Copper surrounds us, permeates us, it binds our world together. Ok, that may be over stating this a bit. But copper is in almost everything. Copper is, in fact, so ubiquitous that I will stick to three of its major uses on a global basis. Copper is used mostly for industrial and domestic electrical wiring as well as HVAC systems and plumbing, electronic and telecommunications devices of all types in the form of semiconductors and other components, and in the production of vehicles both electric and traditional.

Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly jobs report, called the Employment Situation Summary. Most financial news outlets published the unemployment rate reported in it, which at 3.9% has changed little over the last year. Great news, right?

But buried in the report is a statistic that has been overlooked in the mainstream media. Actual wage growth has decreased over the last two years. In fact, inflation has been outpacing wages, with the gap between the two widest in the third quarter of 2022.

The question of course is why. We’ll look today at a major reason behind the wage/inflation gap: rampant illegal immigration.

Get used to hearing the term stagflation because this word is going to get thrown around a lot in the financial press. At Jerome Powell’s press conference on May 1, 2024, Powell downplayed concerns that the economy may be sliding into a period of "stagflation," which is marked by slow growth and stubbornly high inflation. Powell noted he was "around" for such a period in the 1970s and he dismissed any similarities in today's economy.

"I don't see the 'stag' or the 'flation,'" he said.

But are Powell and some economists too quick to downplay the chance of that the U.S. will experience slowing economic momentum with sticky inflation? We’ll take a look at that possibility today, followed by a warning to be wary of scams targeting seniors.

The US does not have a Federal zero emission policy, but many other countries do. There are several states that have such policies, however, the most notable of which is California. California’s Zero Emission Vehicle program mandates that 100% of vehicles sold in CA be emission free by 2035. NJ, RI and WA have adopted very similar policies and CT, MD, MA, NY and VT have adopted CA’s emission standards which are the most stringent in the country.

With all these states leaning hard into zero emissions and electric vehicle (EV) mandates that embrace EVs as the answer to the perceived climate threats, the questions need to be asked. Do EVs really provide a smaller environmental impact than traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles? Are they a solution or a virtue signal? In short, are EVs a scam?