Category Archives: economic news

economic news, national news

He’s not my POTUS

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Some of you who have read this blog over the span of many years might recall a pledge I made, which was to never insert the word “President” in front of Donald Trump’s name. I have been faithful to that pledge.

Why? Because he’s not my president and that is a feeling I never have experienced with any man who didn’t get my vote for high office. Every single day he is in office, Trump demonstrates he doesn’t give a damn about me, my family or any American who fits our profile.

And that is …

We pay our taxes on time (generally) without complaining, we serve our communities, we have worn the uniform and in many cases have gone to war when ordered, we play by the rules, we worship a holy God.

OK, you get the idea? Trump has many issues on his plate that present existential threats to our way of life. Does he deal with them in public, with the same aggressive nature he spends on trivial matters? Not in the least. Average patriotic Americans like my family members and me insist that he right some of those wrongs. He doesn’t give a damn about any of them.

He once told a reporter that he doesn’t spend any time worrying about the effect the Iran war was having on Americans’ financial condition. Never mind that the price of automobile fuel has doubled since we went to war with Iran, or that the worldwide tariffs he has imposed has spiked the price of damn near everything we buy at the grocery store.

My president would care about those effects on my family and me. Not this one.

He sickens me.

economic news, local news

TxDOT proposes huge project for Lavon Lake

You could’ve knocked me over with a feather duster when I saw the headline in this week’s issue of the Princeton Herald that said, “TxDOT proposes widening Lake Lavon Bridge.”

This, boys and girls, is the kind of news that tells me the government gurus in Austin actually take what is happening in Collin County seriously enough to commit — at least in writing — to improving our transportation infrastructure that is becoming almost a one-eyed monster for those of us who have to travel on our roads and highways.

The Texas Department of Transportation is proposing a $230 million expansion of Farm-to-Market Road 3286 and FM 546. It would replace an existing two-lane bridge that most days becomes a scenic parking lot as vehicles inch their way across the lake in either direction. The Herald reported that TxDOT plans to “widen nearly five miles of roadway between Lucas and the Princeton area.”

Here’s part of the deal, though, and it gives me a bit of a hint of concern. TxDOT says the project is years away and it has designated zero money for the work that will be required.

That makes me wonder how TxDOT can propose and then stand behind the $230 million figure it hopes to spend on this enormous project.

I’ll tell ya, however, TxDOT has gotten a lot of people’s attention. TxDOT had a hearing at Southfork Ranch in Parker and a resident who lives on the Peninsula said, “We need just another way to get off the Peninsula because it’s so much traffic. It starts like at 5:30 in the morning.”

So … TxDOT plans a rescue mission to give some relief to those of us who grumble daily about getting caught in traffic. It’ll be a while, but damn, this is good news!

business news, economic news, education news, entertainment news

Falling short in tribute to Dolly

As clear as it now looks, it is obvious that my brief tribute to the late Dolly Parton — and yes, it’s strange beyond belief to refer to her in that fashion — fell far short of the mark. So … I will seek to remedy that with this brief post.

Dolly Parton was a brilliant businesswoman with a heart of pure gold. She was generous with her immense wealth. She had a wonderfully self-deprecating wit that she used on herself without apology.

I did note that she was an extraordinary talent who composed some of pop culture’s most durable music.

She also was a champion for literacy among our children. She came by that desire honestly, as her beloved father never learned to read and write. When Vanderbilt University closed for a time during the COVID pandemic, Dolly donated $1 million to get the university up and running. She reportedly furnished hundreds of millions of books to children around the world, encouraging them to enjoy reading and having the whole world open up to them.

She said she wanted to create a fantasy amusement park near her East Tennessee hometown. She declared she would name it “Dollywood,” and it would cater to families seeking to get away from the travails of life.

I mentioned to you already that I am not a huge country music fan, but I sure know talent when I see it. Dolly Parton was an extraordinary woman whose legacy will live on not just in her music, but also in the lives of children who were blessed to receive the gift of literacy that she encouraged.

The world will miss Dolly Parton’s huge presence, but it also will continue to reap the rewards she left behind.

economic news, International news, national news

So very tired of ‘winning’

Why is that, why would “winning” wear me out, bring me down, make me wish for the real thing?

Because not a damn thing Donald J. Trump describes as “winning” is anything of the sort. Trump is the loser in chief.

Think about this for just a brief moment. He says we’ve already “won” the war with Iran, but he won’t stop bombing the Iranians. His tariffs are punishing Americans, the people he was elected to protect. In a related matter, Trump has leveled a 50% tariff on Canadian goods. Yes, goods produced and brought into this country by our most reliable (until now) trading partner and worldwide ally.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Trump has declared war on Canada. He vows to fight back. Will Trump be able to declare he is “winning” this latest trade war with the nation with which we share the world’s longest unsecured border? Hah! Hardly.

We have no allies in the Iranian war. Oh, wait. We have one. Israel has joined us in the bombing campaign.

Even North Korea is on the Iranians’ side. Trump, though, has this lovey-dovey relationship with North Korean killer/despot/thug Kim Jong Un.

Yep, that’s “winning” in Trump’s perverted world.

economic news, local news

Data centers deserve close look

Well … the swirling controversy over data centers has entered my North Texas city of Princeton, where the city council is laying the groundwork to begin a series of regulatory measures to ensure the protection of the commnity.

It was a matter of time before we got caught up in the debate that has swallowed up a lot of cities’ attention.

Data centers are those projects that manufacture chips and other electronic power devices. I have read about how they demand lots of energy to produce and lots — and even more — water. I’m still unclear about the need for water, but I do know that this region of Texas is beginning to discuss openly the need to protect its source of fresh water to accommodate the population explosion that is still underway.

I live in a city that continues to grow in giant leaps. Princeton is now home to more than 40,000 people. That number is going to keep growing for the foreseeable future. Princeton’s council met this week in a marathon session; it took no action on any data center proposal, but it did agree to begin applying new rules to welcoming these projects here.

According to the Princeton Herald, the city decided to “move forward with non-zoning amendments and debated how quickly the city could begin the public hearing process.”

The centers have created concerns about noise pollution, visual impact, construction traffic, utlity demands and limited job creation.

The idea of looking strategically ahead seems to be new to Princeton, which didn’t seem to think too much about community impact when it allowed residential and apartment construction to run ahead of the city’s ability to provide service to the new residents. The city imposed a months-long moratorium on new residential development with the hope of allowing infrastructure to catch up.

I am glad to see the city looking ahead to study the impact of data centers. What I’ve read is that the produce a mixed-up of positive and negative impacts. Let’s keep our eyes and ears wide open as we move ahead.

economic news

Waiting for the next fiscal explosion

Kevin Warsh has been approved as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

Just like his predecessor, Jerome Powell, Warsh takes office with the highest praise possible from the president who nominated him. Donald Trump calls Warsh the brightest economic mind on the planet. Compared him, rhetorically, to the day they put pockets on shirts. He’s that good, according to the president.

Funny, huh? Trump kinda said the same thing about Powell when he got the job as Fed chair. Then Powell pushed back a bit on Trump’s insistence that he cut interest rates. Powell was concerned about whether such a move would spark an inflation outburst. Trump’s response was to denigrate Powell’s knowledge of fiscal matters.

OK. So … the new Fed chair has the wind at his back. I wish him well and hope — for the sake of my retirement account — he follows his fiscal instincts and makes decisions based on the facts as he considers them in the moment.

I am waiting, though, for the first time he decides something that get under POTUS’s skin. What will happen then? Will the POTUS declare that the most brilliant economist in world history has turned into the biggest chump of all time? Is the POTUS who has driven several business endeavors into bankruptcy declare he knows more about economics than the Fed chair?

Yep. He probably will. Wait for it.

economic news, Joe Biden

Trying to un-boggle my mind

My mind is in a constant state of bogglement as I watch Donald J. Trump try to blunder his way through the maelstrom he keeps creating.

I am left with a question that has no obvious answer: How does this individual look himself in the mirror and pass all this chaos, confusion and catastrophe off as someone else’s problems that he inherited upon being elected to a second term as POTUS?

The economy was rocking along under President Biden’s firm hand. Now it’s on its heels, thanks to Trump.

The nation was at peace (more or less) with the rest of the world. Then Trump goes to war with Iran.

Fuel prices were inching down under Biden. Now they’re spiraling into deep space.

Inflation was in check under Biden. Today, well … enough said about that.

And still, Trump’s delusion continues to dictate what flies forth from his yammering puss. Ah, but good news can be found if we look for it. It rests with a public that is seeing through the lies, the deception, the hypocrisy.

Donald Trump, to quote former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — and one-time Trumpkin — is committing political suicide. Christie’s advice to the rest of us? Leave the POTUS the hell alone!

business news, economic news, entertainment news, local news

Downtown doesn’t exist here

Allow me a moment to vent about something that’s been gnawing at me since just about the time I laid eyes on the city I am proud to call home.

I have lived in Princeton, Texas, for seven years. My wife and I found a lovely, modest home in a newly built subdivision just south of U.S. 380.

We took to life in this Dallas suburban community right away … except for one key element that was missing. Princeton does not have any sort of downtown business, finance or entertainment district. I know where it should be, near the Veterans Park near Second Avenue. But it ain’t there, man.

The city has become the fastest-growing city in America, a label that I love advertising to people I meet. Many of the Dallas-Fort Worth residents know it already. I tell folks we’ve exploded from fewer than 10,000 residents to something north of 40,000 in just the past 15 years. The growth isn’t letting up, not even a little bit.

It’s happening, though, despite the absence of a downtown district that could serve as a magnet for those seeking a place to do business, to shop for goods and gifts, or to enjoy a quality meal with friends and family.

I spoke to Derek Borg, who at the time of our arrival in Princeton served as city manager. He told me of some conceptual plans that the city had approved and assured me downtown development would occur. He offered no timetable, no specific notion of what downtown would include. All he spoke about, as I recall it, was of some vague notion that the City Council had approved. Borg is now gone from City Hall and all the reporting I have read about the city’s future has made next to zero mention of downtown development.

I have noted already on this blog that Princeton is sprouting into a city with no personality, no identity. The place to establish such a trait must be in its downtown district. State demographers tell us the city will be home eventually to more than 100,000 people. Where in the world are they going to go to enjoy city life in this one-time burg?

We aren’t a burg any longer. I am just one resident in a community that needs to build an identity on which it can attract others to come here to enjoy themselves, or just to do business.

Downtown Princeton needs to be conceived and then given a set time for birth and then growth.

economic news

Shut the f*** up about tariffs, Donald

If Donald J. Trump gave a rat’s righteous red-ass damn about ordinary folks — such as, oh, me for example — he would stop yammering about threatening to impose tariffs on countries to get what he wants.

He did so again overnight, threatening yet again to launch a worldwide trade war over EU and NATO opposition to his desire to annex Greenland. I am watching my retirement income fly out the window today as the markets react to Trump’s bellowing, bluster and bloviating over tariffs.

You see, Trump doesn’t give a sh** about those of us who have worked hard, played by the rules, invested money in markets and hope to have it available to enjoy in our retirement years.

Just shut the hell up about tariffs, you delusional piece of mule dookey.

economic news

Fed boss becomes latest Trump target

Jerome Powell is the new man of the hour, designated victim in Donald Trump’s campaign against those who disagree with him on matters that go way over the pointed head of the president of the United States.

Powell is the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the nation’s central bank that is charged with making fiscal policy based solely on economic evidence and trends. The Justice Department issued subpoenas this week to Powell about remarks he made during testimony before the Senate Banking Committee … except the subpoenas have nothing to do with Powell’s testimony.

Oh, no. They have everything to do with Trump wanting the Fed to reduce interest rates. Powell is pushing back, to which I say, “You go, Mr. Chairman!”

Powell insists that the Fed remain independent and free from political pressure. The Fed was created to be immune from the pressure of the moment. It must act on trends it identifies and helps the board of governors decide when or if to adjust interest rates … up or down!

Trump believes it’s time to reduce interest rates. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Jerome Powell is the fiscal expert here, not Trump, who is nothing more than a tinhorn politician seeking to score points with the hope of staving off what looks like an oncoming wipeout in the midterm election later this year.

Some experienced political hands are suggesting that Trump compiling impeachable offenses at a breathtaking rate. I believe abuse of presidential power fits nicely into what Trump is trying to do with Jerome Powell.