11-24-25 America's Truckin' Network

to make sure that we got a proper turkey. Now, what we wound up doing is instead of getting a frozen turkey, we actually found a fresh, organic turkey, and we wound up spending seventy cents less per pound than what we did for a frozen turkey the previous year. Now, going out and looking at the various prices and stuff, I was seeing prices as low as thirty three cents a pound, some around fifty nine cents a pound. And so the price of turkey is not going to break

the budget as far as your budget this year. As far as Thanksgiving, we've also seen last week and the week before where Walmart and Target have priced their fixings and everything that goes with the meal down to where it's actually four dollars I think the target was less than around four dollars per person feeding a group of ten, and Walmart was right within the same ballpark, So doing it right and doing a little bit of shopping does

pay off. Now, what we did do, we did start our preparation because there's a salt well, you know what, I don't even know what to call it. My mom used to call it cranberry sauce, But cranberry sauce is basically what you get out of the can and so on, and maybe some orange in it. But this concoction is jello and it's got apples and celery and pecans in it and firms up pretty good. But I find it

absolutely delicious. Now, we did tweak it a little bit this year with adding a little bit of cherry juice to it instead of just plain water, and it does make it a little tarder, but we did that over the weekend. As a matter of fact, we did that on Sunday, and actually it usually takes a couple of days for that to firm up, but it's firming up pretty good, I think simply because we reduced the amount of liquid to.

a lot of fun. We're getting all ready for Thanksgiving and really looking forward to the day. We're going to have about ten people here at the well there at the house, and so Anyway, it's gonna be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to it. And I'm I got to tell you from what I'm seeing, because you know, as a recovering accountant, you know, I got to figure things out. And I will keep receipts from around Thanksgiving, you know, when we buy the stuff for Thanksgiving,

and then going forward up until about Christmas. And I've kept receipts from probably and certain numbers for probably the last thirty four years that we've been doing Thanksgiving. And if I can remember, sometimes I'll write all the different components down and put the prices next to it and so on. But there's been a couple of years that

I've skipped. But overall, looking at the prices from this year versus last year, I haven't noticed a huge difference now getting into some of the numbers that I'm seeing. And we had some of the reports last week. We'll

talk about consumer sentiment and the jobs report. But it's interesting that what it appears to me what is happening is that the spoon fed regurgitators in the mainstream media are having way too much influence on what people are thinking because of them talking about inflation because of them talking about difficulties or spiking prices or whatever. It's almost a self fulfilling prophecy, because when you look at food prices this year versus last year, they're relatively the same.

lowest levels in the month's pole month poll's history. The final reading was up a hair from the preliminary November figure of fifty point three published two weeks weeks ago, but down from fifty three point six recorded in October, and it was in line with the number that economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecasts. Now getting into the numbers and digging into them, consumers who have faced above trend inflation for nearly half a decade.

Donald Trump came into office. And if you look at the trend, the actual trend is dipping below what it was during the Biden administration. Now, some of the boastful prognostications, if you will, from Trump that these prices are going to come down tremendously. Turkey prices have come down, price of eggs have come down, and a lot of these things are not related to tariffs. A lot of them are not related to increased prices. What it is is

having to do with shortages, droughts. As far as beef is concerned, the bird flu having gone through some of these flocks and raised you know, when you have to kill off your flocks, you're not going to producing much eggs. So of course the demand is there. The supply is low, so the prices are high. So when you see some of those factors coming into play, those are some of

the things that are throwing these numbers off. But when you compare as you know, Target did, as Walmart did with their basket of stuff for Thanksgiving, their prices are down. As a matter of fact, I think Walmart said that their prices this year are lower than they were in twenty nineteen, so that is a huge drop.

in terms of buying your stuff for Thanksgiving. But in the future, if you're looking at stuff, you can say, well, Okay, I'm going to be over in this neighborhood and such and such, and I'm closer to this particular store. I can swing by there and pick up a couple items, and swing over here on my way back home and pick up a couple items, and that sort of thing.

And it's amazing how much you can cut your grocery bill just by hitting those sales and making sure that you're taking advantage of what they're offering as far as the grocery stores are concerned.

prices and rising prices. Survey director Joanne Sue said, though the first part of November they were also contending with a record long government shutdown which disrupted food aid, air travel, and many workers' paychecks, and many federal workers paychecks. Now, as far as this consumer sentiment report is concerned, is that the only people that they identified that they specifically picked out the federal workers, people with disrupted food aid, or people that are air trains.

with high prices and higher prices. No, the prices are relatively flat and in some cases coming down, and we'll see that coming up in the near future and even lower. Economic concerns also extended to the job market, which logged a rise in unemployment to four point four percent in September despite a net job creation of one hundred and

nineteen thousand. Now, which is interesting that we'll get too later on, But if the one hundred and nineteen thousand jobs that were created in that month is high, how is the unemployment rate going up? Because in this next story that I'll be covering talking about the jobs created, it states in there about how people, how the extended, the labor participation rate and some of these things that

affect the overall unemployment have come down. So how can unemployment go from four point two percent up to four point three and up to four point four percent when the labor participation rate is up, the overall unemployment number

is down, and the weekly jobless claims are down. As we talked about last week, just kind of refresh your memory last week, they came up with the weekly jobless claims or unemployment rates for the first week, you know, the initial jobless claims for the week, and they came in at two hundred and twenty thousand, which was an eight down eight thousand unemployed people from the previous week.

The government estimates or the economist estimates had estimated that two hundred and thirty thousand people would have been unemployed. They were off by four point four percent on their estimates. So the number of people on a weekly basis that have lost their jobs are well within the range of that two hundred and ten to two hundred and fifty thousand that they talk about where it's been for the

last several months and even years. So how is the unemployment rate going up when you've got more people coming into the job market, and as we'll see coming up, more people are now participating in the rate, and more people have added into the job market.

on people. And you know, in my opinion, as I and I've said this before and I'll say it again, I believe that the mainstream media, as well as Lyon and Jerry Powell, are trying to manufacture a recession and the resilience of the American public. The American people are just not having any of it, and is confounding these experts. So anyway, let me see economic concerns to talk about

four point four percent unemployment, which I don't understand. If you've got the same relatively level unemployment numbers on a weekly basis, why is that number going up? Looking at the trends since the spring, many economists now estimate estimate that employers are adding roughly just enough new jobs to

keep joblessness joblessness in check. Well, if you keep joblessness in check, then that unemployment rate shouldn't be jumping a tenth of a percentage point or two tenths of a percentage point.

But when you look at pre pandemic estimates or pre plandemic numbers, the jobs that were added back during that period of time did not match the number of jobs that were lost that prior to them plandemic. And so all this boasting from the previous administration about how many jobs they created, Well, compare that number to the numbers that were lost, and they still hadn't matched those numbers. And to count that as a created job when it is merely a job that is replacing or backfilling what

had been lost previously is not a gain. And the employment range or the employment ranks. So it was a false narrative that they kept cramming down our throats and again talking about where the number of the numbers of increases and the job increases that we saw at the beginning of the decade, Well, hell, yes, you'd see a lot, but you know, you shut everything down and you're at zero, So anything up from that is going to look fantastic.

the headlines. They don't bother reading the story that don't get into the details of the story like we do here on America's truck and Network.

mission and REES across America. You can hear us every truck and Tuesday at five am and ten am Eastern on REES across America Radio, available on the iHeartRadio app.

December the thirteenth. It is still not too late to sponsor a wreath seventeen dollars mirror amount and that number was the same as it was last year, so there's no inflation there and a lot of these there's still I think some open lanes that if you have some time, if you can do maybe final mile or maybe a little bit longer in terms of these trips, in terms of picking up these reefs and getting them distributed across the country, just check out Reese Across America.

certainly appreciate that. Again, getting back to this consumer sentiment number and the facts in here, but I'm gonna just read this headline, I under this, this this paragraph.

my head, I don't remember what the number is. But if you have a four oh one k, or if you're invested in your company's program in terms of either pension or their participation in if you have the four oh one k through work and then they max that or equal that or whatever from the corporations, you're still in the market. You're not seeing it on a regular basis. You're seeing in your statements on a quarterly basis or on a monthly basis. But again, you are still involved

in the stock market. Now some of the people that are not involved in the stock market, well, you know, people, Again, this doesn't change whether you're having fantastic economic times, middle of the road economic times, or downturn. During the recession back in or they call it the Great recession back in two thousand and eight, two thousand and nine or so,

people were still making money. People with the right count that had the wherewithal and that could wait things out as far as the downturn in the market did very well during that period of time. But again those that weren't invested in and that didn't do so well. We saw in the housing market. We talked about that on this program, where in twenty two thousand and eight, two

thousand and nine, the housing market collapsed. We had a kind of across the board reduction of about forty percent in the value of homes, and so people found themselves underwater. And as as we got through the recession, those numbers

came up back up. It took a little bit longer than what it normally takes in a recession, but by twenty twelve twenty fourteen, people were back to where they were before the recession began, and so holding onto the home if you have the people maintaining their jobs and trying to go through some creative measures to hang onto

the house. Because there were some programs that were done by the banks in order to try to keep people in because they didn't want those homes dumped on them, because if somebody wounds up, if they wound up wind up for closing on homes and they can't sell those homes, they're stuck with that home on their books. And so there was a lot of leaf programs that were done

during that period of time. But again, you don't base this on because you know, I've talked in terms before of you know, in a lot of instances of what we look at as far as what's going on in the economy or the country or so on. Sometimes it boils down to not only necessarily Republicans versus Democrats, Conservatives versus liberals. It has to do with the affected class versus the unaffected class. The liberals in Hollywood, the liberals on the DNC side, they're not affected. If they're the

upper class, they're not affected by this. The rich people on the right in the conservative side, they're not affected by that, but we the affected class here in the middle, we are affected by every one of these things. And so it's a battle between the affected class and the unaffected class. And that's being and they're playing this up as if in this article, as if it's something new

that has never been there before. But even those good feelings could face a test amid rough November on Wall Street with the rise in the in the stock market, the stock market over the last month. Now, remember back on Liberation Day, back on April the second, the stock market went down tremendously. It was more than a correction, I think it was what it was at fifteen to twenty percent down almost overnight, and then people that hung

in there did. Stock market over the last couple of months have not only beat what it was prior to April the second, but gone even higher. And on a weekly, on a daily basis, for about three or four weeks there every day was a record high, not a record high for the week, not a record high for the month, not a record high for the past six months, but

a record high ever in the stock market. So when you have that rapid increase during that period of time, at some point people are going to take some you know, take winnings off the table cash in kind of take their you know, take their earnings and take their wins and then go back into the market later on. But again that is where people where the market starts going down, and what they talk about is we're not even near what they talk in terms as far as a correction

in the market. It's gone down a little bit, but it hasn't gone down to the point where it's actually considered a correction. So any of this playing up that oh, well, you know the stock market was down five percent and recent you know, and so on, well, you know, until it gets up to the ten fifteen percent, you're not

in the correction. Weaker employment picture prompted two interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve at the Central Banks meeting in September October, but officials have appeared split on whether they should hold rates steady in December. Although both challenges are clearly weighing on consumers concerns about a long run inflation.

Long run inflation un lest at least hasn't been worsening, according to the Michigan Survey, a reassuring sign for the Fed because fears of persistent inflation are sometimes thought to become self fulfilling. And again what I talked about earlier is that we keep talking about inflation, keep talking about inflation. People are going to people are going to be thinking in terms of inflation, whether or not they're feeling it.

Like I said, a lot of these numbers and the way they're displaying them just don't add up, And it almost seems like you've got a jackal in a hyde economy out there, where the media is talking it down, but that people are being resilient and working through it. Now, coming up, we're going to be talking about the job's numbers, because those came in pretty hot last week and a lot of good information there, and we'll get to that coming up. I'm Kevin Gordon America's struck A network. Seven

hundred WLW seven hundred WLW. I'm Kevin Gordon. This is America's struck A network. I mentioned in the previous segment that the job numbers came in last week. Non farm payroll one hundred and nineteen thousand added, a jobless rate goes up to four point four. Like I said, the numbers don't add up. As far as I'm concerned, US

economy added substantially more jobs than expected in September. According to the long awaited report Thursday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, non farm payroll increased by one hundred and nineteen thousand in a month, up from the four thousand jobs lost in August. So that's a swing of one hundred and twenty three thousand jobs Following a downward revision.

The Dow Jones consensus estimate for September was fifty thousand, so the economists were expecting for September only fifty thousand increase. It came in at one hundred and nineteen thousand, so their estimates were off, and their expectations were off by one hundred and thirty eight percent. The July total was also revised down to seventy two thousand, a decrease of

seven thousand from the prior release. In addition to the headline's job numbers that we talked about before BLS, the unemployment rage rate edged up higher to four point four percent, the highest it's been since October of twenty twenty one. A broader measure that includes the those not looking for jobs or working part time for economic reasons edged lower

to eight percent. Now they don't say edge lower from what, But I did look it up, and I saw a number that was like eight point four or eight point one that I couldn't get nailed that down. But still, if the number of people that are considered unemployed and have stopped working part of the labor participation rate is up, then you would expect to see unemployment numbers go up. If that number comes down, why is the unemployment number going up again?

that was caused by the Democrats. The Schumer's shutdown agencies, including the BLS and Bureau of Economic Analysis and others, were prohibited from collecting or releasing data during the period. This was the first report since the beginning of August thereabouts.

Daniel Zou, chief economists at job site Glass Doors, said, September's jobs report shows the labor market still had resilience before the shutdown, beating payroll expectations, but the picture remains muddy, with August jobs revised to a job loss and unemployment rate increasing again. Why is the rate increasing if the jobs are creating are going up and the overall including people who have stoppler looking for work, has come down.

Stock market futures nevertheless added to gains following the report. Traders also continue to bet that the Federal Reserve will not lower interest rates further at its December the ninth and tenth meeting ninth through the tenth meeting, So that's mudding the waters as far as that's concerned, and again probably playing on as far as consumer sentiment is concerned. Despite the fact that today jobs report is very backward looking. This is a quote from Sema Shaw, she is chief

Global Strategist at Principal Asset Management. Despite the fact that today's report is very backward looking, well what else would it be if the jobs that were created? You have to find out what those jobs are, and before you report them. You can't forecast ahead and say, well, gee wiz, let me get out my crystal ball and let me see forward thinking in terms of what the job market is going to be. Shoot, if you could do that, you should, you know, do that crystal ball.

on Thursday showed that the initial jobless claims. Talking about those unemployment numbers have come down that way. On the downside, transpency jobs were added in healthcare forty three thousand. Bars and restaurants contributed thirty seven thousand. Those are in the service industries, So if those are up, people are out. They're not hiring people in that area, or they're not

increasing their staff if the business isn't there. So apparently people are out spending money at bars and restaurants and they need the staff to fulfill that. Transportation and warehousing lost twenty five thousand jobs, part of the loss of ninety seven on the calendar year. Professional business services also reported to decline, the twenty thousand fueled by the drop

of sixteen thousand and temporary help. Now they do report later on that the number of people working part time, and see that again, this is one of those numbers that don't add up. Rolls for full employment swelled by six hundred and seventy three thousand, while part timers fell by five hundred and seventy three. Now was that sixteen thousand the temporary help lost? Did they become full time?

They don't explain in here. Total level of those employed rose by two hundred and fifty one thousand, while the labor force increased by four hundred and seventy thousand to a fresh record of one hundred and seventy one million people working. That is a record number of people working. The participation rate, which measures the share of the working age population either working or seeking employment, edged higher to sixty two point four percent, the highest since May. So,

like I said, these numbers are not adding up. If they're talking about unemployment going up, then why are job seekers the number of people added to the labor force going up, and a record number of people participating in the job market.

four percent decrease since January. Brent crude down is at sixty three thirty four, up about a buck from Friday, but since January is down sixteen dollars and fifty six cents, that is a twenty one percent decrease, So again those prices are coming down there now looking at what's going

on in the oil markets. The headline was and when you print it off, it talks about interest rates, but the headline on the website was oil prices edge higher as US interest rates and Ukraine peace talks jostle for attention.

the market and so on. They talked about how the Federal Reserve is kicking around the idea there are a lot of members of the Federal Reserve that are talking about wanting to decrease interest rates. In their meeting onto some of the sixth through the seventh I think that number was, but then there are some that are holding out and saying that they should be remaining the same fat.

Governor Christopher Waller sat on Monday that the available data indicates the US job market remains weak enough to warrant another quarter point cut, though action beyond that will depend on the flood of data and so on from the growth of labor statistics.

by reducing borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. So, when you have more money in your pocket because you're not paying sky high interest rates, that makes the house that you're in more affordable, or the house you would like to attain become more affordable. You get more bang for your buck. In terms of where your salary is versus the size house you can buy or the price of the house you can buy, and it reduces your monthly payment. And so if your monthly payment is down, there's more

money in your pocket. You have more money to spend on discretionary things, which then means that you're out about possibly buying more stuff at a store, whether a retail chain or whether it's at food and restaurant. We saw the job numbers where increases in the restaurant and bar staffs are up. So again, when they're talking about interest

rate decreases stimulate the economy. If the Federal Reserve they say that their intention or that their mission is to keep inflation low and to keep the job market strong. The job market has been strong. The number of the amount of inflation is holding steady. It's a at the level that it's been for the last well a couple of years, basically well with lower than what it was during the Biden years in twenty twenty two and twenty

twenty three, but as far as twenty twenty four. Towards the end of twenty twenty four and then into this year, it's been relatively the same somewhere around the two point seven to three percent range, so it's not drastically going up and the Fed wanting that interest rate or that

inflation rate down round two percent. It hasn't been around two percent since the previous Trump administration at two point one, so given what the economy does during the Trump administration, we should see that coming down and at least they have the track record of that and can adjust that interest rate down, which, as they say, will spur the economy. Well, folks, that does it for us. Stay tuned for Redie Radio at top the hour. I'm Kevin Gordon, America's Trucking Network seven hundred WLW