MxM News

Quick Hit:

Inflation dropped to its lowest level in over four years in April, marking the third straight month of better-than-expected consumer data. The White House says President Trump’s economic policies are driving a “Golden Age” of falling prices and rising wages for American workers.

Key Details:

• Grocery prices fell by the largest margin in nearly five years, while egg prices plunged 12.7%—the steepest one-month drop since 1984.

• Gas prices fell for a third consecutive month, contributing to broader declines in energy and transportation costs.

• Real wages are up 1.9% year-over-year, with steady growth over the last three months giving workers more buying power.

JUST IN: April’s inflation report came in below expectations for the third straight month.

Grocery prices saw their largest decline in nearly five years.

Gas prices fell for the third month in a row. pic.twitter.com/AgsyV6efkF

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 13, 2025

Diving Deeper:

The Consumer Price Index report for April, released Tuesday, shows inflation easing to a four-year low—the strongest evidence yet that President Trump’s economic policies are reversing years of price pressure on American families.

“Inflation has fallen to the lowest level in more than four years as April’s Consumer Price Index smashes expectations for the third straight month in President Donald J. Trump’s Golden Age,” the White House said in a statement.

Prices for essentials saw some of the sharpest declines in years:

• Grocery prices were down 0.4% in April, while egg prices dropped 12.7%, “the most since 1984,” Bloomberg reported.

• Airfare, hotel rates, used vehicles, and energy costs all declined compared to a year ago.

• Workers’ real wages rose for the third straight month, climbing 1.9% over the past year.

Mainstream media outlets that previously warned of Trump’s tariff-driven inflation are now acknowledging the downturn. Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo noted: “Oil is down, eggs are down, food is down. We’re seeing that reflected, so all that hysteria over tariffs is not showing up in these numbers.”

Investopedia’s Caleb Silver added, “The smoke was much worse than the fire… That drop in gasoline and energy prices—a big deal.”

NBC’s Brian Cheung said the report was “pretty solid,” and Bloomberg highlighted that “grocery prices were down 0.4% on the month… validating some of President Donald Trump’s messaging.”

The bottom line: prices are falling, paychecks are going further.

From LifeSiteNews

By Vijay Jayaraj

Perhaps the fundamental failure of Net Zero was political. Permission was never sought from taxpayers who would pay the costs and suffer the consequences of an always ill-fated enterprise.

The grand vision of “Net Zero” initiatives – by which emissions of carbon dioxide magically balance with expensive and futile capture and storage systems – have long been sold as the redemption arc for humanity’s profligate modern ways. Yet, like a poorly scripted dystopian thriller, the holes in this plot are glaring.

Net Zero was always a fragile concept. It rested on shaky and illogical assumptions: that wind turbines, solar panels and “green” hydrogen could reliably replace fossil fuels, that governments could redesign economies without unintended consequences, that voters would accept higher costs for daily necessities, and that developing countries would sacrifice growth for climate targets they had no hand in creating.

None of those fantasies held. Countries did not decarbonize nearly at the speed promised, even though climate bureaucracies clung to the illusion. Long-range targets, five-year reviews, and international pledges lacked common sense and defied physical and economic realities. The result? An unaccountable machine pushing impractical policies that most people never voted for and are now beginning to reject.

If Net Zero were a serious endeavor, its architects would confront the undeniable: China and India are more than delaying their decarbonization timelines – they’re burying them. Why has this been ignored?

China and India – responsible for more than 40% of global CO2 emissions in the last two decades – are accelerating fossil fuel use, not phasing it out. In Southeast Asia, coal, oil and natural gas continue to dominate. Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are building new electric generating power plants using those fuels. These countries understand that economic growth comes first.

Africa, too, is pushing back. Leaders in Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal have criticized Western attempts to block fossil fuel financing. African nations are investing in exploitation of oil and gas reserves.

If Asia represents the global rejection of Net Zero, Germany and the U.K. are poster children of the West’s self-inflicted wounds. Both nations, once hailed as Net Zero pioneers, are grappling with the harsh realities of their green ambitions. The transition to “renewables” has been plagued by economic pain, energy insecurity, and political backlash, exposing the folly of policies divorced from facts. When the war in Ukraine cut off energy supplies, Germany panicked. Suddenly, coal plants were back online. The Green Dream died a quiet death.

READ: Top Canadian bank ditches UN-backed ‘net zero’ climate goals it helped create

Trump funding cuts likely will accelerate the fall of Net Zero’s house of cards. The president’s decisions to slash financing for international and domestic green programs has severed the lifeline for global climate initiatives, including the United Nations Environment Program.  Trump also vowed to redirect billions from the Inflation Reduction Act – Biden’s misnomered climate law – toward fossil fuel infrastructure.

The retreat of Net Zero interrupts the flow of trillions of dollars into an agenda with questionable motives and false promises. Climate finance had developed the fever of a gold rush. Banks, asset managers, and consulting firms hurried to brand themselves as “green.” ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) investing promised to reward “climate-friendly” firms and punish alleged polluters.

The fallout was massive market distortions. Companies shifted resources to meet ESG checklists at the expense of fiduciary obligations. Now the tide is turning. The Net Zero Banking Alliance comprising top firms globally has been abandoned by America’s leading institutions. Similarly, a Net Zero investors alliance collapsed after BlackRock’s exit.

Perhaps the fundamental failure of Net Zero was political. Permission was never sought from taxpayers and consumers who would pay the costs and suffer the consequences of an always ill-fated enterprise. Climate goals were set behind closed doors. Policies were imposed from above. Higher utility bills, job losses and diminished economic opportunity became the burdens of ordinary families. All while elites flew private jets to international summits and lectured about the need to sacrifice.

A certain lesson in the slow passing of Net Zero is this: Energy policy must serve people, not ideology. That truth was always obvious and remains so.

Yet, some political leaders, legacy media and industry “yes-men” continue to blather on about a “green” utopia. How long the delusion persists remains to be seen.

Vijay Jayaraj is a Science and Research Associate at the CO₂ Coalition, Fairfax, Virginia. He holds an M.S. in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia and a postgraduate degree in energy management from Robert Gordon University, both in the U.K., and a bachelor’s in engineering from Anna University, India.

Reprinted with permission from American Thinker.