(FREE) PAINE IN THE MORNING: What you need to know this Thursday – December 1, 2022

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Here’s what you need to know today, Thursday – December 1, 2022.

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Biden’s Spending Spree Is Unprecedented – More than any time in recent history, the consequences of government over-spending are becoming apparent. Inflation continues to be well above the Federal Reserve’s target, and the national debt recently topped $31 trillion for the first time in U.S. history—just eight months after it crossed $30 trillion. Yet few seem to connect these events with one of their underlying causes: President Joe Biden’s continued spending binge.

Tacking on $1 trillion in debt in barely more than half a year used to be unheard of. But that norm went out the window when Biden’s predecessor, President Donald Trump, turbocharged the national debt—even before he put federal spending on steroids in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. What is shocking now, however, is that hardly anyone is paying attention to Biden’s spending, even amid historic inflation. – READ MORE

Joe Biden: ‘Nobody Knows the Effects’ of Multi-Trillion Spending Agenda that Is ‘Just Coming into Play’ – President Joe Biden said Tuesday that people were only starting to see the effects of his multi-trillion dollar spending agenda, despite Americans continuing to struggle with higher prices from inflation.

“We passed the American Rescue Plan,” Biden boasted. “Now everybody knows it, but we did so much, no one knows the effects of it yet. It’s just coming into play.” – READ MORE

Housing Demand “Vaporized” After Rates Hit 7%…And A New Wave Of Inventory Is Next – I’m beginning to think that the timing of the interest rate hike this fall has prevented us from experiencing the full effects of deteriorating buyer demand.

Every year, housing inventory gears down for real estate’s dormant period through the holiday season. After the new year begins, inventory then begins its slow hike towards peak in the spring and summer. It was approaching the time when inventory typically begins its final annual descent that rates hit 7% and demand vaporized. – READ MORE

Beto O’Rourke quietly returned $1M donation from FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried days before Election Day loss – Failed Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke reportedly returned a $1 million check from FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried.

O’Rourke’s campaign told The Texas Tribune it handed back the donation from the embattled cryptocurrency exchange platform founder four days before Election Day. The donation was returned a week before FTX filed for bankruptcy and Bankman-Fried stepped down as its chief executive. – READ MORE

Rental Cars Used By Biden’s Secret Service Agents In Nantucket Destroyed In Fire – Five vehicles rented by the Secret Service to protect President Biden and his family during a trip to Nantucket were destroyed in a mysterious fire on Monday morning.

The Nantucket Current reported just after 0530 ET on Monday, and less than 24 hours after Secret Service agents dropped off the vehicles at Nantucket Memorial Airport, a fire erupted in at least one and spread to the other four. – READ MORE

LA County fentanyl deaths spike over 1000% in five years – Los Angeles County saw a surge in fentanyl deaths between 2016 and 2021, with fatalities rising 1,280% during the five-year period.

“Fentanyl overdoses are a significant and growing public health problem across the United States and in LAC across sociodemographic groups and geographic areas,” a report by L.A. County Department of Public Health released Tuesday read. “The increases among youth who are being targeted by drug traffickers, and the widening disparities among marginalized groups are particularly concerning.” – READ MORE

Mayor Eric Adams to Involuntarily Hospitalize Mentally Ill New Yorkers – New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) on Tuesday announced the city’s new plan to address mentally ill residents by hospitalizing them against their will, even if they do not pose an immediate safety risk to others.

Under Adams’ directive, New York City police officers, firefighters, and health department officials are allowed to involuntarily commit mentally ill individuals if they “cannot support their basic human needs to an extent that causes them harm.” – READ MORE

Pennsylvania County That Ran Out Of Paper Ballots Fails To Certify Election Results – A county in Pennsylvania that didn’t have enough paper ballots on Election Day failed to certify the results of the Nov. 8 midterms by the Nov. 28 deadline.

The Luzerne County Board of Elections split 2–2 to certify the results, while one member abstained from voting. It’s unclear what the next steps are.

Republican board members Alyssa Fusaro and Jim Mangan voted no, while Democrat members Denise Williams and Audrey Serniak voted for the certification, according to the Times Leader. Daniel Schramm, also a Democrat, was the lone board member who abstained. – READ MORE

Montana AG Concerned UPS and FedEx Working With Biden Admin to Track American Gun Owners – Montana’s top law official is concerned that shipping giants UPS and FedEx are working with the Biden administration to bypass laws that bar the federal government from creating a national database of American gun owners, according to a copy of a letter sent to the companies on Tuesday and exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Republican Montana attorney general Austin Knudsen alleges that new shipping guidelines allow UPS and FedEx “to track firearm sales with unprecedented specificity and bypass warrant requirements to share that information with federal agencies.” The letter, signed by Knudsen and 16 other state attorneys general, says the altered shipping guidelines force licensed firearm dealers into providing detailed information about purchasers who are receiving items through the mail. The letter does not have explicit proof that the shipping giants are sharing information with federal agencies but cites conversations between state officials and licensed firearm dealers who claim they were forced to comply with these regulations. – READ MORE

Biden’s ‘green’ scheme could send taxpayer money to Chinese-owned mines – The Biden administration is seeking to fund Canadian mining ventures to help accelerate President Joe Biden’s green energy push, even though multiple Canadian mining corporations are partially owned by Chinese entities.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has set aside over $1 billion to help the U.S. acquire more rare earth minerals, which are needed to produce “clean energy” technologies, from Canadian and other “domestic” sources. However, Chinese companies have significant ownership in major Canadian mining companies, and some of them have also been involved in 89 public acquisitions and investments in Canadian mining companies over the past ten years, according to a Bloomberg analysis. – READ MORE

How Europe’s Energy Crisis Could Turn Into A Food Crisis – Runaway energy price inflation has wreaked havoc on European industrial activity, with the heaviest consumers taking the brunt. Aluminum and steel smelters are shutting down because of energy costs. Chemical producers are moving to the United States. BASF is planning a permanent downsizing.

There is, however, a bigger problem than all these would constitute for their respective industries. Fertilizer makers are also shutting down their plants. And fertilizer imports are down because the biggest suppliers of fertilizers for Europe were Russia and Belarus, both currently under sanctions. – READ MORE