CNN: The Economy Is Doing Pretty Well, Just as Trump Claims.<br>Too Bad It's a Boomcession That Is Leaving So, So Many People Behind.

CNN: The Economy Is Doing Pretty Well, Just as Trump Claims.
Too Bad It's a Boomcession That Is Leaving So, So Many People Behind.

I suppose a grudging admission with lots of defensive Democrat Talking Point caveats is still an admission.

CNN Fact Check: Trump told the truth when he said the economy is solid. (But sad about the boomcession!)

President Donald Trump made a passionate defense of the US economy during his State of the Union address Tuesday night.
"Inflation is plummeting, incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before."
Hyperbole aside, he's right: America's economy is strong. But Trump is missing the point.

Ah, he says the economy is strong, but he's... missing the point.

What?

Affordability, not economic strength, drives voters to the polls. Most Americans don't care a lick about GDP, CPI, PCE or any of the other acronyms or data points that show the economy is on the right track. They care about their job security and those financial fears that keep folks up at night: figuring out how to to pay for groceries, housing, health care, car payments, college and child care -- all of which keep getting more expensive.

But inflation has fallen from Biden's 10+% to 1.7% over the past three months.

As for "worrying about job security:" Americans have felt insecure about their jobs since the seventies. This is not a Trump thing. This is a secular shift in the economy that happened after the 1960s boom and continues to happen.

This hack then compares Trump to Biden -- without revealing that CNN vigorously echoed Biden's false claims of presiding over a strong economy.

"I inherited an economy that was on the brink. Now our economy is literally the envy of the world."
There's a problem with that strategy, though.
Want proof? That last quote wasn't from Tuesday's speech. That was from the 2024 State of the Union, delivered by former President Joe Biden, whose party lost the election eight months later.

Yeah but who caused the inflation? Is Trump lying that that is a hangover from Biden?

Trump's message, at least on paper, is largely correct. Jobs, wage growth, consumer spending and inflation under Trump look pretty decent or have been mostly stable. The stock market is near a record high.

"On paper," he's right. I mean, if you look at the facts.

But if you look at liberals' feeeeeeelings -- the true determinant of Truth -- then it's a different story.

The US economy grew 2.2% in 2025, very much in line with the last three years of robust economic growth. The economy slowed down more than expected at the end of the year, but the longest-ever government shutdown stymied growth that should be made back this quarter.
Last year wasn't a great year for the labor market by any stretch. But unemployment remains low, and stronger-than-expected hiring in January suggests 2026 could be a much better year for job creation.
...
Trump on Tuesday blamed Democrats for the inflation crisis that sent prices surging more than 20% during Biden's term, a shock that Americans are still adjusting to.

Oh, so Biden did cause the rampant, remorseless inflation.

But still, Trump is lying or something.

The left has another way to denigrate the strong economy, aka "the boomcession" -- it's K-shaped economy, CNN's Democrat whisperers tell them. Meaning, some are going up, like the top stroke on the K, and some are going down.

Let's ignore the fact that most see their fortunes rising -- that's what a strong economy means -- and focus on those who are remaining flat.

In fact, CNN wants you to become Junior Reporters and write to them explaining your own Tales of Boomcession Woe so that they can put those quotes together and write a downer economic story.

They're literally blegging internet randos to send them quotes they can knit together for a pre-fab story.

Where do you land in the K-shaped economy? Do you think that will change in 2026?

By Alicia Wallace
Feb 18, 2026

How do you anticipate your household financial situation will fare in 2026 and beyond? We'd like to hear from you.
There's a widening gap between the haves and the have-nots in the United States, and economists are increasingly sounding the alarm. Income inequality has expanded in a short timeframe, and various economic indicators -- including rising delinquency rates -- are flashing a warning sign.
The "K-shaped" economic recovery may be working for some Americans, but not all.

LOL.

The boomcession, don't you know.

Despite solid economic growth, booming stock values, cooling inflation and a stable unemployment rate, the economic gains have been uneven.

Economic gains are, like career trajectories, incomes, and all other individual economic situations, literally always "uneven."

Including under the Democrats' preferred economic system, communism.

Economic readings are aggregate measures of all economic activity. It's like taking the temperature of a room, defined (scientifically) as "the average kinetic energy of all molecules in a system." Some molecules will have a great deal more kinetic energy and some a great deal less -- but that doesn't change what the actual temperature is. The average remains the average.

CNN now argues "let's stop talking about the average, like we've always talked about with regard to economics, and just focus on the left-wingers who can't get a job in pretty much any economy because they're stupid and mentally ill."

What spur of the "K" do you feel like you're on, and do you see that changing as this year progresses?
As you reflect on how you're navigating this economy, how do you anticipate your household financial situation will fare in 2026 and beyond? If you'd be willing to share your experience with a CNN reporter for possible inclusion in an upcoming story, we'd like to hear from you.

It's like they're school teachers asking you for an essay about your Sad Stories of Economic Failure.

Fuck you.

Meanwhile, Politico also bemoans the very good economic news. Or, at least, they refuse to credit it as good economic news.

Byron York
@ByronYork
Speaking of tariffs, this is very good news, isn't it? From Politico: "President Trump's tariffs...remade trade in 2025, and no country experienced as big a shift as China. Thanks in large part to US tariffs...[China's] share of the overall US import market fell to 9% in 2025, compared to 13.4 % in 2024...That is China's lowest market share since the early 2000s. Less than a decade ago, China accounted for one-fifth of annual US imports."

'China is falling across the board': How the US is moving away from Chinese imports
Chinese goods now comprise less than 10 percent of U.S. imports.

By Doug Palmer and Paroma Soni0
President Donald Trump's historic tariffs, some of which the Supreme Court struck down Friday, remade trade in 2025 -- and no country experienced as big a shift as China.
Thanks in large part to U.S. tariffs that at one point reached triple digits, the Asian manufacturing powerhouse's share of the overall U.S. import market fell to 9 percent in 2025, compared to 13.4 percent in 2024, according to the Commerce Department's trade report for December released Thursday.
That is China's lowest market share since the early 2000s. Less than a decade ago, China accounted for one-fifth of annual U.S. imports.
U.S. imports from China fell to $308 billion in 2025, their lowest level since 2009 and a drop of more than 42 percent from the record high of $539 billion in 2018.
Factoring all the tariffs Trump announced last year, as well as the rollbacks he granted, Chinese goods faced an "effective" U.S. tariff rate of 30.9 percent in November, according to Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings in New York, and his colleague Sarah Repucci. This included, but was not limited to, Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down.
Comparatively, the effective tariff rate was 19.7 percent for India, 12.7 percent for Vietnam, 8.1 percent for the European Union, 4.2 percent for Mexico, 3.7 percent for Canada and 3.5 percent for Taiwan, according to Fitch Ratings' calculations.
"Basically what's happening is as China is falling across the board, many Asian countries are increasing their share of U.S. imports," Sonola told POLITICO, adding that Vietnam, Taiwan, Mexico and India were among the biggest beneficiaries.

Posted by: Disinformation Expert Ace at 02:42 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 st!

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 25, 2026 02:43 PM (bFu5X)

2 *sheathes blade*

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 25, 2026 02:44 PM (bFu5X)

3 The Others have been summoned.

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 25, 2026 02:45 PM (bFu5X)

4 And those many are illegal aliens, former government workers, and tech folk who sadly haven't gotten the government to stop the H1B bullshit yet.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at February 25, 2026 02:45 PM (ExV1e)

5 *sheathes blade*
Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 25, 2026 02:44 PM (bFu5X)

What you two do in the privacy of your own room is your business.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at February 25, 2026 02:46 PM (ExV1e)

6 Parsley is green

Spinach is moreso

Kidneys and spleen

Are inside your torso.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 02:46 PM (aTgV0)

7 President Trump cures cancer. Tumors hurt most, face extinction and discrimination, label Trump a hater.

This is CNN.

Posted by: CNN at February 25, 2026 02:46 PM (hXJe5)

8 Yeah but who caused the inflation?
Yknow who else fought inflation?

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at February 25, 2026 02:47 PM (Kt19C)

9 What's a CNN?

Posted by: Most people at February 25, 2026 02:47 PM (2Ez/1)

10 what the F is "K shaped"???

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 02:48 PM (PYyV9)

11 Parsley is green

Spinach is moreso

Kidneys and spleen

Are inside your torso.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 02:46 PM

Burma Shave?

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at February 25, 2026 02:48 PM (bFu5X)

12
What's a CNN?

Posted by: Most people at February 25, 2026 02:47 PM

$20, same as in town

Posted by: AltonJackson at February 25, 2026 02:48 PM (tljrc)

13 Boomcession?
Another made up media word to allow them to sound smart but say nothing at all.
Idiots.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 25, 2026 02:48 PM (YbYyH)

14 > The "K-shaped" economic recovery may be working for some Americans, but not all.

They trot out this BS every time there's a good economy and a Republican is in office. Sure YOU'RE doing OK, but all of your neighbors are suffering. We swear. It's a slaughterhouse out there. Pay no attention to all of the people around you with shiny new cars and such. Don't you feel guilty for doing so well economically while everyone else is starving to death?

Posted by: bonhomme at February 25, 2026 02:49 PM (Yp6az)

15 But inflation has fallen from Biden's 10+% to 1.7% over the past three months.
-
That just means it isn't getting worse as fast.

If you were having trouble making ends meet 3 months ago, you're still having trouble now.

Low inflation *for a long time* might allow pay increases to catch up (as the inflation gets passed to your employer and his customers). But you'd need actual deflation for the pain of Biden's inflation to actually go away. Which is to say, if consumers are unhappy, it's because they're still feeling Biden's inflation and, fairly or not, are going to blame Trump because he's in office right now.

Posted by: Methos at February 25, 2026 02:49 PM (vSvIl)

16 Eleven, I am going to make pilaf. Do you prefer cous-cous or orzo?

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 02:49 PM (rbvCR)

17 But will the broke ass kids be able to afford that 4,000 sq ft McMansion now? If not, Trump failed!

Posted by: nckate at February 25, 2026 02:49 PM (uQzkA)

18 Hello, Horde! 😊♥️

Nobody told me I was going to have to do a barium swallow with this PET scan. They also didn't get orders from my doctor to use my mediport access for the radioactive dye.

Needless to say, I called my doctor in a panic. They are now negotiating the use of the mediport; don't know about the barium part....

Posted by: Teresa in Fort Worth, Texas, AoSHQ's Plucky Wee One - Eat the Cheesecake, Buy the Yarn. at February 25, 2026 02:50 PM (fV+di)

19 what the F is "K shaped"???

I don't get that either. The text is describing a graph that's a less-than sign "<" but I don't understand why there's a third line to make it a "K".

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 02:50 PM (2ocoG)

20 And now, for fairness and balance, a view from DU:

Trump showed how desperate he was tonight

At 9 pm, Donald J. Trump began what would become the longest State of the Union address in American history. For one hour and forty-eight minutes, he stood in front of the country and delivered a speech that was not about the state of our union at all, but about the state of his own power, and how desperate he is to hold onto it as it slips further and further out of his control. It was full of deliberate lies from start to finish, packed with racist talking points, made-up statistics, twisted grievances, and the kind of unhinged rhetoric that made clear just how afraid he is, not only that the truth about his ties to Epstein will finally come out, but that the full impact of what he’s done to our economy, to our international alliances, to the rule of law, and to the basic systems that hold this country together will finally catch up to him. (Pt. 1)

Posted by: Duncanthrax at February 25, 2026 02:50 PM (0sNs1)

21 DU, Pt. 2:

And if there was still any doubt about what this night was really about, he erased it himself with this: “These people are crazy. I’m telling you, they’re crazy. Amazing. We’re lucky we have a country. With people like this, Democrats are destroying our country, but we’ve stopped it just in the nick of time, didn’t we?” That’s what the President of the United States said tonight, into the microphone, on national television, in between demands for applause and pauses to catch his breath.

Posted by: Duncanthrax at February 25, 2026 02:50 PM (0sNs1)

22 Isnt the economy supposed to be awesome because Biden set it all up and now it is paying off?

Posted by: Operator Error at February 25, 2026 02:50 PM (SlPS9)

23 boom shaka laka > boomcession

Posted by: anachronda at February 25, 2026 02:51 PM (sGtp+)

24 How is a graph < shaped? I am trying to envision a line that goes side to side and somehow makes that shape?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 02:51 PM (PYyV9)

25 Wishcasting: The Motion Picture

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 25, 2026 02:51 PM (zZu0s)

26 How's Biden's bone cancer? Dittos for NANZI's hip?

Posted by: pudinhead at February 25, 2026 02:51 PM (pZ64F)

27 the only ones left behind are the deranged, the foolish, the criminal and the insane

as it has always been and will continue to be so

I both love and hate what it's done to gold though

Posted by: TheCatAttackedMyFoot at February 25, 2026 02:52 PM (jrgJz)

28 As I have no heath for which to care, I pay nothing for health care. That was easy.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 25, 2026 02:52 PM (MNYwX)

29 How is a graph

The line for you is the top part that goes up, the line for everyone else that's suffering is the bottom part that goes down, and they meet in the middle at the Biden economy? At least, I think that's what they're claiming.

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 02:52 PM (2ocoG)

30 20 . It was full of deliberate lies from start to finish, packed with racist talking points, made-up statistics, twisted grievances, and the kind of unhinged rhetoric that made clear just how afraid he is,

[citation needed]

Posted by: anachronda at February 25, 2026 02:53 PM (sGtp+)

31 Is a "boomcession" better or worse than a "Kaboom! session?"

Posted by: Bulg at February 25, 2026 02:53 PM (77rzZ)

32 The core economic problem is that Biden doubled costs through Bidenflation over his 4 years.

Trump brought inflation back to normal levels but that 50% loss in the value of the dollar is permanent.

The US made a bad decision in allowing Biden to assume the presidency and it costs us half our wealth. Trump can't make that disappear.

In time, with no more Bidens, purchasing power will return and eventually exceed the levels under Trump's first term. But that will be a while.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 02:53 PM (sKqQm)

33 Pilaf is rice

Or you could have orzo

Cous cous is nice

Inside your torso

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 02:53 PM (aTgV0)

34 The boomcession, don't you know.

Is that like boom... boom... out go the lights??

Posted by: dantesed at February 25, 2026 02:53 PM (Oy/m2)

35 Wow, new way to break Minx 0.8 beta unlocked. Something to do with the <.

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 02:53 PM (2ocoG)

36 In fact, CNN wants you to become Junior Reporters and write to them explaining your own Tales of Boomcession Woe so that they can put those quotes together and write a downer economic story.

Under Biden I had a career. A six figure salary. My - personal -economic situation was fine.

Under Trump I am unemployed. Well, technically I'm retired but that's still a sort of unemployed. And all this happened to me because I believed that things would be, at least, okay during Trump.

Woe is me.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (ExV1e)

37
A recession is when your neighbor loses his job,
~~a depression is when you lose your job.~~

A "boomcession" is when things are good but a Republican is in office.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (AoT6J)

38 I don't get that either. The text is describing a graph that's a less-than sign "

Posted by: Ian S.

The Y axis I assume.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (0U5gm)

39 ...it's like they're school teachers asking you for an essay about your Sad Stories of Economic Failure.

This morning when I was making my espresso and unwrapping my breakfast Luna bar, my two year old daughter turned to me with tears in her eyes and asked, "how can we survive another stagflation when Trump is destroying all the social contracts between the producers and the government that guarantees minimum labor standards and subsidizes health care for the laboring class we depend on for generating this economy's wealth?
Oh my child, what future is being stripped from her. I held her and cried. I have no answers, perhaps there are none.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (rbvCR)

40 And if there was still any doubt about what this night was really about, he erased it himself with this: “These people are crazy. I’m telling you, they’re crazy. Amazing. We’re lucky we have a country. With people like this, Democrats are destroying our country, but we’ve stopped it just in the nick of time, didn’t we?”
___

No lies detected.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (Dv3i1)

41 A "K" shaped graph is not a function.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (aTgV0)

42 Affordability, not economic strength, drives voters to the polls. Most Americans don't care a lick about GDP, CPI, PCE or any of the other acronyms or data points that show the economy is on the right track. They care about their job security and those financial fears that keep folks up at night: figuring out how to to pay for groceries, housing, health care, car payments, college and child care -- all of which keep getting more expensive.
====

Maybe someone should explain this to Gavin Newsom.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at February 25, 2026 02:55 PM (RIvkX)

43 "K-shaped economy"

This is a terrible talking point for the Dums. So of course it's the New Thing to be downloaded to all the frothing NPCs.

"K-shaped" is meaningless, makes no sense unless it's explained to you (and even then it's sus), and is awkward to say.

It's also stupid. In any economy, no matter how good, there will be winners and losers. It is impossible to improve every single person's life.

Posted by: Judge Elric The Blade at February 25, 2026 02:55 PM (iFTx/)

44 And another point, globalization and immigration directly produces the sort of winners vs losers break down the FNM is complaining about here since it dramatically increases the supply of workers, and as with anything else if you increase supply you reduce costs - here of labor.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 02:55 PM (sKqQm)

45 31 Is a "boomcession" better or worse than a "Kaboom! session?"

*mysterious noises* .... yes

Posted by: kosh at February 25, 2026 02:56 PM (sGtp+)

46 The Y axis I assume.
Posted by: Thomas Paine at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM

Who the eff includes the axis lines when describing the shape of a graph? If that's true, it's a K with an underline.

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 02:56 PM (2ocoG)

47 Think of the vertical line as a starting point. Then half the people go up while the other half go down, so K.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 25, 2026 02:56 PM (n5tGW)

48 what the F is "K shaped"???

I don't get that either. The text is describing a graph that's a less-than sign "

Posted by: Ian S.

Well, that didn't paste correctly. The vertical line in the K shape is presumably the Y axis.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at February 25, 2026 02:56 PM (0U5gm)

49 What about the price of ~~eggs~~ beef?

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 02:57 PM (4NO2D)

50 it seems like "boomcession" is an outgrowth of climate change "logic", and I guess anyone who still firmly believes a boiling planet causes blizzards and increased arctic ice will nod right along with it.

Posted by: barbarausa at February 25, 2026 02:57 PM (enw9G)

51 But the tariffs are horrible!! Why do you hate cheap imported Chinese junk!?!?!? FREE TRADE NOW!

Posted by: Chamber of Commerce at February 25, 2026 02:57 PM (car93)

52 43 "K-shaped economy"

This is a terrible talking point for the Dums. So of course it's the New Thing to be downloaded to all the frothing NPCs.

"K-shaped" is meaningless, makes no sense unless it's explained to you (and even then it's sus), and is awkward to say.

It's also stupid. In any economy, no matter how good, there will be winners and losers. It is impossible to improve every single person's life.
Posted by: Judge Elric The Blade at February 25, 2026 02:55 PM (iFTx/)

I guess saying " divergent economy" isn't catchy enough.

Like a joke, if you have to explain your "graph" ... it doesn't work

Posted by: browndog says woof at February 25, 2026 02:58 PM (3sXRv)

53 Mmmmm...

Just had an idea for my next invention.

Eggbeef.

amirite?

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 02:58 PM (aTgV0)

54 Watching Trump roast SCOTUS to their faces was pretty funny. "I do what I want!"
John Roberts did so much damage to that institution with the foolish Obamacare decision and by refusing to rein in the insubordinate lower courts. I wonder if he would ever admit it?

Posted by: jmel at February 25, 2026 02:58 PM (RWHIh)

55 I got a hotrod Ford and a two dollar bill.

Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2026 02:58 PM (u43wW)

56 As for "worrying about job security:" Americans have felt insecure about their jobs since the seventies. This is not a Trump thing. This is a secular shift in the economy that happened after the 1960s boom and continues to happen.

The older corporate world, and its very old at this point, had some notion of responsibility to its workers. Modern globo-corps solely exist to make money.

So in the 60s that corporate leader might feel social pressure lay off a bunch of people if he didn't absolutely need to, his 2026 peer will feel a similar sort of pressure if he can lower costs by laying off people and doesn't.

On a maximal scale this is probably more efficient, but yeah it means no one's job is really all that safe.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 02:58 PM (sKqQm)

57 "K-shaped economy"

This is a terrible talking point for the Dums. So of course it's the New Thing to be downloaded to all the frothing NPCs.

"K-shaped" is meaningless, makes no sense unless it's explained to you (and even then it's sus), and is awkward to say.

It's worse than that. For blacks, who as we have been told cannot read, it means nothing.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (ExV1e)

58 They need to be consistent. If we're going to include the axes, it's a "less-than sign overlayed on an L-shaped graph".

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (2ocoG)

59
Trump on Tuesday blamed Democrats for the inflation crisis that sent prices surging more than 20% during Biden's term, a shock that Americans are still adjusting to.

--------

It was at least 50%. Which actually is more than 20%

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (azNOR)

60 Trump brought inflation back to normal levels but that 50% loss in the value of the dollar is permanent.
-
It doesn't need to be. We only always have inflation because we deliberately choose to pursue inflation rather than stable currency (which would involve roughly equal periods of inflation and deflation).

Posted by: Methos at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (vSvIl)

61 Who run Boomcession Town?

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (4NO2D)

62 so they mean its a V shaped graph??

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (PYyV9)

63
We are right next door to a country that has been ruled by the socialists for 10 years, doing the things Dems would do with government employment, social spending and the environment, and we see the Canadian agony daily here. They're collapsing.

The media is just peddling 100% bullshit news content now.

Posted by: Auspex at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (Y8DZL)

64 What has been missed from Trump’s speech is the offer to extend federal retirement accounts to every eligible American with matching funds.

That pulls in a lot of the people who don’t have 401k’s and gives them an option they don’t have before.

Posted by: Marcus T at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (Py+sj)

65 This just reminds me of the "funemployment" stuff they trotted out under Obama.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (PYyV9)

66 But the tariffs are horrible!! Why do you hate cheap imported Chinese junk!?!?!? FREE TRADE NOW!

Prior to Trump it was a very common leftist talking point to trash Americans for buying Chinese crap they didn't actually need.

Hell, you can still occasionally find lefties making the argument which is hilarious because the obvious way to reduce that is to tax it.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (sKqQm)

67 It's worse than that. For blacks, who as we have been told cannot read, it means nothing.

Blacks also don't know the word "computer". Kathy Hocul said so, her word as a Biden.

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (2ocoG)

68 It's also stupid. In any economy, no matter how good, there will be winners and losers. It is impossible to improve every single person's life.
Posted by: Judge Elric The Blade at February 25

Now just hang on a minute there, Judge. Are you telling me that in communist utopias there are haves and have nots? That not everyone is equal and living in peaceful harmony?

Posted by: Piper at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (OoFl2)

69 During the mid 2000s, Rush would talk about how surveys showed that most Americans felt that they were doing really well financially, but that they believed that their neighbors were struggling.

The economy was doing pretty well at that time, and people felt it, but the MSM did such a great job convincing people that everything was horrible that people just assumed that their lives were anomalies and their neighbors must be suffering.

They're trying to do the same thing here. It's all they can do during an obviously great economy like this one.

Posted by: 29Victor at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (0MjtC)

70 55 I got a hotrod Ford and a two dollar bill.
Posted by: Eromero at February 25, 2026 02:58 PM (u43wW)

Heeyyyy, goodlookin' ...

Posted by: zombie Hank Williams Jr. at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (3sXRv)

71 The Italian alphabet doesn't have a "k"

And Meloni is hot.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (aTgV0)

72 It was at least 50%. Which actually is more than 20%
--------------
This! It was also created by a Bio Bomb made in Chy Nah!

Posted by: pudinhead at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (pZ64F)

73 62 so they mean its a V shaped graph??
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 02:59 PM (PYyV9)

Like a Venn diagram ? I love Venn diagrams

Posted by: Kamala at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (VE6XX)

74 As for "worrying about job security:" Americans have felt insecure about their jobs since the seventies. This is not a Trump thing. This is a secular shift in the economy that happened after the 1960s boom and continues to happen.

-

I think it happened right after the 1980s tax cuts and changes to tax deductability of business expenses. Corporate tax payments shot up, policies changed, expense reports became an ordeal, and pensions went out the window.

Posted by: Thomas Paine at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (0U5gm)

75 I'm sure none of the employment or hardship issues have anything to do with 20M illegals let in under Biden!

We need to turn this around and blame all hardship on Biden's border.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (AoT6J)

76 Modern globo-corps solely exist to make money.

I wonder how much of that is due to the changes Clinton made in the tax system to executive pay. That was when they all started getting paid in stock rather than cash.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (ExV1e)

77 It doesn't need to be. We only always have inflation because we deliberately choose to pursue inflation rather than stable currency (which would involve roughly equal periods of inflation and deflation).

I would agree moderate levels of deflation are no worse then moderate levels of inflation BUT both parties currently believe deflation would mean economic destruction.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (sKqQm)

78 > It is impossible to improve every single person's life.

Let me teach you about my lord and savior, Karl Marx.

Posted by: A College Freshman at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (Yp6az)

79 DJT could shit a gold brick large enough to pay off the national debt and these dildo gobblers would find a way to tell their audience why it's bad and why they should be mad at him for doing it.

Posted by: ballistic at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (3BwY8)

80 In general, grocery inflation was about 100% for me during the Biden administration. I literally spend twice as much for groceries as I did five years ago.

I have the Quicken to prove it.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (4NO2D)

81 A "K" shaped graph is not a function.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (aTgV0)

Plenty of graphs aren't functions, that's not particularly relevant.

The backwards bending supply curve for luxury goods isn't a function either.

Posted by: Sjg at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (aqZN1)

82 Eggbeef.

amirite?
Posted by: eleven

What kind of soupwich would that go with?

Posted by: Bulg at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (77rzZ)

83 This just reminds me of the "funemployment" stuff they trotted out under Obama.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (PYyV9)

Funemployment means we can do those things we had no time to do when we were being productive members of society. Things like smoking heroin and meth, or maybe dying of fentanyl

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:02 PM (rbvCR)

84 The "K-shaped" economic recovery may be working for some Americans, but not all.
________
Just what they said under Reagan. The "K-shaped" term wasn't in use; but they'd say "not all boats are being lifted", which is the same BS.

Posted by: Eeyore at February 25, 2026 03:02 PM (AlhUl)

85 So all those cute Canadian chicks will be fleeing to my house soon?

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:02 PM (aTgV0)

86 I would agree moderate levels of deflation are no worse then moderate levels of inflation BUT both parties currently believe deflation would mean economic destruction.
Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:01 PM (sKqQm)

Of course, these would be the same parties who believed that tariffs would cause the instant collapse of the economy.

Posted by: I used to have a different nic at February 25, 2026 03:03 PM (ExV1e)

87 Funemployment means we can do those things we had no time to do when we were being productive members of society. Things like smoking heroin and meth, or maybe dying of fentanyl
Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:02 PM (rbvCR)

FUNtanyl!

Posted by: 29Victor at February 25, 2026 03:03 PM (0MjtC)

88 lol, CNN.

Posted by: Lizzy at February 25, 2026 03:04 PM (Hkcdp)

89 The Fed is a failure. Even if we averaged their target rate of inflation, prices would quintuple in the average lifetime.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:04 PM (4NO2D)

90 Funemployment means we can do those things we had no time to do when we were being productive members of society. Things like smoking heroin and meth, or maybe dying of fentanyl

I will say as someone gainfully employed in the dread private sector for some time there is a significant difference in the amount of free time I have versus the average government bureaucrat. Odd how that works isn't it?

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:04 PM (sKqQm)

91 The Italian alphabet doesn't have a "k"

And Meloni is hot.
Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (aTgV0)

Technically, in Italian it is called the "ch" economy

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:05 PM (rbvCR)

92 Boomsession >> Kaboom! session >>>>>> Jeff Sessions

Posted by: Yeppers at February 25, 2026 03:05 PM (q2NNn)

93 DJT mentioned that the price of eggs has dropped by 60% since his inauguration.

He also mentioned that Mamdani's NYC is requiring snow removal shock worker applicants to produce two valid IDs before employment.

Posted by: mrp at February 25, 2026 03:05 PM (rj6Yv)

94 They ought to be careful with this new "k-shaped" woobie they just found in their cribs to rattle around and throw at people.

It's all about haves and have nots, right?

And which faction is trying to take all the shit from anyone who has even a little to be taken?

It ain't Trump's faction.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:06 PM (Vq1pX)

95 The rhetoric on tariffs are confusing and contradictory. I'm told that tariffs are only on consumers, but companies are suing to "recover money" that they were charged with tariffs. We're told that ALL they do is raise prices and hurt the buyers, but every nation on earth has huge tariffs on the US to control what and how products enter their nation. If its just passed on to the buyer why would that control anything?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:06 PM (PYyV9)

96 They trot out this BS every time there's a good economy and a Republican is in office. Sure YOU'RE doing OK, but all of your neighbors are suffering. We swear. It's a slaughterhouse out there. Pay no attention to all of the people around you with shiny new cars and such. Don't you feel guilty for doing so well economically while everyone else is starving to death?
Posted by: bonhomme

Funny how they never do those stories when bad economic policies don't affect them but hurt everyone else when Dems are president.

If they had any self awareness they would.

But somehow the shoe pinching when it's on their foot is suddenly a tragedy.

Posted by: FeatherBlade at February 25, 2026 03:06 PM (a+4eV)

97 It's also stupid. In any economy, no matter how good, there will be winners and losers. It is impossible to improve every single person's life.
Posted by: Judge Elric The Blade at February 25

Now just hang on a minute there, Judge. Are you telling me that in communist utopias there are haves and have nots? That not everyone is equal and living in peaceful harmony?
Posted by: Piper at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (OoFl2)
_______

I find your lack of faith disturbing, comrade

Posted by: Judge Elric The Blade at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (iFTx/)

98 The older corporate world, and its very old at this point, had some notion of responsibility to its workers. Modern globo-corps solely exist to make money.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 02:58 PM (sKqQm)
------
Modern corporate governance where there is a relative handful of people who all horse-trade board seats at each others' companies and who then basically collude to maximize profit at the expense of literally anything else, sucks.

There was a time when the shareholders of public corporations included a lot of people local to that company, including employees, family members, and other tangentially-related people that had a stake in yes, making a profit on their holdings, but also in the stewardship of the company so that it stayed around as an employer in the local economy, and the shareholders would show up in person to the annual meeting. That time is long fucking gone. Giant holding companies like BlackRock and Vanguard have elbowed ma and pa out of the way.

Then don't get me started on private equity.

Posted by: ballistic at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (3BwY8)

99 Wage growth has been steady prior to the plandemic. Then Biden and Democrats pushed a whole bunch of .gov jobs and funny money into the economy to launch it into great heights, only to watch it predictably drop through the floor. Trump initially got it to rise. But it’s faltered as we try to readjust the economy. It’s now on a steady upward trend.

I’m looking at the end of 2Q into 3Q as the time things start to take off.

Posted by: Marcus T at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (Py+sj)

100 People that live in the blue states on the coasts can't afford the cost of living. And they are unwilling to move to areas with a cheaper cost of living. There's not much the President can do to fix it.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (gQ15S)

101 Roll that prosperity montage!

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (4NO2D)

102 >>This just reminds me of the "funemployment" stuff they trotted out under Obama.

Has anybody checked in with Nancy Pelosi to see how the Poets are doing?

Posted by: garrett at February 25, 2026 03:08 PM (1Udfd)

103 not all boats are being lifted", which is the same BS.
Posted by: Eeyore at February 25, 2026 03:02 PM (AlhUl)

I don't think I want to live in the kind of rising tide that can lift *any* boat, no matter how seaworthy.

Fix your damn boat and wait for the wind like everyone else has to.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:08 PM (Vq1pX)

104 what the F is "K shaped"???

I don't get that either. The text is describing a graph that's a less-than sign "
Posted by: Ian S.

It has to be a letter so that it sounds all economist-like. Like the "V-shaped" and "U-shaped" recoveries.

I don't make the rules, I just observe them.

Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:08 PM (VHUov)

105 85 So all those cute Canadian chicks will be fleeing to my house soon?
Posted by: eleven

The French / Indian une femme 'du Quebec are goddesses.

Posted by: Auspex at February 25, 2026 03:08 PM (Y8DZL)

106 People that live in the blue states on the coasts can't afford the cost of living. And they are unwilling to move to areas with a cheaper cost of living. There's not much the President can do to fix it.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM

I was informed this very day that the denizens of NYC are doing better than ever in history.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:09 PM (4NO2D)

107 Trump's BOOMcession > FDR's GREAT Depression

Posted by: 15 Tiny Cities at February 25, 2026 03:09 PM (qUkBO)

108 I guess the 99% vs 1% argument didn't poll well

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:09 PM (tKWMU)

109 The US Hockey gold medal has been an endless source of fun for me since it happened. I have a few Canadian acquaintances, they really got pissed off when I said that we won our 3 golds against Communist countries.....

Posted by: Kareem of Wheat at February 25, 2026 03:09 PM (car93)

110 I guess I'll send CNN my story.

AI has been poaching a lot of talent from my field for quite awhile. The normies are now paying premiums to replace the people they lost. Visa fraud crackdowns means they can't hire minimum wage third world coders to fill in the gaps. My skills are now in high demand and opportunities are available much earlier in my career than I had planned. I'm a single millennial and was resigned to waiting for people to get out of my way, but nope.

As for uncertainty I guess that's always going to be there, but when the AI bubble pops I don't think there will be enough jobs to go around. For now though, life is good.

Posted by: Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:09 PM (q2dV7)

111 The Fed is a failure. Even if we averaged their target rate of inflation, prices would quintuple in the average lifetime.
Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:04 PM (4NO2D)

What is fantastic is that Bessant seems to think this also, and the new Fed chair Warsh seems to think this also.
The money geeks are thinking the Fed will go back to being the backstop for the regional banks and let the Treasury go back to managing money and banking regulations, and doing the sort of high value electronic funds transfers that FedWire does now.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:09 PM (rbvCR)

112 McJobs redux

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:09 PM (tKWMU)

113 82 Eggbeef.

amirite?
Posted by: eleven

What kind of soupwich would that go with?

beer

Posted by: dave lister at February 25, 2026 03:10 PM (sGtp+)

114 I would agree moderate levels of deflation are no worse then moderate levels of inflation BUT both parties currently believe deflation would mean economic destruction.
Posted by: 18-1
----------

You sound like someone who is not $35 Trillion in debt.

Posted by: bob (moron incognitus) at February 25, 2026 03:10 PM (AoT6J)

115 101 Roll that prosperity montage!
Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (4NO2D)

TURN THOSE MACHINES BACK ON !!!

Posted by: Mortimer Duke at February 25, 2026 03:10 PM (3sXRv)

116 Eggbeef.

amirite?
Posted by: eleven

What kind of soupwich would that go with?
Posted by: Bulg
__________

I used to regularly get a beef, sliced egg and bacon triple decker, but dammit, the place went out of business. Nobody makes a decent triple decker anymore. Turkey clubs don't cut it.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (XvL8K)

117 4 And those many are illegal aliens, former government workers, and tech folk who sadly haven't gotten the government to stop the H1B bullshit yet.
Posted by: I used to have a different nic
=======
Actually on the H1B front, the new rules are hitting pretty hard on companies, H1B recipients are complaining about slow rolling their petitions, etc.

Granted lottery winners is down from 188k in the last Biden year to 120k and likely to be lower in 2026 due to increases in H1B fees and severely limiting multiple lottery applications by the same persons.https://tinyurl.com/2w3w33ew

Link goes to immigration law reporting service.

The new rule as of Dec 25 also requires much higher salaries to qualify jobs for H1B and $100,000 fee now for new applications and certain change of status for existing H1B holders.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (E4rtv)

118 Bickering about economists terms is like bickering about if a hotdog is a sandwich. Silly.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (n5tGW)

119 >>>Boomcession

We were going to call it a Boomfart, but we were afraid that people wouldn't take us seriously.

--CNN

Posted by: No Name Today at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (8mulE)

120 People that live in the blue states on the coasts can't afford the cost of living. And they are unwilling to move to areas with a cheaper cost of living. There's not much the President can do to fix it.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM
-----
I have been scolded numerous times here at the HQ that telling people who don't want to be ruled by commies and pay through the nose for basic necessities to move to a place where neither of those things are the case is rude and insensitive because reasons.

Posted by: ballistic at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (3BwY8)

121 The rhetoric on tariffs are confusing and contradictory.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

Some people: Tariffs are a tax on consumers! You can't tax foreign companies; they'll just increase prices!

The same people: American companies don't pay their fair share! Raise corporate taxes!

Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (VHUov)

122
There was a time when the shareholders of public corporations included a lot of people local to that company, including employees, family members, and other tangentially-related people that had a stake in yes, making a profit on their holdings, but also in the stewardship of the company so that it stayed around as an employer in the local economy, and the shareholders would show up in person to the annual meeting. That time is long fucking gone. Giant holding companies like BlackRock and Vanguard have elbowed ma and pa out of the way./i]

One change I don't see people talking about but would seem a slam dunk - take away voting rights from companies that hold stock for individuals.

Have 100 shares of Google in your 401k? Why don't YOU get to vote those shares?

This might get a bit complex with index funds I suppose and auto-trading systems, but I don't think that problem is unsolvable...

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:12 PM (sKqQm)

123 Sure YOU'RE doing OK, but all of your neighbors are suffering. We swear. It's a slaughterhouse out there. Pay no attention to all of the people around you with shiny new cars and such. Don't you feel guilty for doing so well economically while everyone else is starving to death?
Posted by: bonhomme at February 25, 2026 02:49 PM (Yp6az)
========

Lenin and Stalin both denounced the 'kulaks'. Standard Commie procedure. That's why the Dems set up their J6 informant hotline. Straight to the FBI.

Posted by: mrp at February 25, 2026 03:12 PM (rj6Yv)

124 >> I would agree moderate levels of deflation are no worse then moderate levels of inflation BUT both parties currently believe deflation would mean economic destruction.

Courting Deflation would be retarded.

It would be much smarter to fight the effects of inflation with Tax Rebates.

Posted by: garrett at February 25, 2026 03:12 PM (1Udfd)

125 . . . rolling down hill like a snowball headed for Hell . . .

Posted by: Merle Haggard at February 25, 2026 03:12 PM (q2NNn)

126 The French / Indian une femme 'du Quebec are goddesses.

So you're saying they have pointy ears, blue skin, or a fish tail?

Posted by: Archimedes at February 25, 2026 03:12 PM (Riz8t)

127 Boomcession.

Even amidst an economic boom, there are people who still can't get their shit together they're so firmly welded to Uncle Sam's rancid udder.

That's the real problem. You will never fix a permanent, artificial underclass that was created on purpose using liberal free market capitalism.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:13 PM (Vq1pX)

128 As for uncertainty I guess that's always going to be there, but when the AI bubble pops I don't think there will be enough jobs to go around. For now though, life is good.
Posted by: Taylor
======
Look into AI security, that is going to be one helluva nightmare given the massive increases in breaches by hackers using AI tools worldwide. Security will be in high demand accordingly.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:13 PM (E4rtv)

129 You sound like someone who is not $35 Trillion in debt.

At some point we are going to have to talk about clawing back handouts to illegals and connected leftist corps but we aren't there quite yet.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:13 PM (sKqQm)

130 100 People that live in the blue states on the coasts can't afford the cost of living. And they are unwilling to move to areas with a cheaper cost of living. There's not much the President can do to fix it.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (gQ15S

Interesting point there, Notsothoreau. Our media betters live in those unaffordable blue areas and probably can't see past their surroundings (not that they'd want to).

Posted by: Emmie -- be strong and courageous! at February 25, 2026 03:13 PM (FMtrg)

131 Courting Deflation would be retarded.

It would be much smarter to fight the effects of inflation with Tax Rebates.
Posted by: garrett at February 25, 2026 03:12 PM

Any money that passes through the government's hands gets cut by the vigorish.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:13 PM (4NO2D)

132 Now just hang on a minute there, Judge. Are you telling me that in communist utopias there are haves and have nots? That not everyone is equal and living in peaceful harmony?
Posted by: Piper at February 25, 2026 03:00 PM (OoFl2)

You have the right of it, Piper. Remember, under Capitalism, Dog Eats Dog, however under Socialism the opposite occurs.

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:14 PM (rbvCR)

133 Don't count on that AI bubble popping anytime soon, bro.

Posted by: pawn at February 25, 2026 03:14 PM (+rKuc)

134 Boomcession Boogie

Boom shaka-laka
Boom shaka-laka

Jobs go boom!
Stocks go boom!
Inflation gone
Economy zoom!

Boom shaka-laka
Boom shaka-laka

Boomcession's here
Trump is clear:
Nothing to fear
we're in gear!

Boom shaka-laka
Boom shaka-laka

Boom!

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:14 PM (Ys3Ta)

135 We were going to call it a Boomfart, but we were afraid that people wouldn't take us seriously.

--CNN
Posted by: No Name Today at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (8mulE)

South Africans would think you were going to drive around looking at trees.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:14 PM (Vq1pX)

136
A rising tide
raises all boats
Trump new plan
is the GOAT!

Boom shaka-laka
Boom shaka-laka

Boom!

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:14 PM (Ys3Ta)

137 Well, if your income comes from USAID I guess it looks dire. Maybe get a real job?

Posted by: pudinhead at February 25, 2026 03:14 PM (pZ64F)

138 If the commies spent half the energy they put toward their cute little terms and slogans being even remotely decent people, the world would be a far better place.

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:15 PM (tKWMU)

139
what the F is "K shaped"???

------

A graph plotting average income over time, that has two diverging lines, one rising, one falling, which originate at a single point on the left side of the graph. The rising line is for economic winners who e.g. present news on TV, and the falling line is for economic losers who shop at K-Mart.

The two economic groups are obtained by dividing the data between two classifications; defined as needed to produce winners and losers.Whatever criteria get the job done, it's not easy.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at February 25, 2026 03:15 PM (azNOR)

140 Stupid Pixy wouldn't let me post the whole song.

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:15 PM (Ys3Ta)

141 I live in a blue area primarily due to family obligations.

I would love to move somewhere sane but its just not an option.

The people I live among complain about high costs then vote for the politicians that cause the high costs. It is intensely frustrating.

When you point this out you'll get told they voted for the "good people" so anything not good happening is just bad luck or Trump's fault.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:15 PM (sKqQm)

142
A rising tide
raises all boats
Trump new plan
is the GOAT!

Burma shave!

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:15 PM (4NO2D)

143 50 it seems like "boomcession" is an outgrowth of climate change "logic", and I guess anyone who still firmly believes a boiling planet causes blizzards and increased arctic ice will nod right along with it.
Posted by: barbarausa at February 25, 2026 02:57 PM (enw9G)

You see there is a hidden layer in all the oceas where this excess heat is being stored and one day its going to boil to the surface. That heat is somewhere, we just have to find it. The models say the science is settled.

Posted by: Climate scientists at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM (i0Hi3)

144 It is impossible to improve every single person's life.
This is especially true when those persons are Democrats, who can always be depended on to make poor life choices: from tattoos, piercings, odd colored hair, to drug abuse, to huge college debt for worthless degrees, and on and on.

Posted by: Angzarr the Cromulent at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM (XMwZJ)

145 Roll that prosperity montage!

Odd that I haven't even heard of anyone using one since Clinton was in office. Maybe they run it every day on network news, I haven't seen it for... honestly I cannot remember the last time. Its been more than half my life since I have last watched anything on network TV.

Don't count on that AI bubble popping anytime soon, bro.

Five years, tops, probably closer to 2.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM (PYyV9)

146 100 People that live in the blue states on the coasts can't afford the cost of living. And they are unwilling to move to areas with a cheaper cost of living. There's not much the President can do to fix it.
Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:07 PM (gQ15S)

At least two West Coast states upped their gas taxes after Trump got elected. I'm assuming that it was largely to prevent Trumps' economic victories from affecting state residents. They will wreck their own economies just to keep Trump from getting a win.
Someone in WA can hear Trump talking about the low price of gas and thing "What's that guy talking about? Gas is as high as its ever been."

Posted by: 29Victor at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM (0MjtC)

147 I love how a bunch of millennial twats playing with spreadsheets all seem to think they just invented bucketing.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM (Vq1pX)

148 One change I don't see people talking about but would seem a slam dunk - take away voting rights from companies that hold stock for individuals.

Have 100 shares of Google in your 401k? Why don't YOU get to vote those shares?

This might get a bit complex with index funds I suppose and auto-trading systems, but I don't think that problem is unsolvable...
Posted by: 18-1
===========
I agree. Essentially 'ownership' means nothing because corporate staff and the investment houses actually control how much 'earnings' you will get as owner.

It would be as if you had a manager over a store you owned and your store manager and banker decided outside of your presence, how much they would manage your store and how much you could make.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM (E4rtv)

149 The people who want to stop you from saying certain things can make up any word any time without fear of reprisal.

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM (tKWMU)

150 The thing I like most about climate change is the margaritas.

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:17 PM (Ys3Ta)

151 Don't count on that AI bubble popping anytime soon, bro.

Nvidia earnings call after the close today.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:17 PM (4NO2D)

152 A "K" shaped graph is not a function.
Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 02:54 PM (aTgV0)

Well, it could be

Y=X

And

-X= Y

Right? Graphed together?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 25, 2026 03:17 PM (zZu0s)

153 Gas was going below $3 but seems to be creeping up .
Other things are cheaper. But everything seems stocked and available

Posted by: Skip at February 25, 2026 03:17 PM (Ia/+0)

154 It is impossible to improve every single person's life.

"The poor you will always have with you"
--GOD INCARNATE

No system is perfect, as I said last thread. You use the best system you can that benefits the most people in the greatest measure, and overall the arc of history is positive.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (PYyV9)

155 139
what the F is "K shaped"???

------

A graph plotting average income over time, that has two diverging lines, one rising, one falling, which originate at a single point on the left side of the graph. The rising line is for economic winners who e.g. present news on TV, and the falling line is for economic losers who shop at K-Mart.

Economic losers? Like investors in Omar's winery or consulting firm?

Posted by: Cuthbert the Witless at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (i0Hi3)

156 One change I don't see people talking about but would seem a slam dunk - take away voting rights from companies that hold stock for individuals.

Have 100 shares of Google in your 401k? Why don't YOU get to vote those shares?

This might get a bit complex with index funds I suppose and auto-trading systems, but I don't think that problem is unsolvable...
Posted by: 18-1

what ?

Posted by: runner at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (/M/4v)

157 So you're saying they have pointy ears, blue skin, or a fish tail?
Posted by: Archimedes

Ha, you've been watching Avatar again, eh?

Real communism could work, like Prometheus, if they put back in the deleted scenes and used the director's cut.

Posted by: Auspex at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (Y8DZL)

158 "The US Hockey gold medal has been an endless source of fun for me since it happened. I have a few Canadian acquaintances, they really got pissed off when I said that we won our 3 golds against Communist countries.....
Posted by: Kareem of Wheat"

Excellent.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (aTgV0)

159 While during the Biden years, the left was haranguing Americans for daring bemoan the economy and inflation by refutation via endless citation to ... official statistics.

LOL

"how dare you claim Bidenomics isn't working? The unemployment rate is low! The inflation rate is falling!"

Posted by: People's Hippo Voice at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (HXT0k)

160 I didn't watch the SOTU address. No need. I agree with Trump on 95% of everything he is doing. And I really didn't want to watch the democrats shit in their hands and throw it in all directions. I've seen it before and the monkeys at the zoo are more entertaining.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at February 25, 2026 03:19 PM (pohLc)

161 We be alls thinks that Presdent Obana shoolds has been invited to t he SOTU stuff last nite.

Posted by: Mary Cloggistein from Brattleboro, Vt at February 25, 2026 03:19 PM (jwBFW)

162 If you'd be willing to share your experience with a CNN reporter for possible inclusion in an upcoming story, we'd like to hear from you.

I was a GS-15 Diversity Officer for the Department of Education.

I made $150,000 a year, had gold-plated health and retirement benefits, and have worked from home for the last five years.

Once a week, I'd write a memo denouncing "whiteness", and a couple of times a week I'd participate in a Zoom meeting, where I'd denounce the Department of Education for still having too many white employees.

Life was good.

Then I was laid off, and obviously given my experience and skills, I'm not going to work for less than $150,000, but this racist society that oppresses Black women has yet to provide me with an adequate replacement job.

Posted by: Opressed Black Woman! at February 25, 2026 03:19 PM (n1OCj)

163 I want a graph that is ampersand-shaped. Do it!

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:19 PM (Ys3Ta)

164 Boomcession.

Yeah. No.

That's like complaining that Scarlett Johansson keeps showing up every night wanting to have sex and it is really cutting into your Diablo 4 playing time.

Posted by: sifty boones at February 25, 2026 03:19 PM (bwOhD)

165 And don't forget....some Federal workers took the buyout and some were laid off. Those are the workers they care about.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:20 PM (gQ15S)

166 Oligachy!

Posted by: BernieGPT at February 25, 2026 03:20 PM (ZJT0I)

167 Funcession!

Posted by: Dirac_Delta at February 25, 2026 03:20 PM (gUutX)

168 No system is perfect, as I said last thread. You use the best system you can that benefits the most people in the greatest measure, and overall the arc of history is positive.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (PYyV9)

Self governance can never be fully autonomous.

If you leave the system to govern itself, you're no longer self governing.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:20 PM (Vq1pX)

169 AI is writing checks it simply can't cash. And no one in my corner of the world takes it seriously anyway. It's a buzzword being used by execs and marketing.

Posted by: Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:20 PM (q2dV7)

170 One change I don't see people talking about but would seem a slam dunk - take away voting rights from companies that hold stock for individuals.

Have 100 shares of Google in your 401k? Why don't YOU get to vote those shares?
__________

Do we sign proxies as part of the deal? I've never really looked at what I'm signing on that shit.

Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 25, 2026 03:20 PM (XvL8K)

171 Boobcession!

Posted by: AosHQ Commentator at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (q2NNn)

172 I've seen it before and the monkeys at the zoo are more entertaining.

I went to the San Diego Zoo with some buddies (great place), and the chimpanzee pen was okay. One of the most gorgeous girls I have ever seen was kind of walking near us as we went to various places and when we got there, the monkeys did this acrobatic roll into a sex position I have never seen in my life and went to it like a pair of animals.

That was kind of embarrassing, we all walked away without looking at each other.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (PYyV9)

173 My Welfare, Food Stamps, Section 8 Housing Assistance have not kept up with inflation.

Trump lied ....

Posted by: LaQuisha Largeass at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (YuOiR)

174 what ?
Posted by: runner at February 25, 2026 03:18 PM (/M/4v)

Go set up an account with a stock trading firm and buy 100 shares of Google (or whatever company). You'll get to vote at the Google shareholders events - these are done in a way you don't have to physically be there.

Now instead, and this is much more common, get a 401k from whatever company you work for and select an option from say Vanguard that includes 100 shares of Google.

You do NOT get to vote the shares in your 401k like you would if you set up your own investment account.

This is weird and allows companies like Vanguard to rubber stamp whatever Google or other companies are doing.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (sKqQm)

175 163 I want a graph that is ampersand-shaped. Do it!
Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:19 PM (Ys3Ta)

Would you settle for a limaçon?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (Vq1pX)

176 OT, so.eone mentioned Vanna white being on Price is Right as a contestant.

https://youtu.be/-4lwNLFOpFA?
si=pVna3w4ZgfCYe4so

I actually think she looks hotter here as a dirty blonde.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (zZu0s)

177 Under Dem administrations the Media is full blown Pollyanna, Under Trump they are evangelical Eeyore.
"Sour Grapes make the best Whine"

Posted by: birddog at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (s5LY2)

178 That's like complaining that Scarlett Johansson keeps showing up every night wanting to have sex and it is really cutting into your Diablo 4 playing time.

You mean like Scarlett Johannsen Iron Man 2 or today?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (PYyV9)

179 169 AI is writing checks it simply can't cash. And no one in my corner of the world takes it seriously anyway. It's a buzzword being used by execs and marketing.
Posted by: Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:20 PM (q2dV7)
------
I work for a company that is heavily investing in AI. Not to replace individual workers/coders/anything else, but to weave it into the background of the internet as we know it.

It's far more than a marketing buzzword for us at this point and I would bet serious money that it's here to stay. The hype will die down as with everything else, but AI isn't going anywhere.

Posted by: ballistic at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (3BwY8)

180 If you'd be willing to share your experience with a CNN reporter for possible inclusion in an upcoming story, we'd like to hear from you.

It's tax time, and i just calculated how much my investments went up last year. Holy Mother of God -- never before have my dividends, capital gains and stock values gone up so much. i just moved up to Easy Street. Thank you President Trump!

(* This is actually true.)

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (Ys3Ta)

181 Then I was laid off, and obviously given my experience and skills, I'm not going to work for less than $150,000, but this racist society that oppresses Black women has yet to provide me with an adequate replacement job.

Most college-educated black women work for the government - it has functioned as a huge jobs program for them for many years.

Any shift in the economy that reduces government jobs, while increasing private sector jobs, is going to harm college-educated black women.

Posted by: The ARC of History! at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (n1OCj)

182 169 AI is writing checks it simply can't cash. And no one in my corner of the world takes it seriously anyway. It's a buzzword being used by execs and marketing.
------------------
The wife uses it and it has brought in new business. She markets a shopping center and its tenants. She creates a Teddy Bear that shows up in a shop each month. The ladies like it and the kids like it. The shop owners love it.

Posted by: pudinhead at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (pZ64F)

183 Real communism could work, like Prometheus

PROMETHEUS !!!

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (Kt19C)

184 Do we sign proxies as part of the deal? I've never really looked at what I'm signing on that shit.

Proxyvote is very commonly used. But again for shares you directly own not something through a 401k, ETF, or the like

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:23 PM (sKqQm)

185 oh, I see, you were talking specifically about 401k

Posted by: runner at February 25, 2026 03:23 PM (/M/4v)

186 If you put back the deleted scenes in Prometheus it would be 5 hours long and suck even more.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:23 PM (aTgV0)

187 >>>The US Hockey gold medal has been an endless source of fun for me since it happened. I have a few Canadian acquaintances, they really got pissed off when I said that we won our 3 golds against Communist countries.....

Posted by: Kareem of Wheat

>I'm with the Babylon Bee, have Hughes tell the hosers he melted down his medal for a new grill, after that cheap shot high stick knocked out his teeth (tooth).

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 25, 2026 03:23 PM (gVUi7)

188 Yep, used to fill my 30 gallon gas tank in WA state. It's been half the price here in KS

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:23 PM (gQ15S)

189 (* This is actually true.)
Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (Ys3Ta)

Tell me about your Silver shares!

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:23 PM (rbvCR)

190 That was kind of embarrassing, we all walked away without looking at each other.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (PYyV9)

You think thats embarrassing? My mini-Dachshund thinks every bare leg is his sex partner.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at February 25, 2026 03:24 PM (pohLc)

191 Hot Take: inflation is happening in large part because our culture will not push back on pricing. Digital money and no ability for delayed gratification.

Posted by: Sharpie at February 25, 2026 03:24 PM (glvF4)

192 178.

Iron Man 2 ideally. But I'm not gonna lie, even today if her shadow ever got cast on the same wall as mine I'd probably need a saline drip and zinc tablets for three weeks.

Posted by: sifty boones at February 25, 2026 03:24 PM (bwOhD)

193 Boob-shaped graph, please!

X-axis is cup size, Y axis is bust circumference.

Under Trump, we're now at 44-D.

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:24 PM (Ys3Ta)

194 countries.....

Posted by: Kareem of Wheat

>I'm with the Babylon Bee, have Hughes tell the hosers he melted down his medal for a new grill, after that cheap shot high stick knocked out his teeth (tooth).
Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 25, 2026 03:23 PM (gVUi7)

Watching the replay a few times and that stick to the face looked intentional.

Posted by: Cuthbert the Witless at February 25, 2026 03:24 PM (i0Hi3)

195 My mini-Dachshund thinks every bare leg is his sex partner.
-------------
Weiner Dogs are voracious sex partners.

Posted by: pudinhead at February 25, 2026 03:25 PM (pZ64F)

196 173 My Welfare, Food Stamps, Section 8 Housing Assistance have not kept up with inflation.

Trump lied ....
Posted by: LaQuisha Largeass at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (YuOiR)

Inflation is determined by various metrics related to the money supply and the availability of interbank credit, not the first derivative with respect to time of the circumference of your steatopygian ass fat, you gross bastard.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:25 PM (Vq1pX)

197 I actually think she looks hotter here as a dirty blonde.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (zZu0s)

A dirty blonde will always be hotter than a regular blonde

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:26 PM (tKWMU)

198 It's far more than a marketing buzzword for us at this point and I would bet serious money that it's here to stay. The hype will die down as with everything else, but AI isn't going anywhere.
Posted by: ballistic

"computers are a fad"
computers are everywhere
"the internet is a fad"
the internet is everywhere
"cell phones are a fad"
cell phones are everywhere
AI is a fad <--- YOU ARE HERE

Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:26 PM (VHUov)

199 inflation is happening in large part because our culture will not push back on pricing

I agree. The proper mechanism against corporate greed is consumer opposition. I recall when I was a little kid shopping with mom and all the shelves were jammed with sugar. Some idiot tried to corner the market on sugar and jacked the price way up and... everyone just stopped buying sugar.

These days people buy it, go into debt, and shrug while they scroll on their phone.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:26 PM (PYyV9)

200 My very good beef vegetable soup at mom and pop's cafe was $15. ; doubled price past 36 months. Still in my torso with the cornbread. Don't believe prices will come down. Vote against every democrat always.

Posted by: kingsman at February 25, 2026 03:27 PM (ehY6c)

201 "Boomcession" sounds like a Nikki Minaj rap from 2015

Posted by: Judge Elric The Blade at February 25, 2026 03:27 PM (iFTx/)

202 SLV and SILJ up today.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at February 25, 2026 03:27 PM (gQ15S)

203 don't forget....some Federal workers took the buyout and some were laid off. Those are the workers they care about.

Federal workers....hahahahaha....federal workers....stop it...hahahaha

Posted by: Oxymoron at February 25, 2026 03:27 PM (hXJe5)

204 You think thats embarrassing? My mini-Dachshund thinks every bare leg is his sex partner.
Posted by: Xipe Totec at February 25, 2026 03:24 PM (pohLc)

Maybe you should put on your pants, pervert.

Posted by: No Name Today at February 25, 2026 03:27 PM (8mulE)

205 AI is in fact the future. I already cautiously find it quite useful. Like whiskey, you don't just up and swallow the whole bottle.

Posted by: Xipe Totec at February 25, 2026 03:27 PM (pohLc)

206 Here is an article on how proxyvoting for companies works https://tinyurl.com/rp3m5b38

Now, I don't think this would be a panacea because Joe Average isn't necessarily going to know the full implications of voting for Board Member X or Initiative Y but this is a power people should have for both their directly AND indirectly held stock

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:28 PM (sKqQm)

207 Boomcession: parts of the country are doing incredibly well, but the Dem run parts are dying.

Posted by: Tom Servo at February 25, 2026 03:28 PM (k/Sbk)

208 Blum, I'm wearing a cardboard belt! A cardboard belt!

Posted by: Max Bialystock at February 25, 2026 03:28 PM (oftw2)

209
"AI is garbage" is on par with the Krugman Theory of the Web.

"No one will use it! Everyone loves to go to the store to buy their stuff and read the paper on the train!"

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:28 PM (tKWMU)

210 mmm...dirty blonde.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:28 PM (aTgV0)

211 I saw BoomSession open for English Beat at the Fry's Electronics in Burbank in 2007.

Posted by: sifty boones at February 25, 2026 03:28 PM (bwOhD)

212 even today if her shadow ever got cast on the same wall as mine

Old TV guide cover had the shadow of a black man's jazz hand fall on a white woman's crotch. Showed it to a coworker, quick double take and he LOL'd.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at February 25, 2026 03:29 PM (Kt19C)

213 189 (* This is actually true.)
Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:22 PM (Ys3Ta)

Tell me about your Silver shares!
Posted by: Kindltot

Sorry, no precious metals, unfortunately. I devised my own system, which I later learned is known as the "Kelly Criteria" - spread out assets from most-conservative/lowest return to most risky/highest-return, according to confidence level. For me, it;s approximately 1/3 of assets in FDIC-insured CDs (always shofting to highest promotional rate), 1.3 of assets in nrock-solid long-term low-riskbut-decent-avergae return investments, and 1/3 of assets in volitile high-risk investments. (Approximately.) It has paid off handsomely.

Posted by: zombie at February 25, 2026 03:29 PM (Ys3Ta)

214 I use AI at work. It helps with many tasks but it will often make mistakes no human would so you have to carefully view its output

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:29 PM (sKqQm)

215 I went to the San Diego Zoo with some buddies (great place), and the chimpanzee pen was okay. One of the most gorgeous girls I have ever seen was kind of walking near us as we went to various places and when we got there, the monkeys did this acrobatic roll into a sex position I have never seen in my life and went to it like a pair of animals.

That was kind of embarrassing, we all walked away without looking at each other.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (PYyV9)

----------------

What...you didn't invite the gorgeous girl to your place to replicate what you just saw?

Posted by: Bigsmith at February 25, 2026 03:29 PM (1Au9i)

216 "cell phones are a fad"
cell phones are everywhere
AI is a fad

Who said cell phones are a fad? In any case, its not about being a fad, its about being overblown and over hyped. For example, when the internet started to be big there was this thing called the "dot com boom" that you might have heard of.

Nobody was saying the Internet is a fad other than Paul Krugman to his eternal mockery. But smart people were saying "this boom will not last" because it was a boom and they never last, especially because this one was a boom. Overhyped, overpromised, over valued.

AI will follow the same curve: it won't go away any more than the internet did after the DotCom boom burst.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:29 PM (PYyV9)

217 Nvidia is sitting right at the intersection of fear and greed @197 with a half hour left in the trading day.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (4NO2D)

218 Just took a drop into fear territory.

Posted by: toby928(c) at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (4NO2D)

219 207 Boomcession: parts of the country are doing incredibly well, but the Dem run parts are dying.
----------------
Why do you think the Yankees decided they needed to launch a Coup? They've been dying for some time. The Yankee Exodus started in 1969. At some point they passed the tipping point.

Posted by: pudinhead at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (pZ64F)

220 The rhetoric on tariffs are confusing and contradictory.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:06 PM (PYyV9)

This sounds like when the Dems willfully feign ignorance and pretend not to understand the issue.

Tariffs are a tax. Businesses don't just eat tax costs and accept lower margins, if they face higher taxes they increase prices to consumers. Businesses were the ones literally transferring the money to the government so after the SC decision they want to sue to get themselves more money, they aren't going to send out rebates to consumers who paid higher prices unless they are forced to or see some other value (PR, advertising).

Other countries are restricting what options their own consumers have with their own tariffs because it limits competition from American companies in their markets.

Tariffs can have value in modifying consumer behavior (buying cheap Chinese crap that breaks and impoverishes consumers) or subsidizing important local businesses (making sure of your industrial base come ww3 or just providing job security), but they do distort the supply and demand curves meaning overall people have to pay more or go without the things they would buy.

Posted by: Sjg at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (aqZN1)

221 Who is going to lug a computer monitor onto a train to get their news??

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (tKWMU)

222 191 Hot Take: inflation is happening in large part because our culture will not push back on pricing. Digital money and no ability for delayed gratification.
Posted by: Sharpie at February 25, 2026 03:24 PM (glvF4)

To curb inflation, spend money on the greatest extent possible on 1) a good or 2) a service. Government is neither. Keep government spending minimal.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (fYhK6)

223 A suspicious number of em dashes in this one.

Don't tell me Ace has been replaced by AI!

AI of Spades HQ?

Posted by: TITP at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (6Q9y6)

224
146

At least two West Coast states upped their gas taxes after Trump got elected. I'm assuming that it was largely to prevent Trumps' economic victories from affecting state residents. They will wreck their own economies just to keep Trump from getting a win.
Someone in WA can hear Trump talking about the low price of gas and thing "What's that guy talking about? Gas is as high as its ever been."
Posted by: 29Victor at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM

------

CA did even better -- they finished the process of driving two refineries out of the state. I think they celebrated with a ceremony and a parade.

Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (azNOR)

225 AI is quite avoidable on Linux.

You can use it or not.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (aTgV0)

226 AI is a fad
Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:26 PM (VHUov)

In each of those steps, remember the world that was promised, and the world that resulted. We won't get AI taking everyone's job any more than we got the entire work force replaced by Amigas or welding robots.

Faddish hype can be ridiculous and duly ridiculed while also recognizing that something good will probably still come from it all.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (Vq1pX)

227 I've seen it before and the monkeys at the zoo are more entertaining.

I went to the San Diego Zoo with some buddies (great place), and the chimpanzee pen was okay. One of the most gorgeous girls I have ever seen was kind of walking near us as we went to various places and when we got there, the monkeys did this acrobatic roll into a sex position I have never seen in my life and went to it like a pair of animals.

That was kind of embarrassing, we all walked away without looking at each other.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:21 PM (PYyV9)
______

Bro, the pick-up lines write themselves!

Posted by: Judge Elric The Blade at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (iFTx/)

228 200 My very good beef vegetable soup at mom and pop's cafe was $15. ; doubled price past 36 months. Still in my torso with the cornbread. Don't believe prices will come down. Vote against every democrat always.
Posted by: kingsman

Heh. You think that's beef?

Posted by: Rat In A Drain Ditch at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (oftw2)

229 227.

Bloodhound Gang had a whole song about it.

Posted by: sifty boones at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (bwOhD)

230 BBC: US economy slows in final months after turbulent year

Trump is expelling workers from the United States and imposing tariffs on imports. Americans will end up with empty stores. His trade war against the rest of the world will destroy the United States.

The Commerce Department estimated that losses from the suspension of federal government services had subtracted one percentage point from GDP in the fourth quarter, while noting that the full impact was likely larger.

it's a direct result of the deranged policy of the Trump government and the inability of republicans in congress to make any compromises, so it will definitely happen again and is a good measure for how well this government is handling the economy.

Q4 growth is anemic. December inflation rose. Outside of healthcare and education, no jobs are being created. Largest post-war tax hike due to tariffs. Ruined regional and global alliances. Upended decades of prosperity inducing trade deals. Essentially has used his platform for negative supply shocks; none effective in reaching any stated goal.

Not sure how Trump can sell it as good. It'd be better if he'd done nothing all year.

Posted by: Intercepted Reddit Transmissions brought by the Intrepid AoS Liaison at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (ycI94)

231 In a properly functioning economy, inflation is normal and expected, it's why we are not paying 5000 dollars for houses and a weekly paycheck isn't 25 bucks.

The only thing that can be done is unleashing energy, stop hamstringing industry, and for G-d's, stop the suicidal government spending, that's the real villain in this psychodrama.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 25, 2026 03:32 PM (XV/Pl)

232 AI will follow the same curve: it won't go away any more than the internet did after the DotCom boom burst.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:29 PM (PYyV9)

When the AI bubble bursts we will see after the smoke clears the true value and uses of AI.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 25, 2026 03:32 PM (fYhK6)

233 Tariffs are a tax. Businesses don't just eat tax costs and accept lower margins, if they face higher taxes they increase prices to consumers.

How can anyone owe a business money for a tax they didn't pay because they passed it on to the consumers?

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:32 PM (PYyV9)

234 186 If you put back the deleted scenes in Prometheus it would be 5 hours long and suck even more.
Posted by: eleven

But then IT WOULD MAKE SENSE!

We're just going to have to wait till the remake with the diverse rainbow cast to bring life to the story.

Posted by: Auspex at February 25, 2026 03:32 PM (Y8DZL)

235 Ace has been Taylor Swift for like three years now.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:32 PM (aTgV0)

236 >>>"As for "worrying about job security:" Americans have felt insecure about their jobs since the seventies. This is not a Trump thing. This is a secular shift in the economy that happened after the 1960s boom and continues to happen."

=====

My wife, the breadwinner, just survived a RIF of 2000 employees. I guarantee she doesn't feel safe.

Posted by: Turn 2 at February 25, 2026 03:33 PM (CyFyf)

237 AI is writing checks it simply can't cash. And no one in my corner of the world takes it seriously anyway. It's a buzzword being used by execs and marketing.

There's a lot of C-suite cluelessness about it, like anything new. But there's also a lot of substance. I'm not saying it's made me the mythical 10X coder, but it's a measurable boost.

One other correct use of AI: mocking Minnesota Communists. I think this is why lefty NPCs universally hate AI but can't say why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72p07_NKv20

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 03:33 PM (2ocoG)

238 146

At least two West Coast states upped their gas taxes after Trump got elected. I'm assuming that it was largely to prevent Trumps' economic victories from affecting state residents. They will wreck their own economies just to keep Trump from getting a win.
Someone in WA can hear Trump talking about the low price of gas and thing "What's that guy talking about? Gas is as high as its ever been."
Posted by: 29Victor at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM

------

CA did even better -- they finished the process of driving two refineries out of the state. I think they celebrated with a ceremony and a parade.
Posted by: Semi-Literate Thug at February 25, 2026 03:31 PM (azNOR)

In the meantime, TX gas taxes have not gone up since 1991.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 25, 2026 03:33 PM (fYhK6)

239 >>Tariffs are a tax. Businesses don't just eat tax costs and accept lower margins, if they face higher taxes they increase prices to consumers.

Except they DO eat costs.

They renegotiate with suppliers and labor.

Nobody is selling product for less than they believe they can sell products for.
They price at the top of range and when something like Tariffs hits, there is nowhere for them to go via pricing.

Raise prices and lose customers or trim profits and maintain market share.

Not a tough choice.

Posted by: garrett at February 25, 2026 03:34 PM (1Udfd)

240 When the AI bubble bursts we will see after the smoke clears the true value and uses of AI.

Exactly, same as the DotCom boom. They were making promises and building businesses on things the internet could not then and maybe never will be able to do. AI is being built up as something it cannot and probably never will do, but its useful for some stuff, and once we get past this we can actually get to work on making it do stuff it can do well,

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:34 PM (PYyV9)

241 CNN: it's a booming economy yeah, but where are the handouts?

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:34 PM (cWLG3)

242 You think that's beef? Now just a sec my good man, I am preparing for the future, protein is protein.

Posted by: kingsman at February 25, 2026 03:34 PM (ehY6c)

243 163 I want a graph that is ampersand-shaped. Do it!
Posted by: zombie

Sorry, the closest is the cobweb theory graphs

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:34 PM (E4rtv)

244 "That heat is somewhere, we just have to find it. The models say the science is settled."

That's how I figured.

Posted by: barbarausa at February 25, 2026 03:34 PM (enw9G)

245 "Ace has been Taylor Swift for like 3 years now."

He's using Travis Kelce to make himself look straight? I'm confused.

Posted by: Wally at February 25, 2026 03:35 PM (6zGg2)

246 For the companies that may be requesting refunds for tarrifs, did you pass on the costs to the customers or absorb reductions to profit margins? If the former, are you going to pass the refunds on to customers? Maybe, but more likely not. So leftists are celebrating a Supreme Court decision that puts "profits over people". Interesting dynamic there.

Posted by: Chuck Martel at February 25, 2026 03:35 PM (Dv3i1)

247 Weren't there some blue states that enacted policies designed to counteract Trump's efforts to improve people's economic situations? Like taxes on tips and other things I can't recall at the moment?

Posted by: Emmie -- be strong and courageous! at February 25, 2026 03:35 PM (FMtrg)

248 Where is my MILF sexbot?

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:35 PM (aTgV0)

249 >>Where is my MILF sexbot?

Out in your Flying Car with her AI BF.

Posted by: garrett at February 25, 2026 03:36 PM (1Udfd)

250 Raise prices and lose customers or trim profits and maintain market share.

Except as we noted above, people are eating the price increases. Stuff is going up and people aren't reducing their consumption like they should or in the past would. That is my genuine concern with chip prices. They are super inflated right now because of low supply and huge demand... but will they ever go down? Nobody is reducing their buying gadgets.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:36 PM (PYyV9)

251 He's using Travis Kelce to make himself look straight? I'm confused.
Posted by: Wally at February 25, 2026 03:35 PM (6zGg2)

garrett is Travis Kelce?

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:36 PM (Vq1pX)

252 An ampersand graph would have to parametric.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:36 PM (aTgV0)

253 When the AI bubble bursts we will see after the smoke clears the true value and uses of AI.

I wonder how much of the AI Boom is companies making huge claims to massive build-outs and securing contracts to purchase memory and energy capacity, only for the purpose of re-selling the memory and energy to those who didn't get the contracts?

Think of it as ticket scalpers of the '80s who would get bums to buy up all of the tickets ahead of the retail customers and then sell the "Good Seats" at a huge mark-up.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:37 PM (a6PrB)

254 In each of those steps, remember the world that was promised, and the world that resulted. We won't get AI taking everyone's job any more than we got the entire work force replaced by Amigas or welding robots.

Faddish hype can be ridiculous and duly ridiculed while also recognizing that something good will probably still come from it all.

To the extent it takes any jobs, it will also create new kinds of jobs and companies, the same as every big new technology in the last 150 years.

Europe is fucked because they thought the original industrial revolution would take everyone's jobs so they might as well go socialist. And then they never course-corrected when that was shown to be obviously stupid, so they've largely missed out on the jobs and companies created by computers and the Internet.

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 03:37 PM (2ocoG)

255 >>>Ace has been Taylor Swift for like three years now.

Posted by: eleven

>Next you'll be telling me Garrett Kelce will be riding in on a white horse.

Posted by: Rev. Wishbone at February 25, 2026 03:37 PM (gVUi7)

256 252 An ampersand graph would have to parametric.
Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:36 PM (aTgV0)

Well i *wasn't* dyslexic, until i tried to read that sentence.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:37 PM (Vq1pX)

257 237 AI is writing checks it simply can't cash. And no one in my corner of the world takes it seriously anyway. It's a buzzword being used by execs and marketing.

There's a lot of C-suite cluelessness about it, like anything new. But there's also a lot of substance. I'm not saying it's made me the mythical 10X coder, but it's a measurable boost.

One other correct use of AI: mocking Minnesota Communists. I think this is why lefty NPCs universally hate AI but can't say why.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72p07_NKv20
Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 03:33 PM (2ocoG)
----
All the lefties at my workplace just love the AI, and are super excited at the prospect of a doing less actual work for the same pay. So excited you will be denied pay increases if you don't demonstrate how it's improving your work (who cares if it's irrelevant).

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:37 PM (cWLG3)

258 In a properly functioning economy, inflation is normal and expected, it's why we are not paying 5000 dollars for houses and a weekly paycheck isn't 25 bucks.

The only thing that can be done is unleashing energy, stop hamstringing industry, and for G-d's, stop the suicidal government spending, that's the real villain in this psychodrama.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 25, 2026 03:32 PM

Yep, inflation is not inevitable unless the government has the ability to "coin" more money than they bring in from tax revenues. The Roman empire intentionally devalued their currency just like we are doing and they paid for it at the end just like we will.

Posted by: Mister Scott (Formerly GWS) at February 25, 2026 03:38 PM (0N4FZ)

259
AI is magic is the much smarter bet than AI is garbage.

But one is a more fun opinion to have because it makes you kind of emo.

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:38 PM (tKWMU)

260 Where is my MILF sexbot?
Posted by: eleven

If it's a mother, I think it's got more features than just "sexbot."

Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:38 PM (VHUov)

261 Except they DO eat costs.

They renegotiate with suppliers and labor.

Nobody is selling product for less than they believe they can sell products for.
They price at the top of range and when something like Tariffs hits, there is nowhere for them to go via pricing.

Raise prices and lose customers or trim profits and maintain market share.

Not a tough choice.
Posted by: garrett

Yep. You have to work in elasticity of demand and elasticity of supply into any real life discussion as well as currency fluctuations of both trading partners. Whole host of real life variables like Rodney Dangerfield discussing actual construction and manufacturing factors in the movie Back to School.

For the most part, tariffs theory was ill taught in the US since before WWII because quite simply, Democrats (and thus academia) blamed the 1930 Smoot Hawley tariff for the Depression when it have very little to do with GDP decreases. Most of the blame should have went toward the Treaty of Paris and the resultant new monetary order where reparations paid by Germany to France and UK were repaid then to the US for war loans which then extended credit to the Germans. Crappy system.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:39 PM (E4rtv)

262 Saw an article yesterday about COL in Massachusetts and a Democrat (obviously, since he said Trump is responsible for high inflation and tariffs are killing us LOL) said he couldn't afford to live in Massachusetts anymore and was planning to move to ... North Carolina. He votes for Democrats. He wants the policies Democrat politicians say they'll institute. But he doesn't want to live in a blue state because of the consequences of those policies ... which he voted for. And he'll undoubtedly continue voting for Democrats after he moves to the Research Triangle.

Posted by: 15 Tiny Cities at February 25, 2026 03:39 PM (qUkBO)

263 Can't wait for chopsticks made in Texas USA

Posted by: Maj. Healey at February 25, 2026 03:39 PM (abIsI)

264 >>Except as we noted above, people are eating the price increases.

Some people.

Others are not buying.

Is the Balance sufficient to achieve the effect you desire? Apparently, not. Or, not yet.

This will never change, though. Some will continue to buy out of necessity. Others, out of desire.

Still others will boycott.

Same as always.

Posted by: garrett at February 25, 2026 03:39 PM (1Udfd)

265 As for "worrying about job security:" Americans have felt insecure about their jobs since the seventies. This is not a Trump thing. This is a secular shift in the economy that happened after the 1960s boom and continues to happen.

Who could have predicted such a totally secular thing like this?

Posted by: Henry Kissinger at February 25, 2026 03:40 PM (o2432)

266 Tariffs can have value in modifying consumer behavior (buying cheap Chinese crap that breaks and impoverishes consumers) or subsidizing important local businesses (making sure of your industrial base come ww3 or just providing job security), but they do distort the supply and demand curves meaning overall people have to pay more or go without the things they would buy.
Posted by: Sjg at February 25, 2026 03:30 PM (aqZN1)

It also modifies the manufacturers' behavior, especially the prime producers. Due to the tariffs it is becoming cheaper for the quality steel to manufacture it in country, and it has the benefit of still being less flawed and contaminated than Chinese sourced steel. The same goes for Aluminum
That has the added benefit that the production uses American workers, who get paid here, and spend their wages here, instead of it going to China where it does the US economy little good.

Think of it as buying from the corner store instead of buying from Amazon

Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:40 PM (rbvCR)

267 By all means AI is most definitely magic.

But just how useful is magic?

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:40 PM (aTgV0)

268 By the time they figure it out, we'll be on a beach earning 20%.
-ace, standing with garret and throwing the power lever on AceAI

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 25, 2026 03:41 PM (zZu0s)

269 In five years AI is going to be the new frustrating hot garbage we have to wade through all damn morning once in a while just to be able to even start doing our actual jobs.

It'll be like the new two factor authentication except the second factor is your mother in law.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:41 PM (Vq1pX)

270 260 Where is my MILF sexbot?
Posted by: eleven

Waiting on the SweeneyBot.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at February 25, 2026 03:41 PM (abIsI)

271 To sum: Temu is not doing so good?

Posted by: ChristyBlinkyTheGreat at February 25, 2026 03:42 PM (WONhk)

272 Where is my MILF sexbot?
Posted by: eleven

If it's a mother, I think it's got more features than just "sexbot."

As an interesting aside, there has been a lot of ink spilled on the discussion of sexbots, but I imagine the feminist fury over some sort of artificial womb/robot will dwarf their anger over sexbots...

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:42 PM (sKqQm)

273 @271 Temu is Temu-Amazon.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:43 PM (cWLG3)

274 In each of those steps, remember the world that was promised, and the world that resulted. We won't get AI taking everyone's job any more than we got the entire work force replaced by Amigas or welding robots.

Aren't you moving about on your Segway?

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:43 PM (a6PrB)

275 But just how useful is magic?

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:40 PM (aTgV0)

How useful is any of the technology you use? It all seemed like magic at one time.

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:43 PM (tKWMU)

276 As an interesting aside, there has been a lot of ink spilled on the discussion of sexbots, but I imagine the feminist fury over some sort of artificial womb/robot will dwarf their anger over sexbots...

The feminists will fall in line when they get their own combination bear/minotaur sexbots.

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 03:43 PM (2ocoG)

277 As an interesting aside, there has been a lot of ink spilled on the discussion of sexbots, but I imagine the feminist fury over some sort of artificial womb/robot will dwarf their anger over sexbots...
Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:42 PM (sKqQm)

Nah. I figure many women will be all for it (the rest will have their pick of men.) Then they will realize they have further priced themselves out of the market.

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at February 25, 2026 03:44 PM (zZu0s)

278 Once we get High Speed Train everything will be better.

Posted by: pudinhead at February 25, 2026 03:44 PM (pZ64F)

279 -ace, standing with garret and throwing the power lever

"The power lever"? Is *that* what garrett calls it?

Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 03:44 PM (2ocoG)

280 My Doctorate in Gender and Wymen's Studies has put me at the very top of the K. Others should follow my lead.

Posted by: Dr. Sigmoid at February 25, 2026 03:44 PM (oftw2)

281 As an interesting aside, there has been a lot of ink spilled on the discussion of sexbots,
---------

Not just ink

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:44 PM (tKWMU)

282 20 y/o grandson working out for basic tng going to air force for computer stuff. So G. your headed to Lackland in San Antonio. Best start basic in the winter rotation I responded. He does have computer skills. It's a good move with our current C in C. Proud of him.

Posted by: kingsman at February 25, 2026 03:44 PM (ehY6c)

283 I trust you will agree that in a loitering munition having to switch to autonomous behavior when it loses its control signal that AI in its current or foreseeable state is not an ideal solution in a battlefield environment.

Posted by: Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:44 PM (DJPFk)

284 Aren't you moving about on your Segway?

That is still the oddest media moment in my life. We were told there was a new invention that would change everyone's life and it was the damn segway.

I've still never ridden one. Its too slow to get places like work, too small too transport groceries, and too open and unstable enough to use half the year where I live.

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:45 PM (sKqQm)

285

By the time they figure it out, we'll be on a beach earning 20%.
-ace, standing with garret and throwing the power lever on AceAI

Which one of them is Hans Gruber and which is Karl?

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at February 25, 2026 03:45 PM (xG4kz)

286 275 But just how useful is magic?

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:40 PM (aTgV0)

How useful is any of the technology you use? It all seemed like magic at one time.
Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:43 PM (tKWMU)
---
Hate it when the party poopers show up to explain away the magic as science. Boo!

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:45 PM (cWLG3)

287 I don't want a sexbot, I want a maidbot. Clean, cook, help me stay on schedule, remind me of important things, do my laundry, etc.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:45 PM (PYyV9)

288 The feminists will fall in line when they get their own combination bear/minotaur sexbots.
Posted by: Ian S. at February 25, 2026 03:43 PM (2ocoG)

Bulls make money.
Bears make money.
Bull-bears write stories about their hogs getting fluffed by sone AWFL, and make money.

It's a win-win-win situation.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:45 PM (Vq1pX)

289 That has the added benefit that the production uses American workers, who get paid here, and spend their wages here, instead of it going to China where it does the US economy little good.

Think of it as buying from the corner store instead of buying from Amazon
Posted by: Kindltot at February 25, 2026 03:40 PM (rbvCR)

Because they never buy US made products.

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 25, 2026 03:45 PM (fYhK6)

290 That is my genuine concern with chip prices. They are super inflated right now because of low supply and huge demand... but will they ever go down? Nobody is reducing their buying gadgets.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

Yes computer memory prices will go down eventually--right now, the issue is three companies, an oligopoly control RAM production and due to the normal commodification of that, it was a low margin business for decades. Now, because AI, it suddenly becomes in demand but the high capital costs make the big three very wary of increasing production lines simply because if they do, and AI investment slumps, then the new plants can't pay for themselves.

FWIW, DDR5 memory prices are already beginning to subside as demand drops off, people keep existing computers longer, etc. Same with the crypto craze and video cards--eventually teh crypto craze receded which reduced video card prices and demand.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:46 PM (E4rtv)

291 I don't want a sexbot, I want a maidbot. Clean, cook, help me stay on schedule, remind me of important things, do my laundry, etc.

Didn't Megan Fox make a movie along these lines recently?

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:46 PM (sKqQm)

292 281 As an interesting aside, there has been a lot of ink spilled on the discussion of sexbots,
---------

Not just ink

thanks. saved me from having to check urban dictionary.

Posted by: anachronda at February 25, 2026 03:46 PM (sGtp+)

293 That is still the oddest media moment in my life. We were told there was a new invention that would change everyone's life and it was the damn segway.

Yeah the fawning over the top publicity for that, all the news reports, all the claims THIS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD.

And then they revealed it and people went "that's it??" and went back to reading a book or whatever.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:46 PM (PYyV9)

294 The rhetoric on tariffs are confusing and contradictory.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

Think of it as buying from the corner store instead of buying from Amazon
Posted by: Kindltot

Some people: Think local! 15-minute cities! Farm-to-table!

The same people: Tariffs are evil badorangeman awfulness!

Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:46 PM (VHUov)

295 Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:45 PM (sKqQm)

If I ever want to make my wife cry laughing I simply remind her that the Segway guy drove himself off a cliff. It really tickles her.

Or I take off my pants.

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (tKWMU)

296 282 20 y/o grandson working out for basic tng going to air force for computer stuff. So G. your headed to Lackland in San Antonio. Best start basic in the winter rotation I responded. He does have computer skills. It's a good move with our current C in C. Proud of him.
Posted by: kingsman

You should be and yes, he is entering service at the right point in time.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (E4rtv)

297
I've still never ridden one. Its too slow to get places like work, too small too transport groceries, and too open and unstable enough to use half the year where I live.
Posted by: 18-1

But it is your golden pass to take part in the annual Dork Parade!

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (xG4kz)

298 I asked AI why my ankle hurt and it gave me a list of 15 reasons why my ankle hurt.

You want to bank on that knock yourself out.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (aTgV0)

299 287 I don't want a sexbot, I want a maidbot. Clean, cook, help me stay on schedule, remind me of important things, do my laundry, etc.

make sammiches?

Posted by: anachronda at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (sGtp+)

300 Didn't Megan Fox make a movie along these lines recently?

Well she looks plastic enough to be a bot

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (PYyV9)

301 There's a lot of C-suite cluelessness about it, like anything new.

Oh, you mean the Charlie level DEI post turtles installed over the past decade by BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard recommended board members?

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:48 PM (pawvM)

302 287 I don't want a sexbot, I want a maidbot. Clean, cook, help me stay on schedule, remind me of important things, do my laundry, etc.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor
=======
Might be about ten years or so with current trends that are affordable for most of us.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:48 PM (E4rtv)

303 I'd be so terrified of another way to get rejected that I'd probably be too shy to ask out my sexbot.

Posted by: sifty boones at February 25, 2026 03:48 PM (WcDsy)

304 "But it is your golden pass to take part in the annual Dork Parade!
Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: "

Dorkwad Hall of Fame.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:48 PM (aTgV0)

305 OT: Gonna say Trump or someone leaning on private health insurance companies and especially pharmaceuticals, is having a positive effect. My meds went down from $20/3 months to $3.45/3 months...my other meds got added to the approved schedule for $350/month (from $800/month) - this 2nd one, I have a grant for, but it's nice to see even if I'm not paying. And I'll take the extra $68 on the 1st script. Now I'm wondering if my Epi will also be lower when I renew it next month...

Posted by: Nova Local at February 25, 2026 03:48 PM (tOcjL)

306 I do think AI will change the world, just in a slow, boring, plodding sort of way punctuated by various hucksters and charlatans making a buck along the way, and occasionally losing their shirts or going to jail.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:48 PM (Vq1pX)

307 293 That is still the oddest media moment in my life. We were told there was a new invention that would change everyone's life and it was the damn segway.

Yeah the fawning over the top publicity for that, all the news reports, all the claims THIS WILL CHANGE THE WORLD.

And then they revealed it and people went "that's it??" and went back to reading a book or whatever.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:46 PM (PYyV9)
---
We have them to thank for "Paul Blart: Mall Cop."

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (cWLG3)

308 Or I take off my pants.
Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (tKWMU)

Watch out for Xipe Totec's dog.

Posted by: I am the Shadout Mapes, the Housekeeper at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (ZJT0I)

309 There really isn't going to be an AI bubble burst, unlike the dot com bust, AI is largely concentrated in a small number of companies that are already large and established companies.

What's going to happen and is already happening is a correction.

For instance, Microsoft hit a high of 550 dollars a share and has pulled back to 380 dollars.

Similar clawbacks have been happening to other ai companies.

At the end of the day, big money players want to make a dollar and a cent, so there is no incentive to emanitizing another dot com bust.

Posted by: Thomas Bender at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (XV/Pl)

310 287 I don't want a sexbot, I want a maidbot. Clean, cook, help me stay on schedule, remind me of important things, do my laundry, etc.
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor

You need a batman.

(British military version, not the superhero.)

Posted by: Chuck Martel at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (Dv3i1)

311 I don't want a sexbot, I want a maidbot. Clean, cook, help me stay on schedule, remind me of important things, do my laundry, etc.

You can name her Hazel or Alice.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (abIsI)

312 Well for me once my IRAs hit $1M total I decided to retire at 56. No fancy living of course but good enough for me.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (Vh9CX)

313 Sub-prime AI dot com tech bubble palooza 2027

Posted by: sifty boones at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (WcDsy)

314 I'd be so terrified of another way to get rejected that I'd probably be too shy to ask out my sexbot.

"Not tonight, I have a chip ache"
--sifty's sexbot

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (PYyV9)

315 I'd be so terrified of another way to get rejected that I'd probably be too shy to ask out my sexbot.

I saw one feminist proposal that sex bots should be programmed to respond that they aren't in the mood.

Which is pretty much the perfect feminist view on this.

And, TBH, sexbots are almost certainly not good for society but after 60 years of feminism saying that people shouldn't have to do what is good for society that well has run dry...

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:50 PM (sKqQm)

316 "I'd be so terrified of another way to get rejected that I'd probably be too shy to ask out my sexbot.
Posted by: sifty boones"

You could get a nerdy, low confidence sex-bot.

I would.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:50 PM (aTgV0)

317 Oldest trick in the book. Flood the news and social media with anecdotal crap about how awful it is trying to make ends meet, and the average person thinks "well, my life is pretty good, but obviously nobody else's is. The economy sucks!"

Posted by: MartynWW at February 25, 2026 03:50 PM (M9zxq)

318 David French writing "The Conservative Case for Why a Strong Economy Weakens the Country"

Posted by: You know he wants to at February 25, 2026 03:50 PM (TbWk/)

319 The economy has to be awesome. 100%+ employment.
Why else would they need all those Somali daycare centers*?

* My adult girl just asserted that the Somali daycare fraud is fake and never happened.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at February 25, 2026 03:50 PM (/lPRQ)

320 You need a batman.

Yeah. Just can't afford one, or a maidbot, for that matter. I could just get so much more writing done then

Maybe one of my books will get optioned by Prime or something and I will make a zillion bucks. Maybe Kathy Ireland will dump her husband to become my sweet baboo, too.

Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (PYyV9)

321 >>It'll be like the new two factor authentication except the second factor is your mother in law.
Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:41 PM (Vq1pX)

--------------

I am so stealing that....pure gold.

Posted by: Bigsmith at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (1Au9i)

322 316.

Imagine having to listen to your sexbot talk about her boyfriend while you sit in the friend zone.

That must be like life for Bill Kristol.

Posted by: sifty boones at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (WcDsy)

323 Yes computer memory prices will go down eventually--right now, the issue is three companies, an oligopoly control RAM production and due to the normal commodification of that, it was a low margin business for decades. Now, because AI, it suddenly becomes in demand but the high capital costs make the big three very wary of increasing production lines simply because if they do, and AI investment slumps, then the new plants can't pay for themselves.
Posted by: whig

There's also the lead time to respond to those types of bubble-market pressures.

It takes 9+ months (3rd world shithole) to 3+ years (overregulated blue state) to get a new chip or memory fab up and running. Even if they knew AI would not slump, we wouldn't see the supply/demand level out for a couple of years.

Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (VHUov)

324 You could get a nerdy, low confidence sex-bot.
____

That's hot!

Posted by: Sam Bankman-Fried at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (Dv3i1)

325 Nood

Posted by: Rex B at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (17kmc)

326 I'd be so terrified of another way to get rejected that I'd probably be too shy to ask out my sexbot.

"Not tonight, I have a chip ache"
--sifty's sexbot
Posted by: Christopher R Taylor at February 25, 2026 03:49 PM (PYyV9)

However this can be overcome with a simple app transaction.

Posted by: They would totally do this at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (TbWk/)

327 My adult girl just asserted that the Somali daycare fraud is fake and never happened.

Aren't their a number of ongoing trials right now about this?

Posted by: 18-1 at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (sKqQm)

328 there is no question the economy is better now than under Biden; they are nitpicking to deflect from how awful life always is under the Democrats

Posted by: runner at February 25, 2026 03:51 PM (/M/4v)

329 Someone in WA can hear Trump talking about the low price of gas and thing "What's that guy talking about? Gas is as high as its ever been."
Posted by: 29Victor at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM

We know. The fault here isn't in DC, it's in Olympia.

Posted by: Diogenes at February 25, 2026 03:52 PM (2WIwB)

330 I want a sex bot shaped like AOC so i can tell it to go fuck itself.

Posted by: Warai-otoko at February 25, 2026 03:52 PM (Vq1pX)

331 313 Sub-prime AI dot com tech bubble palooza 2027
---
Replace sub-prime loans with circular multi-billion dollar business deals.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:52 PM (cWLG3)

332 I asked AI why my ankle hurt and it gave me a list of 15 reasons why my ankle hurt.

You want to bank on that knock yourself out.

Posted by: eleven at February 25, 2026 03:47 PM (aTgV0)

Ok.

Posted by: ... at February 25, 2026 03:52 PM (tKWMU)

333 329 Someone in WA can hear Trump talking about the low price of gas and thing "What's that guy talking about? Gas is as high as its ever been."
Posted by: 29Victor at February 25, 2026 03:16 PM

We know. The fault here isn't in DC, it's in Olympia.
Posted by: Diogenes

$4.19 for diesel yesterday. On the rez.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (abIsI)

334 FWIW, DDR5 memory prices are already beginning to subside as demand drops off, people keep existing computers longer,

How much of the demand was forced by Windows 11?

I was thinking of getting the AMD 395 AI Max and 128GB so I could run Claud without having the world have access to the code. But the cost of memory and the promise of the next generation of processors put that decision on hold.

Now because Windows 11 sucks so much, I'm rethinking ditching the whole x86 thing and going Apple Silicon.

Those price hikes get me to think of going in different directions.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (pawvM)

335 Nood! ****ing **** the **** movie awards.

Posted by: mikeski at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (VHUov)

336 Posted by: garrett at February 25, 2026 03:34 PM (1Udfd)

If we want to get more technical, how much of the tax can be effectively passed on to consumer prices initially varies based on the elasticity of demand. If gas gets taxed an extra 5% it almost entirely goes directly to the consumer because most people can't just stop going to work because gas got more expensive. But a Chinese refrigerator may not be able to pass on the higher cost as easily because it just got more expensive relative to the American brand so people will stop buying it entirely.

Over a longer term a new equilibrium develops as the tariff is factored into the cost of the product and suppliers decide how much they are willing to provide and consumes decide how much they are willing to pay. That does mean that some suppliers may exit the market and some consumers now choose to go without.

This does mean that there are people that will be worse off as they would have bought a good but are no longer willing or able. And by reducing competition a product may get more monopolized and extract even more value from the remaining consumers.

Point is: there are trade-offs at play, it's not just a "free win".

Posted by: Sjg at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (aqZN1)

337 Once we get High Speed Train everything will be better.
Posted by: pudinhead
......

Yep. Everybody in Bakersfield can go shopping in Fresno.

Posted by: wth at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (UjdFS)

338 My adult girl just asserted that the Somali daycare fraud is fake and never happened.
Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at February 25, 2026 03:50 PM (/lPRQ)

Ok, so you daughter is suffering from propaganda poisoning; do not fear and attack that propaganda, do not fear to conflict with your kid, she is are suffering! help her see the light!

Posted by: runner at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (/M/4v)

339 Reminds me of a PhD I know who sometimes moonlights as a university lecturer. He was telling me how rough it was for his students who were going to have trouble finding a job in the Trump economy.

Although, to be fair, a good portion of his students might have been grievance studies majors. So maybe he has a point.

Posted by: Emmie -- be strong and courageous! at February 25, 2026 03:54 PM (FMtrg)

340 It IS a boomcession in places like California, where due to California Democrat policies and taxes, gas is still around $5/gallon, rents are unaffordable, companies are fleeing the state and people are being laid off, food prices are high due to policies that mandate egg-laying chickens, hogs, and cattle have "liveable space", dairies are shutting down due to taxes on cow flatulence causing "greenhouse gases" (methane)...
And guess where most of CNN's viewership resides?

Posted by: UncleJefe at February 25, 2026 03:54 PM (gAuAm)

341 there is no question the economy is better now than under Biden; they are nitpicking to deflect from how awful life always is under the Democrats

They went from the objective measure to the subjective measure so that they can replace facts with narrative.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:54 PM (NzX/y)

342 Who made the Boomcession in my pants?

Posted by: Senile President Emeritus at February 25, 2026 03:55 PM (oftw2)

343
It'll be like the new two factor authentication except the second factor is your mother in law.
Posted by: Warai-otoko

Welp, that rules out any rapid response from this kid. It takes my sweet MiL five or six tries in eight or nine minutes to rock and hoist herself out of her favorite recliner chair.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at February 25, 2026 03:55 PM (xG4kz)

344 y adult girl just asserted that the Somali daycare fraud is fake and never happened.

Aren't their a number of ongoing trials right now about this?
Posted by: 18-1

Yup but if you Google "Somali daycare fraud..." one of the first suggestions is "fake story". The link has one source and ignores the 90+ individuals charged (mostly Somalis)

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at February 25, 2026 03:55 PM (/lPRQ)

345 Now because Windows 11 sucks so much, I'm rethinking ditching the whole x86 thing and going Apple Silicon.

Those price hikes get me to think of going in different directions.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (pawvM)

Linux is free and has plenty of easy to use distros like mint or ubuntu. Just sayin'

Posted by: Sjg at February 25, 2026 03:55 PM (aqZN1)

346 It takes 9+ months (3rd world shithole) to 3+ years (overregulated blue state) to get a new chip or memory fab up and running. Even if they knew AI would not slump, we wouldn't see the supply/demand level out for a couple of years.
Posted by: mikeski
======
Japan is getting back into the IC business including memory and cpus and China (Kingbank and Gloway) is looking to export older tech DRAM as well that will take some of the top off the market. And the big three are keeping ddr4 factories rolling when they planned to shut them down.

Right now, it is Crucial/Micron (which has just exited the consumer market), SK Hynix, and Samsung.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:55 PM (E4rtv)

347 That Zac V2 guy on Youtube only talks about how crappy the economy is. There are some points that are true (insane new car prices) but also there are a lot of people how there that just aren't good with money. Thankfully he hits on those people too.

Posted by: MAGA_Ken at February 25, 2026 03:56 PM (Vh9CX)

348 And guess where most of CNN's viewership resides?

In pots full of dirt in near empty reception areas? House pets where the TV is left on to act like someone is home?

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:56 PM (9Hs2w)

349 Cat fight!

Cornel West
@CornelWest
Brother Newsom could’ve taken a humanistic approach! He could’ve said, “I’m just like you. I was born of a woman. I’ll face loss, pain, and death just like anyone else.” But instead, when he thinks of Black people, he brings up low SAT scores. That mindset sits at the core of white supremacy—the belief that Black people are less beautiful, less moral, less intelligent! Don’t play with us like that @CAgovernor !!
#TruthJusticeLove

Posted by: Anonosaurus Wrecks, Damn It Feels Good to Be a Trumpster! at February 25, 2026 03:57 PM (FXNzP)

350 345 Now because Windows 11 sucks so much, I'm rethinking ditching the whole x86 thing and going Apple Silicon.

Those price hikes get me to think of going in different directions.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (pawvM)

Linux is free and has plenty of easy to use distros like mint or ubuntu. Just sayin'
Posted by: Sjg at February 25, 2026 03:55 PM (aqZN1)
----
If one is going to unlearn Windows, seems like a good time to switch to Linux. I couldn't even count on Windows to shutdown and power off reliably.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:58 PM (cWLG3)

351 345 Now because Windows 11 sucks so much, I'm rethinking ditching the whole x86 thing and going Apple Silicon.

Those price hikes get me to think of going in different directions.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:53 PM (pawvM)

Linux is free and has plenty of easy to use distros like mint or ubuntu. Just sayin'
Posted by: Sjg
========
If people need microsux programs or specific creator programs like Adobe, Autocad, etc, then Apple is your best bet as it runs office plus those other creator programs. If not, linux is your best bet as it runs better than windows on older software. For a lot of other needs, linux programs are just fine albeit often require adjusting to the vast differences in display managers and distros.

Mint is probably close to the most bombproof and easiest transition. Ubuntu/Debian would be up there as well. Arch based linux is the other strain and a bit more unfriendly for desktop usage.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 03:59 PM (E4rtv)

352 Linux is free and has plenty of easy to use distros like mint or ubuntu. Just sayin'

All my containers are Linux since it really is a better server platform. The LLM for running local Claude would be happy on Linux.

Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure at February 25, 2026 03:59 PM (9Hs2w)

353
You forgot to flay him for the "can't read" portion of his put down of your people, Cornel.

Posted by: Krebs v Carnot: Epic Battle of the Cycling Stars (TM) at February 25, 2026 04:00 PM (xG4kz)

354 @349 And he's still extending an olive branch to Newsom by offering this as constructive criticism.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 04:00 PM (cWLG3)

355 FWIW, last summer, as a project, I cleared out a bunch of old computers. I got Debian 32 bit Trixie (circa 2025 dated OS) to run on a truly ancient Intel BX2 Seattle motherboard with a Pentium III processor. Did it so I could check data and remove if necessary to backup media what was on a very old hard drive.

Debian ran slow but it did work on a mere 512k ram with a 30 gb hard drive on truly ancient hardware.

That is how well Linux runs on old systems. Sometimes better than brand new computers unless you purposefully select manufacturers like Lenovo or Dell. The biggest hurdle in Linux still are mundane issues like drivers for printers, scanners, cameras, sound cards, etc. for various hardware add ins. If you pay attention when building a system, you can avoid that issue but on old ones, you may have to track down a driver for old hardware.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 04:06 PM (E4rtv)

356 Eggbeef.

amirite?
Posted by: eleven

What kind of soupwich would that go with?
Posted by: Bulg
__________

I used to regularly get a beef, sliced egg and bacon triple decker, but dammit, the place went out of business. Nobody makes a decent triple decker anymore. Turkey clubs don't cut it.
Posted by: Biff Pocoroba at February 25, 2026 03:11 PM (XvL8K)

Used to be a place in Cincinnati. The sandwich was nearly cubical, you could hardly bite it.

Posted by: Oldcat at February 25, 2026 04:07 PM (8avO+)

357 If one is going to unlearn Windows, seems like a good time to switch to Linux. I couldn't even count on Windows to shutdown and power off reliably.
Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:58 PM (cWLG3)

There's even a Windows emulator under Linux, and it can read your files off the Windows hard drives.

Posted by: Oldcat at February 25, 2026 04:09 PM (8avO+)

358 "The US economy grew 2.2% in 2025, very much in line with the last three years of robust economic growth. "

Robust? Thats their new definition?

Second, 800K jobs got wiped out due to " recalibration" of Biden's BS. BLS estimates.

The only reason job growth was somewhat respectful in Q3 & 4 of 2024 was the hiring of gov't workers.

There are jobs out there. It may take some time. You may have to move. But they are out there and hopefully will continue to grow.

Yes. Job growth was weak. But in part, that was attributable to government job losses.

Posted by: Steve_in_SoCal at February 25, 2026 04:09 PM (m+uh6)

359 All my containers are Linux since it really is a better server platform. The LLM for running local Claude would be happy on Linux.
Posted by: Unknown Drip Under Pressure
=======
My next system was going to be using containers so I could get rid of hardware as I have some really old but expensive software on old hardware in the basement (stats, graphics, etc. ). Hardware costs went up too fast to do a new build right now so I refurbed all the old systems downstairs and maximized them running from Win95, OS/2, Win 2k, XP-SP3, Win 7, Win 8.1, to Windows 10 scanning media station.

My main everyday computers dual boot Linux and windows upstairs but are still stuck in DDR4 but with maxxed out memory and oddities like Bluray drives, etc. Use them for media creation now mostly instead of stats/etc. as I am retired.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 04:11 PM (E4rtv)

360 There's even a Windows emulator under Linux, and it can read your files off the Windows hard drives.
Posted by: Oldcat

Linux now has native reading of ntfs3 built into the kernel nowadyas. "Since Linux kernel 5.15, the native ntfs3 driver provides full read/write access to NTFS file systems, including support for features like compression and journal replay, replacing the older, limited kernel driver. "

Major issue is don't use bitlocker on your ntfs drives if you plan to mess with Linux and Windows. Bitlocker has issues to begin with and putting linux on top of that mess of a compressed encrypted drive risks losing data.

Posted by: whig at February 25, 2026 04:14 PM (E4rtv)

361 357 If one is going to unlearn Windows, seems like a good time to switch to Linux. I couldn't even count on Windows to shutdown and power off reliably.
Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 03:58 PM (cWLG3)

There's even a Windows emulator under Linux, and it can read your files off the Windows hard drives.
Posted by: Oldcat at February 25, 2026 04:09 PM (8avO+)
---
With WINE and Proton you can run moat any windows app that doesn't have DRM or isn't tightly integrated with the Windows OS (like MS Office). I can play all the Windows PC games in my Steam library just fine in Linux, no containers, hypervisors, or dual-boot configs required.

Posted by: Chairman LMAO at February 25, 2026 04:15 PM (cWLG3)

362 The Critical Drinker sells plush dolls of himself to middle-aged men.

Posted by: Jim at February 25, 2026 04:20 PM (D7MKZ)

363 362 The Critical Drinker sells plush dolls of himself to whoever wants them and res tantum valet quantum vendi potest.
Posted by: Jim at February 25, 2026 04:20 PM (D7MKZ)

FIFY

Posted by: Cow Demon at February 25, 2026 04:34 PM (fYhK6)

364 Trump's biggest disapproval ratings are in the economy. Walmart CFO called it a job recession
We need about 2 million new jobs per year. Last year we got 120000.
The economy is why the mid terms will be a trump disaster

Posted by: Aliassmithsmith at February 25, 2026 05:05 PM (zKyFQ)

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CNN: The Economy Is Doing Pretty Well, Just as Trump Claims.Too Bad It's a Boomcession That Is Leaving So, So Many People Behind.

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CNN: The Economy Is Doing Pretty Well, Just as Trump Claims.
Too Bad It's a Boomcession That Is Leaving So, So Many People Behind.