longer.blue

I'm back, bff.😎 I've been busy helping an abused ex-wife/friend get to safety, so please don't think I was ignoring you.🥰 (I'm an activist concerning things of this nature in the small town we used to live in) -US Inflation Rate is at 2.67%, compared to 2.35% last month and 2.97% last year. This is lower than the long-term average of 3.28%. (it went up 😅) -April Surplus:.The U.S. Treasury reported a $258 billion surplus for April, according to Yahoo Finance. This was largely driven by strong tax receipts from the end of the tax season and a surge in import duties, particularly from tariffs. -Fiscal Year-to-Date:.Despite the April surplus, the U.S. is still facing a substantial budget deficit for the fiscal year. Some reports suggest the year-to-date deficit is over $1 trillion. (month yes, ytd no😅) -Continuing conflicts: Even while Trump was in office, the US remained involved in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, among others. While Trump did reduce troop deployments in some regions, he did not completely withdraw all US troops, CNN notes. The civil wars in Syria, Yemen, and Somalia also continued, as did the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the conflict in Ukraine's Donbas region. (fewer wars, nope, lol😅) -In conclusion, the claim that Donald Trump's presidency was characterized by a complete absence of wars or a more peaceful global landscape is not fully supported by the facts. While he avoided initiating new large-scale international conflicts, the US remained engaged in ongoing wars, and his administration's actions contributed to increased tensions and military actions in several regions of the world.( fewer wars, nope, lol😅) -Current Average (July 21st, 2025): $3.140 per gallon. Yesterday's Average: $3.155 per gallon. Week Ago Average: $3.157 per gallon. Month Ago Average: $3.205 per gallon. (You are boasting about $.05 while not mentioning increased hybrid/EV usage or current overproduction/drops in demand) (I'll give you this little win that could 😅) -Overall Loss: The private sector lost 33,000 jobs in June. Industry Breakdown: Goods-producing industries added 32,000 jobs, with gains in manufacturing (+15,000), construction (+9,000), and natural resources/mining (+8,000). Service-providing industries lost 66,000 jobs, primarily due to declines in professional and business services (-56,000) and education and health services (-52,000). Leisure and hospitality (+32,000), trade, transportation, and utilities (+14,000), and information (+5,000) saw gains within the service sector. (-33K better lol?😅) -Average Hourly Earnings: Rose by 8 cents (0.2%) to $36.30 in June 2025. Year-over-year, average hourly earnings increased by 3.7%, which is slightly lower than the 3.8% increase in May. This represents the slowest pace of wage growth in nearly a year. Average Weekly Earnings: The average weekly wage for all non-government employees was $1,241 in June 2025. This is 0.7% higher than a year before. YCharts shows the average weekly earnings trend over time. Real Average Hourly Earnings (adjusted for inflation): Increased by 1.0% between June 2024 and June 2025. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the 0.1% decrease from May to June is due to a 0.2% increase in average hourly earnings combined with a 0.3% increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). Real Average Weekly Earnings (adjusted for inflation): Increased by 0.7% between June 2024 and June 2025. This is impacted by a 0.3% decrease in the average workweek. (These minute increases will go really far with Walmart increasing prices 51% because of President Epstein's (/s) tariff wars.) -Deportation trends under Trump, Obama, and Biden Trump's current removals: In the early months of 2025, the Trump administration has averaged 14,700 deportations per month. This is lower than Obama's peak in 2013, which averaged 36,000 deportations per month, but higher than Biden's average of 3,200 per month of interior removals from FY 2021-2024. Obama's record: The Obama administration deported over 2.5 million people between 2009 and 2015, with roughly 1.6 million removed between 2009 and 2012. Biden's tenure: From the start of FY2021 to February 2024, the Biden administration oversaw 1.1 million deportations, putting it on track to potentially match Trump's first-term total of 1.5 million. Additionally, there were 3 million expulsions under Title 42 between March 2020 and May 2023, largely during Biden's term. Combined deportations and expulsions under Biden total nearly 4.4 million repatriations, exceeding any single presidential term since George W. Bush's second term (5 million). (At the current pace, Trump will not deport more than the total numbers of Obama/Biden. He isn't going to come anywhere near the 4.4 and 5 million numbers 😅) I missed the "you are my Johnny Appleseed, you're my Joseph Goebbels" playful banter we had going on.