NYC News & Weekend Briefs / News Analysis & Opinion
Stagflation, Adams Tepid Endorsements but Strong Real Estate Funding, & U.S. Taxpayers Funding Israeli Expansionism and Efforts to Deprive Palestinians of a Homeland
August 15, 2025 / NYC Business & Economy / NYC Politics & Government / News Analysis & Opinion / Gotham Buzz NYC.
Stagflation May be Headed our Way
It Looks Like We May be Heading for a Stagflation Economy. According to 8.15.25 Yahoo Finance report, wholesale prices rose faster than expectations, up 0.9% in July, far faster than expectations. The core rate grew 3.7% vs an expected 3%. The Fed target rate is 2%. Services, not goods, were the driving force behind the inflation increase, and services are not tied to tariffs. We might be heading into a stagflation economy, where inflation continues or picks up, while jobs growth slows, as happened this month.
The contributors to a staglationary economy include that the U.S. dollar has lost 10% of its value since the beginning of the year. This means everything purchased outside of the U.S. will essentially cost 10% more to Americans. And tariffs will eventually add further to the inflation problem by increasing the cost of goods further.
TV News doesn't seem to understand that there's a lag time between when changes in the economy occur [like tariffs or currency valuation changes], and when the impact of them shows up at the cash register. Macroeconomic lag times range from three to eighteen months as these changes work their way through the economy. And speaking of TV News, it's worth mentioning that a stagflationary economy would be just the opposite of the 'Trump Economy' touted by Fox News during the Fall 2024 campaign cycle. For details see - https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-hotter-than-expected-wholesale-prices-make-the-feds-september-rate-cut-decision-harder-155711746.html
Eric Adams Support Seems Fueled by Narrow Self Interests
Is Eric Adams Recycling Faith Based Campaign Endorsements? About a week ago, Eric Adams announced that he was being endorsed by 100 faith based leaders. The endorsements appeared to come from some of the same people who've been supporting Adams all along, some of whom I've seen at various mayoral events, and some of whom I believe stood with him when he announced his re-election bid as an Independent in June of 2025.
Earlier this week Adams also picked up an endorsement from former NYS Democrat Governor Paterson, who is legally blind, and who switched his allegiance from Cuomo in the Democratic primary, to Adams running as an Independent.
A group of police unions also endorsed Adams this week, but notably missing was the largest NYC police union, the NYPBA. The NYPBA had previously endorsed Adams in the 2021 election, reportedly unenthusiastically. This may be why the NYPBA is holding back their endorsement again, or it could be that the NY Patrolmens Benevolent Association union is not happy that Adams has sullied the name of the NYPD, having been charged in a lawsuit with turning the NYPD into his own personal "racketeering enterprise".
Big Real Estate Funding of Adams Continues. Adams continues to rake in big dollar donor cash, topping the field in terms of campaign contributions during this last reporting cycle. Depending on how you count it, and whether Adams obtains matching funds, Adams took in a million $ or more in campaign donations. As you can see by the graphic at right, Adams appears once again to be heavily favored by the real estate and developer community, who are funding him for "getting stuff done" ... for them.
Zohran Mamdani came in second in terms of campaign contributions netting $852,000, fueled in large part by small donors, who helped Mamdani win the Democratic primary and become the leading contender in this NYC mayoral race.
Recent NYC Mayoral Poll. A Siena College poll, released Tuesday, showed Mamdani (D) ahead in the Mayoral race, leading the pack with 44% of the vote. Mamdani was followed by Cuomo (I) 25%, Curtis Sliwa (R) 12% and Eric Adams (I) 7% bringing up the rear. The poll was conducted August 3 - 7, 2025 and has a margin of error of +/- 7%.
On September 8, 2025, NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani will be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, which includes a lengthy background piece on his unlikely rise to prominence since the beginning of this year.
Israel, Funded by U.S. Taxpayers, Takes Steps to Ensure a Palestinian State will Never Exist
According to an 8.14.25 Associated Press report this week, Israel announced more settlements on the West Bank. If approved, which is likely, the settlements will cut the Palestinian West Bank in two. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that this should put an end to the two state solution, which for decades the U.S. and Europe had supported, which would recognize both an Israeli and Palestinian state. For details see - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-announces-a-settlement-that-critics-say-will-effectively-sever-the-west-bank-in-two/ar-AA1KvNc0?ocid=BingNewsSerp
An 8.7.25 report by the Times of Israel also informed us that Netanyahu planned to take military control over all of Gaza. He told reporters, 'we don't want to keep it.' To learn a bit more about what Israel is doing with U.S. taxpayer money and weapons that TV News doesn't report [hint - it's not going toward defense, but rather offense], click the following link - Why are U.S. Taxpayers - not Israeli Taxpayers - funding Israeli Aggression?
