The worst news for workers in the report is that real hourly average wages fell 0.1% in August. They’re down 0.3% over the past year, as the nearby chart tracks. The burst of inflation in the spring crushed average earnings, which barely grew in 2025 as well. This goes a long way to explaining why Americans feel sour about the economy, and getting those wages up ought to be the President’s highest economic priority.
The war in Iran has caused energy prices to rise, but the President’s job approval rating on the economy was underwater before he launched the attacks in late February and gasoline prices shot up. A big reason is his border taxes, which have contributed to rising prices.
From Unleash Prosperity: (HT David Henderson)
No matter your view on immigration, the move would clearly violate the 14th Amendment, which mandates that representation in Congress be apportioned according to “the whole number of persons in each state.” The text makes no mention of the citizenship or legal status of those individuals, nor their “allegiance.”
The Constitution codified a simple democratic principle: Members of Congress represent every person in their state or district, regardless of whether those residents voted for them or even could. That reflects the reality that even people who are living in the United States illegally are subject to its laws, pay taxes and retain unalienable rights. Elected officials can choose to not care about some of their constituents as much as others, but they cannot pretend that they do not count at all.
On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the South Korean government would soon announce an investment of over $100 billion for eight nuclear power plants and a natural-gas project in Texas. The nuclear power plants will likely be built on federal land and use the AP1000 design by U.S.-based company Westinghouse Electric.
They said the government’s equity stake in Intel was essential for national security. Now, per Secretary Lutnick, it’s ACTUALLY a (much too small) slush fund to bribe voters.
