State of The Nation

The Financial Black Hole of the Middle East - YouTube Pentagon bypassed traditional oversight for two decades using emergency appropriations that masked true costs from taxpayers The United States has spent more than $8 trillion on military operations since the September 11 attacks, with total costs projected to reach $13.5 trillion through 2060 when interest payments are included—making these the most expensive conflicts in American history, according to Brown University's Costs of War Project. The figure represents spending through fiscal year 2022, including approximately $5.8 trillion in direct appropriations plus an estimated $2.2 trillion to $2.5 trillion in committed future obligations for veterans' care through 2050. Interest payments on war-related borrowing have already exceeded $925 billion, with projections showing interest costs could reach $6.5 trillion through 2050. Unlike previous American wars, these conflicts were financed almost entirely through borrowing r...

To Win the Fight, We Must First Win the Mind: Create NDP-1.1 Naval Warfighting | Center for International Maritime Security Navy Needs New Warfighting Doctrine to Teach Sailors How to Think in Combat, Senior Officer Says Captain argues current manuals tell Sailors what to do but not how to make life-or-death decisions under fire By Naval Staff Every Sailor facing combat at sea confronts the same brutal reality: you must make critical decisions with incomplete information, under time pressure, while the enemy actively works to kill you. Yet the U.S. Navy has no doctrinal publication that teaches Sailors how to think through these moments. That's the stark assessment from Captain Paul Nickell, who recently served as a Military Professor at the Naval War College and is now preparing to command Naval Air Station Lemoore. Writing in the Center for International Maritime Security, Nickell calls for creating NDP-1.1 Naval Warfighting—a new doctrine focused entirely on the mental game ...

Why the 1950s American Dream Won't Return How a viral economic meme reveals the harsh new reality of wages, housing, and retirement in 2025—and what consumers can do about it By Consumer Reports Financial Team | September 2025 THE BOTTOM LINE A viral social media post comparing 1950s purchasing power to today's costs has sparked intense debate about American economic decline. Our comprehensive analysis reveals a more complex story: while the basic inflation math is correct, the meme understates how much harder major purchases have become and ignores the unique historical forces that made 1950s prosperity possible—and unrepeatable. Today's consumers face a fundamentally different economic landscape requiring new strategies for financial success. THE VIRAL CLAIM VS. REALITY The social media post shows a 1950s family loading $10 worth of groceries into their $1,000 car before heading to their $12,000 home. Using standard inflation calculations, those amoun...

Rising break-even prices and geological constraints signal end of era for America's oil revolution September 28, 2025 — America's shale oil industry, the powerhouse that transformed the U.S. into the world's largest oil producer, is hitting economic and geological limits that threaten to fundamentally alter the nation's energy landscape. New analysis from energy research firms indicates that break-even costs for U.S. shale oil production are projected to rise dramatically from approximately $70 per barrel in 2025 to as high as $95 per barrel by the mid-2030s—a staggering 35% increase that could alter America's position in global energy markets. The cost pressures are already forcing major players to reassess operations. Diamondback Energy Inc. , the largest independent oil producer in the Permian Basin, recently slashed its 2025 oil production guidance and declared that U.S. onshore oil output has likely peaked. ExxonMobil Corp. , despite its $64.5...