The U.S. economy isn’t as rosy as some politicians would like you to believe — particularly in the days leading up to Election Day 2024.

So let’s cut through the B.S. and look at real numbers…

The official unemployment rate was 4.2% in November 2024. Sounds acceptably low, right?

But government statistics are like a funhouse mirror, distorting reality to make things appear better than they are — even counting homeless people doing occasional work as “employed.”

• Here’s the truth: If you count people who can only find part-time work or are making poverty wages ($25,000 annually or less), the real unemployment rate skyrockets to a staggering 23.7%. That’s almost one in four workers functionally unemployed in America today!

• Let’s talk about wages. The government wants you to believe the median wage is around $61,900. But when you include part-time workers and job seekers, it plummets to just over $52,300. That’s a 16% difference.

• Inflation? For working-class families, the cost of living has risen 35% faster since 2001 than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) suggests.

• In 2023 alone, while the CPI claimed inflation was 4.1%, the real cost of living for Americans shot up 9.4%. That’s more than double what they’re telling you.

• Meanwhile, regardless whether U.S. GDP is up or down, the bottom 60% of income earners reap no benefit whatsoever from American growth.

The truth is, the economy’s been kicking the middle class in the teeth for the past 20 years. At least. And the last four years of Bidenomics didn’t change a thing.

While the Biden administration touted “record-low unemployment” and “economic recovery,” voters lived a different reality.

Americans saw through the spin on Election Day.

They didn’t need economists or pundits to tell them what they already knew: their wallets were lighter, their grocery bills were steeper and their paychecks weren’t keeping up.

The disconnect was glaring, and Americans cast their ballots accordingly.

Donald Trump, for all his bluster, told the truth about the economy. He hammered home what people felt daily.

The election wasn’t just a referendum on policy; it was a reckoning with reality. Americans rejected Democrats because they ignored their pain.

The economy might look good on paper, but for most Americans, it's still a struggle. And that’s the cold, hard reality.

Your Rundown for Friday, March 7, 2025...

Germany’s Ground Zero For EU Reckoning…

We heard back from several folks about two Germany-centric issues on Friday and Monday — courtesy of Emily Clancy, co-editor at Paradigm Pressroom’s 5 Bullets.

One missive really attracted our attention: “Just as background, I am German,” writes Marga D. “But I’m now a U.S. citizen. I interact easily with both cultures.

“I am also a Republican, not necessarily MAGA. But fiercely American.

“Europeans intensely dislike Trump because he doesn’t kowtow to them.

“Most Germans are very inflexible, and the bureaucracy is out of this world. The IT infrastructure is almost nonexistent. (I used to complain about my simple German cell phone always having connectivity issues.)

“Merz will have to straighten Germany out, and I wish him luck with that.

“Who knows how long his government will hold together? The AfD and Die Linke are good-sized opposition parties. They will not go along with most of what Merz’s administration wants to do.

“Voters are generally displeased with the major parties. The Greens are even losing their luster, considering Germany’s insane energy policies for many years.

“JD Vance’s speech totally hit the nail on the head. I have said the same to my relatives and friends since before the pandemic. Mostly, I’ve been met with ridicule. These are educated, upper-middle class people — CDU voters with one Green.

“Does Europe really want to be led by Germany? The rest of Europe isn’t in much better shape. While I have never been particularly fond of Macron, I think he is a lot smarter than Merz.”

Interesting take… Many thanks to our contributor for her valuable insights!

Market Rundown for Friday, March 7, 2025

S&P 500 futures are up 0.50% to 5,770.

Oil is up 1.25% to $67.20 for a barrel of WTI.

Gold is down 0.10% to $2,923.50 per ounce.

And Bitcoin is up 1% to $90,000.