Red states get it: Economic freedom beats blue-state gimmicks



After enduring state and local COVID policies that wreaked havoc on the economy, followed by historic inflation that delivered a resounding election victory to Donald Trump, you would think that state and local politicians would learn some economic lessons.

Apparently not. Politicians from blue and red states seem to be getting their lessons from very different schools.

If blue states don’t begin to understand how economics work, they are going to continue to see their power centers dwindle.

In red states, politicians want to enable economic freedom. Property taxes, which impose a heavy, lifelong burden on real estate owners, have been a subject of several politicians looking to improve the opportunity to participate in the American dream of home ownership. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is looking at a state constitutional amendment to potentially eradicate property taxes in the state.

Reviving the American dream

Cliff Maloney, CEO of the strategic grassroots organization Citizens Alliance, explained to Blaze News the significance of this lesson:

When you think about it, you never truly own your home. If you miss just a few tax payments, they’ll seize your property that you saved for and worked so hard to make a home. That’s not freedom — that’s essentially just rent to the state. Our internal data shows that out of the 510,000 Americans we’ve talked to, more than 82% said property taxes are a major concern. They're infuriated that while they're being forced to cut their own budgets to survive in today's economy, local governments refuse to do the same.

While not going quite as far as DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is also trying to deliver some tax relief to property owners, with others in the state working to figure out how to get rid of property taxes in the long term.

Maloney also mentioned that Citizens Alliance's door-knocking and advocacy efforts in New Hampshire “led to abolishing 14 taxes and fees, which has produced a dramatic influx of businesses moving to the state from other nearby states that have a higher tax burden.”

All of this stems from smart economic lessons. Lessons that very blue states have failed to learn.

Democrats haven’t learned anything

After witnessing the inflationary effects of COVID-era stimulus checks — a result that was highly unpopular politically — one might assume politicians would steer clear of repeating the same mistake.

That’s not the case in New York, where Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is laughably handing out “inflation refund” checks, a move even other Democrats are calling a political gimmick — not to mention a bad economic move.

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In Virginia, former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, now running for governor, has pledged to raise the minimum wage to $15, another form of market intervention that creates barriers to employment and increases costs.

In Minneapolis, city leaders are considering adding a 2% fee to hotel rooms in an effort to boost tourism — because, apparently, making hotels more expensive is always a good way to get more people to your city.

The people have spoken

Given the importance of the economy to Americans, it’s no surprise that Americans are moving from blue states to red ones. Maloney shared:

We've had the unique opportunity to talk to a lot of new residents during our door-knocking campaigns, and in doing so, our data uncovered that 69% of new residents moved for financial reasons. In 41% of these cases, this was because they were no longer able to afford the skyrocketing cost of living in blue states, while 13% were because of new, better-paying job opportunities.

If blue states don’t begin to understand how economics work, they will continue to see their power centers dwindle. Math doesn’t lie. People are taking their capital and spending power to the states where the math works.

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Majority of voters say economy 'STRONG' for the first time in nearly 4 years, now with Trump in charge



Polling conducted in the wake of President Donald Trump's "total reset" with China, his new tariff deal with the United Kingdom, and inflation's drop to a four-year low revealed on Monday years-high voter confidence in the strength of the economy and a healthy dip in voter pessimism regarding their personal financial situations.

According to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris poll, 51% of voters — whose top issue altogether after price increases and inflation was the economy — said the economy was "strong." Last month, only 46% said so, and there hasn't been a majoritively positive response to this question since July 2021.

Fifty percent of voters expressed confidence the president's policies will lead to stronger economic growth.

Despite this perceived strength, 51% of respondents suggested the economy was nevertheless on the wrong track. When broken down by political affiliation, 72% of Republican respondents, 15% of Democratic respondents, and 28% of independent respondents alternatively said the economy was on the "right track."

Over the past few years, the percentage of Americans who said the country on the whole was on the "right track" dribbled around 30%. However, that number skyrocketed from 28% in January, when Trump took office again, to 42% the following month. It is now at 42% again after a dip in April.

'President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy.'

Last month, 45% of voters said their personal financial situation was getting worse. Pollsters found this month that such pessimism had dropped to 39%, while the percentage of respondents who said they were "just as well off" or that their situation was improving climbed four and two points, respectively.

"The majority of Trump's policies continue to see strong support especially on immigration and government efficiency, even though there is concern Trump has exceeded guardrails with executive orders and tariffs," Mark Penn, co-director of the Harvard CAPS/ Harris poll, said in a statement.

Penn added, "If he is able to successfully lower the price of prescription drugs and hold down the fort on inflation, he will be able to unlock 10% more of voters in his approval rating."

Steve Miran, chairman of Trump's Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement to Blaze News, "The Harvard/Harris poll is a reflection of the fact that Americans know that President Trump is a skilled steward of the economy."

"The president's policies to preserve low tax rates and reduce them further, cut red tape, create energy abundance, and renegotiate America-last trade deals will combine to create a Trump economic boom — just like they did during his first term," continued Miran. "The best way to create jobs is to create incentives for businesses to hire and invest, and that's what the president's policies do."

'If it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike.'

While there is plenty of optimism around the poll results, entrepreneur and business expert Carol Roth told Blaze News that "it's tough to get a read on the consumer right now" and noted that "while the Harvard CAPS/Harris poll went into a slim majority, other consumer polls are near record lows."

"Inflation cooling has been a welcome trend for consumers, as has the tariff pause that led the market to recapture what was lost from the Liberation Day announcements," continued Roth. "But there are concerning signs with debt delinquencies rising."

RELATED: Inflation dips to 4-year low despite trade war hysteria: 'Americans are breathing a sigh of relief'

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

When asked whether Congress' passage of the tax bill was critical to maintaining this confidence, Miran told Blaze News that "the One Big Beautiful tax bill is a critical part of this policy suite, and if it fails, Americans will be subject to a $4 trillion tax hike, the biggest in history. That's why it's absolutely essential that we get it over the line, and we will."

'We need deregulation and tax cut permanence.'

Eighty percent of respondents said the U.S. government "should move in the next few years" to balance the budget. When asked whether reductions in government spending or increases in taxing were the way to reduce the budget deficits, 78% signaled a desire for spending cuts.

"While getting more certainty and permanence with tax cuts is critical, the big beautiful bill needs a massive diet, and failure to substantially cut spending by the GOP could undo progress on inflation and worsen our already fragile fiscal foundation," said Roth. "We need deregulation and tax cut permanence as well as trade deals and the end of tariffs to engender more growth, as well as some serious fiscal responsibility from Congress to make sure that the economy doesn't get crushed by our ever growing debt burden."

The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll found that 47% of respondents approved of the job that Trump was doing, with 87% of GOP voters approving and 83% of Democrats and 50% of independents disapproving.

The president received highest approval for his handling of immigration and on "returning America to its values," and 52% of respondents said he was doing a better job than his predecessor.

The Republican Party, meanwhile, enjoyed a positive approval rating of 52%, its highest approval rating since March 2023, whereas the Democratic Party, although no longer plumbing record approval lows, still remained 10 percentage points behind, bogged down in part by the 28% of Democrats who evidently don't like what their party is doing.

The White House did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment by publication time.

Editor's note: Carol Roth is a contributor to Blaze News.

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Panic first, analyze never: Media flubs Trump’s economy



On April 2 — Liberation Day — Donald Trump did exactly what he had promised for over a year: He imposed a slate of reciprocal and punitive tariffs on America’s trading partners.

The left and corporate left-wing media erupted in predictable fashion, and the stock market plummeted. Before a single tariff was announced, doomsayers in the press predicted economic collapse. CNN warned the economy was “flashing yellow lights,” and the BBC claimed Trump’s move risked “economic turbulence — and voter backlash.” A former Biden economic adviser forecast disaster.

Confidence among working Americans remains high. And that confidence will continue driving this economy forward.

When first-quarter GDP numbers showed a 0.3% contraction, the media pounced. They blamed the tariffs — despite the fact that none had taken effect by March 31, the end of the quarter.

While liberal economists celebrated the downturn and declared a recession imminent, they failed to look at the numbers. A closer analysis shows the economy remains fundamentally strong.

The GDP dip came primarily from a 5.1% drop in federal government spending. In other words, a major cause of the decline was the one thing fiscal conservatives have long demanded: smaller government. Isn’t reducing government spending, or at least the growth of government spending, a good thing?

Meanwhile, the rest of the economy showed strength. A Harvard University/HarrisX poll released Monday found that 51% of registered voters believe the economy is "strong" for the first time in four years.

The numbers back up their belief. Nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 177,000 in April. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. The household survey — used to calculate the jobless rate — showed an even larger gain, with 436,000 more Americans reporting that they held jobs. All told, the economy added 556,000 jobs in the first three months of Trump’s second term.

That growth comes despite the Department of Government Efficiency cutting more than 120,000 federal jobs. Private-sector employment continues to expand even as Washington shrinks — a trend critics said was impossible.

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What about inflation? Didn’t the media insist tariffs would bring back the dreaded 1970s stagflation?

Instead, the Consumer Price Index in April came in at 2.3% — the lowest level since February 2021, just before “Bidenflation” took off. The drop came as prices fell for food, gas, used vehicles, and clothing.

Grocery prices alone dropped 0.4%, the sharpest decline since late 2020. Egg prices plummeted 12.7%, their biggest single-month fall since the Reagan era. In other words, the items working families care about — food, fuel, and clothing — are more affordable now than under Biden.

Meanwhile, Trump’s trade strategy is forcing results.

The United Kingdom quickly reached a trade deal. Other countries have accepted temporary “tariff holidays” in exchange for coming to the negotiating table. China and the United States agreed to a “tariff truce.” Canada slashed its U.S. tariff rate to nearly zero. According to Bloomberg, U.S. exports and manufacturing should surge in coming quarters.

Since Trump’s return to office in January, his critics have eagerly predicted economic doom. They cheered “transitory” inflation. They hyped “Bidenomics.” They got both wrong.

They’re wrong again.

Confidence among working Americans remains high. And that confidence will continue driving this economy forward — tariffs, tantrums, and all.

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After Media Claimed Trump Was ‘Turbocharging’ Price Hikes, Inflation Hits 4-Year Low

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released Tuesday revealed that inflation rose just 3.4 percent year-over-year in April — the lowest annual increase since February 2021, when the Biden administration was in office. According to economist for the Heritage Foundation E.J. Antoni, food prices in April declined for the first time since November of 2020 […]

Inflation dips to 4-year low despite trade war hysteria: 'Americans are breathing a sigh of relief'



Inflation dipped to a four-year low despite tariff uncertainty, indicating consumer prices have barely been affected by President Donald Trump's trade war.

The annual inflation in April fell to 2.3%, which is the lowest rate since February 2021. Although Trump's tariff policies sparked fears that prices would skyrocket, the annualized inflation rate during Trump's second term so far is only at 1.6%, which is considerably slower compared to former President Joe Biden's term, which saw an 8.6% annualized inflation rate during the first 18 months.

Trump also struck two trade deals in the last week with the United Kingdom and China, alleviating consumers' concerns about market volatility.

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Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

'Every dollar is going further and workers are able to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks!'

Americans are also enjoying lower costs for essential goods like gas and groceries. Average energy prices have fallen about 1.5% since January, and food prices declined in April for the first time since Trump was president in November 2020.

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Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

The cost of apparel also fell 0.2% in April despite a slight 0.4% uptick in March. Automakers are also relatively unaffected by tariffs, with the cost of new vehicles remaining unchanged, while used car prices fell by 0.5%.

"For the last several years, hardworking families have faced an affordability crisis," Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement Tuesday. "Finally, with [President Trump] at the helm, Americans are breathing a sigh of relief — every dollar is going further and workers are able to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks!"

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The underlying wins in Trump's first GDP report



The Department of Commerce released the first GDP report of President Donald Trump's second term on Wednesday, sending critics into a frenzy.

The legacy media's coverage of the report reiterates the same claim: The economy "shrank." But between the lines, the report paints a different, more promising picture.

On its face, the report shows that the economy contracted at a 0.3% rate in the first quarter as a result of the ongoing trade war and tariff uncertainty. Despite this, former Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve Richard Clarida argued that this figure was "distorted" and predicted it would be revised upward.

'It's no surprise the leftovers of Biden's economic disaster have been a drag on economic growth, but the underlying numbers tell the real story of the strong momentum President Trump is delivering.'

"Not really much of a surprise," Clarida said. "I do think the Q1 numbers were probably distorted by that huge surge in imports to front-run the tariffs, and I think could be revised up slightly. So the final number may be closer to zero."

"I do think probably that the Fed will probably try to look through this number because of those distortions. ... Maybe the headline number is a bit misleading this time," Clarida added.

As Clarida pointed out, these distortions are overshadowing key indicators that would suggest the economy is actually building momentum.

For example, consumer spending outpaced government spending by 3.2 percentage points, which has been the strongest figure since the Q2 report back in 2022. Consumer spending is a strong indicator of economic health that can lead to several positive outcomes like GDP growth, increasing demand, and job creation.

The report found that inflation has also halted, with the PCE price index showing zero increase in costs from February to March. This is a promising figure compared to the 0.3% increase in costs in January.

"It's no surprise the leftovers of Biden's economic disaster have been a drag on economic growth, but the underlying numbers tell the real story of the strong momentum President Trump is delivering," press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Wednesday.

While the GDP has contracted overall, the core GDP grew a robust 3%, which the administration said "signals strong underlying economic momentum." Gross domestic investment also soared 22% in the first quarter, which was the highest in four years.

"Robust core GDP, the highest gross domestic investment in four years, job growth, and trillions of dollars in new investments secured by President Trump are fueling an economic boom and setting the stage for unprecedented growth as President Trump ushers in the new golden age," Leavitt said.

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Consumer prices are down — why can’t Democrats admit it?



The latest inflation report is in — and for the first time in nearly five years, the Consumer Price Index has dropped.

According to data released April 10, gas prices led the decline, falling 6.3% from February to March and nearly 10% year over year. That’s real relief for working families.

It’s easy to claim every success as earned and every failure as someone else’s fault. But that’s not leadership — it’s childishness.

But don’t expect Joe Biden to credit Donald Trump. That would mean acknowledging the obvious: These results aren’t from Biden’s policies — they’re from Trump’s.

Psychologists call it the “locus of control.” People with an internal locus believe they shape their own destiny. People with an external one think they’re at the mercy of circumstance.

Most people pick one or the other. But Democrats? They flip depending on who happens to sit in the Oval Office.

When inflation stayed low under Trump, they called it luck. When inflation hit a 40-year high under Biden, they blamed Vladimir Putin. And landlords. And grocery stores. And payment processors. Anyone but Biden.

That spin didn’t pay the bills — especially in minority communities hit hardest by inflation.

Federal Reserve data shows that black and Hispanic households spend a higher share of income on gas, groceries, and rent than white households. In cities like Atlanta, Detroit, and Charlotte, black renters saw double-digit rent hikes between 2021 and 2023.

What did we hear from the White House? Excuses. Deflection. “We’re building back better” — but for whom?

Trump gave us the answer. On day one, he signed executive orders to fast-track energy permits, cut red tape, reopen federal lands for drilling, and establish a new National Energy Council.

The results are clear. Energy prices are dropping. Inflation is cooling. And Americans — at long last — are catching a break.

Biden took the opposite approach. He vowed to “end fossil fuel,” killed the Keystone XL Pipeline, blocked offshore drilling, and even sold oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — to China.

When energy prices surged, he pointed fingers. Biden blamed the war in Ukraine. But by January 2022 — before the invasion — gas prices were already up 40% year over year, and inflation had hit 7.5%.

The “Putin price hike” was a convenient distraction from Biden’s failed energy agenda.

And the scapegoating didn’t stop there.

When inflation hit every corner of the economy, Attorney General Merrick Garland pointed at Visa, accusing debit card fees of fueling the crisis. The fees in question? Fourteen cents on a $60 purchase.

Never mind that businesses willingly pay those standard fees. If they had a real problem with them, they could easily switch to any number of alternative companies or payment methods.

If Garland wanted real answers, he should have looked at Biden’s regulatory agenda. One study estimates those rules will cost the average family $47,000 over a lifetime.

When rents spiked, Biden and the Justice Department pointed fingers at landlords and pricing algorithms. They ignored the real drivers: millions of illegal immigrants increasing demand and federal mandates that jacked up compliance costs for builders. And the algorithms they blame? Those same tools recommend lower prices when inflation and demand cool down.

As grocery bills climbed, Biden blamed “shrinkflation” and greedy grocers and meatpackers. He ignored the real culprits: trillions in wasteful spending from the American Rescue Plan and the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.

This is the pattern: Jack up costs, then blame someone else. Spin doesn’t fill a gas tank in Jackson or put groceries on the table in Memphis. A press release won’t pay the electric bill in Columbia.

It’s easy to claim every success as earned and every failure as someone else’s fault. But that’s not leadership — it’s childishness. No kindergarten teacher would tolerate it. Voters shouldn’t either.

And they aren’t. Democrats are polling at 29% for a reason.

While the media tracks the stock market, Main Street is what matters. When gas prices jump 60%, hedge fund managers don’t suffer. It’s the single mom in Detroit, the delivery driver in Atlanta, and the grandmother in Baltimore stretching her Social Security check.

This isn’t academic. It’s survival.

Americans are done with excuses. They want results — and President Trump is delivering.

He didn’t just talk tough. He cut gas prices, cooled inflation, and restored energy independence. For communities crushed by elite policy failures, those results aren’t just political. They’re life-changing.