Category Archives: Personal Message

America the Beautiful !

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I absolutely love this song! It is amazing in sound and text. The message(s) are heartfelt and to the point. We occasionally sing it at church and I consider it a hymn. But, it can just as well be considered a patriotic song as well. Truth be told…it’s both.

Katharine Lee Bates wrote the original lyrics back in the late 1800’s, she didn’t compose the music, she wrote it as a poem. That poem was published in 1895. Samuel Ward wrote/composed the music. What is weird…Bates and Ward never met each other. The poem and music were put together in 1910 and published. Different lyrics were written, one set in 1911 and that is what we normally sing today.

Tears come to my eyes when I hear it and especially when I have the privilege of singing it.

About 10 years ago I really started to notice a specific set of lyrics…

“O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!”

Last week I thought several times about the song and that particular set of lyrics. This past Sunday while sitting at church those lyrics once again just poured into my head in a way they have never done before. And it was also at that time that I realized why.

I won’t make this long and drawn out…for a change. But we, as a people in the United States, are becoming desensitized to violence…especially extreme violence. The level of violence around the world is horrific and getting worse…same here in the US. I too find myself pretty much just accepting this violence, extreme violence, often against children, as commonplace and simply part of today’s society and culture…including/especially here in the US.

Saturday I read Tucker Carlson’s comment on the ICE killing of Good in Minnesota…

“The 37-year-old was an American citizen and reportedly the mother of a kindergarten-aged child. Did we disagree with her views on immigration? Probably. But that shouldn’t matter. Her death is a tragedy, regardless of her partisan affiliations, ideological beliefs, or who pulled the trigger. A woman got shot in the face.”

The left celebrated the killing of Charlie Kirk…and the right was appalled…along with most reasonable people. The left blamed Kirk for bringing it on himself because of his outspoken beliefs and actions. The dead victim being blamed for his own death.

The right is celebrating the killing of Rene Good…and the left is appalled…along with most reasonable people. The right is blaming Good for bringing it on herself because of her outspoken beliefs and actions. The dead victim being blamed for her own death.

In both cases the political ideology should be entirely secondary to the dual tragedies of people losing their life. But it isn’t, we are “normalizing bloodshed”…especially in terms of political ideology.

Tucker Carlson continued and made a great point…

“If the United States were in a better place, everyone, regardless of their politics, would pause when something like the Minneapolis shooting happens and at least recognize the human tragedy. But that doesn’t happen because, compared to the countless overseas killings our government routinely brings about, Good’s death doesn’t seem like such a big deal. She’s just another headline.”

Back to America the Beautiful…

“…mercy more than life!”

Who were those lyrics referring to? “heroes” Let us consider that and think about who we are as a country and as individuals. Then consider our principles, morals, ethics, priorities…and especially our future.

 

 2009 - 2026 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
I may receive compensation from advertised/mentioned products on this website.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Where do you…

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A question I get from time-to-time is “If you are so down on the stock market and economy where do you put your money?”

Well, that’s assuming we have any money! Truth be told…we have a very small amount in an emergency fund. Most of our assets, if you want to call them that, are the glamstead, rolling stock, and some misc. storage items. But as I said, we have a small emergency fund. It is spread out in a top tier mutual fund company…(I’ve included the top corporate holdings in each fund for additional information).

Before I share this information understand this…I am no professional, no advisor, no consultant, no nothing. This is only telling you what we’ve done, nothing else, nothing more.

Our emergency fund:
  • 30% cash
    • ½ in a market fund paying 3.5%
    • ½ in a gov’t securities fund paying 3.5%
  • 17% in a Semiconductor fund (returns: 30% 5yr / 30% 10yr)
    • NVIDA
    • Broadcom
    • Marvel Technology
    • Mictron Technology
  • 13% in a Communications fund (returns: 15% 5yr / 16% 10yr)
    • Alphabet
    • META
    • Amazon
    • ATT
    • Netflix
  • 13% in a Defense and Aerospace fund (returns: 18% 5yr / 15% 10yr)
    • GE Aerospace
    • Boeing
    • RTX
    • Howmet
    • Heico
    • General Dynamics
  • 10% in Blue Chip fund (returns: 15% 5yr / 20% 10yr)
    • NVIDA
    • Apple
    • Alphabet
    • Amazon
    • Microsoft
    • META
  • 17% in a Gold fund (returns: 17% 5yr / 18% 10yr)
    • Agnico Mines
    • Newmont
    • Franco-Nevada
    • Weaton
    • Anglogold

Let me share this little bit of information…we look over the emergency fund at the end of each year and re also review our goals for it as well. Then we make adjustments accordingly. This year was a total adjustment. We had been in a S&P500 index fund which is normally a very safe bet over decades. But, my wife and I realized we no longer have decades left. So we wanted to realign our fund to our needs.

How did I come to those choices?

First off I wanted to go with a fund manager/company that was in the top 10; I choose in the top 7. I didn’t choose Blackrock for a number of reasons…basically they are not a company I want to do business with, same with JPMorgan and Charles Schwab. Just my personal preference…based on who/what those companies are. Oh, why in the top 10? Because I know the markets are manipulated. And who do you think helps manipulate those markets? Yup, everyone one of those top 10. So, I wanted to ride their coat tails.

Next I wanted good returns…not high risk & stratosphere returns. So I figured to look at 10-year return to show they have a track record and consistency. And then 5-year return to show they can maneuver in the markets. I could have chosen to look at much longer term returns but I thought those funds might be stuck in a rut and not as flexible.

Along with returns I wanted to choose “categories” of stocks, “industries” would be another way to put it. Those choices were based on what I see in the world today and where we are probably headed. We need technology and communication in this technology driven world for the foreseeable future. And we are always good for military action, if not outright war, here in the US. So, I chose; Communications, Semiconductor, and Defense & Aerospace. Then a blue chip fund for conservatism. And of course a gold fund to hedge all the others. For “cash” I chose a combination of a regular money market fund and a government securities fund. Both are returning the same so I guess it didn’t really matter. Supposedly gov’t securities are safer.

If you look at the spread, you can see I am hedging my bet. I know the economy and markets will crash…but I don’t know when. Until then I want our money to grow as much as possible…within reasonable risk. I look at technology as nothing but a growth area. And defense (war machine) will always prosper. So I choose those general areas. And then the gold aspect is to hedge all of that. And the cash part plays an important role…if we need some cash real quick and the market is suffering, we don’t have to take a forced lost redeeming shares in a down fund. That’s if we can’t cover the “cash” need out of pocket.

To be honest & fair…I may have made a mistake the “gold” portion of the portfolio. Since our review came at the end of the year (2025) and gold was already up about 70%…it may head down…since that is what gold does…fluctuates with current events. But, based on dismal outlook both globally and domestically for 2026…gold might do just fine. We’ll have to see…at least the portfolio is balanced to some degree.

Just to give you and idea…as of 1/13/2026 the funds are up from .8 – 7.5% since 12/26/2025 (18 days). That is the kind of growth we are looking for! Now, reality says that won’t be the same kind of performance all year…but remember, it is a “hedge”. We don’t depend on it. And if everything crashes then we still have the glamstead. In the meantime, the stock side of things might just grow 15 – 30% this year. Yeah…that would be nice…really nice. Might help buy a 4k HD color TV in the old folks home when the time comes.

Back to the glamstead (hard, non-liquid asset)…We are mortgage free, our own well, our own power, and food production capability. We have an orchard; apples, peaches, cherries, and fig trees. We have a berry patch; raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. We have about 400sq’ of raised bed garden boxes, 90’ of rows for squash & melons, and 40’ of row for Anasazi beans. Then in a pinch we have about 5000sq’ of grass yard with decent amended soil that I could convert to garden space in ½ day of tractor work.

So why do I share all the info about the food production capability of the glamstead? Because there is monetary value in it. As well as an emergency way to feed ourselves and others. And that is a true asset.

One last tidbit…my truck is 25 years old, my wife’s SUV is 29 years old. Why does that matter? We aren’t caught up in flashy or new vehicles…both vehicles run just fine with no payments and we have low insurance premiums on both due to their age.

So there you go…that’s “where we put our money”…and it suits us just fine. If you are really wondering where to put your money…well, that depends entirely on where/what your priorities are…then matching your money/investments to those priorities.

Oh, yeah…then work your butt off.

 

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 2009 - 2026 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
I may receive compensation from advertised/mentioned products on this website.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Let the numbers ring !

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The US federal government just released the official numbers a couple of days ago…records set! Big beautiful, best every, fantastic, gorgeous, most largest numbers ever in the history of the country. Seriously, there’s never been better numbers in the universe, in the history of mankind, probable never anything more beautiful in the history of the world…nothing better in the history of history. They’ve never been better, no administration has ever done this good, historically amazing, period.

Okay…enough of the lame sarcasm. Let’s talk for just a minute how the economy is actually doing according to facts…true REALITY! Yup, unbiased reality.

The numbers that the government just released for 2025…and it ain’t good. 2025 was the worst year for hiring since 2020. Yeah, hiring in 2025 was really bad. Worse than any year of the previous administration…other than 2020 (Trump’s first term during COVID). Is that all? Ah, no.

If you remember 2020 was the first bad year for COVID when hiring tanked because the economy went south real badly. Companies simply stopped hiring to wait and see how bad the pandemic would affect business and the economy in general around the world.

Now we throw another fact out there…yeah, it gets worse. The 2025 hiring was the second worse since 2008/2009 (Bush’s last year in office). Why is that important? 2008/2009 was the global economic crisis…and a partial economic collapse here in the US.

Bottom line…2025 was a terrible year for the economy…terrible! Prices continued to rise, rising even more than the end of the previous administration. Hundreds of billions of dollars were sucked out of the private economy by the US government via huge increases in tariffs. Also, the unemployment rate rose from 4% in Jan 2025 to 4.4% in Dec 2025. That means about 680,000 fewer people employed in 2025 vs the end of 2024. That is horrible when you think about the overall economic impact. Yeah, that’s just at $44billion in income/wages taken out of the US economy by people no longer working and earning an income.

Folks…please pray that 2026 is a better year for the US economy than 2025 was. Yes, I think we can survive another economically devastating year like 2025…but how many more, I don’t know. All it will take is one minor hiccup and it collapses. And that is especially true with the intense domestic unrest we are experiencing right now.

For additional insight think about this…

The following companies have announced 2026 store/location closings in the US: Macy’s, Kroger, Walgreens, Wendy’s, JCPenny, Saks Off 5th, Yankee Candle, Orvis, REI, Foot Locker, GameStop, and Carters. Also, Big Lots has filed for bankruptcy. The total number of stores/locations closed is not clear…estimates are close to a couple thousand (+/-).

There are a number of downsides; 1) commercial property values will decline due to abandoned storefronts, 2) tax revenue to local and state governments will decline, 3) unemployment will shoot up.

#3 is the one that I really worry about. With thousands of stores/locations closing you could be looking at additional unemployment of 50,000 – 100,000 people directly or indirectly. That is huge! Then consider the ripple affect in the broader economy. You could easily be talking 10’s of billions of dollars lost in the economy. And that is just from this singular event.

Our economy in a wreck…a disaster…a catastrophic event waiting to happen. It has gotten worse over the last year according to facts, stats, and evidence. And 2026, according to projections, appears it will be even worse.

Folks…pray and get ready.

And let’s not forget projected AI job loses in 2026…

AI industry experts are estimating a minimum of 100,000 job loses in 2026 due to AI replacement. While the exact projected figure is unclear, some experts are warning it could be up to a million jobs lost. The descriptors from experts are a bit more unsettling…

“AI is expected to significantly impact the job market, particularly affecting lower-level white-collar roles…”

“The ‘Godfather of AI’ warns 2026 will bring a new wave of job losses.”

The worst hit positions…Administration, Customer Service, Production, Legal, Education, and Management.

This event could also signal an additional ripple effect of 10’s of billions of dollars hit to the US economy.

Let’s not ignore a little tidbit…

Remember the Fed lowered interest rates in 2025 three times? The Fed only lowers rates when they see an economy in trouble right then…and in the near-term (6mons – 1 year). And the Fed is already signaling at least two rate cuts in 2026.

 

 

US Federal Government Economic Info…
  • Jan 1, 2025 – Dec 31, 2025 US debt grew from $36.trillion to $38.4trillion
  • Fiscal Year 2025 budget deficit was $1.8trillion
  • Fiscal Year 2026 budget deficit is running about $200billion per month
  • Interest on US national debt is expected to top well over $1trillion in 2026

Thankfully we are not looking at the likes of a $3.1trillion deficit as we had in 2020!!!  (President Trump & COVID crisis)

WARNING ! ! > > > President Trump has proposed a greater than 50% increase in the military budget for Fiscal Year 2027…$1.5trillion total. Why the massive increase? I am not sure, but history shows that those kinds of increases only occur in war times, preparation or actual. FY2027 is only 9 months away.

NOTE #1: That military increase added to projections of regular US Budget deficits would drive it to a new total budget deficit of around $2.3trillion and accelerating the US Nation Debt to approximately $41 – $43trillion dollars by the end of FY2027…or 130% of GDP.

FYI…national debt to GDP ratio of 80% begins negative impacts on a country’s economy. 100% of GDP is dangerous territory for any country’s economy. The US has already exceeded 100% of GDP. You can figure out what 130% of GDP might do and what the economy might look like by the time it hits.

Note #2: Certainly you’ve heard/seen the stratospheric rise in the price of gold, yes? on 1/14/2025 gold was at $2673 per ounce, on 1/12/2026 gold was at $4630. That’s a 73% increase in just under a year. Gold is seen as 2 things; 1) a hedge against inflation (minor) and global unrest (major), 2) a “predictor”. A predictor is something/someone that foretells the future. What happened 6 day after 1/14/2025? What has happened since then? Why do you think gold has jumped 73% in the last year? Look closely, think clearly, set bias aside.

Just in case you wanted to know…”Imperialism”

  • The extension of a nation’s authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political dominance over other nations.
  • A political doctrine or system promoting such extension of authority.
  • The power or character of an emperor; imperial authority; the spirit of empire.

Must Read > > > Feedback from Russ <click here>

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 2009 - 2026 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
I may receive compensation from advertised/mentioned products on this website.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Hilarious !

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A few days ago my wife put a couple bowls in the microwave to warm them up for the casserole we were having that night for dinner. Normal thing, no big deal.

“Buzzzzzz!” acrid smell…the whiff of smoke about 3 seconds after she turned it on. Wife was close by but I was quicker. I opened the door to turn it off, then unplugged it to kill all power to the unit.

Okay, so that’s not the funny part…that comes in a minute. For now…the casserole was an incredible mixture of macaroni, potatoes, ham, and lots of creamy cheese. Yeah…way good! The microwave was a TOSHIBA ML-EM45PIT(BS) Countertop Microwave. We bought it 11 months ago to the day. Yup, it had/has a 1-year warranty. We bought it through Amazon and added the 3-year protection plan for another $30, the cost for the microwave was $167+tax if I remember right. Nope, still not the funny part yet.

The next day I started the “support” process. Let me make this short(er)…we supplied Toshiba the information they requested, they approved the claim, the refund should be here in 4 weeks (+/-) in the form of a check. We’ll see about that…yeah, I’m cynical…but you already know that. Friday we picked out another microwave, SHARP Countertop Microwave Oven (SMC1662KS). Again, from Amazon; and yes again, a 3-year protection plan. Cost: $239 + $34. Should be delivered on Monday. Why Amazon? No store nearby that carries a wide variety and/or what my wife wants. Still not the funny part…be patient.

Here’s the funny part…

We didn’t have warm bowls for the casserole, no biggie. Next morning I was up  and heard her request for her morning cup of herbal peppermint tea. Began my job…and caught myself staring at the microwave, cup in hand, wondering what to do next. Yes, of course I went old school and heated the water in a pan on the stove. Then came lunch…we were going to have leftovers. I caught my wife staring at the microwave, bowl in hand…I chuckled to myself. Again, old school…pan time on the stove!

My point? Here we are, living off-grid, our own well, our own solar power, growing a bunch of our food, building and planting everything ourselves, and all that other good homestead kinda stuff. But truth be told…we are microwave addicts.

Now that is funny! Here we are…MotherEarther types…and we found it odd and challenging to now cook on the stove for a couple of days…till our next fix. We are already planning a menu where we can binge on the new microwave for at least a week. True addicts!

My odd sense of, and attempt at, humor…it was hilarious that we realized how much we use our microwave. And it makes it even funnier when we had to stop and think how to accomplish the same “cooking” on the stove. Thank goodness for our air fryer!!!!

Have a great week!

 

 2009 - 2026 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
I may receive compensation from advertised/mentioned products on this website.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Economy, Income, Home Prices: Q&A “Bottom Line” (last Q&A)

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  • You talked about “bottom line” before. For individuals or families, what is your bottom line to the economic mess your talking about?

I gotta tel ya…this is the best question I think I’ve ever been asked on this website in a very long time. I want to be careful and thoughtful with my answer.

Everyone is different, that is obvious, so I don’t have a detailed specific answer for you. But, I think for everybody some good thoughts to ponder would be…

Be in the world but not of the world.

Do not seek/lust for riches and power.

Be charitable. Be your brothers keeper.

Fully embrace the Golden Rule.

Let God find you, He and His Son are looking for you.

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 2009 - 2026 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
I may receive compensation from advertised/mentioned products on this website.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

I wrote 1900 words…

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Yesterday I wrote an article regarding the attack, bombing, invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping their President and his wife. And I mean I let it all out…I unloaded the legality and the morality of what the US government did on Trump’s orders. While finishing the editing of it this morning I was stopped dead in my tracks. The Holy Ghost stopped me…I was not to publish that article…period. I was crushed.

Not that I couldn’t publish it, but it was made clear to me that it was too harsh and damning…and too personal. But, I could put something a bit more user friendly up that might get some folks thinking. Here’s that…

  • What is his justification/motivation to go to war with Venezuela at this time?
  • How does this Make America Great Again?
  • How does this put America first?

We are either a law-abiding people and nation or we are not. We are either a member of the international community or we are not. We either respect other nation’s sovereignty or we do not. We either have principles, morals, and ethics or we don’t.

We either embrace the Constitution or we do not.

We must decide who we are and what we believe in…and who we follow.

If you have a few minutes, just a few minutes, today…you might want to read the following:

  • 2 Timothy 3:1-4
  • Matthew 24:12
  • 2 Peter 3:3
  • 1 Timothy 4:1
  • Matthew 24:10
  • Romans 1:28-29
  • Galatians 5:19-21
  • Isaiah 5:20

 

 2009 - 2026 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
I may receive compensation from advertised/mentioned products on this website.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Happy New Year !

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This morning I woke up thinking about 2025…you know last year. And I was wondering what the heck I did all year…was it a good year and did I get enough done to justify all the air that I breath.

I got kinda emotional about this past year, 2025. It was a year that was full of stress, happiness, frustration, joy, problems, and amazing accomplishments.  I think it was one of the strangest years in my life in so many ways. But, being who I am the question was…what the heck did I do all year?

Well, I started listing the big stuff that I could remember…

House:

    • Rehabbed the attached utility room, added a steel door with keypad lock, and reinforced the door frame to resist break-ins.
    • Installed a mini-split that replaces two older window AC’s and eliminated the need for a wood burning stove.
    • Installed a security system and cameras.

Outside:

    • Completely redid our entrance gate area…very sharp, clean, and rather impressive (according to my wife).
    • Installed an automatic gate opener to property entrance.
    • Redid the back yard, planted a bunch of grass, and increased the size of the yard by 50%.
    • Added the really nice “flower mound” with beautiful lavender, perennial dianthins, and some other really beautiful perennials…along with a drip irrigation system.
    • Saved a cherry tree and added 2 more.
    • Planted a fig tree my wife has been asking me for the prior 2 years.
    • Bought myself and planted a “fruit cocktail” tree; it has 3 different fruits grafted into the same tree. Kinda cool!
    • Added a bunch of rough compost to the orchard ground and tilled it in.
    • Seriously upgraded the orchard irrigation system.
    • Added I think 7 new pine trees, saved 2 others, and really upgraded the soil in the existing pine meadow and started a new pine meadow. Don’t get too impressed, the term “meadow” is misleading, both meadows combined are probably less that ¼ acre.
    • Added new river rock around the house to eliminate dirt areas, especially the walkways.
    • Saved old 6 lilac bushes from previous owner that will get transplanted to the back yard in February.

Infrastructure:

    • Solar –
      • Boosted our power generation from 4.3kw to 7.6kw…75% improvement
      • Increased our power storage capacity from 32kwh to 41kwh…28% improvement
      • Added a ton of other improvements to our solar system along with a fire suppression system
    • Well –
      • Fixed the ongoing lightening strike problem
      • Upgrade the well controller & float switch
      • Increased the time that the well can pump water on solar power
      • Added the ability to easily run the well pump off generator power
    • Shop/mini-barn –
      • Minor exterior repairs and then painted
      • Upgraded the entire solar system with new inverter, solar panels, & batteries.

Misc:

    • Rescued Murray from the local animal shelter. Murray is a 1yo mixed breed dog; think 55lb collie with very soft short hair. He was abused by his last owner and still struggles from the trauma but he is slowly coming out of it and is a great dog that is becoming an awesome addition to our family.
    • Bought a really nice 7-yo CanAm ATV with trailer for $1300 cash and a little bit of labor bartering.
    • Grew a great garden from seed to plants to table…and preserved a bunch of food. Including starting all my own tomato plants, pepper plants, and melon plants.
    • Fixed our old ATV doing repairs that I never thought I could do…saved a couple thousand dollars doing it myself.
    • Fixed our old 6×6 UTV doing repairs that I never thought I could do…saved several hundred dollars doing it myself.
    • Expanded and did minor repairs on 5 water retention ponds.

I’m sure there is more, but you get the idea. But most of all…I realized how much we moved forward. Keeping life moving forward is what it is all about. Some accomplishments are major and really noticeable…others almost go unnoticed and can be quickly forgotten. They are all important.

I guess what I am getting at is two things; 1) I am grateful we were able to accomplish so much that is noticeable and memorable, 2) we did move forward in our material lives. But I am not ignoring or forgetting the little things either…the mostly non-material accomplishments. And those my friend can be even more important, more significant, more life-changing than the material ones.

For us 2025 was a great year in many, many aspects. For that I am grateful. And yes, I am grateful for all of you. You guys rock! I love the articles replies, the feedback and comments, and the personal emails. They all mean a lot to me.

I look forward to 2026 and all the wondrous and amazing events that will take place in our life. Yes, I am sure that the national and international stage will have its ups and downs…and that’s okay. What matters most of all is who we are, who we become, and how we serve others. Let’s work our very best, our hardest, to make 2026 a fantastic year!

 

 2009 - 2026 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
No legal, economic, or financial advice is given, no expertise to be assumed.
I may receive compensation from advertised/mentioned products on this website.
See Content Use Policy for more information.

Here go again…more disinformation…or truth?

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The Bureau of Economic Analysis, US federal government agency, released GDP figures last week. According to them…GDP grew by 4.3% last quarter. Lot’s of folks have been raving about that figure…saying how great that shows our economy is doing. And of course Trump gloated about the 4.3% figure crediting his economic agenda. And get this… Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick claimed “Americans got a 4.3% raise.” Trump later went on to claim the 4.3% GDP number, “The success is due to good government, and tariffs.”

But maybe we aren’t getting the real story…

I double checked to make sure I was saying something that was true:

  • First major component of GDP is consumption (what consumers pay)…4th quarter 2025 inflation figure is about 3.1%.
  • Second major component is government spending…US federal government spending for 2025 is up 6%

So, it appears that the federal government spending and inflation accounts for most, if not all, of the GDP increase…if I am reading the numbers right.

Kinda rings true since the federal government is running an almost $2trillion budget deficit for 2025.

Now, on top of that, US Customs has reported they sucked about $200billion out of the private sector economy due to tariffs. Yeah, $200billion that American citizens and companies can’t spend on what they want to. And even with the additional $200billion, the federal government is still running that HUGE budget deficit.

Then let’s think about these items:

  • In November home foreclosures jumped 21%.
  • There are some reputable economists out there that say government spending is driving most of the GDP growth. Take out the massive increase in government spending and the real GDP is more like .8% (yeah POINT 8%)
  • Almost all of the increase in consumer spending went on credit cards, and almost all of the remainder came out of savings driving personal savings to an historic low. And it appears that most of the increase in consumer spending was seasonal based on back-to-school shopping.
  • This year (2025) gold is up almost $2,000 per ounce, silver is up more than $40 an ounce…those kinds of jumps only happens when investors and governments fear what’s happening in the markets and economy…and the world in general.
  • CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is down noticeably indicating a lack of confidence in the stock markets.
  • Consumer sentiment index (Consumer Confidence) is down significantly this year indicating that consumers are fearful of the US economy and its future.
  • Here’s an interesting tidbit: “Consumer spending this year has increasingly been characterized by a growing divide between wealthy households that aren’t changing their habits amid rising costs of living, and middle- and lower-income households that have cut back in response to a weaker labor market and tariffs and inflation that both drive up the cost of daily expenses.“
  • And 30% more Americans are saying that their finances are worse now than at the end of 2024.
  • More than 6 out of 10 people disapprove of the way Trump is handling the economy.

So you be the judge…is the GDP number mis-information…or…is it the best GDP figure ever in the history of the country, the best big beautiful GDP number of any president in the universe, a fantastic incredible shinny GDP that has ever been reported…the best, most beautiful, incredible, shinny, fantastic…okay, you get my point.

To me…the facts, figures, stats, and evidence all show that the GDP increase being “great” is pure bullshit. But, you are free to be your own judge based on whatever information/statement you want to accept and use.

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