As the Trump administration’s priorities continue to take hold, its unabashedly pro-law enforcement stance is igniting fresh optimism among investors. With a renewed focus on public safety and American-made innovation, companies supplying cutting-edge policing technologies could see significant windfalls. While initiatives like the Department of Government Efficiency grab headlines, the real investment opportunity could lie in tangible tools: less-lethal devices, AI-driven software, and data analytics poised to reshape how America’s police operate. Here’s why Wrap Technologies, Axon Enterprise, and SoundThinking stand out as potential picks for your portfolio—and what makes them tick under this new political landscape. Wrap Technologies: The…

Fortune has an article by Greg McKenna that is disturbing if you follow financial markets and monetary policy at all. It says that President Donald Trump has a path to end the Federal Reserve’s independence for a full Fed takeover. The disturbing part is not that Trump would have a way to politicize the Fed, but that any president would — as many have wanted and tried. Historic Fed takeover attempts. Before getting into what presidents have done, start with the 1913 creation of the Federal Reserve by Congress through the Federal Reserve Act. The impetus was a series of…

Despite President Trump’s repeated promises that “we’re not touching Social Security, other than to make it more efficient,” it appears his Administration is planning deep cuts in the program’s administration. And that inevitably will mean trouble for those receiving or applying for benefits. By slashing staff and tinkering with its internal computer systems, the Trump Administration is likely to make Social Security less efficient, not more. And these steps may make it much harder for applicants to receive the benefits they deserve in a timely way. Thus, Trump effectively will be cutting benefits, at least for some. Remaking the SSA…

Is there anything artificial intelligence can’t do? Well, the answer is “plenty.” The more precise response is, “It all depends on what you’re asking AI.” This is especially true for retirement questions. There’s no doubt that, like any computer, it’s a whiz at number crunching. In fact, it’s much more than that. It’s that chatty coworker who has a response to everything. But are those responses worth the pixels the text illuminates? Every week, indeed, every day, you’re seeing improvement in popular generative AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok, along with their cousins Copilot and Midjourney, not to mention…

The Department of Education took additional steps this week that effectively blocks affordable repayment plans and student loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers. The department’s actions follow a sweeping ruling by a federal appeals court last week that widened and extended an existing injunction halting implementation of the SAVE plan, a Biden-era income-driven repayment plan intended to lower monthly payments, halt runaway interest, and simplify the federal student loan repayment system while offering borrowers a pathway to student loan forgiveness. SAVE operated alongside several older IDR plans. In response to the latest ruling, last Friday the department took down the…

House Republicans have put themselves in a potential bind. In a razor-thin 217-215 vote on Tuesday, they passed a budget resolution that promises massive tax cuts—but only if they can find $2 trillion in spending reductions to offset the cost. House Republicans are facing a tricky balancing act: finding enough savings to satisfy fiscal conservatives while maintaining the deep tax reductions that Trump and party leadership have promised. If they fall short, the tax cuts will have to be reduced, putting key priorities—including President Donald Trump’s campaign promises of no tax on tips and no tax on overtime—at risk. But…

Don’t Fall For This 2025 Stimulus Check Scam Did you get a text message claiming to be from the IRS telling you you’re eligible for a $1,400 stimulus check? If you did, please don’t click on the link! A recent scam alert from the Better Business Bureau warns Americans about IRS imposters targeting consumers with false promises of a 2025 stimulus check. The scam text message claims you are eligible for a $1,400 Economic Impact Payment and directs you to a purported IRS web page. This is a phishing scam designed to steal your personal information and potentially infect your…

Gig work offers flexibility and independence, but it also comes with unique financial challenges. Unlike traditional employees with stable paychecks, you experience fluctuating income, irregular expenses, and the responsibility of managing your own taxes. This article tackles budgeting as a gig worker, with actionable strategies that can help you effectively manage your finances, ensuring stability and long-term success. 1. Embrace The Variable Income Budget As a gig worker your priority is to create a budget that accounts for fluctuating income. One method is to use the zero-based budget, which ensures every dollar is allocated to specific needs, leaving no income…

Companies want to keep their biggest customers happy, so they often provide accommodations to do so. And, as it turns out, the government — if it doesn’t already do so — probably wishes it did because the wealthiest households have become an utterly critical part of the economy through consumer spending. Gross domestic product — the total market value of all goods and services produced in a country — is, at least in the U.S., increasingly dependent on consumer spending. Data from the Bureau of Economic Advisors shows that personal consumption expenditures, another name for consumer spending, is currently 69.8%…

Most of the technology we use daily is built on free, publicly available software—yet the developers who create it often don’t get paid. From the apps on your phone to the systems powering major corporations, much of the underlying software infrastructure comes from independent programmers who rarely see financial returns for their work. According to a 2023 study by Synopsys, 96% of commercial software contains publicly available code. Large companies benefit immensely from this model, yet many of the developers contributing to these essential tools remain uncompensated. This has created a multi-billion-dollar gap where businesses profit from free software, while…