While funding is key to our national defense, having enough soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen/women in the ranks is golden. However, persistent recruitment shortfalls are growing problems.
Employers are resourceful, and they have risen to the challenge. But it’s time for things to settle down. This is not the time to adopt new taxes and add new layers of burdensome regulation.
After a long run of strong spending, there are signs that consumers are beginning to slow down the pace of purchasing just a bit. U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in October, the first decline since March. This is an indicator that inflation is easing – which is good news – but the timing is not ideal for small business owners who depend on holiday shopping to remain profitable.
The setting for the classic Christmas movie starring Chevy Chase, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” is in a typical suburban community. Clark Griswold, played by Chase, decorates every foot of his home and front yard. However, when Griswold family flicks the “on” switch to share the light show with his family, the rest of the city’s lights wink out. It’s easy to envision Griswold extravaganzas nationwide draining the power grids.
Researchers are looking at how to convert everything from cooking oil to sewage waste into sustainable energy sources that can fuel airplanes and provide energy for communities.
The public power industry was organized by the communities we live in to bring electricity to the rural and vulnerable communities that investor owner power companies refused to serve.
Overly aggressive clean energy policies in Washington and Oregon have boxed many Northwest utilities into a corner by taking reliable technologies off the table before we have dependable carbon-free replacements like nuclear in place.
The widespread expansion of digital data centers, the energy-intensive nature of crypto mining, the growth of our manufacturing sector and an increasing population all contribute to a rising demand for electricity.
