Economy
Trump’s EPA Pushes Green New Deal Into Political Obscurity
Democrats Go Silent on the Green New Deal The Green New Deal was once the main climate push for Democrats. Now it’s barely mentioned in Washington. According to a Quorum chart posted by Axios, in the past three months, Democrats in Congress used the term only a handful of times on social media or in speeches. That is the lowest count since 2018, when it was first introduced. Meanwhile, Republicans are still talking about it — a lot. They brought it up more than 300 times in the same period, using it as proof that Democrats back costly and extreme policies. Axios: “Democrats aren’t explicitly disavowing the Green New Deal, but they’ve abruptly stopped talking about it” pic.twitter.com/mVM4F19SJD — Steve Everley (@saeverley) August 1, 2025 Big Names Drop the Plan Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, the lawmakers who first pushed the Green New Deal, have not reintroduced it since April 2023. Many Democrats are moving away from strict climate mandates. Instead, they are talking about jobs, cost savings, and energy security. (MORE NEWS: Energy Department Admits Millions Of Americans Are At Risk Thanks To Grid Vulnerabilities) Some governors are supporting natural gas projects. Even a few lawmakers have traded in their electric cars for gas‑powered SUVs. The tone is different now, and the Green New Deal is no longer the centerpiece it once was. The 2009 EPA Climate Ruling That Started It All In 2009, the Obama‑era EPA issued the Endangerment Finding — a ruling that labeled carbon dioxide and several other greenhouse gases as a danger to public health and welfare. That single decision became the legal basis for almost every major climate regulation in the years that followed. It opened the door to: Federal electric vehicle production mandates Restrictions on gas‑powered appliances Strict tailpipe emission rules Airline emission standards Power plant shutdown orders By declaring CO₂ a threat, the EPA gave itself broad power to regulate entire industries. That authority survived multiple court challenges and was used heavily by both the Obama and Biden administrations. Zeldin Moves to Kill the Endangerment Finding On July 29, 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced a plan to repeal the Endangerment Finding entirely. He called it “the largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.” Zeldin said: “Many stakeholders have told me that the Obama and Biden EPAs twisted the law, ignored precedent, and warped science to achieve their preferred ends and stick American families with hundreds of billions of dollars in hidden taxes every single year.” The EPA also stated: “We heard loud and clear the concern that EPA’s GHG emissions standards themselves, not carbon dioxide … was the real threat to Americans’ livelihoods. If finalized, rescinding the Endangerment Finding and resulting regulations would end $1 trillion or more in hidden taxes on American businesses and families.” An August 3rd X post further solidified Zeldin’s stance on the Endangerment Finding. The Trump EPA won’t play along with the MANY mental leaps the Obama & Biden Admins used with the 2009 Endangerment Finding to creatively hoard themselves max power to jam through trillions of dollars of regulation, EV Mandates, and economic strangulation.pic.twitter.com/Mk5cTCzAX0 — Lee Zeldin (@epaleezeldin) August 3, 2025 A Blow to Costly Climate Rules Zeldin’s proposal would wipe out more than $1 trillion in regulations tied to the Endangerment Finding. These rules have hit vehicle manufacturers, power plants, heavy industry, and working Americans with higher costs and fewer choices. If the repeal is finalized: Federal climate mandates would be removed Electric vehicle quotas would be ended Regulatory control would shift back to states and local communities ESG‑driven industry restrictions would take a major hit The EPA under Zeldin is moving aggressively, framing this as a return to energy freedom and economic growth. It will lift the crushing burden from businesses and households. Critics warn it would remove key protections against climate change. (MORE NEWS: Texas Dems Flee to Stop Redistricting Map) Green Groups Lose Power While the EPA moves to dismantle its own authority, public enthusiasm for sweeping climate plans is also fading. Wind and solar still have majority support, but not as much as before. Republicans now strongly favor fossil fuel expansion. Environmental groups are struggling. The Sunrise Movement — once one of the most aggressive Green New Deal backers — raised less than $30,000 in the first half of 2025. That’s a fraction of what they raised during Trump’s first term. The Bottom Line Trump’s second term is changing climate politics at every level. Democrats are talking less about the Green New Deal. The EPA’s main legal authority to regulate greenhouse gases is under direct challenge. If Lee Zeldin’s repeal succeeds, the Endangerment Finding — and the regulations built on it — will be gone. That would mark the end of an era for federal climate policy and a dramatic shift in how the U.S. approaches energy, industry, and the environment. The once‑loud Green New Deal is now just a faint echo in Washington. Cut Through the Noise. Slice Through the Lies. Share the Truth. At The Modern Memo, we don’t tiptoe around the narrative—we swing a machete through it. The mainstream won’t say it, so we will. If you’re tired of spin, censorship, and sugar-coated headlines, help us rip the cover off stories that matter. Share this article. Wake people up. Give a voice to the truth the powerful want buried. This fight isn’t just ours—it’s yours. Join us in exposing what they won’t tell you. America needs bold truth-tellers, and that means you.
The Trade Deal That Changed Everything: U.S.–EU Breakthrough
In a bold move that will reshape the future of global trade, President Donald J. Trump announced a historic trade agreement with the European Union (EU). The deal redefines the economic relationship between the world’s two largest economies. The deal, hailed as a “generational modernization of the transatlantic alliance,” according to the White House, delivers unprecedented market access for American producers, workers, and innovators, while advancing U.S. economic and national security interests. A Monumental Economic Shift The agreement marks a pivotal victory for the United States. It positions the country as the world’s foremost destination for investment, manufacturing, and energy exports. Through 2028, the EU is expected to purchase a staggering $750 billion in U.S. energy exports. It will also invest an additional $600 billion into the American economy. These moves will drive growth in key industries and fortify the domestic manufacturing base. Furthermore, President Trump’s leadership continues to prioritize the American worker and bring jobs back home. This trade deal reflects his unshakable commitment to economic fairness, reciprocal trade, and revitalizing American industry. Structural Trade Reform for Generations The agreement goes far beyond symbolic diplomacy—in fact, it achieves real, enforceable structural reform with long-lasting impact. Under the new U.S.-EU Cooperation Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair and Balanced Trade, American farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and small businesses will see sweeping new opportunities to grow and export their goods. One of the most groundbreaking aspects of the deal is the elimination of all EU tariffs on U.S. industrial goods. This change unlocks European markets for American-made products and reduces the longstanding goods trade deficit. The removal of these barriers will allow American products to compete and win in Europe’s lucrative markets, supporting high-quality U.S. jobs and production across various sectors. Strategic Tariff Restructuring As part of the agreement, the EU will adopt a new tariff framework that includes a 15% tariff on key sectors, such as autos, auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors. Additionally, tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper will remain at 50%. Both sides will engage in future discussions to secure critical supply chains. Altogether, this new tariff structure is expected to generate tens of billions in revenue annually, helping to restore trade balance and incentivize reshoring of critical industries. Major Trade Provisions and Breakthroughs This landmark agreement includes a comprehensive set of commitments that benefit the United States across multiple fronts: $600 Billion EU Investment: The EU will invest this sum in U.S. infrastructure, innovation, and job creation. This is in addition to the $100 billion EU companies already contribute annually. $750 Billion in U.S. Exports: Through 2028, Europe will depend more heavily on clean, reliable U.S. energy, reducing its reliance on adversarial nations and boosting U.S. energy dominance. Tariff and Quota Reforms: The EU will eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs and open up meaningful quotas across various sectors, allowing American goods to flow freely and competitively. Reducing Red Tape: The deal addresses non-tariff barriers that burden U.S. exporters—particularly small and medium-sized businesses—by streamlining EU regulations and procedures. Agricultural Access: U.S. pork and dairy products will face fewer bureaucratic hurdles, as sanitary certifications and other requirements are streamlined. Digital Trade Protections: The EU commits to not imposing unjustified digital trade barriers or network usage fees, and both parties agree to maintain zero customs duties on electronic transmissions. Economic Security and Innovation Alignment: The U.S. and EU will align on supply chain security, coordinate efforts on investment reviews, and guard against unfair practices and duty evasion from non-market economies. Military and Commercial Cooperation: The EU will increase purchases of U.S. military equipment and finalize new commercial deals in key sectors such as semiconductors and clean energy. Restoring Economic Sovereignty This deal is a direct result of President Trump’s “America First” agenda. That agenda is rooted in restoring national sovereignty, protecting American workers, and confronting decades of trade imbalances caused by one-sided policies and foreign protectionism. On April 2, President Trump declared a national emergency in response to persistent U.S. trade deficits driven by foreign practices that depressed domestic wages and consumer demand. That declaration laid the groundwork for a bold and necessary reset of America’s global trade posture. This agreement reflects the culmination of that reset. It liberates American producers from the stranglehold of unfair trade practices and builds a level playing field for U.S. industry. For too long, the U.S. tolerated foreign policies that stifled innovation and drained manufacturing capacity. That era is now over. A Historic Victory Where Others Failed Despite repeated attempts by past administrations, no American president had successfully negotiated a trade agreement of this magnitude with the European Union—until now. This historic win reaffirms America’s status as the global standard-bearer of economic leadership and strategic strength. In just six months, President Trump has catapulted the United States into a new era of industrial revival, global investment attraction, and energy supremacy. His approach combines bold action, strong negotiation, and an unyielding focus on results. He delivers what previous leaders promised but failed to achieve. A Triumph for the American Trade Future This U.S.-EU trade agreement is more than just a diplomatic milestone. It’s a victory for every American worker, farmer, inventor, and business owner. More importantly, it proves that bold leadership can reverse decades of economic decline. It reignites American industry and reclaims prosperity for future generations. President Trump’s historic deal with the European Union is a triumph of principle, power, and patriotism—and it has only just begun to reshape the world.
Post-COVID Homeowners Are In Dire Financial Situation And No One Is Talking About It
U.S. Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) William J. Pulte announced in early July that people may now be eligible to receive a mortgage using just their rental data. “My ORDER today (thanks to my boss, POTUS) will allow for Americans to use their RENT to qualify for a mortgage. Credit history will no longer just include credit cards and loans. This is HUGE,” Pulte wrote on social media. He went onto note that the agency will be “incentivizing lenders, who USE both Vantage 4.0 and FICO, with better pricing – anything to help the consumer,” and that “[i]f you use Vantage and not just FICO, for the betterment of the American people and the consumer, you should get better pricing. It’s just math. Predictive math.” If you’re likely to pay your rent, you’re likely to pay your mortgage. — Pulte (@pulte) July 8, 2025 Will This Actually Change Anything? “VantageScore thanks Director Pulte for his resolute focus on enacting credit score competition as required by the law, and promoting efficiency and affordability for creditworthy Americans,” said Silvio Tavares, President and CEO of VantageScore in a statement shared by PR Newswire. (MORE NEWS: What’s America Gonna Look Like? Shocking Video from Rome Gives Preview) “Under Director Pulte’s leadership, the FHFA’s long-expected decision to accept VantageScore 4.0 will revolutionize the American mortgage market and grant millions of creditworthy Americans the golden opportunity to own their homes.” 2008 2.0? Skeptics immediately pointed out that there will always be concerns that making it easier to get a mortgage will simply lead to another 2008 situation, where millions of homeowners will use the new system to acquire properties they may not actually be able to afford. Without the legal parameters in place for renters, wherein landlords can issue eviction notices for unpaid rent. For those who go through sudden lifestyle changes, meaning they have to break a lease or downsize to a smaller, cheaper property, the rental system allows you to do this without actually harming your long-term credit score or ability to purchase in the future. The national housing market continues to weaken. Single-Family Months of Supply: 4.17 (highest since 2016) Condo Months of Supply: 6.16 (highest since 2012) What’s hidden in the national averages is that certain states (TX, FL) are starting to look a lot like 2008. While other… pic.twitter.com/fPJOXoUSRP — Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) May 22, 2025 Under this new system, people will potentially be able to simply stop paying their mortgages. They would therefore either have to refinance, meaning their interest rates will likely go up, and their equity payments will go down — i.e.: it will take you even longer to actually own your home. (MORE NEWS: Los Angeles Burns (Again); Is The Golden State Turning Into An Open Air Prison Camp?) Those who cannot refinance will then be forced to default on their mortgage. Their property will be foreclosed upon, and this will make it incredibly difficult for them to own a property again — and in some cases, make it difficult to rent as foreclosures and mortgage defaults hurt your credit for years into the future. Many Homeowners Already Underwater The saddest part of this whole situation is that most people who bought homes between 2022 and today — with an interest rate of 5% or above — do not realize that they don’t own their home. The bank owns their home because the rate at which they are paying into the equity is significantly lower than what they are paying in interest. The improvement in affordability in Austin, TX’s housing market has been miraculous. 3 years ago, homes were 52% overvalued. Today, homes are only 6% overvalued. A severe home price correction, to go along with rising income levels, has now made Austin’s housing market… pic.twitter.com/tdQpokek8G — Nick Gerli (@nickgerli1) June 27, 2025 These same people often bought properties at a hyper-inflated value, with many shoddily-built new homes selling for $400,000 or more. Not only does this mean these people will pay over $1,000,000 for these properties over the course of their mortgage agreement, but most of these properties have decreased in value. Zillow, Realtor, and other such real estate sites do not reflect actual home values, so millions of Americans are estimated to be underwater on their mortgage and they have no idea. This means they’ll be stuck in these overpriced homes, unable to sell, forced to massively overpay because that is the way the system works right now. TMM Analysis If you are ignoring the housing crisis, your head is in the sand. Writing in 2023, The Modern Memo editor in chief Kay Hill (nee Smythe) reported that the ” national median existing home price dropped 1.7 percent in April 2023, the largest year-on-year drop since 2012, according to recent reports.” And these issues are continuing to compound. There is absolutely no telling what will happen next. But the luckiest people right now are the ones who either (a) own their property outright, (b) have a mortgage rate below 2.5%, or (c) are renting. If you fall outside of these categories, you need to speak to a financial planner today, and get the heck out of your home before it is too late — and remember, it is not actually your home if the bank owns most of the equity. Requests for comment and additional information from Pulte went unanswered prior to the time of publishing.
Walmart Met With MAGA Boycott After Heiress Funds ‘No Kings Day’ Ad
Walmart heiress Christy Walton placed a full-page ad in The New York Times in June supporting “No Kings Day,” which many believe is a fierce anti-President Donald Trump and anti-American First celebration. The ad itself did not explicitly mention Trump, but many have interpreted the language as being anti-American First, according to Newsweek. “No Kings Day” is supposed to support things like honoring commitments to allies, defending against dictatorships, and respecting trading partners, which sounds really great on the surface — but also leaves many people asking, “why do we need a day like this? Feel like something corporate America needs, but not the American people?” The ad (as seen below) includes language like “The honor, dignity and integrity of our country is not for sale. Show up, attend your town halls, be civil,” and “WE honor our commitments and stand by our allies;” “WE defend against aggression by dictators;” “WE respect our neighbors and trading partners.” (RELATED: Los Angeles Burns (Again); Is The Golden State Turning Into An Open Air Prison Camp?) As a majority of Walmart’s products are either made in China, or depend on products made in China — a nation defined by the extremist Chinese Communist Party dictatorship — it is unclear whether Walton has realized her absurd levels of hypocrisy in claiming to be anti-dictator. Walmart heiress Christy Walton is funding full page color ads in the NYT for “No Kings Day,” a nationwide counter protest scheduled for Trump’s birthday, organized by far-left group Indivisible. Looks like the Walmart dynasty is big mad about China Tariffs. pic.twitter.com/22hWK73LjX — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) June 10, 2025 “The advertisements from Christy Walton are in no way connected to or endorsed by Walmart. She does not serve on the board or play any role in decision making at Walmart,” a spokesperson for Walmart told Newsweek. Still, Walton is the Walmart heiress, so shoppers are spending their cash elsewhere so as not to keep funding her lifestyle and seemingly anti-American rhetoric. What Is ‘No Kings Day’ Don’t feel bad for not knowing what “No Kings Day” is, or when it is — it is not a national holiday. In fact, it isn’t even a “day.” It appears to be a protest organized by a group called Invisible, which is pretty funny because that is what “No Kings Day” was — invisible — until Walton made a big deal out of it. Now that America does know what “No Kings Day” is, most people don’t want it. The protest is organized for June 14. Patriots will know that June 14 is also flag day, and the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Trump has organized a substantial military parade to honor this sacred day. (MORE NEWS: Will Summer 2026 Be The Season Of The Blackout? Energy Grid Fails In Major US City) Ironically, Walton, Invisible, and whatever other misinformed folks are involved in the “No Kings Day” event owe its existence to the U.S. army and the flag under which it flies. If it were not for the U.S. army, Walton — and the rest of us — would either be drinking tea with milk or speaking German on June 14. TMM Analysis “No Kings Day” isn’t a thing — thankfully. It is a sad excuse for a small group of loud elites and the people who fund their lifestyles to sit around and do nothing about the problems they think they understand. We’ll be celebrating June 14 in true patriotic fashion: yes, we’ll be watching the parade. We don’t care if you continue to shop at Walmart. Quite frankly, if you can afford to keep shopping at Walmart, well done! In just the last few years, we’ve realized their prices are skyrocketing from being the go-to place for families to get their weekly shop, to an overpriced dumpster fire of crap Chinese toys and furniture, and foods filled with every synthetical chemical known to man. If you can, shop local. Go to your farmer’s market. Start a garden. Thrift and swap with friends. There are so many ways to save money while these huge retailers try to get rich off your backs. And if you’re the kind of person who needs *new* things to feel special, then you better start working really hard, or else the next decade will be a very difficult time for you.
Economist Breaks Down Trump Tariffs, Talks Recession Terror, Talks Mass Chicken Slaughter
Former chief economist for President Donald Trump’s first administration, Vance Ginn, joined “The Joe Pags Show” in early May to discuss tariffs, recession, and something about the mass killing of chickens. Ginn was quick to clarify that the American economy is not in a recession (at the time of writing), concurring with Pags that the Biden administration only narrowly avoided going into a mass economic downturn using “artificial” measures. “I think the economy was propped up by fiscal and monetary policy to make things look good. Like, it put a lot of money in the economy. What do we get? We got a lot of inflation. We got a lot of people who dropped out of the labor force,” Ginn continued, noting the continued decline in labor force participation since the previous administration. Even though America maybe didn’t go into a recession publicly, to the people living outside of the upper echelons, it “felt like a recession.” Killing Chickens On Purpose? Pags then turned the conversation to everyone’s favorite backyard buddies: chickens. Pags stated that Dir. of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said recently that “he wouldn’t be surprised if Biden killed 140 million chickens on purpose and then, of course, the egg prices soared.” The purpose for this was to hand Trump a food and grocery-price crisis. “Is there anything to that do you think, Vance?” Pags asked. (MORE NEWS: ‘Will Be Punished’: Consequences Arrive Early For Canadian Voters After Doubling Down On Wokeism) “Anything is possible,” Ginn replied, but noted there was also a bird flu epidemic during that same time period, so there was likely a push by the CDC to kill off chickens. Trump’s Tariff Impacts Explained … We highly recommend you watch the full interview between Pags and Ginn to understand the scope of Trump’s global impact in his global tariff deals. Take Action Check out Joe Pags on X: always the hottest takes and the news you need Joe Pags Official Website Rumble — Joe Pags Use Your Voice today with a Million Voices Partnership … click the banner to learn more!