The headlines said America added 147,000 jobs in June. The reality? Private companies actually cut 33,000 positions.
Grad students just lost access to unlimited borrowing. Parent PLUS loans now cap at $65,000. And tariffs are about to jump as high as 70 percent.
Everything is changing at once — taxes, tariffs, student loans, and immigration policy. And data from the University of Michigan says that consumers feel more pessimistic than they did six months ago.
Welcome to the 4th of July First Friday episode. On America’s 249th birthday, we unpack these economic stories.
Timestamps:
Note: Timestamps will vary on individual listening devices based on dynamic advertising run times. The provided timestamps are approximate and may be several minutes off due to changing ad lengths.
(0:00) Introduction
(1:19) Historical trivia about the Declaration of Independence
(2:28) Three presidents died on July 4th — statistical improbability explained
(4:24) Trump signs domestic policy bill extending 2017 tax cuts
(6:13) Student loan changes — borrowing caps and repayment plan eliminations
(8:53) Tariff pause expires July 9th, new rates announced
(12:00) Original tariff rates and Lesotho example breakdown
(16:26) June jobs report headlines versus private sector reality
(22:54) ADP reports private job losses while government hiring grows
(26:46) Consumer confidence drops 18 percent since December
(30:59) Inflation expectations versus actual 2.4 percent rate
(34:19) Fed takes wait-and-see approach amid policy uncertainty
(36:58) Labor market stagnation mirrors Federal Reserve strategy
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