida would gain two instead of three seats.  In summary, Democrats have more seats at risk if illegal immigrants are not counted in the census.

For the record, Democrats and their sycophant media have contested they would lose house seats, citing left wing studies. Pew Research is the gold standard for nonpartisanship. 

As Minnesota politicians have demonstrated, it is anathema for Democrats to cooperate with federal law enforcement on removing illegal immigrants, including those with criminal records.  This may energize the Democrat base, but it promotes lawlessness in America that will certainly beget more crime.    

Top 12 Predictions For 2026

Every year this scribe's annual predictions generate copious sneers, ridicule and the occasional thumbs up. Now the legion of doubters and the trifling believers have an opportunity to test their prognostication mettle.  You can now wager on almost any verifiable future event, including many of this year's forecasts.

For the uninitiated, an outfit called Polymarket operates the world's largest prediction market.  Using a blockchain-based platform, Polymarket allows bettering on future events.  For instance, you can place a wager on this future event: "Will a ceasefire be called in Ukraine in 2026?" Just select "Yes" or "No."

Don't worry about the affordability crisis.  Transactions on Polymarket are conducted using USDC stablecoin, cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. It's not like it's real money! You can bet on just about everything from politics and sports to pop culture and finance.  

Before you dash to the Polymarket website, let's raise the curtain on the safest predictions for 2026:

1. Power and water supply concerns coupled with local politics trip up massive data center expansion plans.  The blistering pace of construction for hubs that power AI hit a snag, delaying the costly deployment plans of chip makers and cloud-computing firms. The development negatively impacts AI stocks, but the Magnificent Seven still finish 2026 on an upswing. 

2. Congress gets in the act of trying to rein in AI's ability to perform jobs with legislation to protect entry level positions.  AI is already replacing data entry positions, software engineers, computer programmers, paralegals, research analysts and content writers.  In an election year, Congress can't resist grandstanding to protect jobs, authoring several bills that disapear into the legislative ether after the midterms.    

3. The stock market defies gravity and continues its upward march to record levels.  Strong corporate earnings, monetary policy easing by the Federal Reserve and the deployment of AI spur the S&P to a record close of 7,800. Risks include the danger of an AI bubble burst, sticky inflation and midterm election volatility. But investors keep plowing money into the market. 

4.  Forecasters continue to underestimate economic growth as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeds expectations despite tepid job growth.  The GDP, a broad gauge of economic activity, finishes the year with an annualized growth rate of 2.8%. Consumer spending roars ahead as record IRS tax refunds boost household income.  Unemployment ends the year at 4.4% and the Federal Reserve's measurement of core inflation hits a low of 2.3%. Wage growth advances modestly, built on 19 states increasing minimum wage January 1 and a 3.6% hike in salaries in the new year.

5.  Home sales experience a modest increase as prices remain flat or fall in some areas.  Nationally, home prices will uptick 1.7% as existing sales remain lukewarm in many areas.  Total home sales will climb 3.3% nationally, topping 4 million homes.  Lower mortgage rates--averaging 6.1% on a 30-year loan--will drive sales.  However,  73% of homeowners have mortgages below 5%, convincing the majority of Americans to remain cacooned in their current residences.  

6.  When Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's term ends in May, the change in leadership supercharges the Fed's determination to lower interest rates.   President Trump names Kevin Hassett, the current chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, to succeed Powell, who remains on the Board of Governors until January, 2028. With a new chairman, the Fed lowers interest rates by 75 basis points by the end of the year. 

7.  The vast majority of the 435 House seats in the mid-term elections are not likely to change parties.   Political analysts currently rank 69 seats as up for grabs, but it is more likely that 30 races for the House will determine which party controls the lower chamber.  The party out of control normally picks up seats in the first term of a new president: Democrats win control of the House: 226-209. Democrats run more white women candidates to tap into a voting bloc that has turned decidedly true blue.

8.  A total of 35 Senate seats will be contested in the midterms with Republicans maintaining a majority.  Democrats (13) have more vulnerable seats to defend, such as those in Georgia, Michigan and North  Carolina, despite more Republicans (22) facing reelection. The red states favor Republicans but the Democrats still narrow the GOP majority to a razor-thin 51-47 with two Independents caucusing  with Dems. Campaign spending for the Senate and House break all records.

9.  Despite Trump's efforts to broker a peace, the war rages on between Russia and Ukraine in 2026.  Russia's Valdimir Putin keeps changing the goal posts for negotiations to end the war with Ukraine as his forces make progress inch-by-bloody-inch.  The autocrat has made the calculation that both Europe and the U.S. will eventually lose their resolve to prop up Ukraine militarily, emboldening Russia to take more territory.

10.  A New York federal judge issues a ruling compelling the Trump Administration to release Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.  A federal judge rules that Maduro has sovereign immunity as the duly elected leader of Venezuela, a fact the Trump Administration disputes.  However, that will not stop the court from ordering Maduro's release. Appeals reach the Supreme Court. 

11. The Supreme Court rules against the Trump Administration in the tariffs case.  In a 5-4 decision SCOTUS rules that the circumstances under which the president raised tariffs did not meet the 1977 International Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) definition of an "emergency."  The decision also hangs on the definition of whether tariffs constitute a tax, which must be approved by Congress.  After the ruling, the House and Senate vote to allow the current tariffs to stand.  

12.  With affordability top of mind for voters, cities, counties and states adopt so-called pilot (temporary) programs for guaranteed income.  More than 100 cities have embraced pilot programs guaranteeing income for residents who meet certain conditions.  Cook County (Chicago) became the most recent to adopt a basic income program.  The movement spreads like a California wildfire to become a national issue in the mid-term elections.  

Don't believe the predictions? Wondering if your writer's crystal ball is broken?  Feel free to place your bets on Polymarket. You can use your winnings to purchase a little minced crow meat to feed to your journalist in 2027.   

Fraud, Waste & Abuse: Oh, SNAP!

Feeding needy Americans requires a sprawling bureaucracy and millions of tons of food costing an estimated $350 billion annually.  That staggering amount represents government and charitable dollars.  No country, and certainly not one as wealthy as the U.S., spends this much money feeding its citizens.

American taxpayers will shell out $142.2 billion to help feed 42.7 million people this year.  That figure does not include spending by non-governmental groups, such as the Food Bank, Catholic Charities and Saint Vincent de Paul, which invest an estimated $200 billion annually to feed low income households.

Most Americans are familiar with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) food program.  It is the government's largest, but only one of 12 federal food programs.  Others include the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, Emergency Food Assistance Program, Women, Infants and Children program and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program, to name a few.  The plethora of programs carry the $142.2 billion price tag.   

Food assistance traces its history to the Great Depression.  The federal government introduced the first Food Stamp Program in 1939. The pilot program lasted four years, assisting 20 million people at a cost of $262 million. As so often happens in Washington, the effort morphed into a welfare entitlement. 

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson championed the Food Stamp Act permanently establishing an entitlement to improve levels of nutrition among low income households.  After Congress approved the act, states were required to implement food programs funded by the federal government. 

Legislative changes in 1970's set national eligibility standards, expanded the outreach and mandated the Agriculture Department to pay 50% of the states' costs for administration of the welfare program.  In 2008, the Food Stamp Program was renamed The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The name change was a political stunt.  Congress wanted to polish the image of the program, scrubbing the stigma of welfare by changing the name to reflect a focus on nutrition.  In reality, the Food Stamp program was riddled with fraud, abuse and waste, making it politically unpopular.

That same year states switched from paper food stamps to electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards. 

Even with a shiny new label, SNAP suffers from many of the same image problems, while the costs are soaring.  The federal government--a euphemism for taxpayers--spent $74 billion in 2019 on SNAP.  Costs soared 78.8% in 2023, reaching $132.2 billion.  The costs dipped 24.1% to $100.3 billion in 2024.

Expanding benefits and lowering eligibility rules opened the floodgates. In 2000, there were 17.2 million households receiving the benefits. That was significantly less than 1981, when beneficiaries totaled 22.4 million. In 25 years, the number of beneficiaries has more than doubled (42.7 million).  

States have little incentive to run an efficient operation since federal taxpayers foot the bill.  At least 40 states have expanded beneficiaries by using a broad-based category of eligibility.  For instance, individuals who receive another welfare service are automatically eligible for SNAP.

This has created a loophole for states to eliminate household asset tests and hike the gross income limit to as high as 200% of the poverty level. In Minnesota, the cost of SNAP assistance skyrocketed 174% in a single year, growing from $725 million to $2 billion from 2020 to 2021,

Illegal immigrants have also helped swell SNAP rolls. Undocumented immigrants are ineligible under the law.  However, benefits are extended to households headed by illegal immigrants if there are eligible family members in the domicile.  It can be a spouse, a relative or a child born in the U.S. The benefit is provided to the household not an individual.  

A 2023 analysis by the Center for Immigration Studies found that 17% of households headed by an illegal immigrant received SNAP benefits. Fact-checking websites continue to stick to the eligibility language to claim that illegal immigrants cannot receive food benefits by law.  It's a lie built on a technicality.    

The cost for administering the SNAP program also contributes to the inflated price tag. States and the federal government spent a combined $12 billion a year to administer the benefits.  States manage the day-to-day operations, handling applications, determining eligibility and issuing electronic cards. 

The SNAP administrative costs are almost as much as the amount of fraud, waste and abuse. The Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP, estimated that 11.7% of benefits worth $10.5 billion were improperly issued, fraudulently acquired or stolen.  That figure is for the fiscal year 2023.

There is no data from 2024, but this year the USDA reviewed reports from 29 states and found 186,000 people who are deceased are receiving SNAP benefits.  More than 500,000 people are receiving double benefits. Twenty-one states, mostly run by Democrats, have refused to provide the data to the USDA.

Trafficking in stolen SNAP cards is a booming business.  Thieves range from organized crime groups to individuals. In its study, the Agriculture Department found $1.3 billion worth of SNAP cards were sold on the black market. There is an added cost to states because they replace the stolen cards.

SNAP benefit cards do not have a theft-prevention feature, such as a microchip, that is standard on commercial debit cards.  There is an effort underway to improve security, but any changes will have to be compatible with both large and small retailers' payment terminals. 

Despite SNAP's use of the word "nutrition" in its name, the program does not deliver nutritious food.  SNAP cards may be used in grocery or convenience stores to purchase virtually any food item, except alcohol. A 2016 USDA study found that 23% of purchases with SNAP cards were for surgery drinks, desserts, salty snacks and candy.  These items are commonly labeled "junk food."

In summary, SNAP's rolls are bloated, the program's costs are exorbitant and the recipients are getting low nutritional benefits.  It's a poster child for everything that's wrong with government welfare programs. SNAP is in dire need of an overhaul.  

However, don't expect significant changes.  There may be some tinkering with eligibility requirements but Washington lawmakers aren't serious about significant reform.  Welfare programs are considered untouchable because revolutionary change always invites ugly partisan blowback.

Especially in an election year, no good idea has a chance to escape death by political fear and neglect. 

Deceptive Political Appeal Of Affordability

After the highest inflation in 44-years under President Biden, specious Democrats are championing affordability. They are blasting President Trump for the lofty prices of housing, groceries, child care and insurance. Democrats are apoplectic that Trump hasn't lowered prices during his 11 months in office.

Democrats have a case of convenient amnesia.  During the period 2021-2024, prices ballooned a cumulative 19.5%, the worst runaway inflation since the 48.6% sticker shock during Jimmy Carter's term from 1977-1980. 

Democrats remained indifferent about mushrooming prices while they were in power.  Now the party has experienced an epiphany. Flip went flop and now they are concerned about the impact of galloping inflation on the financial health of Americans.

Cheeky Democrat political strategists thumped their chests and proclaimed elections in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City birthed a winning issue: "affordability," guaranteed to rouse voter anger and stoke turnout.  However, New Jersey and Virginia were centered on other issues.

Affordability was only front-and-center in New York, where the cost of living is more than double the national average.  Socialist Zohran Mamdani swept the Big Apple's mayoral race, promising to lower costs and make life easier for New Yorkers.That hardly suggests a Democrat midterm tsunami. 

However, there's no question Americans are weary of bearing the brunt of a never-ending march of higher prices.  You can't blame them. Inflation was 1.4% when Trump left office at the end of 2020.  In Biden's first year in 2021, prices rocketed 7% higher, the largest one-year inflation rate since 1981.

Here is a sample of the cumulative cost increases as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) during the chaotic Biden years: 

• Transportation saw the largest increase, hiking 34.4%.  Gasoline prices were a key driver.
• Housing leapt by 23%.  Prices for rent soared 31%.
• Food and beverage prices rose 23.6%. Groceries skyrocketed 26%.
• Fuels and utilities catapulted 28.5%.  
• Since 2017, childcare costs have spiked 40% for a family with two children. 

While acknowledging COVID impacted inflation, the federal government spent a whopping $27.4 trillion in the fiscal years 2021 through 2024 as Democrats embarked on a spending spree unseen in modern times.The pump-priming flooded the economy with too much money chasing scare goods.   

The rampant spending included infrastructure projects and cash payments as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.  All that money sloshing around in the economy created jobs, but the numbers were inflated by the addition of 1.07 million government jobs in the Biden years.  

The reckless spending helped fuel a wage-price spiral that poured gasoline on services and goods igniting combustible inflation. 

The Federal Reserve was forced to act to hose down inflation, ratcheting up interest rates from near zero in 2020 to 5.5% in January, 2024.  Rising rates hit consumer's in digital wallets, as interest surged on credit cards, cars and housing mortgages. Americans hemorrhaged cash to make interest payments.

The interest rate bomb and exploding prices left about two-thirds of American households living paycheck-to-paycheck.  

The latest survey conducted by the University of Michigan underscores the economic migraine. The index plummeted to 50.3%, documenting flagging consumer sentiment.  A reading below 75 suggests consumer pessimism about the economy and personal finances.  Consumers are gasping for hope.  

All the hyper-political rhetoric will do nothing to return prices to 2019 levels. Prices will continue to rise, but are showing signs of increasing at a slower rate.  In the aftermath of the worst inflation under President Carter, prices stabilized but there was no retreat to pre-1977 levels.    

Some economic models show when inflation exceeds 8% it can take an average of 16 years to return to the Fed's official 2% target. Other economists hedge, saying it can take a few years or up to a decade. That explains why Democrats are pivoting to  "affordability" as the midterm slogan de jour.  

Consumers are unlikely to care about past economic policy, which is the reason Republicans need to be laser-focused on the economy.  Renewing current tax cuts approved during Trump's first term, while representing progress, doesn't put more money today in the pockets of consumers. 

Other Trump tax cuts--the no tax on tips and no taxes on overtime for some workers--will not be felt by consumers until 2026 when they file taxes for 2025. Americans will have more dollars to spend as a result of these policy changes.

However, most consumers gauge affordability by how much they shell out when they buy groceries, dine out, put gas in their vehicles, pay for rent, housing and utilities.  Since Trump assumed office, prices have declined for gasoline, fresh fruits, eggs and communications services.

Yet other prices--for example, those for electricity, health insurance, beef and rent--have marched higher than 2%. In recognition of consumers' economic pain, the Trump Administration announced this month it will eliminate tariffs on coffee, beef, bananas, other fruits and vegetables. 

While it's a positive development,  Republicans need to level with Americans about inflation. Prices aren't going to fall as fast as costs surged.  Trump should be laster focused on growing the economy and jobs, while reminding Americans that it was Democrats who drove the inflation bus off the cliff.  

Schumer Shutdown And Obamacare Subsidy Lies

Senator Chuck Schumer's government shutdown threatens to become the longest in American history, breaking the record 36-day stalemate in President Trump's first administration.  The NewYork lawmaker fears his party's leftist base will torpedo his reelection chances unless he remains recalcitrant. 

Schumer has frogmarched his Democratic Party minions into the Death Zone of politics.  Republicans are refusing to take his bait of extending Obamacare subsidies in exchange for unlocking the doors of government. Now Schumer faces the real threat of a pyrrhic victory, caving without a political victory.  

Pressure is ratcheting as airline executives, air traffic control union bosses, federal government worker union officials, small business associations and other groups are calling on Democrats to vote with Republicans to approve a continuing appropriation that Schumer voted for in March.

For those who insist both parties are at fault, this is the Big Lie. Republicans have voted more than 13 times for the so-called continuing resolution to fund the government at fiscal 2024 Biden-era levels.  A few Democrats have broken ranks, but Schumer has corralled the votes to enforce gridlock.  

Under Schumer's iron fist, Democrats have publicly made the shutdown about extending COVID-era Obamacare subsidies.  This may be the most bone-headed issue to pick for a shutdown showdown.  The media reporting reads like dispatches from Russian-controlled Pravda. 

The shutdown is not about all Obamacare premium subsidies.  It involves only the enhanced subsidies Democrats passed as part of American Rescue Plan (2021) and the Inflation Reduction Act (2022). Democrats voted to sunset the subsidies at the end of 2025. It was not a GOP idea.

These so-called enhanced subsidies, allegedly to help Americans during COVID, were nothing more than a scheme to put more individuals on Obamacare.  Under the plan, some Americans were able to get plans with no premiums or very low premiums.  These were pedaled as temporary measures. 

Democrats figured once millions of Americans were hooked up to the government teat they would cry foul if they were weaned from taxpayer subsidies.  This was a deliberate attempt to bloat the rolls with individuals willing to vote with Democrats to permanently latch on to the extraneous benefits.

To no one's surprise, the subsidies invited massive fraud.  Estimates by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) put the numbers of improperly enrolled individuals at between 2.3 million and 6.4 million. An independent estimate fixed the number at 5 million, costing taxpayers an extra $20 billion.  

The government uncovered insurance fraud as agents and brokers enrolled individuals without  their consent in order to collect commissions. An independent study by Paragon Health Institute found 11.7 million enrollees--more than one-third of the entire Obamacare marketplace--made no claims.

Where did the billions of dollars in subsidies go?  Into the pockets of unscrupulous insurance brokers and to insurance companies.  

That wasn't the only political hustle.  Obamacare subsidies were extended to households making 400 percent of the federal poverty cap. That allowed some Americans with incomes of $600,000 to qualify for government benefits.  About one-third of the enhanced subsidies went to these wealthy individuals.

How come the media has not highlighted these benefits for the often maligned bogeyman: the fat cats?  

This is what Democrats want their left wing base to believe is worth fighting for.  More fraud and taxpayer waste to keep the government in limbo.  There is no longer a COVID emergency and therefore there is no justification for making these costly subsidies permanent entitlements.  

Permanently extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies would cost $488 billion, increasing the deficit by $350 billion over ten years, while adding another $60 billion in additional interest cost to finance the spending.

Even without the extended subsidies, the CBO projects the cost of Obamacare--the ill-named Affordable Care Act--to top $1.32 trillion during the ten-year period from 2025 through 2034.  

The approximately 24 million Americans currently enrolled in Obamacare health insurance plans face higher premiums next year, Democrats complain.  They quote the progressive  Kaiser Family Foundation forecasts that premiums through health exchanges will leap 26% on average next year, reflecting the rising cost of care. 

However, the foundation estimates are based on those who enroll in the Silver or second tier plan--not the lowest.  KFF also uses current enhanced subsidies in its calculation, which is skewed because it includes those Americans whose incomes are above the 400% of the poverty line.

A more accurate estimate is a study by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It found the average Obamacare marketplace premium after tax credits is projected to cost $50 per month for the lowest cost plan next year.  Nearly 60% of enrollees will have access to those plans $50 and below.

Those estimates are based on the expiration of the enhanced subsidies. This destroys the Democrats' talking point that failure to extend the supercharged subsidies will significantly increase premiums for the poorest Americans.  

In fact, the cost for Obamacare coverage is significantly less than what most Americans pay for insurance through their employer.  And they don't get the advantage of taxpayer handouts. Taxpayers are forecast to cover 91% of the lowest cost plan premiums for Obamacare, CMS reports.    

Obamacare has left a shameful trail of broken promises.  You could keep your doctor.  If you liked your coverage, you could keep it.  Premiums would go down $2,500 on average. Reality was far different than what President Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi sold to the American people. 

Millions found out their Obamacare plans did not include their doctor. In the first year alone, 9.3 million Americans lost coverage when their businesses stopped insuring them. Premiums ballooned 60% in just the first four years of Obamacare.

It is a failed experiment in government run health insurance. But like all government entitlements, politicians keep throwing your money at bad ideas. At least, Democrats and Republicans should agree that the COVID-era enhanced benefits can be accorded a Congressional burial.   

Make Money Tracking Congressional Stock Trades

Seemingly well-timed stock trades by members of Congress have raised eyebrows in the heartland but official Washington continues to wink at their astounding good fortune. Portfolios of lawmakers on both sides of the aisles have often outperformed the S&P 500 Index by wide margins. 

Their stock trading skills cannot be chalked up to luck or skill. Speculation--supported by trading patterns--indicate Washington's elected officials are using privileged information to enrich themselves in the market. Forget hiring a financial advisor.  Just mimic lawmakers' portfolios.

Data from Unusual Whales and public disclosures required by Congress provide a public window into the trading activity of representatives and senators. Unusual Whales tracks two Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) for investors who want to imitate the portfolios of Democrat and Republican lawmakers.  

The two ETF funds have likely outperformed your portfolio. For the period from February, 2023, through August 31 of this year, the fund that follows Democrat trades has returned 73% while the Republican version logged a paper profit of 41%.

During that time frame, the Democrat-focused ETC outpaced Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF by 12 percentage points.  Republicans were less fortunate during that time period. The ETF mirroring their trades lagged Vanguard's ETF by almost 20 percentage points.

A 2024 research report found that senators as a group beat the stock market by an average of 12% per year in the 1990's.  An article in ScienceDirect found that politicians' trading activity increases when they are in session, fueling conjecture that publicly undisclosed information may be driving trading.

ScienceDirect based its findings on an examination of 181,029 congressional stock trades from 4,630 trading days.  Their research uncovered that politicians make more buy trades during times of high economic policy uncertainty and equity market volatility.  

Morningstar, an investment research firm, examined the Unusual Whales funds and found the top stocks currently owned by Democrats, included Nividia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Salesforce, Crowdstrike and Netflix.  

Republicans favor JP Morgan Chase, Bitcoin ETF,  Nvidia, AT&T, Chevron, Allstate, Intel and Comfort Systems USA, which serves the Heating and Air Contractors industry. The stocks listed for Dems and the GOP represent their largest holdings, amounting to 40-to-50% of their portfolios. 

Some of the wealthiest members of Congress have been targets of scrutiny because they are among the most active traders in the market. Near the top is former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, whose estimated net worth is $267.6 million.  

The 84-year-old has extensive holdings in Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Netflix, according to Quiver Quantitative, a market research firm.  From 2014 to 2025, Pelosi racked up a 794.30% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) on her stock portfolio. 

Next to Warren Buffet, Pelosi may have the largest following among individual investors. 

Another whale is Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner, whose fortune is estimated at  $247.36.  Much of his wealth was built on founding the venture capital firm Columbia Capitol.  Since 2009, Warner has made 113 trades worth $65.59 million.  

In the Senate, Warner serves on four key committees, including the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Intelligence; Finance, and, the Budget.  His assignments give him special insight into financial institutions, securities, insurance, energy and international trade. 

Warner and Pelosi's wealth is eclipsed by Florida Republican Rich Scott, who is worth a reported $549.91 million, according to Quiver Quantitative and Investopedia. However, the exact amount of his wealth remains contested because of his debts.  

Scott was a co-founder of HCA Healthcare in 1988 and Solantic in 2001. Since 2019 , the Republican has made 352 trades worth an estimated $239.68 million. according to Quiver Quantitive. Scott serves on the Armed Services Committee, which oversees military spending and research.  

This glimpse into Congressional stock trading should raise red flags with Americans, especially those who struggle to build modest stock returns for retirement. In 2012, public outcry over charges of insider trading, shamed lawmakers into passing the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.

The law prohibits federal officials from using nonpublic information gained from their positions for personal financial gain.  The act also mandated more frequent online public disclosures of certain stock trades and requires disclosure of mortgage information.  

It was a start but the trading in individual stocks continues unabated. It is nearly impossible to prove members have benefited from so-called insider information. In fact, no member of Congress has even been prosecuted for violating the law.  But that doesn't mean there haven't been indiscretions.

Business Insider and several others news organizations recently identified 78 members of Congress who have failed to properly report their financial trades.  They usually make excuses, pleading ignorance of the law, clerical errors or a mistake by an accountant.  It's just a game to lawmakers.

It is time for real reform.  A bipartisan bill to ban trading of individual stocks by lawmakers lies dormant in the House.  The bill, The Restore Trust in Congress Act, has 16 co-sponsors.  But behind the scenes, powerful lawmakers are blocking its path to a vote.  The president has pledged to sign the bill.

Without news coverage and support from voters, the bill is likely to be cremeated rather than buried.  You can help save it by writing or calling your Senators and House member.  If we the people won't act, then senators and representatives will continue to enrich themselves by trading in stocks.