Jan 8 2025

Congestion Tax in Place in NYC – A Reason to Celebrate?

Posted originally on Jan 8, 2025 by Martin Armstrong

Foreign concept but there are people who enjoy big government and welcome additional taxation. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) held a celebration to kickoff New York City’s new congestion toll fees. That’s right – people gathered around a sign announcing the “Congestion Relief Zone” at 60^th Street and held a countdown as if it were New Year’s Eve.

Motorists entering Manhattan at 60^th Street or below will be charged $9 if in a car or SUV, $14.40 for non-commuter buses, $21.60 for big rigs, and $4.50 for motorcycles. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs to cover a $33 billion budget deficit, and per usual, the people are on the hook for the bill. The MTA is seeking to generate $68 billion over the next five years, and this congestion tax is one of many new fees coming to NYC area as the new toll tax is expected to generate a mere $15 billion.

Governor Kathy Hochul is utterly clueless. She plans to bribe families with an “inflation refund” by shelling out $500 checks to households in a move that will cost the state $3 billion. We saw this fail during the pandemic when citizens earning beneath a certain threshold were bribed to stay complacent. Hochul said she would not raise the income tax in 2025, but nothing is ever off the table.

“Your tolls pay for: better transit, cleaner air, safer streets, a livable NYC. Thanks!” one resident shared on a sign that they brought to the opening ceremony. Seriously, these people have no idea what they are celebrating. Commuters who cannot afford the tax will be forced to take the trains which are notoriously unsafe. In fact, there was a stabbing on the Metro-North on the very day that the congestion relief zone was implemented.

Rideshare programs have been lobbying for this tax for years. Uber paid $2 million from 2015 to 2019 to encourage congestion taxes. Lyft personally donated $18,500 to Kathy Hochul’s campaign to champion congestion taxes. Both companies plan to raise fees to cover the cost of the tax. “We spent millions of dollars funding message testing, research, lobbyists and grassroots organizing to help those that have been fighting for congestion pricing for decades,” Uber admits in a statement on its website, later stating, “We do this because we are a for-profit company and good, robust, public transportation is good for business, reducing the need for car ownership and increasing use cases for Uber.”

“Congestion relief” is political rhetoric. It’s NEW YORK CITY — one of the busiest cities in the world! Goods and people must still enter the city, and these fees quickly add up. The people are on the hook for the budget deficit and the people are also on the hook to cover the fees that will ultimately be passed down to consumers. It is absolutely astounding that there are people who cheer higher fees as a result of government mismanagement.

Jan 8 2025

The Libs of Canada Did Not Get the Message

Posted originally on Jan 7, 2025 by Martin Armstrong

Jan 7 2025

Ingratiating Politics

Posted originally on the CTH on January 3, 2025 | Sundance

Folks, I know this is not a popular opinion, but I have always promised to call them exactly as the data aligns and as I see them unfolding.

Taking a position in support of Tommy Robinson, taking a strong position against Muslim rape gangs in the U.K., and taking a position in favor of Nigel Farage are not controversial positions in the world of MAGA. In fact, they are popular positions widely held by all of us. However, those positions have little bearing on OUR set of challenges in the USA.

[READ THIS]

For almost two years, there has been a background conversation with a handful of people watching the Silicon Valley network closely and monitoring every move and position they take. They hold an entirely divergent set of motives that are not aligned with Making America Great Again behind this crew.

I’m simply saying for everyone to keep their eyes wide open, review THAT ARTICLE I just linked above and put it in the context of the issues and discussions we have had on these pages. Remember, there are literally trillions at stake, and we have been duped too many times. The issues and the stakes in our nation are just too important.

The concern we have is about the “surveillance state” and the creations of the Silicon Valley tech bros that are building out tools that can easily be weaponized as the contracts with the U.S government are fulfilled. President Trump will not weaponize them, but the existing tools and the DHS track and trace enhancements being built by the tech team are threats to liberty.

Real ID connected to facial recognition, connected to personage, a digital identity and/or a track and trace capability is ultimately an assembled tech tool for control. Politically Exposed Persons are the most vulnerable.

Those who follow the deepest weeds of their constructs know that billionaire Elon Musk’s ability to have a public influence platform would not exist without the full support of billionaire Larry Ellison. They are absolute partners, mentor and protegee. The part that people are having a hard time accepting is the end goal, the motive behind that Ellison support.

My opinion is today the same as it was when the situation first started to surface. Think of how the Sea Island group positioned Ron DeSantis for his MAGA challenge in 2024. That was a long-term plan that started years before DeSantis entered the primary. DeSantis took positions that were highly favored by President Trump supporters, and his network constructed an image that was intentional to ingratiate himself within the movement.

What we have researched with Elon Musk carries many of the same background datapoints and nuance. Musk takes popular positions to cover for some very un-MAGA proposals; the H1B issue is just one facet. Overall, a technological system of surveillance and control by a few tech oligarchs is well underway.

We must keep our eyes wide open, trust our instincts and differentiate between key issues that can impact us and our families, and the issues we support but are not direct impacts on our lives. We want a big tent; we all want to see success for President Trump and the MAGA agenda, but we cannot achieve our goals if liberty is lost in the process.

The surveillance state diminishes liberty; it needs to be confronted as it surfaces.

Thankfully, President Trump is aware of these concerns.

Jan 7 2025

Justin from Canada Expected to Resign This Week

Posted originally on the CTH onJanuary 6, 2025 | Sundance

It’s not just the United States of America standing up and electing President Donald J. Trump. The nationalist vessels are being identified in many countries right now as each regional nuance and difference is working through a process.

Germany, France, the U.K, Georgia, Romania, El Salvador and Argentina are small examples where the organizing of commonsense people is also navigating through the systems of control. The voices of the people are rising organically.

In Canada one of the modern WEF globalists is now indicating his exit. Justin Trudeau is expected to resign.

NY POST – […] Three sources told the Globe and Mail, a Canadian outlet, on Sunday that Trudeau, 53, could reveal he’s leaving as Liberal Party Leader before a critical national caucus meeting on Wednesday.

It was unclear what day he could announce his resignation, but it reportedly could happen as early as Monday, the sources said.

The bombshell report comes as an embattled Trudeau has faced increasing calls for his resignation as a Donald Trump presidency – and the threat of 25% tariffs on all products north of the border – looms large.

The prime minister was struck with a devastating blow after his then-finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, quit last month over a deepening divide between the two over the future of Canada’s economy. (read more)

Justin from Canada has been an unstable boy-child with a speech impediment and an emotionally unstable disposition for a long time. He personifies the leftist hero for modern feminists.

Jan 6 2025

Intifada Rally in New York Funded by Goldman

Posted originally on Jan 3, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Manhattan on New Year’s Day to demand an intifada revolution. The Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the People’s Forum forcibly continued the planned “protest” in the wake of two potential terrorist attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Why are we permitting pro-terrorist groups to take to the streets?

Free speech is one thing, but directly calling for violence on behalf of foreign nations is not permitted. If a right-wing organization held a “protest” of this nature, the media would swarm it bees to honey and deem it as extremist terrorism. Why is this (D)ifferent?

Aside from the obvious, we must look at who is funding the civil unrest. The Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund provided the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and the People’s Forum with $18 million in recent years. The group has a strong base at Columbia University and is responsible for numerous anti-Israel protests. People’s Forum co-executive director Manolo De Los Santos has called for the need to make “untenable for the politics of usual to take place in this country” and called for the university encampments to remain open as long as possible. He openly criticizes the Zionist rulers of Columbia University, and the group often holds pro-Marxist discussions to stir up unrest.

Protest.CivilUnrest.Palestine.TENTS_.greentent

The People’s Forum reached out to U.S Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) and Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R., Idaho) to block the passage of H.R.6408 /S.4136 that would remove funded from any non-profits deemed to be terrorist organizations, claiming its origins were promoted by “anti-Palestinian bias.” The bill has yet to pass.

Goldman has been funding this organization for years. In 2018, they provided the group with $4,400,000 in funding after granting them $2,500,000 the year prior. The Chinese Communist Party has also been supporting this organization, but claims of foreign interference are silent. The New York Times reported that the People’s Forum is also funded by Neville Roy Singham, who has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party and its propaganda efforts.

“We will be here every single year for generation after generation until total liberation and return,” protesters shouted. America is being attacked from within. Foreign agencies have preyed upon the vulnerable youth and convinced them to march against their own country. There is a GLOBAL EFFORT to heighten civil unrest as other major cities also witnessed similar “protests.” The endgame is a push toward their dream of a Marxist utopia that requires toppling society as we know it.

Jan 6 2025

Slovakia v Ukraine and the EU on Energy

Posted originally on Jan 3, 2025 by Martin Armstrong

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has nearly accepted that his country will be forced to pay an additional €500 million for energy due to Ukraine’s refusal to renew the Russian gas transit treaty. Zelensky believes Fico is Putin’s puppet, but the man is simply looking for a way to provide his people energy. Tensions are worsening between Zelensky and Fico, and now, Fico is threatening to cut aid to Ukraine.

“On behalf of Smer (the ruling party), I announce that we are ready to negotiate and agree in a coalition to cut off electricity supplies and significantly reduce support for Ukrainian citizens staying in the territory of the Slovak Republic,” Fico noted a day after the existing transit treaty expired.

Leaders from Ukraine, Slovakia, and the unelected leaders of the European Union will meet next week to determine the proper steps which likely means they will find a way to pressure Slovakia to continue aiding Ukraine without compromise.

Fico threatened to cut off energy supplies to Ukraine, but Zelensky basically stated he knew that he would be overpowered by the EU and prevented from doing so. “Any arbitrary decisions in Bratislava or instructions from Moscow to Fico regarding electricity will not lead to a halt in electricity imports to Ukraine,” Zelensky said, adding: “Slovakia is part of the unified European energy market, and Fico must abide by pan-European regulations.” Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry chimed in to say that Slovakia would stand to lose hundreds of millions annually if they stopped selling to Ukraine. “Slovakia’s supply of critical amounts of electricity to Ukraine is not charity: Ukraine pays Slovakia a significant amount for it,” the ministry stated.

Moscow is not strengthened by this gas transit deal and granting transit would show good faith to Slovakia, who has provided Ukraine with millions in assistance since the war began. The underlying issue is that Fico wishes to remain neutral in this war. The European Union wants every member state to fear Russia and prepare for an escalation of warfare. The unelected officials at Brussels consistently undermine their own member states and it is only a matter of time before members wake up and realize that this alliance is working against them.

Jan 6 2025

Retail Closures in US Hit Pandemic Levels

Posted originally onJan 2, 2025 by Martin Armstrong

Over 6,481 retailers have closed their doors since the beginning of the new year, according to data from Coresight Research in November, but that figure is expected to reach 7,327, marking a 57.8% increase in closures since 2023.

During the pandemic, closures exceeded openings by 180 stores in 2020, with the gap widening in 2021 to 6,000 retailers. There were 5,919 store openings in 2023, barely easing the burden. While online shopping has nulled the need for many brick and mortars, the types of retailers that experienced the steepest declines are telling.

Nothing at the dollar store costs a dollar. That changed years ago during the pandemic, thanks to tariffs and supply chain issues. Retailers had to mark up these cheap goods to make a meager profit. As a result, Family Dollar shut their door to 677 locations and 99 Cents Only stores shed 371. Big Lots, also known for selling discounted items, has been forced to close 580 locations, although the bankruptcy played a larger role.

Rite Aid also experienced bankruptcy in 2024, closing 408 locations. Pharmacies, in general, took a major hit this past year. Walgreens plans to close 1,200 locations over the next three years and lost 259 locations in 259. CVS closed 586 locations as well. The convenience of picking up items while at the pharmacy does not overshadow the need for a discount. People are not willing to pay more for essentials at the pharmacy when they can receive them for a discounted price elsewhere. The same goes for convenience stores like 7-Eleven which shed 492 locations in 2024 with plans to close another 400 worldwide.

Another major contributing factor is the workforce – people do not want to work low-wage jobs that do not support their cost of living. Enter any pharmacy or low-end store, and you will find a severe shortage of workers. One pharmacy by me that is part of a major chain is only open two days a week because they simply do not have the staff to keep it operating.

There is a reason that retail closures are at their highest level since the pandemic. Americans are spending more on less and their spending habits are shifting from convenience to practicality.