inflation

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, is shown holding a printout of the social media post that led him to challenge the head of the Teamsters union to a physical fight at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023. (U.S. House webcast screenshot)

Oklahoma senator challenges Teamsters president to fight at U.S. Senate hearing

BY: - November 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — Sen. Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma Republican, challenged the head of the Teamsters union to a physical fight at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday intended to showcase how labor unions are making families’ lives better. The tense confrontation at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing stemmed from acrimonious posts on social […]

Ukrainian immigrant Dmytro Haiman, pictured in Dickinson, N.D., is one of the international workers the state has recruited to work in its booming oil industry. North Dakota’s shale oil boom contributed to a nation-leading 11% boost in personal income over the past four years. (Jack Dura/The Associated Press)

Residents of Midwest, Mountain West see biggest pay bumps

BY: - November 1, 2023

Residents of some Midwestern and Mountain states gained the most income per capita during the past four years, a Stateline analysis shows, as competition for workers drove up wages in relatively affordable places to live. With the COVID-19 pandemic now in the nation’s rearview mirror, Stateline’s analysis offers a more complete understanding of how some […]

Republican presidential candidates (L-R), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum participate in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum on August 23, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump absent but still dominates as GOP presidential rivals clash at first debate

BY: , and - August 23, 2023

Eight Republican presidential candidates gathered onstage Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a heated first primary debate heavily influenced by former President Donald Trump, though the party’s front runner refused to attend the two-hour event. Trump instead recorded a competing 46-minute interview with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that aired on X, formerly known […]

Consumers seeing relief in some food prices as inflation continues to slow

BY: - August 10, 2023

Consumers are getting some relief from higher prices as core inflation, which excludes food and energy, continues to show signs of cooling — an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy, according to economists. The Department of Labor’s report on Thursday showed the consumer price index rose 0.2% in July, in line with expectations, and 3.2% […]

Despite pandemic pay boost, low-wage workers still can’t afford basic needs

BY: - July 10, 2023

Employers grappling with a nationwide labor shortage gave low-wage workers the largest pay increases in most states between 2019 and last year. But even so, many of those workers — more than 40% of all U.S. households, by one estimate — are struggling to cover the inflated costs of basic expenses. In the past several […]

President Joe Biden speaks about his economic plan at the Flex LTD manufacturing plant on July 6, 2023, in West Columbia, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Biden in South Carolina calls out Republicans who tout major legislation they opposed

BY: - July 6, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden traveled Thursday to South Carolina — home of the first-in-the-nation 2024 Democratic presidential primary as well as two GOP presidential candidates — to rebuke Republicans for voting against bills in Congress that are now providing billions in federal dollars. “All those members of Congress who voted against it, suddenly realize […]

Wage growth remains high, jobs are steady and inflation is falling so why are people worried?

BY: - June 22, 2023

Economists have been predicting a recession for months, but the labor market has remained resilient, wage growth is higher than before the pandemic, and inflation continues to drop, now at 4% compared to 9.1% in June of last year. Despite this good news, consumers don’t feel confident about the future, according to the consumer confidence […]

The exterior of First Republic Bank

Regulators end week like they started — tamping down fears, rescuing a bank

BY: - March 17, 2023

Financial regulators, policymakers, and bank executives spent the week trying to abate fears that a banking crisis will spread across the U.S. financial system.  On Friday, President Joe Biden released a statement calling on Congress to take action to make it easier for regulators to hold senior bank executives accountable for their mismanagement.  “It should […]

Women walking by a 'now hiring' sign.

Powell signals higher interest rates. Here’s why Friday’s jobs report will affect Fed’s decision.

BY: - March 8, 2023

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said this week that interest rate increases could be higher and come faster if Friday’s unemployment data shows the nation’s labor market isn’t cooling off. Stock indexes fell after his comments. That’s been a familiar pattern over the past year as the federal bank has tried to combat inflation.  A […]

Girl Scout Troop 3458 presents a check to the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas

Families are taking a hit as pandemic aid ends, inflation continues

BY: - February 27, 2023

Forty million people in the U.S. are having difficulty affording household expenses, and a little more than 25 million people say they sometimes or often do not have enough to eat, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent Household Pulse survey data.  The survey is designed to collect data on household experiences during the […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy answers questions from reporters at the U.S. Capitol about debt limit talks at the White House, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Bipartisan group predicts U.S. debt default as soon as summer, depending on tax receipts

BY: - February 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan think tank expects that the United States will default on its debt in the summer or early fall, if Congress doesn’t take action to address the debt limit before then.  The timeline is similar to one the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released last week, saying lawmakers have until sometime between July […]

Iowa farmland stretches to the horizon in 2019. (Lyle Muller / Investigate Midwest IowaWatch)

USDA projects farm income will fall in 2023 after two robust years

BY: - February 8, 2023

WASHINGTON — After two strong years of growth, U.S. farm income is forecast to drop substantially in 2023 as commodity prices fall and expenses rise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service reported Tuesday. And with food prices projected to rise into 2023, the nation’s producers will not be reaping the financial benefits. The […]