Tag Archives: USA Current Events

Mar 13 2026

When the Government Demands to Inspect Your Home


Posted originally on Mar 13, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |  

Government Oppression

The push to ban firearms in the United States never really stops. It simply advances in stages. Minnesota has now produced one of the more revealing examples of how far some politicians are willing to go. Democratic lawmakers are proposing legislation that would ban many semiautomatic rifles and magazines while forcing citizens who already own them to register their firearms and submit to government inspections inside their own homes. The proposal effectively says that if you wish to keep a legally purchased firearm, the government must first be allowed to verify how you store it.

According to the legislation, gun owners would need to obtain a certificate to keep firearms that the state plans to prohibit going forward. Even more troubling is the requirement that law enforcement be permitted to inspect the owner’s residence to verify compliance with storage rules. In other words, the state is asserting the authority to enter private homes to ensure obedience to government mandates.

The constitutional problems are obvious. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution explicitly states that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The rifles being targeted are not rare or exotic weapons; they are among the most commonly owned firearms in the country. The courts have repeatedly acknowledged that arms in common use fall within the protection of the Constitution. Attempting to ban them outright invites a direct constitutional conflict.

At the same time, the proposal collides head-on with the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. That amendment was written precisely to prevent the government from entering a citizen’s home without proper cause and a warrant. Yet Minnesota’s proposal essentially conditions the ownership of private property on allowing police access to your residence. If you refuse, you lose the right to keep the firearm. This is a remarkable inversion of the principle that government power must be limited by the Constitution rather than the other way around.

Throughout history, governments have always preferred populations that are dependent and compliant. An armed citizenry is far more difficult to control. That is why the debate is rarely just about crime. Just look at Minnesota, a state riddled with fraud against taxpayers. The attention instead falls on the law-abiding citizens who legally purchased firearms and followed every rule imposed by the government. Politicians refuse to acknowledge the problems plaguing society unless those problems personally affect their campaigns.

Laws that directly challenge the Second and Fourth Amendments will almost certainly end up in the courts. The real question is whether the Constitution still serves as a meaningful restraint on government power or whether legislators now believe they can simply rewrite those limits whenever political convenience demands it.

Feb 6 2026

More Disappointing US Job Data Confirms Trend in Motion


Posted originally on Feb 6, 2026 by Martin Armstrong 

Resume.Jobs_.Unemployment

Another day, another set of disappointing data. Data this week from Challenger, Gray & Christmas indicate that the US labor market is no longer merely cooling. According to the latest report, US employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, the highest January total since 2009, and more than double January 2025 figures. Hiring plans collapsed to just 5,306 announced jobs — the lowest January level on record since the firm began tracking hiring in 2009.

For years after the pandemic, employment was the one strong headline in an otherwise weakening economy. Even as real growth slowed and debt expanded, companies continued to hire, and workers found jobs. That narrative of a resilient labor market propping up economic optimism is now unravelling. Fewer new hires, skyrocketing job cuts, and employers setting reduction plans before the year even began shouldn’t be dismissed as routine seasonal shifts; they point to a downturn in employer expectations and consumer demand.

While headlines often attribute layoffs to artificial intelligence, the Challenger data shows AI accounted for a relatively small share of the cuts. The dominant forces are market conditions, contract losses, and cost pressures.

The labor market is the backbone of consumer demand. Companies expand payrolls when they believe future sales justify investment. Workers thrive when they believe they will be fairly compensated and not penalized by the government through excessive taxation.

Employers set layoff plans late in 2025, anticipating weaker conditions in 2026. Hiring plans are a clear sign of confidence, or in this case, the erosion of confidence. This is not a temporary cooling but a downward trend.

Since the government is unable to operate, data sources like Challenger and ADP have become more dependable. Still, the data from BLS is the preferred gauge, but there is no need to wait for that data to publish to see that the labor market is weakening.

Confidence always precedes activity. When confidence fades, activity follows.

Dec 17 2025

Delayed October and November Nonfarm Payrolls in USA


Posted Posted originally on on Dec 17, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Jobs

Payrolls in the US declined by 105,000 in October, followed by a 64,000 uptick in November, according to the delayed nonfarm payrolls report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment now sits at 4.6%–a four-year high.

The November jobs data was delayed because a 43-day federal government shutdown disrupted the normal collection of labor market surveys. That alone introduces uncertainty, yet it also amplifies the significance of the patterns we do observe.

Naturally, a portion of lost jobs in October were due to the government shutdown, but the downward trend has emerged. Around 162,000 government positions were shed in October, followed by an additional 6,000 in November. These jobs are inconsequential as they do not add to the economy. October was the third time in the past six months that payrolls went into negative territory. Per usual, previous reports were revised downward. August’s report was revised to show a decline of 26,000 jobs compared to the initially reported 26,000, with 11,000 more jobs lost in September.

The 64,000 additional jobs in November may have beaten expectations, but averaged around 35,000 net jobs per month based on recent readings, which indicated stagnation rather than expansion.

Health care was responsible for 70% of new hires last month, or 46,000 positions. Construction also experienced a notable gain of 28,000. Transportation and warehousing decreased by 18,000 as AI takes over those positions. Leisure and hospitality shed 12,000.

The number of people holding more than one job increased, as did the number of discouraged workers and those adding part-time jobs to make ends meet to 8.7%. This high has not been seen since August 2021 when the US economy was slowly recovering from lockdowns.

December’s report will be released ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s meeting in January, but the Fed cannot change the labor market through rates. The central bank cut rates three times this year and nothing changed. Expect slower growth, rising unemployment, and a re-evaluation of rate policy in early 2026.