I am disgusted by the liberal media for so many reasons – their relentless, unthinking hatred of Donald Trump and everything he does, their dishonest applause for the Left, until it threatens their bottom line (note: CBS, Washington Post et al), their “copy & paste” journalism – accepting as true anything that has appeared in print – but what I really detest is their determination to create anxiety about the economy, because it hurts real people.
It keeps people from quitting their jobs in search of a better position, it stymies investment and hiring, and it undermines confidence in our leaders. How do they do it? By hiding the good news and emphasizing the bad. It’s easy.
For instance, today, headlines are all about the Supreme Court denying President Trump’s bid to fire Lisa Cook. Seriously – who cares? I doubt very much that the Federal Reserve Board’s decision on interest rates will be swayed by the presence of one of the least intellectually capable members of their group. (I say that because Cook’s credentials are not impressive.)
More important to investors – and to most of us – is today’s news that retail sales in August held up extremely well, and that the July number was better than previously reported. Retail outlays were up 0.6% in August and the July figure was also increased to 0.6%. That’s important: consumers are the backbone of the economy. We’ve been led to believe that sentiment is terrible, that the president’s tariff program has demolished optimism and that inflation from those increased duties were going to drive prices through the roof.
It turns out that dire predictions are given much more attention than the actual data.
Media Buries Good News so Voters Won’t bury Dems https://t.co/rqeUu2Ksju pic.twitter.com/aE6BC0OJTx
— Liz Peek (@lizpeek) September 16, 2025
CNBC did report the upbeat news- but then it disappeared from their platform within hours even though common sense suggests the market sloppiness today is that the strong results almost guarantee the Fed will not cut beyond the expected 25 basis points.
Bloomberg TV moved from the good retail news to interviewing some guy talking evidence-free about how the holiday season was going to be a bust – with consumers shopping at the Salvation Army. Seriously.
Another pleasant surprise is that small businesses, which reportedly have been crushed by tariffs, are doing ok. The Bank of America Institute reports today: “Despite uncertainty weighing on hiring, small business profitability remains positive and more firms appear willing to borrow.” Further, BOA writes, “Small business profitability growth increased 0.5% year-over-year in August and held steady from the prior month. This coincides with a small rise in business optimism as more owners reported stronger sales expectations and improved earnings in the August National Federation of Independent Business report.”
Tariffs are likely putting a lid on hiring; lower payments to hiring firms suggests that. But BOA says, “while the services and retail sectors have slowed adding headcount, hiring among small construction and manufacturing companies was up more than 31% in August.”
I am optimistic that President Trump’s tariff program will indeed create incentives for companies to, on the margin, move production to the U.S., or to prioritize domestic sources. This won’t show up overnight, but over the next 12 months we should see some pick-up in U.S. manufacturing.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Fed GDP Now shows the current quarter growing at 3.1%, up from 3% a few days ago.
Don’t expect to see any upturn making headlines in the liberal media. They will pick and choose the gloomiest reports to highlight, knowing that if Trump’s agenda is successful, Democrats will be in the wilderness for a decade. We can only hope!
