Subsidiarity Economics 2026. The Times more or less locally, Part 1. The reap what you sow edition.

January 1, 2026.

China is imposing a 55% tariff on some (it appears quite a bit of) beef from Brazil, Australia and  the United States.

In Casper, Vintage Wine and Spirits and Wyoming Rib and Chop are closed as of this morning.

Donald Trump vetoed a water project in Colorado which was passed unanimously by Congress, and which is in a district that is represented by MAGA Lauren Boebert and which voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump mostly, it appears, as an act of revenge on Colorado.

The costs of at least 350 drugs in the U.S. are expected to rise in 2026.

Also, according to Trump Golf Tracker, Donald Trump has golfed 79 days out of 347 days since returning to office (22.8% of the presidency), at a taxpayer cost of  $110,600,000.

The price of oil today is generally $57.41/bbl, below US profitability.  Wyoming oil is generally at $57.84/bbl.

Coal rose to $107.50 /T on December 31, 2025, up 0.80% from the previous day. Over the past month, coal has fallen 0.78%, and is down 13.72% compared to the same time last year.

January 6, 2026

Venezuela takeover has Wyoming oil industry bracing for market changes: Though Wyoming politicos regard Trump's actions as necessary, oil executives do not anticipate immediate windfall.

There's no part of this that will be a positive for the U.S. economy, or Wyoming's.  There's been too much oil on the market now for years, which has made Wyoming's petroleum economy unstable.  More oil will simply make it worse, much worse.   Sinking a bunch of infrastructure into a foreign country will make it worse.

For Wyoming, Is Venezuelan Oil The New Argentinian Beef?

This will be an economic problem, if not a disaster.

And here's another GOP bit of great economic news:

Wyoming spent $2.4M on hunger relief during shutdown emergency: Food insecurity is soaring in the state due to inflation and other factors, food relief experts say.

January 6, 2026

Venezuela and Greenland.

There's a lot of weird war related news circulating today.

Trump claims that the government of Venezuela is going to, well, here:

The U.S. doesn't need millions of gallons of oil to be sold to the US, and further the means by which Trump claims this will happen, he'll control the sales, is legally dubious.

Frankly, I don't believe that this will occur.  Much of what Trump has been saying about Venezuela is a lie and I suspect this is too.

If it isn't a lie, Wyomingites are going to get another dope slap from the demented fool they voted for.  It'll take the price of oil in the state for years.  It's at $46.37, below profitability, right now.

Of course, the goal would be to depress the price of oil, which consumers in most locations want depressed, even though we ought to be weaning ourselves off of oil.  But closer to home, this is another example of why Wyomingites are absolute idiots to vote for the GOP.

The Nobel Peace Prize winning Venezuelan woman who probably ought to be running the country is headed home.  Hopefully she takes over the government, although there's every sign that the Venezuelan socialist party will continue to do so and not much will really change.

Trump, who is demented, is now threatening Greenland.

If we lived in a sane time they'd be taking him out of the Oval Office in a straight jacket, but the Republican Party is now largely bat shit crazy so there's a real chance we'll do this, even while, for the first time, some Republican leaders are dismissing it.

Trump needs to be removed via the 25th Amendment, and like yesterday.

January 8, 2026

Oh we clearly need to add Venezuelan oil to this scenario.

January 9, 2026

Allowing power usage on this scale is simply insane.

Huge Cheyenne Data Center Grows To 2.7 Gigawatts — Nearly Triple State Power Use

January 20, 2026

$350 Million Transmission Project Links Wyoming, South Dakota Power Grids

Broncos Playoff Mania Drives Tickets To More Than $17,000

Last edition:

Subsidiarity Economics 2025. The Times more or less locally, Part 13. Disassociation.

Labels: 119th Congress, 2020s, 2025, Chuck Gray, Coal, Economics, Government, Health Care, Petroleum, Populism, Republican Party, Taxes, Unions, Wyoming, Wyoming's boom and bust economy

First set of Labels: 2020s, 2026, Agriculture, Australia, Brazil, China, Donald Trump, Food, restaurants and bars, Taxes, The Second Trump Administration, United States, Wyoming, Wyoming (Casper)

Subsidiarity Economics 2025. The Times more or less locally, Part 13. Disassociation.

December 12, 2025

From the Casper Star Tribune.

The Democratic bill to extend the credits failed.

Senate blocks Obamacare tax subsidy extension, all but ensuring spikes for Wyoming consumers: Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming called tax subsidy extension a “disaster” and lobbied for a Republican health savings account proposal that also failed.

So did a moronic Republic bill for health savings accounts. That was no sort of plan.

The evidence is too well established to ignore.  A national health care system needs to be established and frankly it would not be that difficult.  It'll be interesting to see if this brings it about, as the populist contingent that opposes it, including here in the state, is about to lose its insurance.  This is, quite frankly, a disaster.

It's a disaster that the GOP hopes will kill off the AHCA and there really isn't any serious proposals to replace it. They want it dead, as it's "socialism", even though it isn't.  The Health Savings Account concept was just pablum and everyone is well aware that it'd achieve nothing at all.

Which brings me back to this point.  The difference between right wing populism and left wing populism is nearly non existent.  The ox that will end up being gored here is that of the street level right wing populist, who can be, and in some instances was, left wing populist.  

Speaking of average folks:

Also from the CST.

December 13, 2025

December 14, 2025

The Federal government terminated the collective bargaining status for the union that covers TSA officers, the American Federation of Government Employees, as to TAS officers.

The union, which covers the employees of other agencies as well, has over 300,000 members, probably none of whom will caste a vote for the GOP next year.

We also have Chuck Gray sounding like a broken record:

Chuck Gray: I Will Continue To Fight Woke Wind Energy Projects

Gray's in a bit of a spot as he'd hoped to use the Secretary of State's office as a springboard to something else.  It's not looking like that will pay off, as Bill Barlow is clearly in the lead for the Governor's office and Gray can't think of anything to say that doesn't sound like it's from the junior edition of the MAGA playlist, which is rapidly becoming a set of moly oldies.  To make matters worse for him, he's now so acclimated to absurd name calling that he can't stop it, as in:

We should be deeply troubled by the efforts of Gov. Gordon and other insider politicians to jam through woke wind projects that violate so many of our core principles as Wyomingites. 

"Woke wind projects"?  

I know what he means, of course, which is that as the Federal Government backed wind under Biden, and as global warming is a fib, and as Joe Biden is responsible for all of the ills in society, it's the dreaded evil "woke".  Gray has used this sort of rhetoric so often, however, that if a cafe burns his toast I'm sure that he reflexively calls the short order cook a liberal, let wing woke Marxist.

Gray's career in Wyoming politics is probably shot.  Barlow will get the Governor's office, Hageman won't run for it as she knows that, so she'll keep her office, Lummis is the Wyoming sphinx, rarely saying anything, and she'll keep her office.  Gray will be lucky if he doesn't draw opposition and lose his.

On wind, all the fossil fuel true believers were dead set against it but now oil is hovering around $60.00 and it appears that the Federal Government might be pushing to depress the price.  A well placed GOP politician told me the other day that the administration wants it at $30.00/bbl next year, which would wipe out domestic production and throw Wyoming into an oilfield depression.

On a different note:  

Cattle Ranchers Revive Nebraska Town With Bold Producer-Owned Beef Plant

December 16, 2025

US payrolls fell by 105,000 people in October, and then rebounded to add 64,000 in November.

Sort of a mixed message there, assuming that such figures coming out of the US government are trustworthy.

Cont:

Well, apparently those who are schooled in this kind of data view this as a pretty negative jobs report.  The economy is cooling, and the unemployment rate is up.

December 17, 2025

Feds, Wyoming greenlight new helium plant, among world’s largest: The Dry Piney helium production and CO2 sequestration project would rival ExxonMobil's neighboring Shute Creek plant near LaBarge.

Wyoming Aims To Turn EV Charging Into A New Post-Pump Marketplace

December 21, 2025

‘A Gut Punch’: Nebraska Town Shell-Shocked By Tyson Closing Huge Beef Plant

 

‘A Gut Punch’: Nebraska Town Shell-Shocked By Tyson Closing Huge Beef Plant

December 22, 2025.

Jim Beam is ceasing production from its principal facility for all of 2026.

The price of oil in Wyoming today:  $43.73.  Below the price for further exploration. . . by a huge margin.

December 23, 2025

Rogue Brewing in Oregon has shut down and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

December 24, 2025

Headline in the CST:

Gordon awards $100 million

in matching funds to

BWXT nuclear fuel facility

And the story:

Gordon awards $100M to northern Wyoming nuclear fuel manufacturer: The state-backed grant will support BWXT's proposed TRISO fuel manufacturing facility in Gillette.

December 25, 2025

Wyoming Oil And Gas Operators Cheer Delay Of Biden-Era 1,400% Bond Rate Hike

The price of oil today is $58.0/bbl.  Wyoming's oil is at $43.90.

December 28, 2025

The news that so many simply refuse to believe:

2025 is projected to be Wyoming’s second worst coal production year

As part of this:

Wyoming coal is projected to have its second worst production year since its peak in 2008. Economists say the decline will likely continue, putting the state’s economic future on shaky ground.

We've discussed this trend line before, but to put it bluntly, it's going to decline into oblivion.

December 30, 2025

Lack of snow and economic uncertainty foretell a grim outlook for winter resorts

Related threads:

Seemingly missed in the story of prices at the pump being down is that the rig count is down too. And the coming economic storm in Wyoming.

Labels: Coal, deflation, Economics, Ignorance, OPEC, Petroleum, Russo Ukrainian War, Taxes, trends, Venezuela, Wyoming Freedom Caucus

Last edition:

Subsidiarity Economics 2025. The Times more or less locally, Part 12. Don't look . . . everything's just fine edition.

Labels: Agriculture, Economics, Food, Health, Predictions, technology, Technology is ruining everything, Wyoming (Gillette), Wyoming Business Council, Wyoming's boom and bust economy

Friday, December 21, 1945. Patton dies.

George S. Patton died at age 60, the result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident several days earlier.

The general's daughter woke up in the United States and saw him standing, in full uniform, at the foot of her bed, where he smiled.  His daughter Beatrice received a phone call in which he asked "Little Bee, are you alright?'”  An attempt to confirm the call in the morning ended up in the information that no oversees call had been placed.

Such incidents are not uncommon. A fairly large number of people experience post death visitations of people they knew, with it most commonly being the case that they happen very soon after the person's death.  Indeed, in ancient times, Jews believed that the spirits of the dead were not aware of their deaths for a three day period, and the Irish custom of a wake stems from a desire to stay awake with the recently departed to help them know that they had died.

Patton was one of the most controversial American generals of the Second World War.  A member of the cavalry branch, he's famously recalled as an armor general. Almost all of the really effective armor generals in the U.S. Army from the Second World War were cavalrymen.  While now hugely admired, during the war the two slapping incidents he was involved in nearly cost him his career.

Patton, although he died due to an accident, fits into a fairly large collection of senior military officers that died right after the war.

The Battle of Shaobo in China ended in a Communist victory.  It was another one of the battles in which Chiang Kai Shek pitted Chinese collaborationist units that had rejoined the Nationalist against the Communists.

From the same newspaper as above:

Casper received news that the Texas Refinery was going to expand.

It's now closed.

Ethiopian Airlines was founded.

Last edition:

Thursday, December 20, 1945. Tires.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Automobiles, Rationing, Transportation, United Nations

Subsidiarity Economics 2025. The Times more or less locally, Part 12. Don't look . . . everything's just fine edition.

 

November 25, 2025.

The consolidation of the meat packing industry, which we've long complained about here, hits home, again:

Wyoming Cattle Ranchers Say Nebraska Plant Closure Is A Sign Of Deeper Problems

And the Federal Government gives a boost to the technology that's going to 1) take all our jobs, and 2), kill us.

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  From the founding of our Republic, scientific discovery and technological innovation have driven American progress and prosperity.  Today, America is in a race for global technology dominance in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), an important frontier of scientific discovery and economic growth.  To that end, my Administration has taken a number of actions to win that race, including issuing multiple Executive Orders and implementing America’s AI Action Plan, which recognizes the need to invest in AI-enabled science to accelerate scientific advancement.  In this pivotal moment, the challenges we face require a historic national effort, comparable in urgency and ambition to the Manhattan Project that was instrumental to our victory in World War II and was a critical basis for the foundation of the Department of Energy (DOE) and its national laboratories.

This order launches the “Genesis Mission” as a dedicated, coordinated national effort to unleash a new age of AI‑accelerated innovation and discovery that can solve the most challenging problems of this century.  The Genesis Mission will build an integrated AI platform to harness Federal scientific datasets — the world’s largest collection of such datasets, developed over decades of Federal investments — to train scientific foundation models and create AI agents to test new hypotheses, automate research workflows, and accelerate scientific breakthroughs.  The Genesis Mission will bring together our Nation’s research and development resources — combining the efforts of brilliant American scientists, including those at our national laboratories, with pioneering American businesses; world-renowned universities; and existing research infrastructure, data repositories, production plants, and national security sites — to achieve dramatic acceleration in AI development and utilization.  We will harness for the benefit of our Nation the revolution underway in computing, and build on decades of innovation in semiconductors and high-performance computing.  The Genesis Mission will dramatically accelerate scientific discovery, strengthen national security, secure energy dominance, enhance workforce productivity, and multiply the return on taxpayer investment into research and development, thereby furthering America’s technological dominance and global strategic leadership.

Sec. 2.  Establishment of the Genesis Mission.  (a)  There is hereby established the Genesis Mission (Mission), a national effort to accelerate the application of AI for transformative scientific discovery focused on pressing national challenges.

(b)  The Secretary of Energy (Secretary) shall be responsible for implementing the Mission within DOE, consistent with the provisions of this order, including, as appropriate and authorized by law, setting priorities and ensuring that all DOE resources used for elements of the Mission are integrated into a secure, unified platform.  The Secretary may designate a senior political appointee to oversee day-to-day operations of the Mission.

(c)  The Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (APST) shall provide general leadership of the Mission, including coordination of participating executive departments and agencies (agencies) through the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the issuance of guidance to ensure that the Mission is aligned with national objectives.

Sec. 3.  Operation of the American Science and Security Platform.  

(a)  The Secretary shall establish and operate the American Science and Security Platform (Platform) to serve as the infrastructure for the Mission with the purpose of providing, in an integrated manner and to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with law:

(i)    high-performance computing resources, including DOE national laboratory supercomputers and secure cloud-based AI computing environments, capable of supporting large-scale model training, simulation, and inference;

(ii)   AI modeling and analysis frameworks, including AI agents to explore design spaces, evaluate experimental outcomes, and automate workflows;

(iii)  computational tools, including AI-enabled predictive models, simulation models, and design optimization tools;

(iv)   domain-specific foundation models across the range of scientific domains covered;

(v)    secure access to appropriate datasets, including proprietary, federally curated, and open scientific datasets, in addition to synthetic data generated through DOE computing resources, consistent with applicable law; applicable classification, privacy, and intellectual property protections; and Federal data-access and data-management standards; and

(vi)   experimental and production tools to enable autonomous and AI-augmented experimentation and manufacturing in high-impact domains.

(b)  The Secretary shall take necessary steps to ensure that the Platform is operated in a manner that meets security requirements consistent with its national security and competitiveness mission, including applicable classification, supply chain security, and Federal cybersecurity standards and best practices.

(c)  Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall identify Federal computing, storage, and networking resources available to support the Mission, including both DOE on-premises and cloud-based high-performance computing systems, and resources available through industry partners.  The Secretary shall also identify any additional partnerships or infrastructure enhancements that could support the computational foundation for the Platform.

(d)  Within 120 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall:

(i)   identify a set of initial data and model assets for use in the Mission, including digitization, standardization, metadata, and provenance tracking; and

(ii)  develop a plan, with appropriate risk-based cybersecurity measures, for incorporating datasets from federally funded research, other agencies, academic institutions, and approved private-sector partners, as appropriate.

(e)  Within 240 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall review capabilities across the DOE national laboratories and other participating Federal research facilities for robotic laboratories and production facilities with the ability to engage in AI-directed experimentation and manufacturing, including automated and AI-augmented workflows and the related technical and operational standards needed.

(f)  Within 270 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall, consistent with applicable law and subject to available appropriations, seek to demonstrate an initial operating capability of the Platform for at least one of the national science and technology challenges identified pursuant to section 4 of this order.

Sec. 4.  Identification of National Science and Technology Challenges.  

(a)  Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary shall identify and submit to the APST a detailed list of at least 20 science and technology challenges of national importance that the Secretary assesses to have potential to be addressed through the Mission and that span priority domains consistent with National Science and Technology Memorandum 2 of September 23, 2025, including:

(i)    advanced manufacturing;

(ii)   biotechnology;

(iii)  critical materials;

(iv)   nuclear fission and fusion energy;

(v)    quantum information science; and

(vi)   semiconductors and microelectronics.

(b)  Within 30 days of submission of the list described in subsection (a) of this section, the APST shall review the proposed list and, working with participating agency members of the NSTC, coordinate the development of an expanded list that can serve as the initial set of national science and technology challenges to be addressed by the Mission, including additional challenges proposed by participating agencies through the NSTC, subject to available appropriations.

(c)  Following development of the expanded list described in subsection (b) of this section, agencies participating in the Mission shall use the Platform to advance research and development aligned with the national science and technology challenges identified in the expanded list, consistent with applicable law and their respective missions, and subject to available appropriations.

(d)  On an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary shall review and update the list of challenges in consultation with the APST and the NSTC to reflect progress achieved, emerging national needs, and alignment with my Administration’s research and development priorities.

Sec. 5.  Interagency Coordination and External Engagement.  

(a)  The APST, through the NSTC, and with support from the Federal Chief Data Officer Council and the Chief AI Officer Council, shall convene relevant and interested agencies to:

(i)    assist participating agencies in aligning, to the extent permitted by law, their AI-related programs, datasets, and research and development activities with the objectives of the Mission in their respective areas of expertise, while avoiding duplication of effort across the Federal Government and promoting interoperability;

(ii)   identify data sources that may support the Mission’s aim;

(iii)  develop a process and resourcing plan in coordination with participating agencies for integrating appropriate and available agency data and infrastructure into the Mission, to the extent permitted by law and subject to available appropriations, including methods under which all agencies contributing to the Mission are encouraged to implement appropriate risk-based security measures that reflect cybersecurity best practices;

(iv)   launch coordinated funding opportunities or prize competitions across participating agencies, to the extent permitted by law and subject to available appropriations, to incentivize private-sector participation in AI-driven scientific research aligned with Mission objectives; and

(v)    establish mechanisms to coordinate research and development funding opportunities and experimental resources across participating agencies, ensuring agencies can participate effectively in the Mission.

(b)  The APST shall coordinate with relevant agencies in establishing, consistent with existing authorizing statutes and subject to available appropriations, competitive programs for research fellowships, internships, and apprenticeships focused on the application of AI to scientific domains identified as national challenges for the Mission, to include placement of program participants at DOE national laboratories and other participating Federal research facilities, with the purpose of providing access to the Platform and training in AI-enabled scientific discovery.

(c)  The Secretary, in coordination with the APST and the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto, shall establish mechanisms for agency collaboration with external partners possessing advanced AI, data, or computing capabilities or scientific domain expertise, including through cooperative research and development agreements, user facility partnerships, or other appropriate arrangements with external entities to support and enhance the activities of the Mission, and shall ensure that such partnerships are structured to preserve the security of Federal research assets and maximize public benefit.  To facilitate these collaborations, the Secretary shall:

(i)    develop standardized partnership frameworks, including cooperative research and development or other appropriate agreements, and data-use and model‑sharing agreements;

(ii)   establish clear policies for ownership, licensing, trade-secret protections, and commercialization of intellectual property developed under the Mission, including innovations arising from AI-directed experiments;

(iii)  implement uniform and stringent data access and management processes and cybersecurity standards for non-Federal collaborators accessing datasets, models, and computing environments, including measures requiring compliance with classification, privacy, and export-control requirements, as well as other applicable laws; and

(iv)   establish procedures to ensure the highest standards of vetting and authorization of users and collaborators seeking access to the resources of the Mission and associated research activities, including the Platform and associated Federal research resources.

(d)  The APST, through the NSTC, shall, to the extent appropriate, identify opportunities for international scientific collaboration to support activities under the Mission.

Sec. 6.  Evaluation and Reporting.  

(a)  Within 1 year of the date of this order, and on an annual basis thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report to the President, through the APST and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, describing:

(i)    the Platform’s operational status and capabilities;

(ii)   progress toward integration across DOE national laboratories and other participating Federal research partners, including shared access to computing resources, data infrastructure, and research facilities;

(iii)  the status of user engagement, including participation of student researchers and any related training;

(iv)   updates on research efforts and outcomes achieved, including measurable scientific advances, publications, and prototype technologies;

(v)    the scope and outcomes of public-private partnerships, including collaborative research projects and any technology transitions or commercialization activities; and

(vi)   any identified needs or recommendations for authorities or interagency support to achieve the Mission’s objectives.

Sec. 7.  General Provisions.  

(a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

(d)  The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Energy.

                            DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    November 24, 2025.

$$$

December 6, 2025

Construction companies lay off 123 workers in Gillette: The layoffs include employees at Hoskinson Contracting and Hoskinson Concrete. The concrete company will close permanently.

$$$ 

December 7, 2025

Legislators Grill Wyoming Business Council, Say It ‘Picks Winners And Losers’

December 9, 2025

And Trump sold the US down the drain computer technology wise.

This is so bizarre Congress really ought to step it, but it won't.

This will be marked as the point at which the US consigned itself to being an also ran to China in technology.

Absolutely incredibly.

But wait, there's more.

Having destroyed the farm export market, Trump is taking tariff money, which is ultimately paid by Americans, and applying it to a farm bailout package.

Farmers voted overwhelmingly to screw themselves with Trump.  Let them be screwed.

In terms of people getting screwed:

Wyoming Lawmakers Worry 'Bear Care' Is Just More Government In Insurance Market

We're in a health coverage crisis nationally.  It's time for a nationalized system.

Related threads:

Nebraska Ranchers to go into Meat Processing

The Pandemic and Food, Part Three. A Good, Affordable, Steak

Ranchers Form Co-Op to Address Meat Processing Bottleneck

Lex Anteinternet: Issues In the Wyoming Election. A Series. Issue No. 1 (c). The Economy again. . . Agriculture

The Wyoming Economy. Looking at it in a different way.

Supply Chain Disruption and Other Economic Problems

Last edition:

Subsidiarity Economics 2025. The Times more or less locally, Part 11. The blistering ignorance edition.

Labels: 2020s, 2025, Carpetbaggers, Chuck Gray, Diaper baby, Economics, Education, Ignorance, National Outdoor Leadership School, Nuclear power, Wyoming (Bar Nunn), Wyoming Freedom Caucus, Wyoming's boom and bust economy