Lone Candle
Champion of Truth
The job growth was good compared to recent months, but not actually good. The job growth was heavily concentrated in healthcare and social assistance. These are jobs caused by our aging society, but not good underlying economic growth.
The jobs numbers for 2025 were revised, and job growth was very low for 2025.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSNZGWfitjM
“Creating true housing affordability for homebuyers would require an expansion of housing supply to lower overall housing prices—the thing Trump said he did not want to do.
The good news is that the federal government does not have too much direct influence over the number of homes that are built in the country. It’s local and state governments that decide what’s allowed to be built where.
…
it’d also be a mistake to completely dismiss the idea that we can lower buyers’ housing costs and raise property values at the same time. Contra the president, that can easily be accomplished by allowing more homes to be built on existing residential land.
Free markets are generally win-win institutions. One should expect that free market reforms in the housing sector would produce win-wins for homeowners, buyers, and builders.
When local officials “upzone” land to allow more housing to be built on it, one expects the value of that land to increase to reflect the additional development potential. If a single-family property is upzoned to allow apartment construction, the current owner will see a windfall increase in the value of their property.”
https://reason.com/2026/02/03/housing-policy-can-be-win-win/
“Warsh has been critical of the Fed in recent months but is seen as a conventional choice for the role. Warsh has a background in the Bush administration, and he was appointed by former President George W. Bush as Fed governor, serving in that role during the financial crisis from 2006 until 2011.
Although he is considered a relatively safe pick, Warsh faces an uncertain path ahead in the Senate due to potential Republican opposition. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, whose vote is needed to advance the nomination out of the Senate Banking Committee, reiterated that he would oppose any Fed chair pick until the Department of Justice’s investigation into Fed Chair Powell is resolved.”
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/federal-reserve-chair-nomination-live-wall-street-reacts-to-trumps-fed-pick-kevin-warsh-as-hurdles-remain-in-the-senate-182518657.html
The centrality of the United States in the world financial system allows it to use that power to cut countries and people off from basic financial services. The United States has long used this power to cut off rogue states, but Trump is abusing this power and the power of the US domestic market, which could lead to a rebellion and weaken America’s power to use these tools when it more needs it.
Trump ran on China being a major threat, but his aggressive actions toward non-China countries, has strengthened China’s relationships with these countries and made China stronger compared to the US.
Trump throws around power to try to get short term gains, not realizing that long term no one trusts him or the US and this ultimately weakens US power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a5Jzn8YAQY
Davos Dispatch: World Order on Edge | Prof G Markets
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S57OCdvtng0
The Phillipines beat out India on out-sourced phone customer service jobs because Filipinos could speak English with an accent more understandable to Americans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXm5yZct-ts
Korea’s labor laws make firing employees very difficult. These strict laws drew out of the horrible working conditions during Korea’s economic rise under a dictatorship. Making it that hard to fire employees leads to: bad employees lowering companies’ efficiency, companies hiring fewer employees, companies keeping workers as contract employees or independent contractors and the employees therefore not getting basic benefits, brain drain as good employees can more easily move up the ranks and make more money in other countries, and discourages foreign companies from investing in Korea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjjhrwVYPE8
Trump says a lot of things, and a lot of it is nonsense. Some of it turns into serious policies with huge consequences. But even the things he says that don’t come true have large consequences because he is president. Investors, businesses, and consumers have to make decisions, and Trump’s actions can impact that, so they have to deal with his words and the potential consequences. Even dealing with just his words, costs companies tons of money.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNhozAhtJLY
“”State capitalism is a two-way street. Many businesses, by aligning themselves with Trump’s agenda, elicit better treatment—in their ability to sell to China, the tariffs they pay, how they are regulated, and what mergers are allowed,” wrote Greg Ip, The Wall Street Journal’s chief economics commentator, in a recent piece about how CEOs are navigating Trump’s state capitalism. “In other words, state capitalism doesn’t just serve the interests of the state, but of favored capitalists.”
And the Trump administration does not seem likely to place its own limits on this behavior. Asked recently about the logic behind these acquisitions, Trump said, “We should take stakes in companies when people need something.” That’s an answer that lacks any limiting principle.”
https://reason.com/2025/12/19/more-republican-socialism/
“Prime Minister Mark Carney is opening the door to more imports of electric vehicles from China with expectations the olive branch will lead to “considerable” Chinese investment in Canada’s auto sector “within three years” — risking potential blowback from Washington.
The move comes as Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping chart a new era in Canada-China relations and diversify trade ties in response to U.S. President Donald Trump.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/16/china-ev-tariffs-canada-00733086