“The state of the union is not good.”

President Gerald R. Ford, State of the Union speech, January 1975

At the time of President Ford’s speech, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 11.8%. The CPI, after decades of very modest increases, has risen quickly over the last two years. In January of this year, it was 6.4%, and the April reading was 4.9%. Also, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the federal budget deficit for the first six months of Fiscal Year 2023 reached $1.1 trillion.

As discussed last month, our Washington policymakers have yet to increase the statutory debt limit which our federal government should reach by early June. The narrowly-controlled Republican U.S. House passed the Limit, Save and Grow Act on April 26 to increase the debt limit by $1.5 trillion until May 2024 and featured $4.5 trillion in spending cuts, as well as changes to work requirements for people who receive federal aid and an overhaul of the permitting process for energy projects. The narrowly-controlled Democrat Senate has not passed any legislation to increase the debt limit and Democrat Senator Joe Manchin has expressed support for legislation including spending cuts. In addition, this week 66 progressive Democrat House members wrote a letter to President Biden to not negotiate with the Republicans on this issue. So here we are, talks between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have resumed, we will monitor the progress on this issue.

I have included the Raymond James May 19, 2023, “Weekly Headings: Thoughts of the Week”, by Raymond James’ Larry Adam, Chief Investment Officer, Private Client Group. Please contact me at your convenience if you would like to discuss.

I recently read “An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford”, written by Richard Norton Smith and published April 11, 2023. The biography is a compelling narrative of the life and political career of President Ford. The author clearly admires his subject, but maintains his objectivity, except for several references to our 45^th President which struck this reader as both unnecessary and a distraction from the focus of the book. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. in Omaha and his mother divorced his birth father several months after he was born. When Ford was about four years old, his mother married Gerald Rudolff Ford, a salesman in his family’s paint business in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Ford was a star on his High School football team and eventually went to college at the University of Michigan where he helped lead his team to two undefeated seasons. He was hired as an assistant football coach at Yale where he used his position to get accepted to Yale Law School. After serving in the Navy in World War II, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representative in 1948, eventually becoming the House Republican Leader. Ford ascended to the Presidency as the first President not elected President or Vice President. His time in the White House, from pardoning President Nixon to the 1976 election is a story well told by the author.

Thanks for reading and please contact me with any questions or comments.

Regards,

Frank R. Hampton

Financial Advisor