“Just think back to December 2019…

When you sat down to write out your business plan.

Remember how excited you were?

You thought 2020 would be your biggest year ever…

But what happened?

Boom… Covid happened.” So said entrepreneur and popular author/speaker Patrick Bet-David (PBD) who went on to say the following.

“And what about December 2020…

Just when you thought you were ready to grow your business in 2021 despite the pandemic…

Boom… the election took place.

And don’t even get me started on how ineffective the business plan you wrote in December 2021 is.”

Now, PBD was pitching professional services while making those points to thousands of small- to mid-sized businesses across the U.S. But he raised valid concerns that are like what attorney and manufactured home insurance provider Kurt Kelley said to MHProNews a few years ago. Per Kelley, “Predictability in law is the key to a prosperous Republic.”

What neither Kelley nor PBD directly expressed was the impact of moat-builders who grasped years ago the power and influence possible over the marketplace by taking control of the levers of governmental power in the U.S. While left-leaning billionaires and their corporate interests have seemingly ‘gone woke’ and have largely tossed their lot in with big government Democrats – for a variety of reasons – they have also backed enough “establishment Republicans” – a.k.a. RINOs – who don’t truly follow the America First, Americans First principles that ousted President Donald J. Trump espoused. Those America First or MAGA Republicans have arguably become the bulk of what the rank and file Republicans now embrace, which is why they say they have become the party of the working class, middle class, and retires vs. the ‘donor class’ that even the left-leaning Washington Post, PBS, and New York Times admit has captured the Democratic Party.

Michael G. Adams, Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, wrote the following in a guest column for AMAC, the Association for Mature American Citizens (a right-leaning AARP alternative). Adams said there must be engagement and investment in what he called “civics.”

“According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, which conducts an annual survey measuring American civic knowledge, fewer than half of adults in the United States can name all three branches of government, down 9 percentage points from last year and the first decline since 2016,” said Adams. “Moreover, one out of every four respondents was unable to name any of the protections provided under the First Amendment.” Without saying so, that is akin to a point the late talk radio guru Rush Limbaugh used to call “low information voters.” But what Adams then said as an ‘answer’ to that concern was this: “Another analysis by the Annenberg Center revealed a positive association between answering civic questions like those above correctly, and prior participation in at least one high school civics course.”

Adams observed the following.

“Beyond increased involvement in our political system, exposing young people to quality civic learning curriculums and opportunities—including opportunities for students to engage with their communities, peers, and local institutions—provides a myriad of benefits. Exposure to civic learning opportunities increases students’ understanding of economic and political processes, improves critical thinking skills, and strengthens teamwork and collaboration skills—all skills needed to succeed in the 21^st century.

Beyond the skills student acquire, civic learning promotes political participation since understanding and engagement are mutually reinforcing. Though the 2020 presidential election saw a spike in voter turnout at nearly 67 percent, we cannot rely on polarization to drive participation. We must embed our civic understanding and responsibilities into the fabric of our society.”

Kentucky’s Secretary of State (SoS) Adams then noted what he referred to as the growing phenomenon of “civics deserts.” Per Adams, the following.

“Yet, around the country, Americans are participating less in organizations where they can come together and solve problems, build relationships, and experience community—places like arts and cultural organizations, community centers, and churches. These “civic deserts,” where citizens do not have consistent opportunities to engage in civic or political life, are growing more common in the United States. It is estimated that 60 percent of rural youth and 30 percent of urban and suburban Americans live in a civic desert. Declining participation and involvement with religious organizations and other institutions that have historically nurtured civic engagement further emphasize the need to invest in and expand these opportunities through what we know works—education.

Schools are our most effective vehicle for imparting civic habits and values. Compulsory education laws in the U.S. have improved civic participation and social engagement across many metrics. Insufficient investment in civic education undercuts one of the original purposes of establishing public education in the mid-1800s: to inform citizens and prepare them for the tasks of self-government. Without clear and targeted action, we will continue to grapple with growing disconnects from democratic institutions and norms, and likely see widening political divisions that threaten our entire governing system.”

Indeed, to SoS Adam’s point, part of the drive among many “America First” or MAGA believing Republicans has been for parents to get more involved in the education system at the local level. It turns out the local school boards do matter. What Democrats in their own ‘moat’ building stratagem did years before, they forged deep relationships with unions that included the teachers’ unions, and also worked to embed themselves into educational and election-centered positions in numbers that surpassed their Republican rivals.

“Though a lifelong Republican, I have crossed party lines and worked with both Red Team and Blue Team to ensure that all Kentuckians have access to robust and high-quality civic learning opportunities. Last year, I joined the executive committee of the nonpartisan Kentucky Civic Education Coalition. The coalition is launching a pilot program next school year that would provide students who pass a civics course of study with a gold seal on their diploma when they graduate, recognizing them as exceptionally informed citizens, said Adams, who added: “If we want to build an informed citizenry and robust political institutions while also ensuring our children engage deeper with their education, we must do more to improve access to comprehensive civic learning and engagement opportunities. As other venues for civic engagement continue to disappear, schools may serve as a beacon guiding the future of our democracy.”

Adam’s points ought not to be construed to mean that churches, other places of worship, nonprofits or other traditional American vehicles for civic life don’t matter as much as schools and civic education does. Rather, what Adam’s wrote was arguably a refinement to what parents in places such as “deep blue” Virginia did in the 2021 off-year gubernatorial, statewide, and local election cycle did to upend politics in that state.

MHProNews/MHLivingNews has previously made the point that Democratic policies – largely on behalf of the deep pocket “donor class” – has been at work for well over a century at remaking U.S. politics. Democratic leaders like William Jennings Bryan or President Woodrow Wilson and their party in promotion of a series of efforts that included the passage of the income tax, the Federal Reserve Act, and engagement by the United States in World War I, contrary to the then longstanding neutrality position of America in overseas conflicts which the first President of the United States (POTUS) George Washington emphasized among his points in his farewell address to the nation.

Per the National Archives: “Passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913, the 16th amendment established Congress’s right to impose a Federal income tax.” Left-leaning Wikipedia notes: “The Democratic Party, led by William Jennings Bryan, advocated the income tax law passed in 1894, and proposed an income tax in its 1908 platform.” Per the Constitution Center, “Incoming President Woodrow Wilson pushed for the Revenue Act of 1913, which included the income tax along with changes in tariffs.” “In his inaugural address in March 1913, newly elected Democratic President Woodrow Wilson quickly took advantage of the new amendment by calling for tariff reduction and the adoption of an income tax,” stated Encyclopedia.

In hindsight, which can at times be clarifying to the understanding of the evolution of issues that plague us today, Democratic backers systematically upended several institutions in the U.S. That’s not to say that “establishment” Republicans connected to the donor class weren’t involved in some of those efforts, of course there are examples of that too.

But broadly speaking about U.S. history, it was Republicans who freed the slaves. It was Republicans who gave women the vote. It was a Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, who broke with those who wanted to turn to the bankers to finance the war between the states (a.k.a., the Civil War of 1861-1865), in which the Democratic Party represented the interests of slavery and the breakaway Confederacy. Lincoln issued greenbacks instead of borrowing money from the bankers, which some contrarian historians say were among the ‘sins’ that led Democrat John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Lincoln at Ford Theater.

It was Republican Senator John Sherman who led the charge for what became the Sherman antitrust act, which was then used as a tool to fight monopolists who were the embodiment of the “establishment” or “donor class.” To KY SoS Adam’s point about civics, these are lessons rarely taught by American educators, but which are clearly important points that find ample support in U.S. history for those contrarians willing to seek understanding through nonpartisan and truth-seeking eyes.

Tariffs on imported products paid the bulk of federal government revenues in the U.S. for decades, prior to the enactment of the still controversial income tax amendment. After all, the income tax was a Marxist idea, not an American one. President Lincoln collected an income tax during the war between the states. As History explains the first income tax in the U.S., “On August 5, 1861, President Lincoln imposes the first federal income tax by signing the Revenue Act. Strapped for cash with which to pursue the Civil War, Lincoln and Congress agreed to impose a 3 percent tax on annual incomes over $800.” The federal Archives then sheds this light: “In 1894, as part of a high tariff bill, Congress enacted a 2-percent tax on income over $4,000. The tax was almost immediately struck down by a five-to-four decision of the Supreme Court, even though the Court had upheld the constitutionality of the Civil War tax as recently as 1881.”

Again from the federal Archives: “Although farm organizations denounced the Court’s decision as a prime example of the alliance of government and business against the farmer, a general return of prosperity around the turn of the century softened the demand for reform. Democratic Party Platforms under the leadership of three-time Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, however, consistently included an income tax plank, and the progressive wing of the Republican Party also espoused the concept.

In 1909, progressives in Congress again attached a provision for an income tax to a tariff bill. Conservatives, hoping to kill the idea for good, proposed a constitutional amendment enacting such a tax; they believed an amendment would never receive ratification by three-fourths of the states. Much to their surprise, the amendment was ratified by one state legislature after another, and on February 25, 1913, with the certification by Secretary of State Philander C. Knox, the 16th amendment took effect. Yet in 1913, due to generous exemptions and deductions, less than 1 percent of the population paid income taxes at the rate of only 1 percent of net income.” But what that source and others failed to mention there was that the ‘ratification’ of what became “the 16^th Amendment” is itself questioned by some contrarian historians, who say that the various forms of the plan passed by the different supporting states did not all have the same language. As those who grasp the key principle of reconciliation between bills in the House and Senate that don’t have the same language understand, a law can’t (normally) go into effect unless the various legislative bodies agree on its specific terms. Such history may shed light on why the Texas GOP passed a surprisingly historic-minded document in 2022, see that linked below.

Fast Forward

MAGA or America First Republicans, along with organizations that hold to similar philosophies, have been playing catch up with Democrats since the 2020 election. Indeed, the case can be made that Republicans have been attempting to play catch up since the 2016 election cycle, if not before. Whatever most Republicans think about Senator Mitt Romney (UT-R), Romney’s point raised during a fundraising event when he was caught making a rather surprising statement during the 2012 election cycle. As left-leaning Mother Jones said on 9.17.2012: “There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president [Democrat Barack Obama] no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that’s an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax.

Romney went on: “[M]y job is is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.” Like him or hate him, Romney’s remark, however improperly pitched, was nevertheless an example of the need to separate the wheat from the chaff with all people, organizations, or other merely human communications. President Lydon Banes Johnson (LBJ), who as the Vice President of the assassinated Democratic firebrand POTUS John F. Kennedy cynically noted that he’d have blacks, who he crassly and bigotedly called “n-ggers,” “voting Democratic for 200 years.” Snopes, a left-leaning ‘fact-check’ source calls that dubious nevertheless admits LBJ was a racist who had no true love for civil rights for blacks. It was Republicans who made up most votes that enacted the Civil Rights Act.

Democrats made up the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Democrats passed Jim Crow laws, and Jim Crow was a fictional character popularized in Democratic circles. Democrats were the party of corrupt Tammany Hall style politics too.

 

 

 

What’s The Point?

There are several possible takeaways from this brief romp through U.S. history and the importance of civics and its lessons are many.

• One can’t ignore politics in business planning. Like it or not, in the contemporary era, almost everything is politicized. Some have opted to try to dodge politics in business, but others have embraced it.
• Another takeaway is that Democrats have long been tied to authentically racist policies, as opposed to merely rhetorical or often falsely accusing Republicans of “racist” policies. Leftist media dominance – due in part to obvious media ties to often leftist billionaires and their corporate interests – has caused millions to get a false sense of American history.
• Another insight is that Democrats and so-called Establishment Republicans have long been the tool of the donor class.
• Republican political history is far from pure, as it was Lincoln who produced the first income tax, and Republicans have often been seen – sometimes correctly, sometimes not – as the party of big business during parts of the late 20^th and early 21^st century.

But as the IRS website said: “In 1954, Congress approved an amendment by Sen. Lyndon Johnson to prohibit 501(c)(3) organizations, which includes charities and churches, from engaging in any political campaign activity. To the extent Congress has revisited the ban over the years, it has in fact strengthened the ban. The most recent change came in 1987 when Congress amended the language to clarify that the prohibition also applies to statements opposing candidates.

Currently, the law prohibits political campaign activity by charities and churches by defining a 501(c)(3) organization as one “which does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.”” One must keep in mind that the abolitionist movement was largely tied to churches. Limiting the free speech rights of preachers, pastors, and priests in order to receive a tax exempt status is an abominable legacy backed by Senator Lyndon Banes Johnson (D), who later became vice president and then president after the Kennedy assassination.

By accident and/or by design, for over a century Democrats have been involved in methods of controlling politics in the U.S. by establishing systemic channels that over time largely favored themselves. That’s not to say that Republicans haven’t used, and misused, them too. POTUS Richard M. Nixon (R) misused the IRS, for instance. Nixon effectively started the process that opened the doors to U.S. investment in Communist China. Nixon ended the official connection between the U.S. dollar and the gold standard, though one can note that Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was earlier involved in that process too.

Perhaps the most accurate statement would be that the money trail and the specific policies of each individual candidate of any party ought to be among the key points of discernment. Republican Mitch McConnell, for instance, has been accused of subverting his own party’s “MAGA” candidates for U.S. Senate in the 2022 election cycle. McConnell is one of the Republicans tied to the donor class who is often called a RINO, anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, etc.

Those points made, among the takeaways that this romp through history ought to provide as a lesson learned is the importance of limiting the power of ‘big’ in America. Big business was supposed to be limited by the Sherman Antitrust Act. Thomas Jefferson was an early proponent of strong laws against monopolization and monopolists. In a letter to James Madison, Jefferson wrote: “With regard to Monopolies they are justly classed among the greatest nusances in Government.⁷” Jefferson added, “Monopolies are sacrifices of the many to the few. Where the power is in the few it is natural for them to sacrifice the many to their own partialities and corruptions.”

Monopoly power – a few with deep pockets routinely connected to ‘big business’ of whatever kind – has routinely been lurking in the background of U.S. history. The British were given the boot in the colonies by the Revolutionary War in part because they were comfortable with the cozy relationship between big business and big government power. Facism, be it domestic or foreign, is similarly a term that illustrates the ties between big business and big, powerful government. The government in Communist China may embrace the communist notions of their dead Chairman Mao Zedong. But a case could be made that modern communists in China have similarities to fascism (which was also tied to national socialist movements) in Italy and NAZI Germany (National Socialist German Workers’ Party = NAZI). Left-leaning Wikipedia is arguably wrong to call NAZIs ‘far right,’ when they were a socialist or leftist movement.

The battle to restore or reinvigorate the struggle for individual God-given and Constitutionally protected rights, and thus authentic American freedom and liberty for people of all backgrounds, must include a battle against monopoly power. Monopoly power in America has often been a long-game strategy with bursts of short, medium, or long-term ploys.

Several prominent Democrats decried monopoly power during the 2020 election cycle. But what happened once they actually seized power in the White House and Congress, and thus the levers of the federal bureaucracy? Democratic politicians were NOT going to bite the financial hands that made their political power possible. Despite months or years of bluster, paltering, and posturing about fighting monopoly power, it was precisely monopoly power and the donor class that made the Democratic victories in 2020 and 2022 possible.

 

In contrast to that, it was precisely MAGA or America First, American First backers of most Republican candidates in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles that gave Republicans so many of their victories in specific races. However much some may decry his style or tactics, that broadening of the Republican brand can in some measure be attributed to the handiwork of deposed President Donald J. Trump (R). Trump in the 2016 and 2020 cycles alike decried the “fascist” and monopolistic tendencies found in much of the Democratic Party but also among “establishment” or RINO Republicans. By accident and/or design, Trump made some of the traditions of the America past – such as the value of tariffs in his struggles with Communist China – return to life. In doing so, for a time by trade policies and tax incentives and in league with his Congressional backers, he was bringing back businesses, jobs, and investments into the U.S.A.

This romp through history began by considering points raised by PBD and why business plans can go wrong. It is often politics. It’s often regulations and public policies that may be in response to some real and/or perceived crisis. It is often about who controls the levers of power at the federal, state and/or local levels. But those points are NOT how America was or is supposed to operate.

As a relevant footnote to business planning – which is often required by banks, investors, etc. – is a notion that dates back to Charlie “Tremendous” Jones who urged flexible planning. Yes, in battle or business, plans are needed and useful. But plans aren’t meant to be a strait jacket, a measure of flexibility by management is necessary in order to make business plans the best that they can be.

In that sense, attorney Kurt Kelley was quite correct in that quotation cited above. The smooth functioning of the rule of law ideally makes the predictability of business investments and activities better and more successful.

That principle means that the opposite is also true. When the rule of law is disrupted by various forces that are less predictable, it is harmful to the interests of especially smaller businesses.

That’s a notion that MHProNews has periodically reminded readers by citing sources such as Carol Roth.

Recently, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has made a call for antitrust action. While some might question the nuances of their call to action, the general principle of the NFIB in saying that they want antitrust action to level the playing field is arguably spot on. MHProNews plans to explore the NFIB’s and related efforts on antitrust in an upcoming report. Watch for it. Because the powers that be behind too many Democrats and certain Establishment Republicans have learned how to wield the levers of power and regulation for their own advantage. Normal business planning could become a thing of the past if those deep-seated and arguably corrupt problems caused by monopoly power are not rooted out. Who says? One of the most powerful forces involved in the manufactured home industry. So too has another powerhouse in American business and politics who is also invested in manufactured housing. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink says he believes in “forcing behaviors.” “Behaviors are going to have to change and this is one thing we are asking companies, you have to force behaviors.”

 

This is what happens when BlackRock CEO Larry Fink FORCE his woke ESG agenda on the American economy…

Is this the change that you wanted to “force,” Larry? “At BlackRock we are FORCING BEHAVIORS. The Oligarchy wants to tell you how to live. pic.twitter.com/acihVdm06N

— ミ★ ™ ★彡 (@durant_cd) May 12, 2022

Note that this stance of Fink/BlackRock is also specifically anti-populist. He made it plain in 2018, while Trump was in office, that long-term investors (think Buffett, Gates, Soros, Zuckerberg, Bezos, etc.) are essentially opposed to such populist efforts (think America First, MAGA, Tea Party, etc.).

 

“Populism, fueled by social media, is forcing more short term behaviors in countries all across the world. If governments are focused on the noise of the moment, how do they expect to attract long term investors?” @Blackrock’s Larry Fink at #BloombergGBF pic.twitter.com/6FTVGtjh7W

— Steve Case (@SteveCase) September 26, 2018

 

The battle by the big boys vs. almost everyone else is accomplished in part by dividing and ruling the electorate. Bones are tossed to certain groups essentially to ‘buy votes.’ But what those who get their votes ‘bought’ may not realize is that they are being given a pittance vs. what they might achieve absent market manipulation.

In that sense, KY SoS Adams has a point about the importance of education in civics. It is not the only thing that needs to be done, as the public at large – before, during, and after formal education occurs – needs to be constantly informed about the realities of what is occurring in society that impacts their interests.

Many Democratic politicians and their big-donor backers have long practiced what has been called plantation politics. As black author Star Parker said of Hillary Clinton in an article from 2008 on Race and Racism, “Clinton’s big-government liberalism is less rooted in liberal ideals than in the interest-group plantation politics that has defined the Democratic Party of recent years.” Here leftist or ‘neo-liberal’ might have been a better choice than “liberalism,” but set that nuance aside. Parker also wrote then: “1976 Democratic convention by a black congresswoman from Texas, Barbara Jordan.

Jordan made an appeal for a sense of national community that would derive its authority from citizens. She warned against what she called “the great danger America faces – that we cease to be one nation and become instead a collection of interest groups.”

Parker when on to argue that “…When asked at the L.A. debate about immigration hurting blacks by depressing wages, [then Senator] Obama refused to take the bait. He insisted on addressing immigration as a national problem, of concern to all, and independent of the unique problems that are plaguing our inner cities.

Why does the black candidate want to keep race out of the discussion, and why has Clinton made such a point to keep it in?

Dick Morris opened speculation about this, pointing out that Clinton would use her inevitable defeat in South Carolina to her advantage by provoking white backlash with not-so-subtle reminders of race politics and bloc black voting.

And indeed, Bill Clinton followed the script with his reference to Jackson.

But there’s much more to this.

Hillary Clinton is playing with black psyches as well as white ones.

Black consciousness has always been defined by a sense of vulnerability. And so common political appeals to blacks have played on fears that the country is incorrigibly racist and that their only hope is to salvage a piece of the pie through political power and protection.

Nothing can be more threatening to these politics than a successful, talented black man like Obama running as an American candidate rather than as a black candidate.

But a black off the plantation is the last thing that Sen. Clinton wants. She wants blacks to feel impotent and vulnerable and in need of a political patron to hand them the goodies they need. …” Parker insightful concluded, “I certainly don’t buy into Obama’s liberalism. But I am not surprised one bit that so many see him as a breath of fresh air over Clinton’s hacked plantation politics of fear, dependence and patronage.”

What Parker described was paltering, posturing, and projection, without specifically using those terms. What Parker described was “deception and misdirection” on the parts of BOTH then-Democratic Senators Clinton and Obama.

Big money was behind both Clinton and Obama. Whichever one had ‘won’ at that time among Democrats, the donor class was going to benefit. Now ex-president Obama has been made a wealthy man by the donor class. So have the Clintons been enriched by the “Establishment” donor class. Joe Biden is also quite well to do because of political cronyism. That’s Tammany Hall crony capitalist politics gone national. That’s the corrupting influence of money on quasi-democratic processes that were supposed to be constitutionally limited by laws that included prohibitions against monopolies.

BlackRock’s Larry Fink understands that, as does Warren Buffett. Buffett backed – at different times – both Clinton and Obama. Buffett backed Obama even as the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) misguidedly postured efforts to overturn via legislation parts of Dodd-Frank that their own government affairs vice president said was unlikely to occur.

No one can fully grasp U.S. politics and can thus long survive as an independent in business, without understanding the role that monopoly power, deception, misdirection, paltering, posturing, and projecting play in manipulating and dividing the masses.

The irony is that even as Republicans have made historic inroads in recent years with the Hispanic voters, and a still small but growing numbers of black voters too, those advances were achieved through an information/educational process. That’s not accomplished in a 500-word article that cites only a few catchy phrases but lacks the depth – ‘the meat’ – to sway thinkers.

A combination of shorter, pithier items must be wed to longer, detailed items that document the claims made in short statements are among the necessary methods of winning over a true majority coalition that can embrace the notions of bedrock Constitutional and Christian thinking on limited government. Big government has been proven to fail the very people it was supposed to benefit. Plantation politics or crony capitalist Tammany Hall methods may be proven yet corrupt means of buying votes. But they don’t raise up a millions among the classes of potential new homeowners who can then pass on generational wealth to their heirs. To borrow from the Hebrew Scriptures, people are being conned into trading their birthright for a bowl of lentils. MHProNews will continue to shed periodic light on these issues which readers can digest, share, and hopefully utilize to raise up in the primaries and then the general elections candidates who are NOT beholden to the donor class and who ARE willing to enforce antitrust laws that limit and as need, legally punish the abuses of monopoly power. That’s plenty for today. ##

Regarding Gaslighting-‘MHI News’–Manufactured Housing Institute, Monopolistic Housing Institute, Machiavellian Housing Institute, Manipulative Housing Institute? Friday Facts, Follies, Stocks Update

 

Daily Business News on MHProNews Markets Segment

The modifications of our prior Daily Business News on MHProNews recap of the recap of yesterday evening’s market report are provided below. It still includes our signature left (CNN Business) and right (Newsmax) ‘market moving’ headlines. The macro market moves graphics will provide context and comparisons for those invested in or tracking manufactured housing connected equities.

In minutes a day readers can get a good sense of significant or major events while keeping up with the trends that are impacting manufactured housing connected investing.

Reminder: several of the graphics on MHProNews can be opened into a larger size. For instance: click the image and follow the prompts in your browser or device to OPEN In a New Window. Then, in several browsers/devices you can click the image and increase the size. Use the ‘x out’ (close window) escape or back key to return.

 

Headlines from left-of-center CNN Business – from the evening of 12.2.2022

• ‘Yes, but’
• Shoppers in the television section of a Target store on Black Friday in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Friday, Nov. 25, 2022.
• Of course we’re worried about a recession — but the economy remains resilient
• US economy added a robust 263,000 jobs in November
• Fed spirits should be lifted by the housing market
• Binance investigates hack affecting a number of crypto tokens
• Hate speech dramatically surges on Twitter following Elon Musk takeover, new research shows
• Top EU official quits US meeting as tension over electric car subsidies persists
• Tesla delivers its first electric Semi trucks promising 500 miles of range
• China’s cities are running out of cash to pay huge Covid lockdown bills
• How an arcane 96-year-old law stopped the rail strike
• This discount chain is lowering prices
• To make money, don’t fall prey to these 4 investing biases
• McDonald’s is testing a drive-thru of the future
• Have you noticed shopping on Amazon has gotten worse? Here’s why
• People attend the Mega Job Fair held at the FLA Live Arena on June 23, 2022 in Sunrise, Florida.
• LIVE UPDATES Tech job market still going strong despite mass layoffs
• Oil production by Tatneft at the Romashkinskoye field. Genre photography. 27.07.2022 Russia, Tatarstan, Almetyevsk
• Europe agrees to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 a barrel
• InfoWars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court during his trial on September 21, 2022 in Waterbury, Connecticut. J
• Alex Jones has filed for personal bankruptcy
• MARKETS
• DISCOUNT STORES
• A customer shops at a Dollar General store on March 17, 2022 in Vallejo, California. Dollar General announced fourth quarter earnings of $2.57 per share, just beating analyst expectations of $2.56 per share. The retailer had net income of $597.4 million, down from $642.7 million one year ago.
• Dollar General’s newest shoppers: People making $100,000 a year
• Dollar Tree’s $1.25 price strategy is actually working
• Even dollar stores are starting to feel the pinch
• Dollar General hit with $1.3 million in safety fines
• Let the battle over $1 prices begin
• AMAZON
• Exclusive: Jeff Bezos offers his advice on taking risks right now
• CEO explains layoffs as workers protest outside
• Amazon launches message-based virtual clinic
• Gap launches its store on Amazon
• Driver found dead near truck after possible dog attack

 

 

Headlines from right-of-center Newsmax 12.2.2022   

• Biden Weighs Reviving Trump-Era Immigration Restrictions, Officials Say
• Migrants wait and rest along a border wall on Aug. 23 after crossing from Mexico near Yuma, Ariz. (AP)
• Newsmax TV
• Van Drew: Dems’ Enabling of TikTok ‘Really Sick Stuff’ | video
• Kristi Noem: GOP Needs Unifying Message for 2024 | video
• Joanne Cash: Faith Saved Brother Johnny’s Life, Career | video
• Reschenthaler: Beware Cheney Winning Speakership | video
• Florida CFO: BlackRock Can Sell Woke Someplace Else | video
• Blaine Holt: ‘New Level of Danger’ in Ukraine War | video
• Mast: Military Bill Won’t Include Vaccine Mandate | video
• Newsfront
• US Says China’s COVID Protests Dying Down as Cities Ease Restrictions
• Protests in China against the world’s toughest COVID-19 curbs are dying down because they have had an effect, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Friday, as Beijing further eased testing requirements and quarantine rules.”I think we have seen the protests…… [Full Story]
• Wall Street Closes Modestly Lower After Jobs Report
• The S&P 500 closed slightly lower on Friday, although major indexes [Full Story]
• Space Force Opens New Regional Headquarters in Tampa
• The Space Force opened a new regional headquarters in Tampa, Florida [Full Story]
• Sec. of State Asking County Election Directors to Conduct Audit of Walker-Warnock Race
• Georgia’s secretary of state is asking county election directors to [Full Story]
• Could Crypto Collapse Crush Broader Economy?
• Even though the stock market teetered and prices of cryptocurrencies [Full Story] | Platinum Article
• Related
• Biden Hails Railroad Bill, Signs It, Averting Strike
• Hiring Stays Robust as Employers Add 263,000 Jobs
• House Prices to Fall 12% Peak to Trough
• EU Caps Russian Oil at $60 to Starve Ukraine War Machine
• Real-Life RoboCops ‘Useful Tool’ for Police
• San Francisco police departments may soon be able to deploy lethal, [Full Story] | Platinum Article
• GOP Has a Lot Riding on Georgia Senate Race
• Despite having a guaranteed Democrat majority in the new Senate in [Full Story]
• Related
• SurveyUSA Poll: Sen. Warnock Leads by 3 Points in Runoff
• Georgia Man Arrested for Shooting Warnock Campaign Worker
• Obama Castigates Herschel Walker at Warnock Rally
• Abortion Could Determine Ga. Runoff: NBC News
• Mike Pence to Newsmax: GOP ‘Help Is on the Way’
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====================================

• NOTE 1: The 3rd chart above includes the Canadian stock, ECN, which purchased Triad Financial Services, a manufactured home industry finance lender
• NOTE 2: Drew changed its name and trading symbol at the end of 2016 to Lippert (LCII).
• NOTE 3: Deer Valley was largely taken private, say company insiders in a message to MHProNews on 12.15.2020, but there are still some outstanding shares of the stock from the days when it was a publicly traded firm.  Thus, there is still periodic activity on DVLY.
• Note 4: some recent or related reports to the equities named above follow.

‘Changes Will Benefit Customers,’ Boost Sales-Legacy Homes CEO Duncan Bates – LEGH ‘Delivered 22.5% Return on Equity in 1 Yr’ – Corp Q3 2022 Insights, Analysis; plus MHVille REITs, Stocks Update  

‘No Assurance Inflation Will Not Affect Our Future Profitability Financial Position’=Cavco Industries 10-Q, Solitaire Deal, More CVCO Data; Supreme Court Ruled-SEC Regs on False-Omitted Remarks

Skyline Champion Provides Quarterly Results, Adding Retail Centers, Improved Delivery Times-CEO Mark Yost Says ‘Can Outperform Conventional Housing’ Explored; Plus MHVille REITs, Stocks Update

Triad Financial Services Q2-2022 FINANCIAL RESULTS, per ECN Capital – Several Bright Spots in Manufactured Home Market Highlighted, Including Communities, Retail, Land-Home, Floor; MHStocks Update

Manufactured Home Communities (a.k.a. ‘Mobile Home Parks’ – SIC) – Exploring UMH Properties; Fellow Manufactured Housing Institute Member Yes! Communities Suits and Settlements; plus MH Markets Updates

2022 …Berkshire Hathaway is the parent company to Clayton Homes, 21^st Mortgage, Vanderbilt Mortgage and other factory-built housing industry suppliers.
· LCI Industries, Patrick, UFPI, and LP each are suppliers to the manufactured housing industry, among others.
· AMG, CG, and TAVFX have investments in manufactured housing related businesses. For insights from third-parties and clients about our publisher, click here.

Disclosure. MHProNews holds no positions in the stocks in this report.

· For expert manufactured housing business development or other professional services, click here.
· To sign up in seconds for our industry leading emailed headline news updates, click here.

That’s a wrap on this installment of “News Through the Lens of Manufactured Homes and Factory-Built Housing” © where “We Provide, You Decide.” © (Affordable housing, manufactured homes, stock, investing, data, metrics, reports, fact-checks, analysis, and commentary. Third-party images or content are provided under fair use guidelines for media.) (See Related Reports, further below. Text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them.)

By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.
Tony earned a journalism scholarship along with numerous awards in history. There have been several awards and honors and also recognition in manufactured housing. For example, he earned the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he studied history and business management. He’s a managing member and co-founder of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com. This article reflects the LLC’s and/or the writer’s position and may or may not reflect the views of sponsors or supporters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manufactured Home Production Growth Continues in September 2022, per Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform-Added Facts, Analysis, plus MHVille REITs, MH Connected Stocks Update

Consumers ‘Fears for the Future’-Mortgage Payments Surge Since 2021, Buyers Get Priced Out–Conventional Housing Woes are Manufactured Home Pro Opportunities; plus MHVille REITs, Stocks Update