Maybe you aren't better off

And is Joni Ernst getting a new job?

“Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

I Was Wrong — I wrongly assumed that many voters would say, “yes” to that question. Four years ago was 2020.

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

In 2020, our country was paralyzed with fear, apprehension, and uncertainty about COVID-19. How many of us would die would get seriously ill or die from the virus? Will a vaccine protect us? Will a face mask? Should we wash off our groceries after we bring them into our homes?

Schools, businesses, and places of worships closed their doors as health professionals and elected officials tried to slow the spread of the virus, so hospitals wouldn’t get overwhelmed with the sick.

You’re Fired — The public’s judgement about how Donald Trump led the nation during the pandemic was one of the reasons that Americans fired him as their president.

Over the past few months, I have talked with economists who have felt that the American economy — while not perfect — has been strong.

Madam President — That included Esther George, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. I interviewed her for the American Farmland Owner podcast in October. She praised the Fed for guiding monetary policy through the country’s pandemic recovery and avoiding recession (which skeptics/some politicians) claimed would not happen.

She acknowledged that many people struggle with higher inflation and interest rates but felt that the overall economic recovery was going fairly well.

(Sidenote: She is also part of discussions to finance a new sports complex in Kansas City and the treasurer for the organization bringing FIFA World Cup soccer to Kansas City in 2026.)

Watch our conversation here.

A Much Different View — But my interview with J. Kyle Bass was so-o different. Bass has become a billionaire hedge fund manager, who splits his time in Texas (where he founded two companies) and Paris, France, where his wife is a magazine editor.

He accurately predicted that the financial world would implode because of subprime mortgages. And that is what led up to the Great Recession in 2007-2008.

These days he is focused on buying up land in Texas, Tennessee, and Florida to take advantage of people moving to lower tax states (warmer weather probably helps the decision-making, too).

What’s Ahead — His ability to see what is happening when others don’t is also what makes Bass a go-to guest on CNBC and other money-focused outlets.

Bass is coming to Des Moines next month as a keynote speaker for the 18th Annual Land Investment Expo

(Disclosure: American Farmland Owner is a media sponsor of that event, which is sponsored by Peoples Company . And I host a podcast and write a weekly newsletter for the company).

Bass believes that the Biden administration overdid it…by a lot…with the trillions of dollars in federal government pandemic aid. And that forced up prices, leaving lower- and middle-class families buried with financial struggle.

“If you're the average working-class family that has a small savings and is working to make ends meet, putting their kids in school, and everything that people do…they have been absolutely massacred by the inflation that the Fed and Congress just pushed at us,” Bass said.

Bass thinks that the federal government doesn’t accurately track inflation. Real inflation is much higher than federal agencies report, Bass contends, and that is why so many voters didn’t buy the message that the economy was doing much better: they’re bank accounts told them otherwise.

“I think we've seen 50% inflation across the board in the last 4 years.”

You can watch our conversation here (Pay attention to the bedspread behind him as he talked to me from Paris).

“Secretary” Ernst? — I don’t know if this is a real possibility or just D.C. rumor mill, but Iowa Senator Joni Ernst’s name has been mentioned as a possibility to replace cable host Pete Hegseth as Donald Trump’s choice for the next U.S. Secretary of Defense.

Hegseth is dealing with a series of allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct that call into question whether he is fit for the cabinet.

I wonder if Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a more likely replacement than Ernst.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley talked to reporters Wednesday. I wanted to know whether he thought it would be better for Trump to pick Ernst.

Here’s my TV story about his response.

Honoring a Hero — There has been a lot of sadness around us lately. A neighbor died following an accident on a skateboard. My daughter’s third grade classmate and friend passed away over Thanksgiving following another accident. Awful. I pray for their families.

A grief of another family has lasted almost a year now. According to numerous eyewitness account, Dan Marburger sacrificed his own safety as he tried to convince a student to stop shooting at other students inside Perry High School last January. Dan had been the principal and worked in for Perry’s school system for two decades.

My friend and uber-talented journalist, Mike Vogel, helped create an incredible tribute piece about Principal Marburger for the Big Ten Network.

You can watch it here.

Getting Together — The Iowa Writers Collaborative is hosting an annual holiday party for paid subscribers. It takes place Friday, December 13th, from 5-8 p.m. at the Harkin Institute on the Drake University campus in Des Moines. Hope to see you there!

You can RSVP and find out more information here.

If you haven’t become a paid subscriber yet, you can use the link below and save 25% off the 2025 membership. Thanks for your support!

Haven’t finished your holiday shopping yet? I have a book idea or two:)

You can buy “Caucus Chaos Trump" at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines , Amazon, or you can Venmo me $15 @DavePriceIowa and I’ll send you an autographed copy. Venmo $25 and I will also include an autographed copy of my first book, “Caucus Chaos.”