18 USC 611: V****g by aliensText contains those laws in effect on March 27, 2024
From Title 18-CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDUREPART I-CRIMESCHAPTER 29-E******NS AND POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
Jump To: Source Credit Miscellaneous Prior Provisions Amendments Effective Date
§611. V****g by aliens
(a) It shall be unlawful for any alien to v**e in any e******n held solely or in part for the purpose of electing a candidate for the office of President, Vice President, P**********l e*****r, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner, unless-
(1) the e******n is held partly for some other purpose;
(2) aliens are authorized to v**e for such other purpose under a State constitution or statute or a local ordinance; and
(3) v****g for such other purpose is conducted independently of v****g for a candidate for such Federal offices, in such a manner that an alien has the opportunity to v**e for such other purpose, but not an opportunity to v**e for a candidate for any one or more of such Federal offices.


(b) Any person who violates this section shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
(c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an alien if-
(1) each natural parent of the alien (or, in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien) is or was a citizen (whether by birth or naturalization);
(2) the alien permanently resided in the United States prior to attaining the age of 16; and
(3) the alien reasonably believed at the time of v****g in violation of such subsection that he or she was a citizen of the United States.
(Added Pub. L. 104–208, div. C, title II, §216(a), Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–572 ; amended Pub. L. 106–395, title II, §201(d)(1), Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1635 .)


EDITORIAL NOTES
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 611, acts June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 724 ; Feb. 7, 1972, Pub. L. 92–225, title II, §206, 86 Stat. 10 ; Oct. 15, 1974, Pub. L. 93–443, title I, §§101(e)(2), 103, 88 Stat. 1267 , 1272, prohibited campaign contributions by government contractors, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 94–283, title II, §201(a), May 11, 1976, 90 Stat. 496 . See section 30119 of Title 52, V****g and E******ns.
AMENDMENTS
2000-Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 106–395 added subsec. (c).


STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2000 AMENDMENT
Pub. L. 106–395, title II, §201(d)(3), Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1636 , provided that: "The amendment made by paragraph (1) [amending this section] shall be effective as if included in the enactment of section 216 of the I*****l I*********n Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208; 110 Stat. 3009–572). The amendment made by paragraph (2) [amending section 1015 of this title] shall be effective as if included in the enactment of section 215 of the I*****l I*********n Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–208; 110 Stat. 3009–572). The amendments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply to an alien prosecuted on or after September 30, 1996, except in the case of an alien whose criminal proceeding (including judicial review thereof) has been finally concluded before the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 30, 2000]."

CRIMINAL CASES
Georgia E******n I**********e (State, GA):

Federal E******n I**********e (Federal, DC - Criminal Case)

Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents (Federal, FL)—better than unsecure garage?

Hush Money/ Fraud in the 2016 E******n (State, NY)
Defamation/ Sexual Assault/ Rape (Federal, NY)

FRAUD (State, NY)
New York Attorney General Letitia James has brought a $250 million civil case against Donald Trump, his two adult sons, and his company for alleged fraud.

Here’s where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House
A New York judge says former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury se******n starting on March 25. (Feb. 15)
February 28, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — From allegations of plotting to overturn a lost e******n to illegally stowing classified documents at his Florida estate, former President Donald Trump faces four criminal indictments in four different cities as he vies to reclaim the White House.
The cases, totaling 91 felony counts, are winding through the courts at different speeds. Some might not reach trial this year, while one is set to begin in a matter of weeks.
A look at each case:
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE
Special counsel Jack Smith has been leading two federal probes related to Trump, both of which have resulted in charges against the former president.
The first charges to result from those investigations came in June when Trump was indicted for mishandling top secret documents at his Florida estate. The indictment alleges that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map.
A superseding indictment issued in July added charges accusing Trump of asking for surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House. The new indictment also charges him with illegally holding onto a document he’s alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey.
Biden and Trump: How the two classified documents investigations came to different endings
In all, Trump faces 40 felony charges in the classified documents case. The most serious charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Walt Nauta, a valet for Trump, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Trump’s Florida estate, have been charged in the case with scheming to conceal surveillance footage from federal investigators and lying about it.
Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon set a trial date of May 20, 2024, though she has signaled that it may be pushed back.
E******N I**********E
Smith’s second case against Trump was unveiled in August when the former president was indicted in Washington on felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 e******n in the run-up to the violent r**t by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on J*** 6, 2021.
The four-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding: the c***********l c***********n of Joe Biden’s victory. It says that Trump repeatedly told supporters and others that he had won the e******n, despite knowing that was false, and describes how he tried to persuade state officials, then-Vice President Mike Pence and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results.
After a weekslong campaign of lies about the e******n results, prosecutors allege, Trump sought to exploit the violence at the Capitol by pointing to it as a reason to further delay the counting of v**es that sealed his defeat.

Supreme Court sets April arguments over whether Trump can be prosecuted for e******n i**********e
In their charging documents, prosecutors referenced a half-dozen unindicted co-conspirators, including lawyers inside and outside of government who they said had worked with Trump to undo the e******n results and advanced legally dubious schemes to enlist slates of f**e e*****rs in battleground states won by Biden.
The Trump campaign called the charges “f**e” and asked why it took two and a half years to bring them. He has pleaded not guilty.
The case had been set for trial on March 4 in federal court in Washington. But that date was canceled amid an appeal by Trump on the legally untested question of whether a former president is immune from prosecution for official acts taken in the White House.
The Supreme Court injected fresh uncertainty into the trial date, saying Wednesday that it would hear arguments in late April. That leaves it unclear whether a trial can be completed before the November e******n.
HUSH MONEY SCHEME
Trump became the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges when he was indicted in New York in March on state charges stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 p**********l campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.
That case is set to be first to proceed to trial, with a judge setting jury se******n for March 25.
Trump has already pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison, though it’s not clear if a judge would impose any prison time if Trump were convicted.
Manhattan DA wants gag order for Trump, seeks to play ‘Access Hollywood’ tape at hush-money trial
The counts are linked to a series of checks that were written to his lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying off porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, not long after Melania Trump gave birth to son Barron. Those payments were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors say didn’t exist.
GEORGIA
Trump is charged alongside 18 other people — including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows — with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law by scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 e******n loss.
The indictment, handed up in August, accuses Trump or his allies of suggesting Georgia’s Republican secretary of state could “find” enough v**es for him to win the battleground state; of harassing an e******n worker who faced false claims of fraud; an, attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of v**ers and appoint a new slate of E*******l College e*****rs favorable to Trump.
Ex-law partner is evasive as attorneys press for details on Willis and Wade’s romance in Trump case
In the months since, several of the defendants, including lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, have pleaded guilty. A trial date for Trump and the others has not yet been set, and the case in recent weeks has been consumed by revelations of a personal relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office brought the case, and an outside prosecutor she hired.
CIVIL CASES
Beyond the criminal cases, Trump has also been the subject of a civil proceeding in New York City. The state’s attorney general, Letitia James, argued that Trump and his companies engaged in a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth.
A judge has ordered Trump and his companies to pay $355 million as a penalty in the case. T***p w*n’t have to pay out the money immediately as an appeals process plays out, but the verdict still is a stunning setback for the former president.
If he’s ultimately forced to pay, the magnitude of the penalty, on top of earlier judgments, could dramatically diminish his financial resources. And it undermines the image of a successful businessman that he’s carefully tailored to power his unlikely rise from a reality television star to a onetime — and perhaps future — president.
That ruling comes on top of the $83.3 million Trump was ordered to pay to E. Jean Carroll in January for his continued social media attacks against the longtime advice columnist over her claims that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store. He was already the subject of a $5 million sexual assault and defamation verdict last year from another jury in the case.
J** 6th

Georgia E******n I**********e (State, GA):
Federal E******n I**********e (Federal, DC - Criminal Case)
Mar-a-Lago Classified Documents (Federal, FL)—better than unsecure garage?
Hush Money/ Fraud in the 2016 E******n (State, NY)
Defamation/ Sexual Assault/ Rape (Federal, NY)
FRAUD (State, NY)
New York Attorney General Letitia James has brought a $250 million civil case against Donald Trump, his two adult sons, and his company for alleged fraud.
Here’s where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House
A New York judge says former President Donald Trump’s hush-money trial will go ahead as scheduled with jury se******n starting on March 25. (Feb. 15)
February 28, 2024
WASHINGTON (AP) — From allegations of plotting to overturn a lost e******n to illegally stowing classified documents at his Florida estate, former President Donald Trump faces four criminal indictments in four different cities as he vies to reclaim the White House.
The cases, totaling 91 felony counts, are winding through the courts at different speeds. Some might not reach trial this year, while one is set to begin in a matter of weeks.
A look at each case:
CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE
Special counsel Jack Smith has been leading two federal probes related to Trump, both of which have resulted in charges against the former president.
The first charges to result from those investigations came in June when Trump was indicted for mishandling top secret documents at his Florida estate. The indictment alleges that Trump repeatedly enlisted aides and lawyers to help him hide records demanded by investigators and cavalierly showed off a Pentagon “plan of attack” and classified map.
A superseding indictment issued in July added charges accusing Trump of asking for surveillance footage at his Mar-a-Lago estate to be deleted after FBI and Justice Department investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after leaving the White House. The new indictment also charges him with illegally holding onto a document he’s alleged to have shown off to visitors in New Jersey.
Biden and Trump: How the two classified documents investigations came to different endings
In all, Trump faces 40 felony charges in the classified documents case. The most serious charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Walt Nauta, a valet for Trump, and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager at Trump’s Florida estate, have been charged in the case with scheming to conceal surveillance footage from federal investigators and lying about it.
Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira have pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon set a trial date of May 20, 2024, though she has signaled that it may be pushed back.
E******N I**********E
Smith’s second case against Trump was unveiled in August when the former president was indicted in Washington on felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 e******n in the run-up to the violent r**t by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol on J*** 6, 2021.
The four-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States government and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding: the c***********l c***********n of Joe Biden’s victory. It says that Trump repeatedly told supporters and others that he had won the e******n, despite knowing that was false, and describes how he tried to persuade state officials, then-Vice President Mike Pence and finally Congress to overturn the legitimate results.
After a weekslong campaign of lies about the e******n results, prosecutors allege, Trump sought to exploit the violence at the Capitol by pointing to it as a reason to further delay the counting of v**es that sealed his defeat.
Supreme Court sets April arguments over whether Trump can be prosecuted for e******n i**********e
In their charging documents, prosecutors referenced a half-dozen unindicted co-conspirators, including lawyers inside and outside of government who they said had worked with Trump to undo the e******n results and advanced legally dubious schemes to enlist slates of f**e e*****rs in battleground states won by Biden.
The Trump campaign called the charges “f**e” and asked why it took two and a half years to bring them. He has pleaded not guilty.
The case had been set for trial on March 4 in federal court in Washington. But that date was canceled amid an appeal by Trump on the legally untested question of whether a former president is immune from prosecution for official acts taken in the White House.
The Supreme Court injected fresh uncertainty into the trial date, saying Wednesday that it would hear arguments in late April. That leaves it unclear whether a trial can be completed before the November e******n.
HUSH MONEY SCHEME
Trump became the first former U.S. president in history to face criminal charges when he was indicted in New York in March on state charges stemming from hush money payments made during the 2016 p**********l campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters.
That case is set to be first to proceed to trial, with a judge setting jury se******n for March 25.
Trump has already pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Each count is punishable by up to four years in prison, though it’s not clear if a judge would impose any prison time if Trump were convicted.
Manhattan DA wants gag order for Trump, seeks to play ‘Access Hollywood’ tape at hush-money trial
The counts are linked to a series of checks that were written to his lawyer Michael Cohen to reimburse him for his role in paying off porn actor Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006, not long after Melania Trump gave birth to son Barron. Those payments were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors say didn’t exist.
GEORGIA
Trump is charged alongside 18 other people — including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows — with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law by scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 e******n loss.
The indictment, handed up in August, accuses Trump or his allies of suggesting Georgia’s Republican secretary of state could “find” enough v**es for him to win the battleground state; of harassing an e******n worker who faced false claims of fraud; an, attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of v**ers and appoint a new slate of E*******l College e*****rs favorable to Trump.
Ex-law partner is evasive as attorneys press for details on Willis and Wade’s romance in Trump case
In the months since, several of the defendants, including lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, have pleaded guilty. A trial date for Trump and the others has not yet been set, and the case in recent weeks has been consumed by revelations of a personal relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office brought the case, and an outside prosecutor she hired.
CIVIL CASES
Beyond the criminal cases, Trump has also been the subject of a civil proceeding in New York City. The state’s attorney general, Letitia James, argued that Trump and his companies engaged in a yearslong scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth.
A judge has ordered Trump and his companies to pay $355 million as a penalty in the case. T***p w*n’t have to pay out the money immediately as an appeals process plays out, but the verdict still is a stunning setback for the former president.
If he’s ultimately forced to pay, the magnitude of the penalty, on top of earlier judgments, could dramatically diminish his financial resources. And it undermines the image of a successful businessman that he’s carefully tailored to power his unlikely rise from a reality television star to a onetime — and perhaps future — president.
That ruling comes on top of the $83.3 million Trump was ordered to pay to E. Jean Carroll in January for his continued social media attacks against the longtime advice columnist over her claims that he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store. He was already the subject of a $5 million sexual assault and defamation verdict last year from another jury in the case.

J** 6th

One can only say that the Dems have put in place a puppet who was sold as being in the center and hid in his basement to get elected along with endless breaking of state e******n laws and apparently a lot of fraudulent v**es that the courts would not allow to be prosecuted. It might also be good to mention the total mistreatment and false testimony against the so called J** 6th i**********n but maybe you just want to take on one or two of the topics at a time.
Hopefully this will give you some ideas.
DEB

The annual inflation rate for the United States was 3.2% for the 12 months ending February, compared to the previous rate of 3.1%, according to U.S. Labor Department data published on March 12, 2024. The next inflation update is scheduled for release on April 10 at 8:30 a.m. ET, providing information on the inflation rate for the 12 months ending March 2024.
Below is a chart and table displaying annual US inflation rates for calendar years from 2000 and 2014 through 2024. For inflation rates in prior years, please refer to historical inflation rates. If you would like to calculate the accumulated rates between two different dates, you can use the US Inflation Calculator.
*The latest inflation data (12-month based) is always displayed in the chart’s final column.
Table: Annual Inflation Rates
To find annual inflation rates for a calendar year, look to the December column. For instance, the inflation rate in 2023 was 3.4%. Meanwhile, the "Ave" column shows the average inflation rate for each year using CPI data. In 2023, the average inflation rate was 4.1%. These average rates are published by the BLS but are rarely discussed in the news media, taking a back seat to the actual rate of inflation for a given calendar year.
Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Ave
2024 3.1 3.2 Avail.
April
10
2023 6.4 6.0 5.0 4.9 4.0 3.0 3.2 3.7 3.7 3.2 3.1 3.4 4.1
2022 7.5 7.9 8.5 8.3 8.6 9.1 8.5 8.3 8.2 7.7 7.1 6.5 8.0
2021 1.4 1.7 2.6 4.2 5.0 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.4 6.2 6.8 7.0 4.7
2020 2.5 2.3 1.5 0.3 0.1 0.6 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.2
Calculating Annual Inflation Rates
Annual rates of inflation are calculated using 12-month se******ns of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which is published monthly by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
To calculate the inflation rate for a specific month, such as January 2017, subtract the CPI for that month of the previous year (in this case, January 2016) from the current CPI (January 2017). The result is the difference between the two CPIs. Divide this number by the CPI for the previous year, then multiply by 100 and add a percentage sign to obtain the inflation rate for the given month.
For example, to calculate the inflation rate for January 2017, subtract the January 2016 CPI of 236.916 from the January 2017 CPI of 242.839, which yields 5.923. Divide 5.923 by 236.916, multiply by 100, and add a % sign to obtain an inflation rate of 2.5% for January 2017.
Chart: Monthly Inflation Rates and Annual Inflation Rates in the United States
The following chart displays both the monthly inflation rates alongside the 12-month inflation rates since February 2014. The latter rates are the same as above and are not seasonally adjusted, while the former are seasonally adjusted. Both of these rates are headline figures in monthly Labor Department reports on consumer prices and inflation. For further details on the differences between seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data, please refer to "Seasonally Adjusted and Unadjusted Data."
Table: 1-Month and 12-Month Inflation Rates (2014-2024)
To present the data in a different format, the following table displays the same information as above.
Month Monthly Inflation Rate
(seasonally adjusted) Annual Inflation Rate
(not seasonally adjusted)
February 2024 0.4 3.2
January 2024 0.3 3.1
December 2023 0.2 3.4
November 2023 0.1 3.1
October 2023 0.0 3.2
September 2023 0.4 3.7
August 2023 0.6 3.7
July 2023 0.2 3.2
June 2023 0.2 3.0
May 2023 0.1 4.0
April 2023 0.4 4.9
March 2023 0.1 5.0
February 2023 0.4 6.0
January 2023 0.5 6.4
December 2022 0.1 6.5
November 2022 0.2 7.1
October 2022 0.5 7.7
September 2022 0.4 8.2
August 2022 0.2 8.3
July 2022 0.0 8.5
June 2022 1.2 9.1
May 2022 0.9 8.6
April 2022 0.4 8.3
March 2022 1.0 8.5
February 2022 0.7 7.9
January 2022 0.6 7.5
December 2021 0.8 7.0
November 2021 0.8 6.8
October 2021 0.9 6.2
September 2021 0.4 5.4
August 2021 0.4 5.3
July 2021 0.4 5.4
June 2021 0.8 5.4
May 2021 0.7 5.0
April 2021 0.7 4.2
March 2021 0.5 2.6
February 2021 0.4 1.7

The path to civilizational destruction should be very familiar by now
By--Victor Davis Hanson Fox News--Published April 5, 2024—printed off 4/8/24
The Biden administration is 'assaulting the very mechanisms and protocols we use to live': Victor Davis Hanson Why are those controlling President Biden using him to advance so much of a destructive agenda that it will likely end America as we know it? If someone wished to destroy America, could he do anything more catastrophic than what we currently see and hear each day? What would an existential enemy do that we have not already done to ourselves?

EX-OBAMA STAFFER RIPS BIDEN FOR BEING 'PRIVATELY' ANGRY AT ISRAEL, BUT NOT CHANGING POLICY: LOOKS 'WEAK'
Here are 11 now familiar steps to civilizational destruction:
1. Wipe out a 2,000-mile border.
Allow 10 million foreign nationals to enter unlawfully. Have no audit of any; nullify all federal i*********n l*ws. Let in toxic drugs that k**l 100,000 Americans a year. Give free support to those millions who broke the law. Smear any objectors as r****ts and xenophobes.
2. Run up $35 trillion in national debt.
Keep adding $1 trillion to it each 100 days. Defame anyone wishing to cut wild spending as cruel and inhumane.
3. Appease or subsidize enemies like Iran and China.
Demonize allies like Israel. Allow terrorists to attack Americans without adequate response. See Islam as either similar or superior to Christianity. Make amends to l*****t governments for supposedly past toxic American international behavior. Follow the lead of international agencies like the U.N., ICC and WHO to atone for past American neocolonial and imperialist behavior. Recede to second-tier international status, befitting American decline.
4. In a multiracial democracy, redefine identity only as one’s tribal affiliation.
Ensure each identity group rivals the other for victimhood and the state spoils it confers. Reboot all political issues by race and sex oppressors and oppressed. Destroy all meritocratic standards of admission, retention, promotion and commendation.
5. Recalibrate violent crime as understandable, cry-of-the-heart expressions of social justice. Ensure no bail and same-day release for arrested, repeat violent felons. Empathize with the violent k**ler and rapist; ignore their victims, especially if they are slain police officers.
6. Emasculate the military by using non-meritocratic standards of race, g****r, and sexual orientation to determine promotion and commendation.
Deliberately impugn as r****ts and i**********nists the largest demographic in the military who in recent wars died at twice their numbers in the population — so that they leave or never join the military. Encourage retired high officers to slander their commander-in-chief. Cut the defense budget. Stop producing sufficient weapons, but leave billions of dollars’ worth of arms to terrorists.
7. Reinvent the justice system to indict, bankrupt, convict, jail and eliminate political opponents.
Use b****t removal, impeachment, civil suits, and state and federal indictments rather than e******ns to defeat an opponent. Mob the homes of non-compliant Supreme Court justices, and attack them personally by name.
8. Encourage the fusion of the bureaucratic state with the electronic media to form a powerful force for political audit, surveillance, censorship and coercion.
Marry the FBI to Silicon Valley and hire its contractors to warp the news and hound supposed enemies of the people.
9. Make war on affordable gasoline and natural gas.
Substitute inefficient, unreliable and expensive wind and solar power, even as energy prices nearly bankrupt the middle class.
10. Marry late, but preferably not at all.
Consider males toxic, especially boys. Have no children, or as few as possible. Otherwise, assure children they are entitled, and must be sheltered. Raise them to have grievances against past generations and current norms.
11. Turn world-class universities into indoctrination centers.
Suspend the Bill of Rights on campuses. Train youth to graduate despising their own culture and civilization. Recruit foreign students from hostile nations to subsidize campus commissar bloat. Replace the curriculum with therapeutic propaganda. Ban the SAT/ACT and do not evaluate comparative high school GPAs. Ensure merit does not select the student body. Charge tuition higher than the rate of inflation. Bill the government when students default on their loans.
Why could those controlling the president be doing all of the above?
1. They are delusional and think their socialist and g*******t agendas are working and will save us.
2. They are raging nihilists who do not like the U.S. and deliberately want it destroyed as a service to the world. A ruined U.S. is preferable to a strong America.
3. They are Jacobin revolutionaries who are intentionally erasing the old United States as a prerequisite for creating an entirely new America that will arise from the ashes with no trace or even memory of its past.
4. They have no agenda. They are aimless fools and utter incompetents. These bunglers just wing it day-to-day, in response to what their radical media, academic and political masters dictate is necessary for them to retain power. They have no idea of the damage they are doing.
5. A bit of 1-3, but probably not 4.
There is cause for hope among this nihilist remaking of America: the people are fed up and will demand an accounting in the fall.

Friday, 29 March 2024—PRINTED OFF 3/29/24—NEWSMAX- 2024 Thomson/Reuters.
U.S. prices increased moderately in February and the cost of services outside housing slowed considerably, keeping a June interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve on the table. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.3% last month, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday. Data for January was revised higher to show the PCE price index climbing 0.4% instead of 0.3% as previously reported. In the 12 months through February, PCE inflation advanced 2.5% after increasing 2.4% in January. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PCE price index gaining 0.4% on the month and rising 2.5% year-on-year. Price pressures are subsiding, though the pace has slowed from the first half of last year. Fed officials last week left the U.S. central bank's policy rate unchanged in the current 5.25%-5.50% range, having raised it by 525 basis points since March 2022.
Policymakers anticipate three rate cuts this year. Financial markets expect the first rate reduction in June. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Wednesday, "there is no rush to cut the policy rate" right now, but he did not rule out trimming borrowing costs later in the year. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the PCE price index increased 0.3% last month. That followed an upwardly revised 0.5% gain in January. The so-called core PCE price index was previously reported to have advanced 0.4% in January. Core inflation increased 2.8% year-on-year in February after rising 2.9% in January. The Fed tracks the PCE price measures for its 2% inflation target. Monthly inflation readings of 0.2% over time are necessary to bring inflation back to target. PCE services inflation excluding energy and housing gained 0.2% last month after surging 0.7% in January. Policymakers are monitoring the so-called super core inflation to gauge their progress in fighting inflation.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, jumped 0.8% last month after increasing 0.2% in January, the report also showed.

Peru: Citizens of Peru fleeing violence and economic turmoil are usually able to fly to Mexico, which does not require visas of visiting Peruvians. (Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru have a visa-free travel arrangement under the “Pacific Alliance” structure.) The U.S. government ran 10 expulsion or removal flights to Peru between August and October 2022.
• 2021-2022 change: +1,485%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 2%
• Single adults 2022: 49%
• Family unit members 2022: 50%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 1%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 0%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Yuma, Arizona/California; Del Rio, Texas; Tucson, Arizona

Ecuador: Migrants from Ecuador began arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in significant numbers for the first time in 2021. Most were flying into Mexico, which did not require visas of visiting Ecuadorian citizens at the time. In September 2021, at strong U.S. suggestion, Mexico imposed a visa requirement on Ecuadorians. Migration from Ecuador dropped, but has been steadily recovering as thousands of migrants per month braved Panama’s dangerous Darién Gap jungles, traveling overland all the way to the U.S. border. Since August 2022, Ecuador has been the number-two country of citizenship of migrants passing through the Darién region; their numbers more than tripled from September to October, to 8,487. During fiscal year 2022, 5 percent of Ecuadorian migrants were expelled under Title 42; the U.S. government ran 20 removal flights to the country over the past 12 months.
• 2021-2022 change: -75%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 5%
• Single adults 2022: 42%
• Family unit members 2022: 54%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 4%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 0%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: El Paso, Texas/New Mexico; Rio Grande Valley, Texas; Del Rio, Texas

Haiti: Many if not most Haitian citizens who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border left Haiti years ago, then lived and worked for several years in Brazil, Chile, or elsewhere in South America. 2021 saw a large-scale migration of Haitians through the Darién Gap (Haiti was the number-one country in the Darién that year), culminating in the notorious September Border Patrol “agents on horseback” incident in Del Rio, Texas. The Biden administration carried out an aggressive campaign of aerial Title 42 expulsions of Haitians back to the island, with 240 flights removing nearly 25,000 Haitians since September 2021.
Since June 2022, though, Haitian protection-seeking migration at the border has been quite orderly. Over these five months, a system of humanitarian exemptions from Title 42 has meant that 96 percent of encountered Haitians were allowed to approach ports of entry, and just 0.5 percent were expelled under Title 42. There was just one removal flight to Haiti between September and October.
• 2021-2022 change: +14%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 23%
• Single adults 2022: 41%
• Family unit members 2022: 58%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 1%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 46%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: CBP’s Laredo Field Office, Texas; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico; Yuma, Arizona/California

El Salvador: Mexico accepts Title 42 expulsions of Salvadoran citizens across the land border, and U.S. authorities expelled 58 percent of Salvadorans encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022. 17 percent of Salvadoran migrants encountered in 2022 were unaccompanied children. 69 percent of Salvadoran migrants were encountered in Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector, in south Texas, in 2022.
Though Title 42 made requesting asylum virtually impossible for citizens of El Salvador, migration from El Salvador declined just 2 percent from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2022. This is a smaller decline than those experienced among citizens of Guatemala or Honduras—the two other countries whose citizens’ expulsions Mexico has consistently accepted. Further research is needed to determine whether the steadiness of Salvadoran migration is related to the Bukele government’s sweeping crackdown on young people suspected of gang membership. This crackdown has resulted in over 57,000 arrests since late March in a country of 6.5 million people, and could be causing more people to flee despite Title 42.
• 2021-2022 change: -2%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 58%
• Single adults 2022: 53%
• Family unit members 2022: 30%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 17%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 4%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Rio Grande Valley, Texas; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico; Del Rio, Texas

Russia: Encounters with migrants from Putin’s Russia exceeded 200 in April 2021, 1,000 in September 2021, and 2,000 in December 2021. The 3,879 encounters in October 2022 appear to be a new record. More than 75 percent of Russian migrants are encountered in and around San Diego, California, where most come to the San Ysidro port of entry. At times, they seek to drive over the borderline in rented cars.
• 2021-2022 change: +430%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 1%
• Single adults 2022: 42%
• Family unit members 2022: 57%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 0%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 76%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: CBP’s San Diego Field Office, California; Yuma, Arizona/California; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico

India: Encounters with migrants from India exceeded 1,000 in December 2021 and 2,000 in May 2022. 90 percent of Indian citizens are encountered by Border Patrol agents in Arizona and southeast California. Many are fleeing persecution from India’s nationalist government, Quartz reported in October.
• 2021-2022 change: +607%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 0%
• Single adults 2022: 71%
• Family unit members 2022: 27%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 2%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 0%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Yuma, Arizona/California; El Centro, California; San Diego, California

Turkey: Migration from Erdogan’s Turkey multiplied eleven-fold between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022. Nearly all Turkish migrants are encountered by Border Patrol in and near El Paso, Texas.
• 2021-2022 change: +996%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 0%
• Single adults 2022: 77%
• Family unit members 2022: 22%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 1%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 1%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: El Paso, Texas/New Mexico (97% of encounters)

Brazil: Migrants from Brazil encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border increased to unprecedented levels in 2021. Most were flying into Mexico, which did not require visas of visiting Brazilian citizens at the time. In December 2021, at strong U.S. suggestion, Mexico imposed a visa requirement on Brazilians. Migration from Brazil dropped, but recovered to more than 4,000 per month between May and August 2022. Very few of these mid-2022 Brazilian migrants passed through Panama’s Darién Gap jungles: Panama recorded just 2,062 Brazilian migrants during the first 10 months of 2022.
In September and October 2022, the number of Brazilian migrants encountered at the border fell sharply, falling below 1,000 per month for the first time since February 2021. It is not clear why that has happened. 77 percent of Brazilian migrants encountered in 2022 were members of family units.
• 2021-2022 change: -6%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 9%
• Single adults 2022: 23%
• Family unit members 2022: 77%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 0%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 5%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Yuma, Arizona/California; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico; San Diego, California

China: Migration from the People’s Republic of China multiplied five-fold between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022. The majority of Chinese migrants are encountered by Border Patrol or CBP in and near San Diego, California.
• 2021-2022 change: +384%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 2%
• Single adults 2022: 92%
• Family unit members 2022: 7%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 0%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 9%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: San Diego, California; Rio Grande Valley, Texas; CBP’s Laredo Field Office, Texas

Romania: Most migrants from Romania are members of the often persecuted Roma ethnic group. Their numbers at the U.S.-Mexico border increased 47 percent from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2022. Border Patrol has been encountering the vast majority in and around San Diego, California and Yuma, Arizona. 78 percent of Romanian migrants encountered in 2022 were members of family units.
• 2021-2022 change: +47%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 0%
• Single adults 2022: 19%
• Family unit members 2022: 78%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 3%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 2%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: San Diego, California; Yuma, Arizona/California; Rio Grande Valley, Texas

FAIR REPORT-- December 2023 Sets Historic Record of I*****l I*********n
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January 29, 2024



Of the more than 371,000 aliens encountered, 302,034 were encountered at our southern border. Of those, nearly 250,000 were arrested between ports of entry by Border Patrol.
December statistics also showed that the number of unaccompanied alien children continues at crisis levels. In December, 13,527 unaccompanied minors were encountered, most of whom were t***sferred to Health and Human Services to be placed with sponsors throughout the United States.
Even more alarming, the vast majority of the i*****l a***ns who are encountered are being released into the United States. Earlier this month, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who is facing impeachment by the House of Representatives starting Tuesday, publicly acknowledged that more than 70 percent are released into the United States. Later, he privately admitted to Border Patrol agents that more than 85 percent of those encountered at the southern border are being released.
According to Customs and Border Patrol, approximately 45,770 aliens were processed and paroled into the country using the CBP One App in December 2023. Since the App became operational in January 2023, about 413,000 aliens have scheduled appointments to appear at a port of entry at the southern border and seek parole (which ultimately allows an alien to obtain a work permit and a path to citizenship).
In addition, through the end of December, 327,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans flew into the U.S. under the unlawful parole process put in place by Secretary Mayorkas.
As the numbers continue to spike, Secretary Mayorkas faces possible impeachment as the House Homeland Security Committee prepares to v**e on Articles of Impeachment this week. Unless Congress acts decisively to remove Secretary Mayorkas from office and force the Biden administration to secure our borders, these unsustainable levels of i*****l i*********n will continue through 2024.
7.2M i******s entered the US under Biden admin, an amount greater than population of 36 states
The total number of i*****l i*******ts who have entered the US under President Biden is larger than almost every American city
By Chris Pandolfo Fox News

That figure comes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which has already reported 961,537 border encounters in the current fiscal year, which runs from October through September. If the current pace of i*****l i*********n does not slow down, fiscal year 2024 will break last year's record of 2,475,669 southwest border encounters — a number that by itself exceeds the population of New Mexico, a border state.
The total number of southwest land border encounters since Biden assumed office in 2021 is 7,298,486, CBP data shows.
JAN-2024---125.400 ESTIMATED LASTEST INFO—LAST INFO?
CBP’s total encounters along the southwest border in Febru

by Adam Isacson—WOLA—PRINTED OFF 4/4/24
The C***D p******c, and related U.S. efforts to curtail access to asylum, have caused patterns of migration at the U.S.-Mexico border to fluctuate in often sharp and unpredictable ways. The two graphics below indicate the top countries of citizenship of migrants encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal years 2020-2022 and in the past three full months (August-October).
Scroll below the graphics for a brief narrative about migration from each country.



Mexico: Mexico is nearly always the number-one country of origin for migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. Until 2012, over 85 percent of migrants whom Border Patrol apprehended were citizens of Mexico. By 2019, that had fallen to 20 percent; Mexican migrants made up 33 percent in fiscal year 2022 (October 2021-September 2022), and 28 percent in October 2022. In 2022, U.S. authorities used the Title 42 p******c authority—struck down by a federal judge on November 15—to expel Mexican migrants 86 percent of the time. In October 2022, 85 percent of Mexican migrants encountered were single adults, much higher than the proportion for citizens of all countries (69 percent).
• 2021-2022 change: +23%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 86%
• Single adults 2022: 91%
• Family unit members 2022: 5%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 3%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 9%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Tucson, Arizona; San Diego, California; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico

Cuba: Migration to the border from Cuba, already pushed by state repression and a historic economic crisis, jumped after Nicaragua’s regime, in November 2021, eliminated visa requirements for visiting Cubans, facilitating their travel to the North American mainland. More than 220,000 Cuban citizens—2 percent of Cuba’s population—were encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022.
Mexico does not allow U.S. authorities to expel Cubans across the land border under Title 42, and Cuba has not permitted U.S. expulsion flights; 98 percent of Cubans apprehended at the border in 2022 were processed in the United States under normal i*********n l*w. Under the Cuban Adjustment Act, most will be able to apply for permanent resident status after a year in the United States. Cuba agreed in November 2022 to start accepting U.S. deportation flights.
• 2021-2022 change: +471%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 2%
• Single adults 2022: 76%
• Family unit members 2022: 23%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 0%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 0%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Del Rio, Texas; Yuma, Arizona/California; Rio Grande Valley, Texas

Venezuela: Migrants from Venezuela began arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in significant numbers for the first time in 2021. Most were flying into Mexico, which did not require visas of visiting Venezuelan citizens at the time. In January 2022, at strong U.S. suggestion, Mexico imposed a visa requirement on Venezuelans. Migration from Venezuela dropped, then steadily recovered as tens of thousands of migrants per month braved Panama’s dangerous Darién Gap jungles, traveling overland all the way to the U.S. border.
During fiscal year 2022, 1 percent of Venezuelan migrants were expelled under Title 42, nearly all of them people who had some migratory status in Mexico. On October 12, 2022, the U.S. and Mexican governments announced Mexico’s agreement to take back Venezuelan citizens expelled across the land border under Title 42; the impact is seen in the one-third reduction in Venezuelan migration from September to October.
• 2021-2022 change: +286%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 1%
• Single adults 2022: 64%
• Family unit members 2022: 35%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 1%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 0%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Del Rio, Texas; Yuma, Arizona/California; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico

Nicaragua: Citizens of Nicaragua continue to flee the Ortega regime’s repression, and economic turmoil, in great numbers. The U.S. government has consistently run two removal flights to Nicaragua per month; 97 percent of Nicaraguan migrants encountered at the border were processed in the United States under normal i*********n l*w.
• 2021-2022 change: +227%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 3%
• Single adults 2022: 80%
• Family unit members 2022: 18%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 2%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 0%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Rio Grande Valley, Texas; Del Rio, Texas; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico

Colombia: Citizens of Colombia fleeing violence and economic turmoil are usually able to fly to Mexico, which does not require visas of visiting Colombians, although there has been a noteworthy uptick in Colombians not being admitted to Mexico upon arriving at airports, or being subject to extortion by Mexican officials. (Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and Peru have a visa-free travel arrangement under the “Pacific Alliance” structure.) The U.S. government has been running about 20 monthly expulsion or removal flights to Colombia since April. Migration from Colombia increased about twenty-fold from 2021 to 2022.
• 2021-2022 change: +1,918%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 9%
• Single adults 2022: 52%
• Family unit members 2022: 48%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 1%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 1%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Yuma, Arizona/California; Del Rio, Texas; San Diego, California

Guatemala: Mexico accepts Title 42 expulsions of Guatemalan citizens across the land border, and U.S. authorities expelled 67 percent of Guatemalans encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022. As Title 42 made requesting asylum virtually impossible for citizens of Guatemala, migration from Guatemala declined 18 percent from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2022. 26 percent of Guatemalan migrants encountered in 2022 were unaccompanied children; all were processed under normal i*********n l*w within the United States, as the Biden administration is not applying Title 42 to children arriving without parents.
• 2021-2022 change: -18%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 67%
• Single adults 2022: 58%
• Family unit members 2022: 16%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 26%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 1%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Rio Grande Valley, Texas; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico; Tucson, Arizona

Honduras: Mexico accepts Title 42 expulsions of Honduran citizens across the land border, and U.S. authorities expelled 63 percent of Hondurans encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal year 2022. As Title 42 made requesting asylum virtually impossible for citizens of Honduras, migration from Honduras declined 33 percent from fiscal year 2021 to fiscal year 2022. 18 percent of Honduran migrants encountered in 2022 were unaccompanied children. Just over half of Honduran migrants were encountered in Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector, in south Texas, in 2022.
• 2021-2022 change: -33%
• Expelled under Title 42 in 2022: 63%
• Single adults 2022: 47%
• Family unit members 2022: 35%
• Unaccompanied children 2022: 18%
• Encountered at ports of entry 2022: 6%
• Sectors most frequently encountered 2022: Rio Grande Valley, Texas; Del Rio, Texas; El Paso, Texas/New Mexico

BY: JOE MESSINA—

In the progressive state of Massachusetts, there is a significant presence of undocumented border crossers, largely attracted by the extensive benefits provided at taxpayer expense.
These incentives serve to draw even more i*****l i*******ts into the state, while there are impoverished American citizens in Massachusetts who do not receive comparable support from the government.
Longtime Boston talk host Howie Carr posted this list on his website:

FREEBIES FOR I******S: A Comprehensive List
GENERAL WELFARE COSTS FOR I*****L A***NS:
Free hotel rooms at $150+ a day.
Three meals a day at $64 per person per diem.
Free on-site medical & dental services (including condoms).
Special diet for Ramadan.
Free same-day dry cleaning w/free pick up & delivery.
Free housekeeping twice a week.
Free cell phones, chargers/charging ports.
Free tablets, IPads.
Free clothing, new & used.
Everyone got new free winter coat, gloves and shoes.
Free toiletries (tooth paste, deodorant, special “ethnic” shampoos, skin cream, aspirin, tooth brushes, feminine products).
“FOR THE CHILDREN”:
Free diapers, wipes, diaper pails, cribs, bassinets, playpens, baby bottles, baby formulas, free car seats, free new mother bags, playrooms for young i******s w/free toys & books which must be replaced often because of destruction.
Believe it or not, that is just half of the list.
As a result of this situation, the state of Massachusetts is facing a shortage of funds for shelters.
According to Off the Press reports, the state is currently spending approximately $75 million per month on state-run shelters, a significant increase in expenses.
Governor Maura Healey’s administration is projected to exhaust emergency service funds by early to mid-April unless additional financial support is provided.
Despite struggling with lower-than-expected revenues and limited assistance from Washington, Beacon Hill lawmakers have been working diligently throughout the year to devise a plan to address the escalating costs of shelters.
The high demand for services continues unabated, adding pressure on the state’s finances. With funds likely to run out before April, negotiations are underway within the Legislature to develop a new spending plan that would enable Governor Healey to access crucial financial resources.
Key budget officials express optimism about reaching a compromise before time becomes critical, emphasizing the urgency of finalizing a spending bill promptly.
Aaron Michlewitz, Chair of House Ways and Means, acknowledges the importance of reaching an agreement swiftly in order to address this pressing financial issue.
What happens when the money runs out?

YEAR-END DATE END DATE
2017-Jan 01/02 2.377 01/09 2.388 01/16 2.358 01/23 2.326 01/30 2.296

2017-Feb 02/06 2.293 02/13 2.307 02/20 2.302 02/27 2.314
2017-Mar 03/06 2.341 03/13 2.323 03/20 2.321 03/27 2.315
2017-Apr 04/03 2.360 04/10 2.424 04/17 2.436 04/24 2.449
2017-May 05/01 2.411 05/08 2.372 05/15 2.369 05/22 2.399 05/29 2.406
2017-Jun 06/05 2.414 06/12 2.366 06/19 2.318 06/26 2.288
2017-Jul 07/03 2.260 07/10 2.297 07/17 2.278 07/24 2.312 07/31 2.352
2017-Aug 08/07 2.378 08/14 2.384 08/21 2.360 08/28 2.399
2017-Sep 09/04 2.679 09/11 2.685 09/18 2.634 09/25 2.583
2017-Oct 10/02 2.565 10/09 2.504 10/16 2.489 10/23 2.479 10/30 2.488
2017-Nov 11/06 2.561 11/13 2.592 11/20 2.568 11/27 2.533
2017-Dec 12/04 2.500 12/11 2.485 12/18 2.450 12/25 2.472

2018-Jan 01/01 2.520 01/08 2.522 01/15 2.557 01/22 2.567 01/29 2.607
2018-Feb 02/05 2.637 02/12 2.607 02/19 2.557 02/26 2.548
2018-Mar 03/05 2.560 03/12 2.559 03/19 2.598 03/26 2.648
2018-Apr 04/02 2.700 04/09 2.694 04/16 2.747 04/23 2.798 04/30 2.846
2018-May 05/07 2.845 05/14 2.873 05/21 2.923 05/28 2.962
2018-Jun 06/04 2.940 06/11 2.911 06/18 2.879 06/25 2.833
2018-Jul 07/02 2.844 07/09 2.857 07/16 2.865 07/23 2.831 07/30 2.846
2018-Aug 08/06 2.852 08/13 2.843 08/20 2.821 08/27 2.827
2018-Sep 09/03 2.824 09/10 2.833 09/17 2.841 09/24 2.844
2018-Oct 10/01 2.866 10/08 2.903 10/15 2.879 10/22 2.841 10/29 2.811
2018-Nov 11/05 2.753 11/12 2.686 11/19 2.611 11/26 2.539
2018-Dec 12/03 2.451 12/10 2.421 12/17 2.369 12/24 2.321 12/31 2.266

2019-Jan 01/07 2.237 01/14 2.247 01/21 2.251 01/28 2.256
2019-Feb 02/04 2.254 02/11 2.276 02/18 2.317 02/25 2.390
2019-Mar 03/04 2.422 03/11 2.471 03/18 2.548 03/25 2.623
2019-Apr 04/01 2.691 04/08 2.745 04/15 2.828 04/22 2.841 04/29 2.887
2019-May 05/06 2.897 05/13 2.866 05/20 2.852 05/27 2.822
2019-Jun 06/03 2.807 06/10 2.732 06/17 2.670 06/24 2.654
2019-Jul 07/01 2.713 07/08 2.743 07/15 2.779 07/22 2.750 07/29 2.715
2019-Aug 08/05 2.688 08/12 2.624 08/19 2.598 08/26 2.574
2019-Sep 09/02 2.563 09/09 2.550 09/16 2.552 09/23 2.654 09/30 2.642
2019-Oct 10/07 2.645 10/14 2.629 10/21 2.638 10/28 2.596
2019-Nov 11/04 2.605 11/11 2.615 11/18 2.592 11/25 2.579
2019-Dec 12/02 2.575 12/09 2.561 12/16 2.536 12/23 2.532 12/30 2.571

2020-Jan 01/06 2.578 01/13 2.570 01/20 2.537 01/27 2.506
2020-Feb 02/03 2.455 02/10 2.419 02/17 2.428 02/24 2.466
2020-Mar 03/02 2.423 03/09 2.375 03/16 2.248 03/23 2.120 03/30 2.005
2020-Apr 04/06 1.924 04/13 1.853 04/20 1.812 04/27 1.773
2020-May 05/04 1.789 05/11 1.851 05/18 1.878 05/25 1.960
2020-Jun 06/01 1.974 06/08 2.036 06/15 2.098 06/22 2.129 06/29 2.174
2020-Jul 07/06 2.177 07/13 2.195 07/20 2.186 07/27 2.175
2020-Aug 08/03 2.176 08/10 2.166 08/17 2.166 08/24 2.182 08/31 2.222
2020-Sep 09/07 2.211 09/14 2.183 09/21 2.168 09/28 2.169
2020-Oct 10/05 2.172 10/12 2.167 10/19 2.150 10/26 2.143
2020-Nov 11/02 2.112 11/09 2.096 11/16 2.111 11/23 2.102 11/30 2.120
2020-Dec 12/07 2.156 12/14 2.158 12/21 2.224 12/28 2.243

2021-Jan 01/04 2.249 01/11 2.317 01/18 2.379 01/25 2.392
2021-Feb 02/01 2.409 02/08 2.461 02/15 2.501 02/22 2.633
2021-Mar 03/01 2.711 03/08 2.771 03/15 2.853 03/22 2.865 03/29 2.852
2021-Apr 04/05 2.857 04/12 2.849 04/19 2.855 04/26 2.872
2021-May 05/03 2.890 05/10 2.961 05/17 3.028 05/24 3.020 05/31 3.027
2021-Jun 06/07 3.035 06/14 3.069 06/21 3.060 06/28 3.091
2021-Jul 07/05 3.122 07/12 3.133 07/19 3.153 07/26 3.136
2021-Aug 08/02 3.159 08/09 3.172 08/16 3.174 08/23 3.145 08/30 3.139
2021-Sep 09/06 3.176 09/13 3.165 09/20 3.184 09/27 3.175
2021-Oct 10/04 3.190 10/11 3.267 10/18 3.322 10/25 3.383
2021-Nov 11/01 3.390 11/08 3.410 11/15 3.399 11/22 3.395 11/29 3.380
2021-Dec 12/06 3.341 12/13 3.315 12/20 3.295 12/27 3.275

2022-Jan 01/03 3.281 01/10 3.295 01/17 3.306 01/24 3.323 01/31 3.368
2022-Feb 02/07 3.444 02/14 3.487 02/21 3.530 02/28 3.608
2022-Mar 03/07 4.102 03/14 4.315 03/21 4.239 03/28 4.231
2022-Apr 04/04 4.170 04/11 4.091 04/18 4.066 04/25 4.107
2022-May 05/02 4.182 05/09 4.328 05/16 4.491 05/23 4.593 05/30 4.624
2022-Jun 06/06 4.876 06/13 5.006 06/20 4.962 06/27 4.872
2022-Jul 07/04 4.771 07/11 4.646 07/18 4.490 07/25 4.330
2022-Aug 08/01 4.192 08/08 4.038 08/15 3.938 08/22 3.880 08/29 3.827
2022-Sep 09/05 3.746 09/12 3.690 09/19 3.654 09/26 3.711
2022-Oct 10/03 3.782 10/10 3.912 10/17 3.871 10/24 3.769 10/31 3.742
2022-Nov 11/07 3.796 11/14 3.762 11/21 3.648 11/28 3.534
2022-Dec 12/05 3.390 12/12 3.239 12/19 3.120 12/26 3.091

2023-Jan 01/02 3.223 01/09 3.259 01/16 3.310 01/23 3.415 01/30 3.489
2023-Feb 02/06 3.444 02/13 3.390 02/20 3.379 02/27 3.342
2023-Mar 03/06 3.389 03/13 3.456 03/20 3.422 03/27 3.421
2023-Apr 04/03 3.497 04/10 3.596 04/17 3.663 04/24 3.656
2023-May 05/01 3.600 05/08 3.533 05/15 3.536 05/22 3.534 05/29 3.571
2023-Jun 06/05 3.541 06/12 3.595 06/19 3.577 06/26 3.571
2023-Jul 07/03 3.527 07/10 3.546 07/17 3.559 07/24 3.596 07/31 3.757
2023-Aug 08/07 3.828 08/14 3.850 08/21 3.868 08/28 3.813
2023-Sep 09/04 3.807 09/11 3.822 09/18 3.878 09/25 3.837
2023-Oct 10/02 3.798 10/09 3.684 10/16 3.576 10/23 3.533 10/30 3.473
2023-Nov 11/06 3.396 11/13 3.349 11/20 3.289 11/27 3.238
2023-Dec 12/04 3.231 12/11 3.136 12/18 3.053 12/25 3.116

2024-Jan 01/01 3.089 01/08 3.073 01/15 3.058 01/22 3.062 01/29 3.095
2024-Feb 02/05 3.136 02/12 3.192 02/19 3.269 02/26 3.249
2024-Mar 03/04 3.350 03/11 3.376 03/18 3.453 03/25 3.523

By John Haughey—EPOCH TIMES—printed off 3/26/24
3/29/2022
President Joe Biden’s proposed United States’ federal $5.8 trillion Fiscal Year 2023 budget increases overall domestic spending by 7 percent, boosts military allocations by 10 percent and includes a raft of new tax levies for high-income earning individuals while raising the corporate income tax from 21 percent to 28 percent.
The 149-page proposed budget introduced on March 29 is not a set-in-stone, line-by-line appropriations package, but an outline of aspirational spending requests certain to be significantly amended over the spring and summer by Congress before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
That is if an annual spending plan is adopted at all before the fiscal year begins.
Congress has not adopted an annual budget before the beginning of a fiscal year since 2016, instead passing continuing resolutions to fund the federal government, including the 2,741-page, $1.5 trillion federal appropriations bill approved by both chambers on March 9 and March 10, five months after Fiscal Year 2022 began.
In releasing what it terms “a center-leaning budget,” the White House said its “bipartisan unity agenda” would trim $1 trillion from the United States’ spending-over-revenue deficit in the next decade.
The spending request calls for significant increases in allocations for local, state, and federal law enforcement and a “whole of government” approach to c*****e c****e.
The proposed budget outline sets aside roughly $1.6 trillion in domestic spending—a 7 percent increase over current spending levels—to be funneled into affordable housing; reducing prescription drug, child care, and health care premium costs; and calls for port infrastructure improvements to remedy supply chain disruptions that helped fuel rapid inflation.
It does not include priorities forwarded by progressives, such as student debt forgiveness, although it tabs $2.7 billion—a 43 percent increase—for student debt relief.
Biden’s Build Back Better domestic agenda is mentioned only once without any specifics.
Congressional Republicans’ immediate reactions focused on the vagaries within the spending request, particularly in regard to specific costs and revenue projections for social programs and c*****e c****e initiatives.
GOP members of the Senate Budget Committee on March 28 issued a memo calling the proposed budget a “phantom placeholder” that “hides the cost of the doomed, reckless, tax-and-spend legislation.”
Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said the spending request places responsibility on Congress to fill in the blanks and called on members in both chambers to commit to doing so by Sept. 30.
“Now that the president has done his job, it is up to Congress to review it, pass the proposals that make sense, and improve upon it,” Sanders said in a statement, noting the committee would convene on March 30 at 11 a.m. EST for its first hearing on proposed spending outline.
Budget Highlights
Certain to be the stuff exhaustive deliberations are made of, the proposed FY23 budget includes the following highlights:
Military: Biden’s spending request includes $813.3 billion in national security spending, an increase of $31 billion, or 4 percent, from 2022.
Inside the overall allocation is $773 billion for the United States Department of Defense, a 10 percent boost that comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine aggravates tensions in Europe; China mounts an increasing threat to Taiwan and in the South China Sea, and North Korea launches intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) designed to reach the United States.
Proposed defense appropriations include funding for modernizing nuclear weapons programs, including a new class of ICBM submarines and increased investments in bombers and land-based ICBMs, and a 4.6 percent pay raise for uniformed service members and civilian DOD employees.
“We are at the beginning of a decisive decade that will determine the future strategic competition with China, the trajectory of the climate crisis, and whether the rules governing technology, trade, and international economics enshrine or violate our democratic values,” the budget states.
“This will be among the largest investments in our national security in history,” Biden said in his budget request. “Some people don’t like the increase, but we’re in a different world today. America is more prosperous, more successful, and more just when it is more secure.”
Sanders is among those who don’t like the increase, saying it’s too much. “At a time when we are already spending more on the military than the next 11 countries combined, no, we do not need a massive increase in the defense budget,” he said in his budget statement.
It’s too little, several Republicans said in initial reactions to the spending plan. “Preserving the peace requires serious investment—and the President’s defense budget falls short,” said Sen. Jim Inhofe, (R-OK), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in a statement.
“Unfortunately, President Biden’s FY23 budget has proven to be, once again, wholly inadequate,” added Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.
“Most importantly, this budget fails to account for the record-high inflation that is wreaking havoc on our nation. My colleagues and I were clear with President Biden: Our warfighters need a defense budget that is 5 percent above the rate of inflation.”
Law Enforcement: Biden’s spending outline calls for $32 billion in new spending for local, state, and federal law enforcement to help finance staffing for community policing, violence interventions, and gun trafficking programs.
The plan seeks $17.4 billion for federal law enforcement agencies, $1.7 billion—or 13 percent—more than current spending levels. This includes $1.8 billion for the U.S. Marshals Service to apprehend fugitives; $1.7 billion for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to combat gun trafficking; $72.1 million to prosecute violent crimes; $69 million to support FBI programs targeting violent crimes against children.
Health Care: Biden’s budget proposal includes a raft of aspirational goals to reduce prescription drug, child care, and health care premium costs, with few details.
“Because discussions with the Congress continue, the President’s budget includes a deficit-neutral reserve fund to account for future legislation,” the proposal states.
Immigration: Under the spending outline, the United States Customs and Border Protection agency would receive $15.3 billion and the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency more than $8.1 billion, including $309 million for border security technology and $19 million for border fencing and other infrastructure.
C*****e C****e: The spending request calls for $45 billion in “whole-of-government” allocations increases across five federal agencies, a boost of $16.7 billion over current spending levels.
Among initiatives is the proposed creation of a United States Justice Department Office of Environmental Justice, and a $10 million Small Business Administration program for small clean energy companies.
Deficit: The Biden plan would chip away at the nation’s spending-over-revenues deficit by increasing revenues by more than $1 trillion in the coming decade via a new income tax of 20 percent for households worth more than $100 million and by boosting the corporate income tax by one-third.
According to the White House, the new “billionaire tax” would generate about $360 billion over the next 10 years.
Under the proposed outline, the nation’s corporate tax rate of 21 percent—reduced during former President Donald Trump’s administration from 35 percent in the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act —would be increased to 28 percent, boosting projected revenues by another $650 billion by 2033.

Biden’s first 50 days: $1.9 trillion spending bill could be as good as it gets
ByRob Crilly—washington examiner--March 11, 2021 –printed off 3/26/24
.President Biden entered office promising rapid action to bring the c****av***s p******c under control and deliver an aid package for millions of people struggling in the economic downturn.
After 50 days in office, supporters tout his avalanche of executive orders reversing former President Donald Trump’s policies, his work to secure v*****e doses for every person in the United States by the end of May, and the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan as evidence that he is governing just as he promised.
But that may have been the easy bit. Even as he celebrates his first legislative win, analysts and allies suspect Biden will face tougher battles to enact the rest of his agenda.
Recent history shows that presidents in polarized times can hope to deliver only one or two major packages in a term, according to Jeanne Zaino, professor of political science at Iona College. Biden might have just had his big success.
HOUSE PASSES $1.9 TRILLION SPENDING BILL WITHOUT ONE GOP V**E
“We are in the midst of a p******c that comes once a century. Rahm Emanuel says never let a good crisis go to waste,” she said.
“This is one of the very rare times in our system when a leader could get things done.”
The bill was shunned by Republicans in Congress. But about 70% of the public supported the spending packing, including 41% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, according to a poll published by Pew on Tuesday.
White House advisers spelled out the importance of the bill in a memo obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“At a moment in which the American people are facing dual health and economic crises, this package will get economic relief to the families who need it the most, including $1,400 checks to 85% of households, it will help us reopen schools safely, keep teachers, cops, firefighters, and other essential workers on the job, and it will give us the tools and resources we need to crush this v***s,” wrote Anita Dunn and Brian Deese.
The White House has strongly suggested a massive package of infrastructure spending is next — although it has not specified what that will include.
Zaino said that wh**ever it contains would not be as popular as legislation that will send the checks to people.
“When you are talking v****g reform, criminal justice reform, immigration reform — infrastructure might be the easiest to pass — but it will be difficult, and Republicans are signaling they are going to fight,” she said.
Biden has had the wind behind him for his first 50 days. His left wing has largely fallen into line even as a $15-per-hour minimum wage fell out of his bill while Republicans and their cable news allies have focused on the culture wars — exercising outrage over everything and everyone from Mr. Potato Head to Dr. Seuss to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
They were powerless to slow Biden during his first days in office, using executive orders to show he meant business. On Inauguration Day, he revoked the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and recommitted the U.S. to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, the largest international effort to curb g****l w*****g.
He ordered a review of Trump-era regulations on science and the environment, as well as foreign policy priorities. And he signed orders revoking other Trump policies, ending restrictions on travel from Muslim-majority nations, rejoining the World Health Organization, and ending construction of a border wall.
And he has made progress on a promise to v******te 100 million people against C****-** within his first 100 days.
“I think Biden and his administration made very clear coming into the White House that the priority was getting shots into arms and checks into bank accounts, and it seems like, as of this week, they are going to be successful,” said Nick Ryan, former campaign chief for Andrew Yang’s p**********l campaign and a strategist at New Politics.
Now, Biden is up against the reality of governing, he added, dealing with a Senate caucus that covers everyone from Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders to centrist Joe Manchin and a filibuster rule that means he needs 60 v**es in a chamber split 50-50 unless he uses the “reconciliation” process as he did with his spending bill.
“It took some political capital to get those things done,” said Ryan, referring to progress on v*****es and the relief package. “And I’m sure the administration is going through, thinking is it minimum wage, is it infrastructure, is it e******n reform? What’s the next priority?”
“There are not unlimited bullets in the revolver,” he added. “You only get a few.”
Particularly when Biden is dependent on using reconciliation to get his priorities through a divided Senate. Under congressional rules, he has one more stab at using the mechanism for a spending bill, such as the $2 trillion infrastructure plan he unveiled during the campaign.
That has the left of his party hoping for great things.
“This will be a giant, long-term economic recovery bill that has infrastructure and clean energy jobs as a giant centerpiece,” said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and an ally of Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
Rather than marking the high-water mark of the Biden presidency, he added, passage of the C****-** relief bill will serve as precedent.
Biden signs $1.2 trillion spending package for government funding until October
PUBLISHED SAT, MAR 23 2024—printed off 3/26/24
Rebecca Picciotto-cnbc
KEY POINTS
President Biden signed Congress’ $1.2 trillion spending package into law, hours after the Senate passed at 2 a.m. ET Saturday morning.
Congress approved $459 billion for the first six appropriations bills earlier in March.
Biden’s approval of this final tranche of bills ends a months-long saga of lawmakers struggling to secure a permanent budget resolution and instead passing stopgap measures to keep the government’s lights on.
President Joe Biden on Saturday signed Congress’ $1.2 trillion spending package, finalizing the remaining batch of bills in a long-awaited budget to keep the government funded until Oct. 1.
Almost halfway into the fiscal year, the president’s signature ends a months-long saga of Congress struggling to secure a permanent budget resolution and instead passing stopgap measures, nearly averting government shutdowns.
“The bipartisan funding bill I just signed keeps the government open, invests in the American people, and strengthens our economy and national security,” Biden said in a Saturday statement. “This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted.”
The weekend budget deal slid in just under the wire before the Friday midnight funding deadline, as has been typical this fiscal year with eleventh-hour disagreements derailing near-complete deals.
The Senate passed the budget in a 74-24 v**e at roughly 2 a.m. ET Saturday morning, technically two hours after the

Two of Joe Biden's signature laws appear all but certain to have the most impact in rural corners of the country that are far from the President's likely base of v**ers this November.
Ben Werschkul and David Foster—YAHOO FINANCE—3/11/24—PRINTED OFF 4/9/24
The federal government has spent about $442 billion thus far on President Biden’s signature laws — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Here are the types of projects:
The projects are divided into nine categories...
...and 21 subcategories and are, according to the White House, funding over 50,000 discrete projects.
About two-thirds of money committed thus far falls under the umbrella of the t***sportation efforts.
Those include projects from new roads to airport upgrades to EV initiatives.
The money is being felt in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in a range of territories. But it’s not necessarily being distributed evenly. Here's where the funds are being most keenly felt.
Two signature laws of the Biden administration are spreading hundreds of billions of dollars across the country, funding everything from new roads in Florida to broadband lines in Alaska to g***n e****y projects in California.
But where that $442 billion (so far) will have the most impact are in places where v**ers are least likely to support Joe Biden in November, according to a new Yahoo Finance analysis of the latest White House data.
The largest recipients of funds approved by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act — when measured per capita — are four states that Biden himself lost by at least 10 points in 2020: Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming.
Of the 18 states where residents are set to benefit the most from the money on a per capita basis, 12 were won by Donald Trump in 2020.
President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One in Maryland on March 5. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
This geographic quirk highlights one of President Joe Biden’s most persistent e******n-year challenges: Americans who aren’t feeling — or are simply unimpressed — by his signature accomplishments after three years in office.
In just one remarkable recent example, a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found that Donald T***p w*n by a tally of 42% to 38% on the question of whom v**ers most trust to handle infrastructure.
That’s even after Biden signed a landmark infrastructure bill into law in 2021 and after four years in office that saw Trump take no significant action on the issue.
The White House is trying to reintroduce Americans to Biden’s key accomplishments as the 2024 p**********l contest picks up pace, driving the message home with a recent State of the Union week messaging blitz, campaign stops, and a new $30 million ad campaign.
"Remember, the last president?" President Biden asked supporters at a recent stop. "He had ‘Infrastructure Week’ for four years and didn't do a damn thing."
Where the money is going
To map where the money went, Yahoo Finance examined White House data detailing disbursements from two signature Biden accomplishments: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Two other key Biden bills — the 2021 American Rescue Plan and the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act — were not included in the data.
The per capita impact of this spending was then calculated using population information from the US Census Bureau.
Of the projects that the White House data tied to a specific location, the t***sportation efforts are by far the most widespread. Those funds are being used for projects across the country, from Western states to the "Acela corridor" along the East Coast.

TSMC gets $6.6 billion in chipmaking cash from Biden while pledging to build a third Arizona plant
Ben Werschkul---Washington Correspondent
Updated Mon, Apr 8, 2024, printed off 4/9/24
The Biden administration said Monday it plans to send up to $6.6 billion in federal grants to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSM) as the chipmaking giant promises a $25 billion Arizona expansion that will bring a third TSMC fabrication plant to that state.
The deal, the second major US chipmaking grant announcement of the last three weeks, is part of President Joe Biden's effort to restart advanced semiconductor manufacturing in the US.
In March Biden said the US would provide up to $8.5 billion in grants in the years ahead to Intel (INTC) to support a range of new projects in Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico, and Oregon.
The money for both companies is coming from 2022's CHIPs and Science law, a signature accomplishment of Biden's current term.
TSMC will use the grants to fund the continued construction of two manufacturing plants already being built in the Phoenix area. The company also announced Monday it would build a third facility there in the years ahead.
The goal is for all three plants to be online and producing TSMC's most advanced chips by the end of the decade. Some of the plants even hope to use a forthcoming 2-nanometer fabrication process and make even more advanced chips than are currently available.
"These are the chips that underpin all artificial intelligence and they are the chips that are necessary components for the technology that we need to underpin our economy," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters ahead of the announcement.
The $6.6 billion in grants to be doled out in the years ahead include an allotment of $50 million for workforce development as well as additional authorization for up to $5 billion in government loans. That inflow comes in addition to manufacturing tax credits in the 2022 law that could be worth additional billions.
The government money will pair with TSMC's plans to invest over $65 billion in its Arizona operations. It had previously announced $40 billion and said today it would add an additional $25 billion largely to fund construction of the third fabrication facility.
Monday's news underlines the central role that Arizona is playing in the effort to bring back semiconductor manufacturing to the US.
President Biden has made multiple semiconductor-themed trips to the state in recent years including a stop last month to announce the grants for Intel, which is also building in the state.
"It’s an exciting day for Arizona, where we are leading the way in bringing the most advanced microchip manufacturing back to America," Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, a negotiator of the 2022 law, told Yahoo Finance.

March 15, 2024 -Matthew Kuckelman—heritage foundation—printed off 4/9/24
Research Associate, Border Security and Immigration Center
Matthew Kuckelman is a Research Associate in The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center.
SUMMARY
Since taking office, President Joe Biden has created an illegal migration crisis, with more than 10 million i*****l a***ns entering the United States under his watch. Rather than securing the border and discouraging further influx, the Administration has doubled down on this failure and is demanding more money from the American people to fund an expanding range of services for i*****l a***ns, including t***sportation into the interior of the country. With no prospect of a change in policy from the Administration, Congress must end funding for these programs to prevent the establishment of a permanent welfare state for i*****l a***ns.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The Biden Administration uses two little-known programs to provide taxpayer-funded aid to i*****l a***ns encountered along the southwest border.
Originally intended for temporary immediate aid, the Administration now uses the programs to t***sport as many as two million i*****l a***ns throughout the U.S.
Congress has the power of the purse and must defund these two programs—the EFSP-H and the SSP—now.
The Issue
Since taking office, President Joe Biden has created an illegal migration crisis, with more than 10 million i*****l a***ns entering the United States under his watch. Rather than securing the border and discouraging further influx, the Administration has doubled down on this failure and is demanding more money from the American people to fund an expanding range of services for i*****l a***ns, including t***sportation into the interior of the country. With no prospect of a change in policy from the Administration, Congress must end funding for these programs to prevent the establishment of a permanent welfare state for i*****l a***ns.
Background
In 2019, during an increase in illegal migration along the southwest border, President Donald Trump signed the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Humanitarian Assistance and Security at the Southern Border Act of 2019. As part of the compromise in providing greater support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the supplemental provided $30 million for a new Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian (EFSP-H) to “provid[e] assistance to [illegal] aliens released from the custody of the Department of Homeland Security.”
The mechanism by which the funds were appropriated was the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act, under a FEMA-directed program called the EFSP that grants money to organizations supporting homeless populations across the United States. The 2019 Emergency Supplemental created the offshoot EFSP-H to provide humanitarian assistance to i*****l a***ns released into the United States, rather than to homeless Americans.
The EFSP-H provides funds t***sferred from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to FEMA, which in turn hands it over to a National Board comprised of a FEMA representative as Chair and six nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to reimburse sub-recipient NGOs for services provided to i*****l a***ns following their release from DHS custody. Permitted expenses include food and housing, clothing, legal aid, and local and long-distance t***sportation within the U.S.
To be eligible for reimbursement, the National Board requires subrecipients to document their expenses.
Program Expansion
It appears that EFSP-H was intended to be a temporary program, as the fiscal year (FY) 2020 appropriations bill signed by President Donald Trump did not fund it. However, Congress and President Biden have not only revived the program, but significantly increased funding for it:
• As part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the EFSP-H received $110 million.
• In the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, the program received $150 million.
• The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 marked a shift in the program. From CBP funding, FEMA was appropriated $800 million for the program, with the caveat that a portion of the funding must go to establishing a newly created Shelter and Services Program (SSP) to replace EFSP-H.



For the FY 2023 appropriations, Congress noted that “funding the SSP through CBP will facilitate more effective support of CBP efforts to efficiently process and humanely treat noncitizens.” From all indications, the SSP functions in the same manner as the EFSP-H, just with a new title. The DHS designated $425 million of the FY 2023 money to the EFSP-H, while sending $364 million to establish the SSP. Because the allocation of funds is technically overseen by the National Board rather than FEMA, it is unclear what oversight the public may have on how funds are spent. Neither FEMA nor the National Board release detailed spending information to the public. In a March 2023 report, the DHS Inspector General found a lack of accountability in FEMA’s tracking.
Understanding the Impact
Publicly available documentation on the EFSP-H indicates that since the passage of the American Rescue Plan, EFSP-H and SSP funding has been providing a significant war chest for moving and resettling i*****l a***ns in the U.S. interior.
For example, the EFSP-H prioritizes t***sportation—including long-distance airfares—for up to 30 percent of i*****l a***ns served. The only clearly stated eligibility requirement for i*****l a***ns is that they were encountered by the DHS upon crossing the southwest border. This means that any of the following may have been eligible to travel freely within the United States—funded by U.S. taxpayers through the EFSP-H program:
• Jose Ibarra, arrested and charged with the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley of Athens, Georgia.
• Geovani Grevi Rivera-Zavala, arrested and charged with sexual assault of a teenage girl in a Prattville, Alabama, restaurant.
• Hermanio Joseph, arrested and charged with aggravated vehicular homicide after hitting a school bus while driving in the wrong direction, k*****g an 11-year-old boy and injuring 23 other students in Clark County, Ohio.
• Jesus Guzman-Bermudez, arrested and charged with rape, unlawful imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child in Erie County, New York.
• Pierre Lucard Emile, arrested and charged with rape against a developmentally disabled person in the Boston area.
• An unnamed Peruvian i*****l a***n who was arrested and charged on eight counts related to sex crimes against a child in Arlington, Virginia.
• An unnamed Somali terrorist arrested in Minneapolis.
Since the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, DHS has encountered more than 6.9 million i*****l a***ns along the southwest border. Using the guidance set forth in the publicly available EFSP-H documentation, NGOs receiving funds could be reimbursed for airfare for more than two million (30 percent) of those 6.9 million i*****l a***ns—more than the population of Nebraska.
Because information on program spending is not publicly available, the American public is left to estimate how many i*****l a***ns are being served by the EFSP-H and SSP programs, as well as how the funds are allocated among the various permissible expenses. However, it is clear that EFSP-H and the SSP provide vast taxpayer resources to NGOs supporting and t***sporting i*****l a***ns throughout the United States.
Looking Ahead
The Administration has indicated that it will be phasing out EFSP-H in favor of the SSP, bringing an end to the temporary program and fully establishing what could be a more permanent one.
The House of Representatives passed a DHS appropriations bill last fall which would have defunded the SSP, but the Biden Administration and its allies in Congress have made it clear that keeping the program funded is a priority. The Senate’s February 2024 national security supplemental contained $1.4 billion for the SSP—a massive windfall compared to any other round of funding that either the EFSP-H or the SSP have received in the past.
Although the version of the bill which passed the Senate was stripped of this funding, the Administration has not stopped demanding that SSP amount. The Administration’s proposed budget for FY 2025 reiterates the $1.4 billion request and proposes a $4.7 billion “Southwest Border Capacity Flexibility” fund, from which SSP grants are “an eligible use if certain encounter thresholds are triggered.” Congress should remind the Administration that Congress, not the executive branch, has the power of the purse. Then, Congress should defund these secretive programs that have facilitated the Biden Administration’s open border operations.

Entertainment
Movie Tickets
As attendance continues to decline, movie tickets keep getting more expensive. The average ticket now costs $11 — up from $9.11 in 2019 — but it’s more like $28 in places like Manhattan.
Concerts
According to the Wall Street Journal and SeatGeek, the average price of a concert ticket has doubled in post-p******c times, from $125 in 2019 to $252 in 2023.
Check Out: 6 Best Free Audiobook Apps
Sporting Events
According to Morningstar, the average cost for tickets to a sporting event was $109 in August 2023, up from $89 one year earlier. The average NFL ticket costs $612 this year, up from $468 in 2022 and $418 in 2019.
Toys
According to Global Toy News, more than four out of five retailers raised the price of toys in 2022 — fewer than industry analysts expected, considering that 95% of toy companies received price increases last year.
Entertainment Subscriptions
Streaming Media
Cord-cutting was hailed as a cost-effective alternative to cable TV, but thanks to “streamflation,” it now costs $87 to maintain subscriptions to the top streaming platforms — more than the $83 average monthly cable bill. The average cost of a monthly streaming subscription increased by 25% this year.
Music Subscriptions
The cost of listening to recorded music and music subscriptions also adds to the price of household media budgets. The price rose by nearly 7% between September 2022 and September 2023.
Cable and Satellite TV
If you’re considering switching to cable or satellite for relief from high streaming prices, consider that providers have raised their prices at an average of 10%-15% annually for the last decade. Xfinity prices went up by 18% in 2023. DirecTV increased its prices by 17%.

Exercise
Sporting Goods
The price of sporting goods soared from 112.29 CPI points in 2019 to a record-high 127.554 in 2022, putting everything from cleats and baseball bats to fishing rods and kayaks out of reach for many families. The ripple effects have doubled the cost of hiring an umpire from $40-$50 pre-p******c to roughly $90 now.
Gym Memberships
The average gym membership cost $112 in January 2019, then cratered to roughly $100 per month when the p******c hit. But in the ensuing years, prices have recovered and then some, with the average fitness club now charging nearly $130 a month for an increase of almost 15% since the pre-C****-** era.
Child Care
Child Care
According to the Care.com Cost of Care Report, here’s how the weekly price of child care has risen over the last decade:
Nanny: $736, up 56% from $472 in 2013
Daycare: $284, up 53% from $186 in 2013
Family care center: $229, up 80% from $127 in 2013
Babysitter: $179, up 92% from $93 in 2013
Baby Food and Formula
Baby food and formula, already at an all-time high, rose by more than 9% year-over-year since last fall.
Food Stamps: What is the Highest Income Level for SNAP Payments in 2023?

Healthcare
Healthcare
At the start of the 1970s, the average person spent $1,951 in today’s money on health care, but by 1980, it was more than $3,000, and by 1990, it was more than $5,000. By 2021, per capita healthcare spending was $12,914 per person, and today, it’s just shy of $15,000.
Medical Equipment and Supplies
Part of the reason health care is so expensive is that the cost of medical equipment and supplies has risen by 8% in the last year alone.
Prescription Drugs
Per capita spending on retail prescription drugs has soared over the last six decades, from $101 in 1960 — adjusted for inflation — to $147 in 1980, $433 in 2000, $820 in 2010 and $1,147 today.
Over-the-Counter Drugs
It’s not just trips to the pharmacy that have gotten more expensive. The price of non-prescription drugs rose by 8.4% year-over-year, ending in September.
Dental Care
It’s not just toothpaste and floss. According to a new study from Synchrony, more than nine out of 10 people are putting off dental care because they can’t afford the treatment they need. The price of dental work rose by 5.3% in the yearlong period ending in August alone.

Personal Care
Personal Care Products
The cost of shaving and oral hygiene products rose by 7.2% in the last year alone, on top of post-C****-** increases from the two years prior.
Personal Care Services
Personal care services for things like beauty and fitness are nearly 6% more expensive this year than last.

Utilities
Electricity
Consumers paid 14.3% more for electricity in 2022 than in 2021, and electricity for heating homes is expected to cost 10.2% more this winter than last.
Water
Water used to be the cheapest utility bill, but in 2022, the average monthly water and sewage bill was roughly $118 — 51% more than the year before.
Garbage Collection
The cost of removing your trash from the curb is getting more expensive, too, rising by nearly 7% between last fall and this fall.
These 5 Countries are Almost Inflation-less: Cheap Living with High Salaries

Communication
Mobile Plans
The price of cell phone plans has risen by 34% over the last decade, with 4% year-over-year increases since 2013. The average is nearly $160 per month or roughly $2,000 per year.
Landlines
Those still clinging to landlines have probably noticed that the ever-rising price of residential phone service increased by more than 6% last year alone.
Consumer Electronics
Since the start of the p******c, “Consumer electronic companies have been increasing prices two to three times a year by almost 2%-4% each time due to rising input costs,” according to the Economic Times. The result is an average price increase of 18% to 25% on everything from smartphones to laptops between February 2020 and today.

Mail
Stamps
The USPS is proposing its fourth stamp price increase in two years and its 18th since 2000. If enacted, the price of basic postage will rise by two cents, from $0.66 to $0.68.
Shipping
It’s not just the post office. Shipping costs are rising much faster than the overall inflation rate, too. FedEx and UPS will both raise their rates by 5.9% in late December, which could be interpreted as good news — both carriers hiked their prices more last year.

Clothing
Men’s Pants and Shorts
The price of apparel, in general, rose by 2.3% over the last year, but men’s pants and shorts carried most of the category’s inflation with an 8.1% rise in prices between last September and this September.
Women’s Outerwear
The other apparel category that has suffered heavy inflation is women’s outerwear, which rose by 9.3% year-over-year.
See: 5 Costco Clothing Items That Are a Waste of Money
Women’s Underwear and Swimwear
This summer, the price of women’s swimwear and underwear was up by 7% from the summer of 2022, nearly doubling the overall inflation rate.
Jewelry
Similarly, the price of jewelry was up 7% year-over-year this summer, nearly twice the general inflation rate.
Apparel Services
Dry Cleaning
The price of dry cleaning and laundry services rose by 10.1% between May 2021 and May 2022. This September, the BLS reported another year-over-year increase of 6.7%.
Other Apparel Services
Other apparel services like alterations, shoe repair, clothing repair and clothing storage more than doubled the inflation rate of dry cleaning, rising by 14.5% over the last year.
Pet Care
Pet Food
Few products succumbed to post-C****-** inflation more than pet food, with average Amazon prices for popular dog food brands rising by 45.5% between 2020 and 2023, from $27.91 to $39.56 per product. A case of wet dog food that cost $19.92 in 2020 now costs $28.65.
Veterinary Care
Vet bills rose by 7.5% since last fall, and other pet-related services weren’t far behind at an inflation rate of 6%.
Hobbies and Sk**ls
Musical Instruments
The average cost of musical instruments rose by 7.5% from 2021 to 2022, with some — like trombones, trumpets and flutes — soaring by 20% or more. Then, between September 2022 and September 2023, the average price rose by another 7.9%.
Sewing Equipment and Supplies
If sewing is your hobby of choice, expect to pay 5% more for sewing machines, fabric and other supplies — and that’s just the year-over-year increase ending in September. Average prices had already risen significantly between the start of the p******c and 2022.
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Extracurricular Activities
Nearly three out of four parents have at least one child in extracurricular sports or other activities, and according to Lending Tree, almost two-thirds have had to take on debt to afford the $731 annual per-child cost.
Education
College
The cost of attending a four-year college full-time — including tuition, fees, room and board — rose from $10,231 a year in 1980, adjusted for inflation, to $28,775 in 2019-2020 for an increase of 180% over 40 years. According to the Education Data Initiative (EDI), the cost in 2023 is $38,436.
Private School
According to the EDI, the average cost of K-12 private school tuition in 2023 dollars is now $12,350. The average family now pays $312,026 for kindergarten through four years of post-secondary study.
School Supplies
School supplies are no longer affordable for many households, with some studies showing that the cost rose by 25% over the past year alone. The average family now shells out about $230 from the start of the school year.
Services
Legal Services
Law firms have been raising their rates to compensate for inflation. The result is a 12.4% increase in the cost of legal services between last September and this September.
Funeral Services
The average funeral cost is now more than $7,800, a 6.6% increase over five years. According to the BLS, inflation increased the price of funeral services by another 6.3% between September 2022 and September 2023 alone.
Tax Pr********n
The cost of tax pr********n increased by nearly 10% in the last year alone.
Household Services
House Cleaning
The cost of having your house professionally cleaned has risen by 15% over the last five years on average, but in big cities like New York, prices have risen much faster.
Landscaping
In 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported that Americans were dusting off their old lawnmowers, because landscaping services were much more expensive — services like mowing and power washing rose by more than 20%.
See: 5 Expensive Home Renovations That You’ll Probably Regret
Storage and Moving
Storage Units
While storage unit prices have fallen from their 2022 peak of $1.19 per square foot, they still average $1.04, up significantly from pre-p******c prices of $0.88.
Moving
While the average cost of moving is down from its 2022 high of $454, it’s still hovering just over $400. In 2019, it was less than $350.

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Andrew Lisa—yahoo.com--Mon, Jan 29, 2024—printed off 4/8/24
The current inflation rate is 3.7% — higher than the Fed’s longstanding target of 2%, but much more forgiving than in 2022, when it was at 40-year highs and approaching double-digits.
Even so, prices are not cooling evenly, and some products and services are still getting more expensive. Many others cost much more than they did just a few years ago, even if their prices are now holding steady.
GOBankingRates used inflation data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the St. Louis Fed and a variety of other sources to identify 100 things that are breaking household budgets. Here’s a look at the products, services and experiences that cost way too much.
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Vacationing
A Trip to Disneyland
Disney’s California theme park announced yet another round of parkwide price increases — the last one came exactly one year earlier. Day passes, multi-day passes, park-hopper tickets, annual passes, parking and hotel valet service are all more expensive, with some increases topping 10%.
A Visit to Disney World
It’s not just Disney’s SoCal location. Its f**gship park in Orlando also hiked annual pass prices by nearly 10% — the most expensive Incredi-Pass now sells for $1,449.
Airfare
Whether you visit Disneyland or not, you should expect to pay 10% more to fly than you would have pre-C****-** p******c due to high fuel costs, a labor shortage, fewer flights and strong customer demand.
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Hotels
In 2023, the average U.S. hotel room rate was 17% higher than in 2019 and 38% higher than when rates were unusually low during p******c-era shutdowns.
P2P Rentals
If the rising cost of hotel rooms turns you off, don’t expect to find relief with p2p rentals. The cost of Airbnb bookings rose by 36% between 2019 and 2023, more than doubling hotel inflation over the same period.
Camping
At the end of 2023, a survey by campsite booking app The Dyrt found that half of all campsites raised their rates in 2022, another half planned to raise their rates in 2023 and more than a quarter raised their rates in both years.
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Grocery Staples
Sugar
The cost of sugar has been rising quickly and steadily since the p******c. In September, the price hit a record $0.97 per pound, up from $0.60 at the start of 2020.
Cereal
While the infamously high price of eggs has fallen dramatically since its peak in 2022, cereal is now making breakfast more expensive. Prices have risen 14% year over year, with a single box now commonly costing more than $5 thanks to rising grain and sugar prices.
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Milk
A gallon of milk cost about $2.85 at the start of 2019, but the p******c sent dairy prices soaring to over $4.20 in the fall of 2022. While prices dipped in the ensuing months, a gallon is now approaching $4 once again.
C*****rs
The price of c*****rs, too, is outpacing inflation. The cost rose by nearly 7% between last September and this September.
Cooking Fats and Oils
The cost of edible fats and oils — including peanut butter — is up 5.6% year over year.
Rice
The cost of rice rose by 5.5% between the end of last summer and the end of this summer, outpacing the overall rate of inflation.
Apples
Even as food inflation has been subsiding, the price of apples rose by 8.5% between last summer and this summer.
Household Paper Products
The price of housekeeping supplies, in general, went up over the last year, but household paper products have led the pack with a 6.5% increase since last fall.

Meat and Seafood
Bacon
The p******c made bacon prices sizzle, peaking at over $7.60 a pound in October 2022. While breakfaster lovers got some temporary relief in the ensuing months, it’s now back over $7.00, up from $5.25 in March 2020.
Pantry Seafood
The price of shelf-stable fish and other seafood is up 5.3% from the start of last fall.
Steaks
Already pricey in the post-p******c meat aisle, the cost of uncooked beef steaks jumped by nearly 10% between last fall and this fall.
Beef and Veal
It’s not just T-bones and ribeyes. The cost of beef, in general, as well as veal, rose by 7% year-over-year this September.
Turkey
The price of poultry, in general, has dropped over the last year, but not uncooked turkey — expect to pay nearly 7% more for your bird this Thanksgiving than last.

Sweets and Snacks
Baked Goods
In 2023, the year-over-year cost of baked goods jumped by 12.9% — double the rate of food inflation and more than three times overall inflation. Cookies are 16% more expensive than last year and bread is 12% more expensive.
Snacks
Major food companies like Nestle, Pepsico, Coca-Cola and Unilever have increased their prices over the last year even as overall food prices have cooled, sending the cost of the dozens of popular snacks they produce skyward.
Candy and Chewing Gum
The rising cost of sugar has pushed up the cost of candy by 7.5% between last September and this September.
Chocolate
On Oct. 23, cocoa futures hit $3,786 per metric ton, the highest since January 1979, due to global shortages. Since there’s typically a delay between changes in commodity futures and supermarket prices, the cost on the shelf hasn’t changed much. However, analysts agree that the highest cocoa prices in 44 years are certain to t***slate to soaring chocolate prices in the coming months.
Vending Machine Food and Drinks
If you’re planning to avoid the high price of the cafeteria at work or school, don’t expect much relief at the vending machine — prices rose by a sky-high 16% year-over-year.
Adult Beverages
The price of beer, wine and spirits all rose faster than overall inflation since last fall, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. According to Vinepair, the price of packaged adult beverages has soared by nearly 103% since 2000.

Frozen Foods
Frozen Juices and Drinks
Consumers have enjoyed significant relief at the grocery store over the last year — but not in every aisle. The cost of frozen juices and noncarbonated drinks soared by more than 21% between September 2022 and September 2023.
Frozen and Refrigerated Bakery Products
Frozen bakery food like pies, tarts and turnovers are 7.7% more expensive than they were at the start of last fall.
Frozen Vegetables
Juices and drinks aren’t the only budget busters in the freezer aisle. The September CPI report found that frozen vegetables cost 14.7% more than they did at this time last year.
Find Out: 8 Ways You’re Wasting Money at the Grocery Store

Condiments
Sauces and Gravies
A 6.7% increase in sauces and gravies between last summer and this summer has made it harder for families to add flavor to their meals.
Salad Dressing
Although shoppers noticed that prices weren’t rising as fast in the produce aisle over the last year, the cost of salad dressing rose by 12.1% between August 2022 and August 2023.
Condiments
Anyone who hosted a barbecue the last two summers in a row might have noticed that the price of condiments soared by 8.9% between last August and this August.

Dining Out
Restaurant Dining
Rising restaurant prices were one of the defining features of post-p******c inflation, and diners are still watching menu prices rise faster than food, in general. The cost of dining out grew by another 6% between September 2022 and September 2023.
Fast Food
The price of full-service dining is up, but not as much as fast food, which saw prices rise by 13% in 2022. While prices are no longer rising nearly as quickly today, it’s now common to see value meals that sold for $5 six years ago at places like McDonald’s going for $13, $14 or even $15.
Fast Casual Dining
Between fast food and full-service dining is fast casual, which no longer guarantees a less expensive meal out of the house. Industry giants like Chipotle have raised their prices four times in the last two years.
The School and Work Cafeteria
The cost of eating at employee sites and schools rose by an eye-popping 56% between last August and this August.
Cars
Used Cars
While used car prices have fallen from their post-p******c record highs, the average previously owned vehicle is still selling for $26,510. With the average loan APR at 11.4%, the average monthly payment for a previously-owned vehicle is $569.
New Cars
New car buyers face an average price of $48,334. The average monthly car payment is now $736 with a loan APR of 7.5%.
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Rental Cars
The cost of renting a car rose by 48% between May 2019 and this summer, meaning that a car that cost $100 to rent pre-C****-** costs $148 today.
Uber Rides
Industry data shows that Uber’s average fare jumped by 30% from the start of 2018 to the third quarter of 2019, then by 41% between Q3 2019 and Q3 2022 for a total of 83% over the entire 45-month period — about 17.5% per year.

Fuel
Gas
Gas cost $1.35 per gallon or less from 1978 to 2000 when adjusted for inflation and didn’t breach $2 until 2004. The price topped $3 briefly in 2008 and then again from 2011 to 2014. While the cost per gallon has fallen from its $5 record-high peak in the summer of 2022, it has been stubbornly stuck above $3.50 ever since.
Fuel Oil
The price of fuel oil has risen by 8.5% year over year since last fall, more than doubling the overall inflation rate.
Car Repairs and Insurance
Car Repairs
Leftover p******c-era challenges and long-term trends sent car repair prices up by 20% between the summer of 2022 and the summer of 2023 — even as overall inflation dropped significantly in that time.
Car Insurance
In August 2023, the price of car insurance rose by more than 19% compared to August 2022, the highest annual increase in 44 years.

Other T***sportation
Bikes
While the price of some bikes has fallen slightly in 2023, the C****-**-era boom still has most bikes costing between 10% and 40% more than they did in 2019.
Boats
The price of boats climbed by 20% between 2019 and 2021. Then, in 2022, the average MSRP jumped by another 10%. In 2023, prices continue to rise, with the values of outboards and sterndrives increasing especially quickly.
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Personal Watercraft
The price of personal watercraft (PWC) like Jet Skis, WaveRunners and Sea-Doos is dramatically outpacing inflation, same as boats. According to JetDrift, a high-end PWC cost $2,399 in 1982, when a typical household could buy 9.8 PWCs with an entire year’s salary. In 2022, a comparable PWC costs $19,199, leaving the typical household able to buy just 3.5 units with one year’s pay.

Housing
Houses
The median home price has fallen from its peak of nearly $480,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022, but only to $416,100. It was about $320,000 from 2018-2020.
Home Renovations
With construction materials and hourly wages up more than 40% since 2019, the cost of most major home remodels has increased by double-digit percentage points.
Home Loans
The rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage topped 8% in late October, the highest since 2000.
Rent
According to Rent.com, the average monthly rent is $2,011, which is just short of the record high. Rent rose by 9.29%, or $171, over the last two years and by 22.5% since the start of the p******c, adding $368 to the monthly tally.

Outdoors
Hot Tubs
Across-the-board supply price increases have forced hot tub retailers to raise prices by double-digit percentages every year since the p******c, often adding thousands of dollars to the MSRPs of these already expensive big-ticket items.
Pools
According to Pool Magazine, nearly three out of four pool builders raised their prices by more than 30% between 2020 and 2022, with a majority increasing prices by 40% to 50%. Pools that cost $40,000 pre-p******c are more likely to set homeowners back $65,000 today.
Outdoor Equipment and Supplies
The price of tools, hardware and outdoor equipment and supplies rose by more than 6% — but outdoor gear d**gged the category down the most with an 8.1% year-over-year increase.