Happy Thursday 🇺🇸,
A mom's Walmart receipt from 2006 says 79 items cost $161.87. Today's episode asks who ran up the tab since.
New episode first, then 5 stories you may have missed. About five minutes, start to finish.
NEW EPISODE · OUT NOW
COMMON SENSE · EPISODE 22 · 13 MIN
Six Figures and Still Broke: Inflation or Corporate Greed?
A McChicken was $1 in 2014 and $2.99 a decade later. Cole and Savannah dig into why one in five families is behind on a bill, why six figures doesn't stretch like it used to, and whether it's inflation or corporate greed. Washington's fingerprints are on it too.
COMMON SENSE - RED STATE FINANCE
Six Figures and Still Broke: Inflation or Corporate Greed?
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Search "Common Sense Red State Finance."
PLUS: 5 STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
01 · WASHINGTON
The IMF Says Growth Won't Pay the Tab
The head of the IMF said Wednesday the US can't grow its way out of its debt fast enough, and some tax or spending changes will be needed. The IMF projects US debt hitting 142% of GDP by 2031. Treasury Secretary Bessent is betting on 3%+ growth. Both parties built this pile.
TRANSLATION: Bigger government borrowing keeps pressure on the rates you pay for mortgages, car loans and credit cards.
02 · YOUR WALLET
Inflation Runs Hotter: 3.7%
Consumer prices rose 3.7% over the past year in September, up from 3.4% in August and above the 3.6% economists expected. Energy did the heavy lifting: gas jumped 7.1% in September alone, per the EIA. Social Security's 2027 raise is calculated off this report.
TRANSLATION: Your raise has to beat 3.7% just to stay even. Anything less is a pay cut with better PR.
03 · MAIN STREET
Kroger Hands 3,000 Desk Jobs to the Robots
Kroger plans to cut about 3,000 corporate jobs over three years as it leans on AI. That's roughly 37% of its corporate staff, per Reuters. The CEO's memo says work is changing "across every industry."
TRANSLATION: Office jobs are now in AI's crosshairs. Learning the tools beats waiting to be replaced by them.
04 · MARKETS
Wall Street's Trading Desks Had a Great Summer
Goldman Sachs earned $17.01 a share last quarter versus the $13.02 analysts expected, as stock-trading revenue jumped 72% to $6.44 billion. JPMorgan posted a rare miss but says its customers are still spending.
TRANSLATION: The banks say the consumer is fine. The Fed survey says a lot of families are not. Both can be true.
05 · LIGHTER SIDE
The Scariest Thing This Halloween Is the Receipt
Halloween chocolate is up 15.5% to about $5.67 a package, per PwC, and candy prices overall are up 8.1% in a year. Americans will still spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween, about $115 each.
TRANSLATION: Buy the candy Nov. 1 at half off and hand out raisins this year. Kidding. Mostly.
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See you Sunday.
The Red State Finance team
