Tag Archives: Economy

Feb 9 2026


President Trump Superbowl Day Interview – Full Video

February 8, 2026 | Sundance | 65 Comments

In what has become an annual tradition, here’s the full Superbowl Day interview with NBC News’ Tom Llamas and President Donald Trump.

President Trump addresses the ongoing immigration enforcement, the state of the American economy, U.S. tensions with Iran and other topics from the oval office in the White House. The interview was conducted on Wednesday, February 4 and broadcast today. The interview is an hour long. ENJOY:

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Feb 8 2026

Europe Furious as U.S. Subsidy Ends – President Trump’s Demand for Lower Rx Prices Means Immediate European Price Increases


Posted originally on CTH on February 7, 2026 | Sundance

Europe is not happy with President Trump’s demand that drug manufacturers provide U.S. consumers with equitable pricing.

If President Trump will no longer permit Americans to pay the research production costs for pharmaceutical companies through high prices, essentially subsiding pharmaceutical costs for the world, then Rx companies will have to increase their prices throughout Europe. This is making the Europeans very unhappy.

(Bloomberg Businessweek) — For the past few years, Swiss oncologist Christoph Renner has treated blood cancer patients with Lunsumio, a new drug that helps the immune system recognize and destroy malignant cells. Then, last summer, Renner got an email from Roche Holding AG, Lunsumio’s manufacturer, informing him the treatment would no longer be available in Switzerland because health insurers there wouldn’t pay for the infusions. “You see what’s possible,” says Renner, a professor at the University of Basel, “and then you’re told you can’t use it.”

The move was a response to rules President Donald Trump introduced that force drugmakers to reduce their prices in the US to the lowest level paid in other developed countries. In Switzerland, new medications typically cost far less than in the US, so in theory Americans should benefit from the change. The problem is, instead of bringing prices down in the US, pharmaceutical companies are raising them elsewhere.

Yet Switzerland has shown little political willingness to pay more—threatening both the availability of medications in the country and its role as a global leader in developing therapies. Drug prices are the primary driver of the increasing cost of mandatory health coverage, and the topic generates heated debate during the annual reappraisal of insurance rates. “The Swiss cannot and must not pay for price reductions in the USA with their health insurance premiums,” says Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Switzerland’s home affairs minister.

[…] Drug companies say they need to charge high prices on new medications because so much of their work doesn’t pay off. They spend billions of euros on research, but relatively few formulas turn out to be effective. Even fewer provide the massive profits needed to fund further research—and pay off shareholders. Moreover, companies typically need to make that money early on, because after about two decades on the market, drugs lose patent protection, which drives prices down as generics producers start selling copycats.

Manufacturers argue that American patients bear most of these innovation costs and that it’s only fair for other countries to pay more—especially Switzerland, given its prosperity. A more equitable approach, they say, would be to set prices globally and adjust them country by country based on gross domestic product and purchasing power. (read more)

First President Trump starts making Europe pay for their own defenses and NATO commitments; then he has the audacity to tell them the U.S. will not accept European censorship or free speech rules.  President Trump follows by hitting them with the end to the Marshal plan of one-way tariffs, seriously weakening the amount of revenue within the EU, forcing budget cuts.  Then, as if Trump wasn’t bad enough, he makes it even worse by dispatching expensive Green New Deal energy agreements such as the Paris treaty, and using cheap abundant energy in the U.S. while Europe tries to operate on expensive windmills and solar panels covered in snow.

Now, in addition to forcing them to spend money on their military, now Trump expects the EU to just accept the end to their healthcare subsidies and higher prescription medications.  The absolute nerve of this man.

Feb 7 2026

President Trump Holds Impromptu Presser Departing the White House


Posted originally on CTH on February 6, 2026 | Sundance 

President Trump holds a brief impromptu chopper presser as he departs the White House for Palm Beach this weekend. President Trump began with remarks of the strong stock market, with the DOW closing over 50,000 much sooner than expected, highlighting the strength of the overall economy.

President Trump also noted positive crime statistics and then took questions.  The first question was about the SAVE act and the need to eliminate the filibuster to get voter ID passed into law.  The conversation then shifted to “affordability” with President Trump noting that prices are stable and declining due to his economic policies.  WATCH:

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Feb 7 2026

Deporting Illegal Aliens and the Impact on Inflation, Consumer Prices and Wages


Posted originally on CTH on February 6, 2026 | Sundance

CTH reader “Charles” asked a great question yesterday that deserves some expansion:

CHARLES: “I’m having some trouble parsing how exfiltrating [deporting] illegal alien workers thereby pushing American wages upward can cause a decrease in inflation. Conventional wisdom for my whole life (73 years) has held that increasing labor costs drive inflation upwards.”

It’s a great question because Charles is essentially correct from a historical reference.  However, we are in uncharted territory due to the scale of illegal aliens within the U.S. economy in this modern era. The answer is a commonsense theory currently playing out in real time.

ANSWER: A much larger percentage of illegal aliens live on various subsidies and govt spending programs than our native American population. As a result, it’s like govt spending, except we have ten million people spending excessive govt money instead of one big spending bill.

The underlying economy is inorganic and detached from traditional cause and effect. In this dynamic when you deport the illegals, we are reducing the govt spending.  Less govt spending actually tames inflation and lowers housing costs at a greater rate than the upward pressure on wages.

Removing the ‘free govt money” from the economy, creates less upward price pressure. Additionally, deporting the govt spender reinstalls a more authentic supply and demand economy, because the current demand is skewed by all the ‘free money’ subsidy spending.

Charles is correct in that within his 73-years this was not evident.  That’s because we have an unprecedented number of illegal aliens spending govt money without any economic productivity.  Those subsidies, extra non-productive money in the economy, creates upward price pressure.  Take the money away and prices drop.

It’s the same issue we have always had with supplemental food assistance programs, and entirely the reason why Barack Obama exploded the number of people eligible for food stamps and SNAP benefits.

This is also why Big Ag and big corporate food conglomerates always lobby for increases in food subsidy programs. It enables them to charge more money and make bigger profits.

Think of it like shopping in a grocery store. Perhaps 50% of the customers pay for their purchases with wages, 50% of the customers pay with govt subsidy.  Everyone from the field to the store can charge more money.  The retailer can charge more for the products because half of the customers are essentially disconnected from feeling any impact.

Take away or lower the ‘free money’ subsidy, and food prices start to return to a more traditional supply/demand scenario.

Take the “free money” illegal aliens out of the spending economy and you increase the percentage of authentic, actually productive money earned from wages being spent.

Now, to be fair, there is a point at which the price pressure from the rate of spending drops below the upward pressure from the rate of wage growth.  Once that apex is crossed, the wage growth can naturally drive inflation; Charle’s traditional frame of reference.  However, due to the scale of spending by illegal aliens, we are a long way from the point at which that happens.

Right now, my best guess is we can likely remove 10 to 15 million subsidized illegal alien spenders, before we reach the point where upward worker wage pressure starts to exceed the downward price pressure created by removing ‘free money’ spending.

And yes, we are in uncharted territory. Traditional economic references don’t work.  This is one reason why America-First MAGAnomics is defying all the traditional economic analysis.  Tariffs do not increase consumer prices; at scale they decrease producer margins.  Deportation doesn’t drive inflation; at scale removal actually lowers prices.

Hope that helps.

~ Sundance

Feb 6 2026

Senator Elizabeth Warren Complains that Half of Something She Tripled is Not Less


Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance

Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent appeared on Capitol Hill today to give testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. The leftists were well prepared with narrative scripts to advance their opposition agenda. Bessent was unfazed.

In this highlight, Senator Elizabeth ‘Liawatha” Warren complains to Secretary Bessent about the price of things she tripled and quadrupled. Bessent responded by pointing out the Trump administration is reversing the catastrophic damage from the Biden-Warren economy. “I’m-a-git-me-a-beer” was not pleased at the retort. WATCH:

No senator, half of something you quadrupled is not less.

Thankfully, the grocery prices that Biden-Warren exploded, are finally starting to come down thanks to the economic policies of President Trump.  Warren’s “affordability” narrative collapses each month the real wages of the American worker rise faster than the trailing inflationary impact of prior policy.

As noted by several economic indicators, inflation on the stuff that matters is in retreat. We are now entering the phase of lower gasoline prices, lower transportation costs, lower overall energy costs and stable domestic market prices.  Additionally, exfiltrating illegal alien workers, both underground and above ground, is starting to put upward pressure on American wages and lower overall housing costs.

Feb 6 2026

Peter Navarro Warns Congress Seeking to Reinstall de Minimis Tarriff Loophole


Posted originally on CTH on February 5, 2026 | Sundance 

White House Manufacturing Policy Advisor, Peter Navarro, has written an op-ed warning about a new bill under construction in congress [BILL HERE] that seeks to stop President Trump from blocking the ‘de minimis loophole’ on imported goods.

Previously, various shippers and transport companies like UPS and Fed-X had lobbied congress to retain a loophole on customs and duties allowing items valued less than $800 to enter the USA without tariffs.  They were joined by ecommerce outlets like Amazon, Alibaba, Temu and Shein to keep cheap foreign goods flowing into the U.S. without passing through customs declarations.

President Trump stopped the de minimis loophole on China and Hong Kong and then globally.

As noted by Navarro, “the threshold for the exemption hit a staggering $800 per package — by far the highest in the world. Europe’s is closer to $150. Japan’s is under $70. China’s general threshold is in the single digits. The U.S. wasn’t “aligned with global norms.” We were the outlier, and a very expensive one.”

Now, Navarro is warning that congress is seeking to subvert the Trump position on imports and go back to allowing cheap foreign goods flood the U.S. market at a level that creates chaos in customs enforcement and facilitates the flow of illegal drugs and narcotics back through the system.

(The Hill) – […]   Their bill is simultaneously a poster child for big money politics and a breathtaking insult to the public’s intelligence. It assumes voters won’t read past the title, won’t remember why de minimis was killed in the first place, and won’t connect the dots between lobbying disclosures, campaign checks, and a legislative resurrection of a loophole that nearly destroyed U.S. trade enforcement. 

[…] So when Congress suddenly produces a bill that effectively recreates de minimis under a new name, nobody should pretend it came out of nowhere. This is what sustained pressure looks like. 

Which brings us to the bill itself. The deception starts with the title. To call this the “Secure Revenue Clearance Channel Act” is like calling a casino a “retirement plan.”

The title promises security and revenue, but the text does the opposite. It creates a $600 express-lane carveout that lets express carriers move low-value shipments through a special channel using only manifest data. Instead of paying the tariffs required by law, importers can elect a substitute fee imposed in lieu of normal duties — including tariffs Congress enacted to protect national security.

That’s not enforcement. That’s Deep Swamp chicanery designed to look technical, sound boring, and slide through committee before anyone notices the damage.

Americans are noticing. So, stop it. (more)

Feb 5 2026

Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio Lead ‘Critical Minerals’ Strategic Ministerial Gathering


Posted originally on CTH on February 4, 2026 | Sundance

In the past few years people have heard the term “rare earth minerals” or “critical minerals” as they relate to the manufacture of component goods that are vitally important in the lives of everyone.  However, the term “rare” is somewhat of a misnomer.  The minerals themselves are not rare; indeed, they have been around for hundreds of millions of years in abundant supply.  It is the processing of those minerals into stable second stage commodities that has become rare.

As a result of western environmental rules and regulations, U.S, EU and developed nations have outsourced critical mineral processing (the dirty stuff) to China and Asia. We then import the finished commodity after processing.  This becomes a problem when you realize the processor can weaponize western dependency, as we have recently seen with China controlling the export of processed minerals needed for manufacturing.

President Trump has made a strategic decision to bring back the manufacturing of critical minerals to the United States and has made a policy decision to create a critical mineral reserve. Just last Monday President Trump announced a $12 billion strategic mineral reserve to combat China’s domination of critical mineral supply chains, a major step toward tackling China’s advantage in a crucial sector of the U.S. economy.  The initiative is called “Project Vault.”

“For years, American businesses have risked running out of critical minerals during market disruptions,” President Trump said. “Just as we have long had a strategic petroleum reserve and a stockpile of critical minerals for national defense, we are now creating this reserve for American industry,” Trump said during the Oval Office announcement.

Today in Washington DC, Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio led a critical minerals discussion at the State Dept., where they are organizing an effort to get all nations to invest and create their own critical minerals strategic reserves.  WATCH:

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Jan 31 2026

President Trump Announces the Appointment of Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve Chairman


Posted originally on CTH on January 30, 2026 | Sundance 

President Donald J Trump has announced his selection to take over as Federal Reserve Board Chairman, Kevin Warsh.  To give perspective toward the overall viewpoint of Warsh, THIS INTERVIEW from April 2024 gives some insight.

Warsh has been highly critical of the FED monetary policy overall and directly links inflation and depressed wages to the poor decision-making of the Federal Reserve overall.  More background on Kevin Warsh is HERE.

(Via Truth Social) – “I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM. Kevin currently serves as the Shepard Family Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Economics at the Hoover Institution, and Lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is a Partner of Stanley Druckenmiller at Duquesne Family Office LLC. Kevin received his A.B. from Stanford University, and J.D. from Harvard Law School. He has conducted extensive research in the field of Economics and Finance.

Kevin issued an Independent Report to the Bank of England proposing reforms in the conduct of Monetary Policy in the United Kingdom. Parliament adopted the Report’s recommendations. Kevin Warsh became the youngest Fed Governor, ever, at 35, and served as a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from 2006 until 2011, as the Federal Reserve’s Representative to the Group of Twenty (G-20), and as the Board’s Emissary to the Emerging and Advanced Economies in Asia.

In addition, he was Administrative Governor, managing and overseeing the Board’s operations, personnel, and financial performance. Prior to his appointment to the Board, from 2002 until 2006, Kevin served as Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and Executive Secretary of the White House National Economic Council.

Previously, Kevin was a member of the Mergers & Acquisitions Department at Morgan Stanley & Co., in New York, serving as Vice President and Executive Director. I have known Kevin for a long period of time, and have no doubt that he will go down as one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best. On top of everything else, he is “central casting,” and he will never let you down. Congratulations Kevin! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP“

Jan 29 2026

Giddy Up – USTR Jamieson Greer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard Begin Formal Trade Negotiations


Posted originally on CTH on January 28, 2026 | Sundance 

Here we go.  If you’ve been under the Treehouse branches for more than a few months, it is now officially time to pull up a rock take a front row seat and enjoy the show.  Don’t draw attention to yourself; however, please do bring your favorite beverage, relax and watch what no one else will admit is happening.  The 2026 operation to exit the USMCA is officially underway.

While the Snow Mexicans are gnashing their teeth talking about feelings and various shiny things, United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is meeting today with Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard to strategize the best approach for a U.S-Mexican bilateral free trade agreement.

Please remember, in order to fully appreciate the moment, we must allow all negotiation pretenses to remain in place, giving the illusion of something that will no longer be present when the end goal is reached.

Jan 28 (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard agreed during a meeting on Wednesday to begin formal discussions on possible reforms to the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, Greer’s office said.

Possible reforms include stronger rules of origin for key industrial goods, more collaboration on critical minerals, increasing efforts to defend workers and producers, and efforts to combat dumping of manufactured goods, the USTR’s office said in a statement. (LINK)

As we noted at the end of last year, splitting the USMCA into two bilateral trade deals, one for Mexico and one for Canada, will be one of the most interesting and long-term economically significant moves in U.S. trade history.  It is going to be a lot of fun to watch these negotiations, and the pre-positioning gives us a preview of what is to come.

Mexico is doing everything almost perfectly in preparation for their bilateral deal.  Canada is doing exactly the opposite and positioning themselves for the worst possible outcome of a deal with the USA.  The disparity in approaches is so different, even now it is remarkable to watch.

President Trump is establishing an entirely new economic, trade and finance system. The era of the Marshal Plan is over; it has been factually deconstructed in the past 12 months.

Canadians and Europeans are desperately trying to offset the ramifications, hold on to their economic benefits and find a new mechanism to afford the domestic indulgences now eliminated by President Trump.

Needing alternatives for their economies, the EU and Canada are looking to India and China respectively as a financial offset.  Meanwhile, so far, Mexico is playing it smarter….

Jan 29 2026

President Trump Delivers Remarks Introducing Trump Savings Accounts for American Children


Posted originally on CTH on January 28, 2026 | Sundance

Earlier this morning President Trump spoke to the audience about a new headstart program for every child born in America via a savings account called “Trump Accounts.” The money to deposit an estimated accrual rate of $3 to $4 trillion in wealth into the savings accounts for America’s children, comes from an assembly of private sector companies, corporations, donors and contributors.

Under the program the govt will create a tax-free savings account seeded with $1,000 in startup funds. No individual contributions are necessary—but families can deposit up to $5,000 per year into their child’s account to maximize growth. [DETAILS HERE] WATCH:

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[Information Here]