Today, we will talk about the economy (Again?! Yes 😁), AI protections, and my cat.

For any interested, I missed the past couple weeks because my 15+ year-old cat returned home with a broken leg and multiple other injuries. Most of my mental energy the last two and a half weeks was spent caring for him, encouraging my family regardless of outcome, or consoling myself for any outcome.

Not my cat, but…looks similar. Let me know in the comments if you want me to get a good picture to share. 😁🐈

While he is not 100%, he is home, healing after surgery, and we are incredibly thankful. More on that later.

Elephant in the room

Long time readers here at Sowing Hope will know I feel Joe Biden has been a good president and the country is better off. I'm grateful to have awesome followers like you, some of which disagree with me on this. I'm glad we can hear each other’s points of view and keep growing together. While I feel it’s important for me to share this part of my perspective, I also know something has come up that is important for us to address together.

America has a long history of non-partisan, clear condemnation of political violence. We talked about it in a post last year; violence isn't how we make progress here.
The attack on the former president was heinous and unacceptable, regardless of what you think about him.

Here in the U.S. we make our voices heard with pickets and ballots, not fists or bullets.

Violence is the way backwards to destruction, and we should be looking forward to what we can accomplish together. I am glad to hear the former president is safe. However, my heart breaks for the life that was lost and those who were in critical condition. I know we will know more in the coming weeks. If you are one who prays, please pray for these families.

One thing we can all do is continue having loving conversations rooted in kindness with our neighbors. Regardless if it’s online or in person, we need to lift each other up with compassion, understanding, and comfort right now.

With that, we'll dive into the news.

To the economy

Jobs and wages

In June, non-farm employment rose by 206,000, comparable to the average monthly increase we've seen over the previous 12 months of 220,000 (link). This keeps the unemployment rate at historically low rate of 4.1% (same link).

Inflation

As we have discussed here at Sowing Hope, inflation has been staying low for a while now. Year-over-year inflation (how much prices change in a 12 month period), has hovered just over 3% for over a year, now (link). Even more exciting is inflation month-to-month in May and June has been 0.0% (0% annualized) and -0.1% (-1.2% annualized) (link). That's right, prices went down last month. It looks like it’s mainly caused by food inflation staying low, vehicle prices going down, and energy prices decreasing (same link).

My gut tells me the later two may be from the Inflation Reduction Act and our historic U.S. production of oil (see below for why).

Inflation Reduction Act

• lowers the cost of new and used electric vehicles (link and link, respectively) ,

• encourages more of them to be built in the U.S. (link ), and...

• builds significant domestic renewable energy (link which also further discusses the car costs).

U.S. Domestic Oil Production

• more oil produced in the U.S. than any other country in history during 2023 (link) and actually for the past 6 years (link).
  Yeah, just one bullet point on this one, actually.

And listen, I hear you: I'm not thrilled we are still burning dinosaurs and our children's future. I just know we can be grateful today for relief our neighbors feel while we build the tomorrow we want for our children.

Quote inspired by Wendell Berry…

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, but borrow it from our children. (link)

Wages

Wage growth continues to beat inflation in June with a monthly increase of 0.3%, bringing wage growth for the past 12 months to 3.9% (link), significantly more than inflation. As I've stated before, I'm always glad to see the numbers show my neighbors are doing better than they were a few years ago.

Random interests

AI protections in TN

My home state just passed a law to provide some protections for musical artists against AI impersonations (link). It looks like the law prohibits the use of large language models, or more commonly called AI, to reproduce an artist’s voice without their consent.

Heads up

You all are the best and make what I'm doing here at Sowing Hope possible. Again, I'm glad my cat is doing better. He now has one fewer legs, significantly healing wounds, and much more movement than when he first came back. Let me know in the comments, with an email, or any other way if you want me to keep you updated on his progress.

Until next week, don't forget to be awesome. 😁 🌱

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

Share

As an update, May is always a hectic time with my day job as a teacher. My first commitment is to my in-person family followed closely by my students. That meant when I had more to do than I had hours in the day, I had to pull back from Sowing Hope posts.

I am so thankful you are here with me still, and I'm looking forward to jumping back into some more posts.

Share

Leave a comment

Into the news

Jobs and Unemployment

It has been a while since I covered the economy, so I wanted to highlight a few high level take-aways. First, it continues to shock me the strength of the jobs market. Unemployment has remained at 4% or under for 2 years and a half years, going back to December of 2021 (link). On top of that, we've continued to see incredible growth from the investments in U.S. infrastructure and manufacturing from the bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act and CHIPS Act.

Inflation and Wages

Grocery prices have stayed at 0% inflation for 4 months straight (link)...actually, grocery prices went down a hair in April. 😁 More broadly, inflation for consumer goods (officially called the CPI) was 0.0% in May (link). That continues the trend that wage growth has beaten inflation for months now. The most recent data I could find on wages is from April at 4.87% wage growth (link), significantly above the annual inflation of 3.3%.

Random interests

Water

You know that liquid we need to live, especially now because of the extreme heat? We just learned something new about this bizaare substance called water. The lead author of the new in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Yang Zhang PhD, described it as "probably the most weird substance on Earth". The team found a new phase change for water around minus 45 degrees Celsius (roughly -49 Fahrenheit) (link). In a nutshell, water molecules rearrange so we sort of have a different kind of ice at -30 degrees Celsius and -50 degrees Celsius. 

Apparently, understanding this change may help us better prepare or recover plants and concrete buildings in extreme cold. Cool stuff 🧊

Banks

It looks like there will be an appointment of a new FDIC chair to address the toxic climate that lead to repeated instances of sexual harassment (link). While they still need to be confirmed, I'm hopeful this will give some relief to the people who work there and show that the banking sector has to treat people with kindness and respect, too.

Land return

Wait...you're still here after a banking section?! Thank you all for being so awesome. I really am blown away by all your support. 😁

Back to the actual news. 📰 🗞️

The state of Minnesota's legislature just passed a law to return land to the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (link). Kelly Applegate, the commissioner of natural resources for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, emphasized "This is a great opportunity for us as the Mille Lacs Band to preserve that land in a way that is respectful of nature."

Heads up

Thank you so much for being here for my first post back. I know I usually only post once per week, but I do have a topic that's been on my mind and heart for a while. I've got it started and plan to post it by the end of this week.

Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be awesome. 😁 🌱

Share

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

P.S. You catch the dad joke? Let me know in the comments. Or don’t…that’s also fine 😄

I’m sorry it has been a few weeks since my last post. For full transparency, it has been a challenging few weeks; nothing major, just some mental health struggles and feeling spread too thin.

I am praying and thinking about how I need to adjust. And I wanted to give you an update. And at least share a little bit of hopefulness to remind us that what we do matters.

Because what you do matters. Don’t forget to be awesome. ❤️

Share

Leave a comment

Subscribe now

This one goes out early because your immediate response wanting to help with the dire situation I talked about on Saturday in the Middle East.

Thank you so much for caring about people.

I know we can call our Representatives. We want to firmly and respectfully tell them what we want them to do and why. If you are Christian and/or pro-life, mentioning that could also help, since I think representatives are concerned about those voters.

The link below will let you give your zip code, and you will call the one labeled “Representative”.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip or address]. My name is _______.

I understand the Senate passed a package foreign aid and humanitarian aid in February. The situation in the Middle East has put civilians in a dire situation, facing starvation and famine.

As a Christian who shares your value to protect life, I feel it is unacceptable to let people suffer when we can help. I wish the aid was passed already because these people are out of time.

Please tell the congressman I urge him to pressure Speaker Johnson to bring the aid package for a vote and for him to vote yes. Thank you.

Extra Credit

President Biden’s Administration has been doing things to help the situation. Again, the people there are out of time and need all the aid we can get them…like, now, if we want any chance of preventing famine. Here is what you can say if you want to message the White House. Modify it to make sense for you.

Message the White House (send message)

President Biden,

Thank you for sending aid in airdrops and starting the building of a temporary pier to try preventing famine in the Middle East. We are learning now the people there do not have the 60 days we need before the pier is built.

While we build the pier, please increase the airdrops and do anything else you can until the pier is working. They are out of time and need all the aid we can give them immediately if we have any chance of preventing a famine.

As a Christian and someone who is pro-life, I want you to do anything you can to protect life.

Thank you,

[Your Name]

Thank you and hope

I really can’t thank you enough. I thought I was going to be making these calls alone and wasn’t going to say any more about the situation. I know it is hard to think about especially with everything else in life…you all reaching out and asking me how to help really could save lives. Thank you so much, and if there is anything else someone knows we can do, please share in the comments.

Leave a comment

New Nashville native

The zoo in Nashville apparently welcomed a new…tamandua? (link) Yeah, I didn’t know either, but apparently they are members of the giant anteater family. 🐜  Pretty cute 😁

Disclaimer: This is not an anteater…I couldn’t find a picture of a tamandua I could use…much less a baby one…😢 So this is the closest I could get…They have cute baby pictures in the link, though 😁 🏞️

Police department honors officers

The officers who arrived to the scene in the Covenant School shooting last year were honored as the officers of the year (link). From the article…

Officer Rex Engelbert detectives Michael Collazo, Ryan Cagle, Zachary Plese and Eric Wegner from Midtown Hills precinct and Robert Higgin from the west precinct were presented their awards after being recognized as among the first to respond to the active shooter call at Covenant School.

…

Also named among the department's Officers of the Year were Trenton Searcy and Jessica Johnson…

Final Thoughts

• Keep caring about our neighbors

• Continue kind, open-minded conversations

• Persist in watering the hope

And of course…don’t forget to be awesome.

Share Sowing Hope

Leave a comment

I missed Monday’s post, so I wanted to share a few encouraging stories before we get to this coming Monday’s post. It was just a crazy week, so thank you for your patience! ❤️

I also wanted to thank you all for your kindness on last week’s Lamenting post. It was a painful post to write and share, and I appreciate everyone’s kind words about it.

Last thing before diving into stories.

I have been hiding all paid posts from free subscribers. Substack actually suggests writers send out a short preview for each of those paid posts, but I feel like that would be too in your face about paying. So I want your feedback:

1. Would you like short previews of each paid subscriber post?

2. Would that feel too much like I’m asking you for money?

3. Would you enjoy getting a sneak peak?

Free subscribers, please share your thoughts in the comments (open to everyone). Paid subscribers, do you want to share your thoughts, too? Maybe give perspective on what those posts are?

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Stories this Week

I’ve got two stories for you this week.

Addressing food insecurity in a war zone

Like I said in my lament, I am far from a foreign policy expert. All I know is I care about people, I want less suffering in the world, and I care about people. Yeah, I mentioned it twice ‘cause it felt like I needed a third point 🤷. In my defense, it’s an important point. 😅

When the U.S. announced an effort (link) to start airdropping food and medical supplies into the Gaza strip, I was incredibly grateful. It is woefully inadequate when the half a million people seem on the brink of famine (same link as above), but the that much suffering means we should send all we can to help.

As a pro-life believer in Jesus’ teachings, I can’t look a starving man in the face and complain how my brother feeds him.

I did some fact checking because I have heard some say the aid is mis-used or not needed. I found The Jerusalem Post making that argument (link), however, their sources say both “There is no hunger in Gaza,” and that the terrorist organization there “…has taken all of the food and [the hungry] don’t have enough money to pay…”.

Fact check me, as always. ✅ 😁

Am I saying I trust a terrorist organization to fairly distribute food to the hungry? Of course not.

I am saying it is our job to be good neighbors. It is our job to care for the hungry. It is our job to find strategies and people who will get the aid to those who need it. Here’s a video with more details if you’re interested.

Like Jim Mattis said when speaking of the U.S. to students at Utah State University, “We are the good guys. We are not the perfect guys.” (link)

As an added strategy, President Biden announced during the State of the Union our plans to build a temporary pier to get more aid to those in need (link). Again, I’m glad because I’m hoping this can provide some much needed to relief of pain because I care about all life. As an added benefit, relieving desperation also makes civilians in Gaza and Israel safer, something all of us want.

Well…that was a longer section than I expected. If you are still reading, thank you for sticking with me. 😁 Let’s get to the next story.

We all love our pets 🐶 🐾 🐈‍⬛

They really are a wonderful addition to so many of our lives. 😁  Well, we have some encouraging research showing a fairly effective vaccine for canine cancer. The treatment can double the chance of survival for dogs diagnosed with some types of cancer when compared to treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.

What’s also exciting is the treatment could prove effective for humans, too, since the cancers it target also exist in human patients (link). The research is still being done for dogs, but it is cool it might also help people.

If you are interested, it works by binding to two proteins most common in cancer cells (they are EGFR/HER2). EGFR and HER2 are key proteins that cause the cancer cells to grow, so blocking them prevent the cancer from growing.

Cancer is how my family has lost some of our animals, so this development feels particularly close and encouraging to me. Again, anything that can decrease suffering is a plus in my book. 📓

Final Thoughts

• I mentioned the President’s State of the Union address. It was very good, focused on what’s working, and highlighted how we can fix problems together. If you haven’t, I would highly recommend you watch it. Here is a link: State of the Union 2024

• Thank you again for sticking with me. We are stronger together. 💪

• Free subscribers, please remember to share your thoughts on getting previews of paid posts. Comment below your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

As always, I appreciate your time. I will see you again on Monday. 😁

And don’t forget to be awesome. 🎉 👏

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

You all signed up to Sowing Hope for positivity and good news, and I am committed to bringing that to you. Today’s post will be a little different, and a day late because I had a birthday to celebrate (Hi 👋 undisclosed person who would not want me to share their birthday publicly 😁).

Before starting, remember what I’ve said before: the thoughts, opinions, and perspectives I share at Sowing Hope I share as a private citizen. I do not speak as an employee of the Board of Education or for any other organization. Okay, so I clarified that. ✅

My faith tradition as a christian has a history of lamenting the troubles in our communities and our societies even while we hope and do the work to bring the kingdom values of love, justice, and mercy to earth like they are in heaven. Today, I’ll share my concerns and frustrations as I weep and cry out to my Lord. That does mean fewer emojis than normal.

If that isn’t what you signed up for—explicit reference of my faith journey and emphasis on what needs fixing—know I still love you and am glad you are here. This just might not be the post for you.

No hard feelings if you skip this post. My next post will be back to the main emphasis on positive news.

If you are still here, thank you for being willing to cover hard topics together. I will loop back to the positive and actions we can take together at the end of my lament. Thank you for letting me have space to get this off my chest.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Disclaimers

As I’ve stated before, I want to be transparent. Here are my priors:

• God is good, and his kingdom values of love, justice, and mercy are worth sharing

• Most people are generally good most of the time, despite inherent human flaws

• We excel together or we fail apart

• We can never give up on each other

Let’s get into the post.

Start local

Because everything builds from the relationships in our neighborhoods.

I am particularly broken by unnecessary loss of life. My community has lost multiple people recently because they were hit by a car. And when an average 4,000 pound vehicle (link) challenges a pedestrian to a dual, the pedestrian has no chance to decline and loses every time. I currently have a stack of police reports detailing all the wrecks involving pedestrians over the past few years.

It is an uncomfortably thick pile.

But we have to face them if I hope to get an answer to my prayer for relief for my neighbors. If I’m going to pray for rain, I better plant the field. The problem is the towns which should be the residence of people have been built for cars to live in. I don’t want to discuss why our towns were built with people as visitors and cars as natives or who lobbied for this perspective…mostly because I’m not up for it right now. But it is infuriating people are dying for lack of safe places for humans in our towns.

Before I move on, I do want to note the officials in my town have proven very receptive to feedback and have heard my suggestions while they work towards a safer community. A lot of it comes down to Tennessee Department of Transportation needing to okay changes because there are state highways cutting up our town where they have no business being.

Notice: That last sentence is just frustration; I have no reason to suspect TDOT is doing something wrong, and I lack the knowledge to say the highways are in the wrong spot…but it does feel wrong to have highways cut through pedestrian-centric downtown.

Barriers

If you’ve been at Sowing Hope long, you know I feel strongly in having strong relationships and open discussions with people who think differently than us (Topic of my Addition > Division post). New here? I want you to know that’s important to me. It’s why I so appreciate my readers (that’s you 👋) have different views than me, still read my posts, and especially give me feedback in comments and at Seeds@SowingHope.how so we all grow together.

I am distraught when my brothers and sisters believe lies that divide us.

I had a conversation recently with a neighbor. We just talked. He brought up a Robert Frost poem “Mending Wall”, how Frost said “good fences make good neighbors” (link to poem). I told him I felt the point of the poem was that good neighbors make good neighbors.

It isn’t strictly relevant, I just thought it was interesting.

My heart breaks when I hear neighbors convinced they hate someone down the street because their yard sign has a different animal or the flag they fly has different colors. I’m not saying all causes are equally noble. I’m just saying when I talk to people I continue to find we are much more complex and open-minded than the buckets we put each other in allow.

So my faith says I need to be a good neighbor.

• That means start listening.

• That means take actions.

• That means speak up for them.

National and international

These are the topics I want to avoid. At a family gathering, these are the family photos I feel I should hide because the loss is still too fresh for some of my loved ones.

Not for lack of confidence, though. I feel like avoiding them because I find they cause too much pain and strife when I bring them up. So…I guess we’ll talk about them now.

Presidency

Um…how can this be the way our conversation around the presidential election is framed? The last guy actively encouraged political violence (in stark contrast to how most of us oppose it like I talked about in Addition > Divisioncited before). He also consistently pressured elected officials to break laws to benefit himself, politically. His policies also gave mega-corporations more leverage to exploit average workers and line their pockets.

But we’re talking about the current president’s age?!

Don’t get me wrong, they both are old, and President Biden regularly jokes about it.

video

And it’s valid for us to talk about it because its important to question our elected officials. I just think its more interesting to talk about what someone does with their years of experience, not just how many days it’s been since their birth.

And what did each of them do with their experience?

The last guy

• Encouraged division and political violence

• Lowered taxes for the wealthiest and most well-connected among us

• Lots of silly tweets and demeaning comments about veterans

The current guy

• Used decades long relationships to build bi-partisanship to pass infrastructure investments, manufacturing development, and veterans healthcare (over 300 bi-partisan laws signed)

• Used decades long experience in how capitalism works to lower prescription drug prices, increase development of renewable energies, and make the U.S. more energy independent than we’ve been in a long time (…ever? Maybe, but I don’t have the data on hand to back that up)

• Gave us the first video I’ve ever seen of a U.S. president riding a bike

I hear you. I hear you. Yes, he fell.

But really? “80-year old man rides a bike, unassisted, and falls over when stopping. Don’t worry, he got right back up, talked to the crowd for a bit, got back on the bike, and kept riding.” and…we take away…that he fell? Just seems weird to me.

All this said, I have a problem when someone puts either of these men up on a pedestal.

I just also feel strongly that Joe Biden has been a good president and our country is better off because of it. And it is frustrating we complain about his age when I would argue that is how he has been such a good president.

International

Sigh…

We have two land wars currently going on because there are a few in our world who still think violence will get them what they want. Can we all just agree, though?

Killing civilians is not okay.

I’m not going to say much on this topic because 1. I’m very tired right now and 2. I’m really very tired right now.

What do we need to make sure Russia won’t attack another country? Probably for Vladimer Putin to know he will fail if he tries to invade another country. I’m not sure how to get him to stop inflicting pain and suffering on civilians in the meantime…

What do we need to stop the pain and suffering happening in the middle east? A ceasefire with all hostages being returned. But a ceasefire where there’s actually hope of lasting peace, not a fake peace that is only the absence of fighting. It’ll require an international effort to keep that peace and a lot of money to rebuild the damage. But everyday without peace is another day we lose lives we can’t get back with money.

Am I a foreign policy expert? No. Do I know if these suggestions would work? No. Do I know how to make them reality? Also, no. But I know my God expects me to be a voice to those who can’t speak.

So even if I don’t know, it doesn’t matter; I can’t be silent.

And end local

Actions

I told you I’d bring it back…so here we go. If you want to take some actions to make your community better, consider:

• Reaching out to someone who thinks differently than you. Extra good if they are lonely or could use some encouragement. Just show them love.

• Finding a concern or need your community has and trying to fill the need. You might find people need rain jackets or there is a safety concern needing addressed in your neighborhood. Just approach it with kindness.

• Share your thoughts in the comments (open to everyone).

Story time

This weekend, my niece performed in a talent show. She worked hard to prepare and she did great. But what I wanted to highlight is how supportive all the other students were: they cheered when people were called, laughed at the jokes told, encouraged those who were shy…they were good neighbors to each other.

Because we are a nation of neighbors, not factions of foes.

Enjoy your week, everyone. Thank you for sticking with me this week, and we’ll be back next week with more uplifting news.

Until then, don’t forget to be awesome.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

For my readers outside the U.S., hope you enjoyed your average Monday 😊. Just have a short post for you today. Next week, I may do something that’s a bit different but has been on my mind for a while. We’ll see. 🤔

Also, hang ‘till the end for a blurb about an idea I have if you like my writing. No pressure either way; I just thought if you’re reading this, you might be interested. 🌱👍

Subscribe now

Share Sowing Hope

Some quick highlights

I’m really excited about this first one, and I’ll end with a short list of some others.

People feel better

We’ve talked a lot about how the economic measures have looked good for about 8 months or more in a row (started in our What We Make post in August…link). Well, it looks like people are starting to feel that progress, too.

I’m excited by that because it means our neighbors are feeling more stable and comfortable in there situations. Specifically, it looks like for about 3 months almost 80% of people have felt good about where the economy is. Find all the details on the full report (link), but I think it’s great for the good economy I’ve been talking about to actually be reaching people now.

That makes sense to me since prices on key areas settled (like groceries and medical costs) while energy costs significantly decreased last year (link). I think that made people’s wage gains last year feel like actual gains.

In the end, I’m glad people are feeling better. If that’s you, know I’m happy for you. 😊

Quick links

Indigenous nations in the Klamath Basin reached an agreement with local farmers to partner in restoring ecosystems and improve water supplies (link)

Sea otter species rebounds from nearly going extinct and now help restore other parts of the coastal ecosystem (link).

We are starting to build the factories that will bring more good paying manufacturing jobs and help us build computer chips here in the U.S. (link).

I love when I get to report on science 🧪 🧑‍🔬

Iron, the main metal in steel, usually creates a lot of carbon dioxide when produced. A team has published a way to get the iron from iron ore, remove more CO2 than it creates, and do it cost effectively (link). It’s pretty cool and exciting 😎.

Heads up

I’m thinking about starting some other newsletters about topics other than news. An example would be when I learn something new. I will have it on a separate mailing list since it would be more sporadic and I want to avoid clogging up your inbox. If that sounds interesting, be watching for a post.

Final Thoughts

It’s been great getting to share with you today. Have a great week. Remember to comment below or email Seeds@SowingHope.how your questions and story suggestions.

And don’t forget to be awesome. 😎

Share

Leave a comment

Refer a friend

Welcome to our new subscribers, and welcome back to returning subscribers! 😁 I am so thankful you are here. I couldn’t ask for a better audience to grow with; you have all been incredibly kind and patient, giving me encouragement in the comments and in person while I learn what works and what doesn’t.

Subscribe now

Paid subscribers have heard this before, but I am working on adjusting my writing schedule to better serve each of you with consistent posts. While I love bringing you all deep dives like Addition > Division and What We Make, the research involved in them often takes 10+ hours. I have a few of those posts in the works, however, most weeks will switch to a shorter post with one or two highlighted news stories.

Have a positive story you want me to highlight, topic you want me to deep dive, or a question you want answered? Post them in the comments or send them to me at Seeds@SowingHope.how 🌱

Leave a comment

And now, lets get into the meat of why you come to Sowing Hope! 😁

Seeds Are Sprouting

We’ve got two stories close to my heart. Both are going to improve a lot of peoples’ lives and give them space to enjoy their lives more.

Lower Costs for Seniors

Last year, part of the Inflation Reduction Act began capping insulin for seniors at $35 per month, giving the generations who worked their whole lives a bit of breathing room in their budgets. Before the provision started in 2023, many older Americans with diabetes paid $400+ per month or had to ration the medicine they needed because they couldn’t afford it. The cost to produce a month of insulin is about $15, so now families can much more reliably get the medicine they need.

Starting in 2024, seniors’ annual out of pocket costs are also capped at $3,300 for the year. Additionally, Medicare can now negotiate the prices it pays with the pharmaceutical companies for 10 drugs. That’s huge to help lower healthcare costs for seniors.

Here is the link to more information an everything in the above 2 paragraphs about lower healthcare costs for seniors (link). It’s a gift link, so no paywall 😎

To those of you with extra wisdom 😉, I hope these benefits make things better for you and those in your circle.

High Speed Rail

I mentioned in the December Rested post how we were getting huge investments in rail infrastructure. We talked about how the upgrades and expansions include Washington, Florida, California, and Maine plus states in between like my home state of Tennessee.

In addition to those investments, we now have more information about another high speed rail project. This time in Texas, the project would connect Dallas and Houston to cut travel time in half. The project will also help save lives by giving people an option to avoid Interstate 45 which was deemed the deadliest road in the U.S. Giving Texans another option that is safer and faster is definitely something to look forward to.

Here is the link to more information an everything in the above 2 paragraphs on the project (link).

Congratulations to my Texan readers. 😁 🚉

Final Thoughts

I attended a community meeting tonight seeking solutions to help people without homes. I’ll likely do a deeper dive about how my community is working together to improve lives…but I have to say it was up-lifting. A room full of local leaders and average citizens who just want to be there for their neighbors.

It was healthcare workers, elected officials, teachers, mental health professionals, and so many others coming together and find solutions to meet the needs of humans in our community.

That’s it for tonight. Comment below with what you’re doing to help your community and don’t forget to be awesome. 🎉

Share

Leave a comment

I also want to apologize.

In my last post before Christmas, I mentioned I would be back on my normal schedule of posting on Monday and sending out a Paid Subscriber update. The holidays continued to be busy, and I did not honor those commitments. Thank you all for your incredible kindness as I learn…like to give myself more time for the holidays or have posts written beforehand…😁

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Economy

With the new jobs report (another analysis link and the original report link), we have another month of incredible strength in the American economy. We surpassed expectations again with 216,000 new jobs and prime age worker participation rate surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Worker hourly wages increased 4.1% over the past 12 months. That is significantly beating the inflation of 3.1% the past 12 months. Groceries have also only risen by 1.7% since last January, much lower than wage gains.

Also, unemployment staying at the near record low of 3.7% (link).

Back in July I talked about these record low unemployment rates (link to my previous post). If you are interested that was my first deep dive post, so there is a lot of information there about the strength of our economy and our workers. If you aren’t interested in all the details, here is the relevant part where I highlight,

• On the employment front, full employment is considered anything under 4% unemployment, and we’ve been under that mark for well over a year now. That means most of our neighbors have never known a time when unemployment was this good for this long. You’d have to go back to the 1960s, actually. And back to just after World War II to find peacetime unemployment this low for this long.

And we are now going on nearly 2 years of unemployment staying under 4% (historical unemployment data link).

Here’s a quote to summarize what we’ve been through and how well we’ve managed it (link),

• Despite enormous challenges - COVID, insurrection, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, global inflation, repeated OPEC price hikes, war in the Middle East - the performance of the American economy this past year has been remarkable. GDP growth was 4.9% last quarter, our recovery from COVID has been the strongest in the G7, the stock market is at all time highs, wage growth remains very strong and outpacing inflation. Things were hard in recent years, but they are much better now. We are getting there, together.

  

Final Thoughts

Numbers are great and all, but what really matters are people like you and your family. Why am I excited about the numbers above? Because it means our hard work is going to be bringing some breathing room and relief to my neighbors. We have decreased prescription drug costs (link), tamped down OPEC’s price hikes (link), and increased Americans’ access to high paying jobs (link).

And my neighbors having relief and security is something I look forward to.

Thank you all again. Comment below with a comment you have or just to share how your year is started off. Feel free to click the share button if you think someone would enjoy.

Don’t forget to be awesome. 😁

Share Sowing Hope

Leave a comment

This weekend, a woman’s car failed to start at a local business, and she asked if anyone inside had jumper cables. Another woman had the cables. Someone else jumped in to get the car started. I know this sounds like a simple story that happens all the time, and it is. But it’s important to point out again, we as humans take care of each other.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Taking a bit of time to rest has proven incredibly helpful. I rested, reflected, and refocused. Now, I feel like I have a better sense of where we are moving here at Sowing Hope. I am so excited! 😄

I do want to apologize this post did not go out yesterday like I had planned. I have been fighting sickness and did not have the energy to finish the post yesterday. I should be back to normal Monday postings now with a Paid Subscriber Update coming Saturday.

Update

So many good things have been happening from continued job growth, to 0% inflation (prices actually fell for groceries), historic investment in train infrastructure announced, and all the wonderful trends we see from people taking care of their neighbors during the holidays. I have a lot to catch up on. 😁

Good News

Train Investment

I literally just talked to two co-workers about how cool it would be to have more investment in trains (👋 hi you both if you read this 😁). The next day, the Biden Administration announced a huge investment in train infrastructure that will make us more connected, create jobs, and give us better access to jobs (link).

You can see the plan ranges over 44 states and varies from making existing passenger rail faster to creating new lines like in my home state of Tennessee.

I dug more into the Tennessee line, and here is what I found (link):

• $500,000 of federal funding secured to analyze connecting Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Atlanta.

• The analysis will evaluate costs with more funds available later.

• The project prioritizes Nashville to Chattanooga with a possible extension to Memphis.

I am so excited about this progress. That last point suggests us West Tennesseans can call our state legislators weekly telling them how important a Memphis to Nashville train is to us. I hope you share in my excitement about this. 😁 🚉

Kids Investment

I wanted to finish with news related to the holiday season. Here in Henry County Tennessee, we have something called the Family Resource Center…its an awesome resource that just quietly fills needs as it can for families in our neighborhoods.

This year they gathered $13,052 in toy donations plus an additional $2,825 in financial contributions (link). As a result, our community was able to make sure 157 kids have something for Christmas and ensure their families get the joy of seeing their children receive something special for the holidays.

If you helped in any way for this, thank you so much! 😁 ❤️ If this sounds like something you’d be interested in helping with, I can give you more information in advance next year.

Final Thoughts

Whether you lend someone your jumper cables, jump for train investment, or cherish a kid getting an unexpected present, remember that thoughtful neighbors make good neighbors.

Don’t forget to be awesome, and I’ll see you next week. 🌱

Share

Leave a comment

And we forgot it at the stadium after the game on Friday. 😥

We’ll come back to that, though.

Disclaimer: This isn’t Kim’s favorite water bottle…just a purple placeholder. Sorry if that’s a letdown.

Update

There are so many good things happening, and I am incredibly grateful for that. I can tell, though, that keeping up with it all grows increasingly difficult for me. Taking care of my family, being available for friends, and tending to my well-being are all important.

I’m becoming convinced I should take a break from posting for a few weeks, so I can come back stronger and refreshed for you all.

My thought is to take the next few weeks to rest, reflect, and refocus. It will give me time to think about what you all have helped me grow here at Sowing Hope and what I want it to grow into. Even more important for me, it will give me time to hyper-focus on personal relationships heading into the holiday season.

I look forward to coming back fresh in December with renewed energy and insight.

Good News

Investment

President Biden announced another round of investment in rural America, this time with over $5 billion in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act (link).

A Song on Mission

This story comes from Brad Schmitt’s newsletter The Good News from The Tennesseean. Since it is a newsletter for paid subscribers, I’m not sure how to cite it. As a result, here is a link to read the recent newsletter (link), and here is a link to sign up for the newsletter if you get a Tennesseean subscription (link).

Ever volunteer at the Nashville Rescue Mission? You can figure out how by clicking here. I've been down there a time or two, especially on/around Thanksgiving, to help serve meals to the folks staying there.

Nashville musician Christen Ball and her husband, Michael, took that a step further Monday night. The couple played alternative and Americana music for about 300 residents at the men's chapel session. In fact, Christen and Michael have been performing at the misison for nearly two years.

They've also performed on several mission trips in years past in Haiti and India.

Housing Front

Federal funds now encourage state and local officials to consider converting vacant office space to housing (link). I am so excited to see this development since I’ve said for a while this would be an effective method for making housing more attainable for more people. 😁🏡

Community Trust

I went back to the stadium where we left Kim’s water bottle, hoping nobody saw it. As I climbed the stairs, the emptiness of the seats concerned me and I thought maybe someone had taken it. No water bottle. I look to my left across the red and silver seating as I take in the rest of the stadium.

A purple water bottle, moved to the centermost step, far from its original position.

But easier to find when I came looking.

Someone who did not know who I was and knew they would never get credit for their help went out of their way to make sure I could find that lost water bottle.

Reader Seeds 🌱

I’m excited to continue our tradition of readers sharing suggestions and feedback by commenting on posts, replying to these emails, and emailing me at Seeds@SowingHope.how. Here’s another installment in me highlighting some of the thoughts and questions you all have.

In response to my answer last week, I was asked what I meant when I mentioned many negative narratives being hollow, shallow, and incomplete at best (link to last week’s post).

The example I’ll give is when some adults claim our young people are lazy, entitled, or disengaged.

The young people I work with daily work incredibly hard, take pride in earning what they get and actively serve in making our communities stronger. I see this in national data, too. Many of our young people have only known a world with increased natural disasters and active shooter drills.

In response, they choose to be the most kind, most responsible, and most service-minded people they can be.

When people try to tell me otherwise, I ask them to consider how their teachers would describe their high school classmates.

For this reason, I’ve been wanting to interview young people from the community to report on the great things they’ve been doing. I already have a few 18 to 25-year-olds who have expressed interest, at least one of which is a reader (👋). Hit the like button if that would be a post you’d be excited for when I come back to posting in a few weeks.

A Water Bottle

My question for this week: when was a time someone did something just to be kind in your life? Bonus points if you do not know who.

Have a great week, all!

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

I’m just going to talk. About communities. About uniting. About growing.

Because on Friday, my niece played in a concert.

Communities

People coming together, that’s a community.

We come together to build each other up, to mourn our neighbor’s loss, and to have fun together.

Or

We can tear each other down when we come together.

Either way, we have to come together to do it.

Choosing positive

This past week, my community honored those with a lifelong commitment to serving victims of domestic violence and grieving those we’ve lost to it (link). The community also continued our tradition of hosting a Spooktacular for children and families to have fun (link).

Choosing to build up is always harder than tearing down.

And it’s always better to build each other up.

Uniting

Drawing together in unity has little to do with goals and everything to do with values. Our common values bind us together even when our aims or perspectives send us separate ways. Love, kindness, and self-control; there’s no law against these because we all know their value.

So with love, kindness, and self-control, we hold each other accountable when one of us deviates from our values.

Growing

And the accountability feeds growth.

After my niece’s string concert, my wife made a comment that has stuck with me…Growth is communal, hard, and worth it.

The 5th-graders took the stage. Many of them having played for less than a year, the group performed a song they had seen only a few hours earlier for the first time. They did well because they worked together and took the accountability they received seriously.

When the older students performed, they tackled more challenging pieces together and likewise their hard work and cooperation showed. One piece garnered feelings of urgency while another brought laughter by imitating thrillers.

The fruit of each group’s growth filled the auditorium with beauty like the falling leaves of an autumn forest after the spring and summer growth.

Reader seeds 🌱

Readers have shared suggestions and feedback by commenting on posts, replying to these emails, and emailing me at Seeds@SowingHope.how. I’m excited to start this new section, Reader seeds, where I highlight stories you all suggest, questions you have, and comments you want to share.

Reader question for me

One of you sent in the question “Matt, How do you stay so positive?”

For the full transparency I’ve committed to you all, I often don’t feel very positive. I regularly struggle with fatigue, frustration, and self-doubt (yes, I know I broke the alliteration…I’m sorry 😅).

I think it really comes down to willfully, intentionally focusing on the good. I practice seeing situations and my neighbors in the best light possible, especially when I have to hold them accountable.

I think it also helps that I saw pretty early on how the negative narratives some people sow are hallow, shallow, and incomplete at best.

So I stay positive by practice. I hope that answers your question. 😁 Keep ‘em coming! 👍

Reader question for all of us

As the final thought, a reader suggested we all consider this question. As you think about it, share your response in the comments; they will be open to all free and paid subscribers for this post. Thanks, everyone! 🌱

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

You all continue to show me so much kindness, and I’m so thankful you choose to spend some of your time listening to what I have to say.

Update

We continue seeing incredible pain and challenges. I strongly and clearly condemn the vile terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israeli civilians, and I’m encouraged by the overwhelming, bipartisan condemnation against the attacks by leaders in the U.S. and globally. Because protecting civilians is non-partisan. That is why we also grieve over the pain Palestinian civilians have faced in the wake of Hamas’s brutal attack. In addition, the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has continued to fail at electing a Speaker, leaving Congress paralyzed by the most extreme in the House Republican Caucus.

With all this pain, it’s so important for us to recenter ourselves with what is going right. Because despair defeats and paralyzes; hope heals and fertilizes. Let’s get started. 🌱

Disclaimers

I want this post to cover much more than just the two stories I’ve mentioned above. However, I have researched both of the above stories pretty extensively and, as always, want to transparently share where my perspective is based on my current research.

• We should fight to protect innocent civilians and the rule of law.

• We agree about standing up for protecting innocents and rebuking aggressors.

• President Biden has shown strength, compassion, and wisdom with his actions and words in response to this horrific tragedy.

I was incredibly encouraged hearing the leader of the free world speak clearly and undeniably that all should have a chance at important values: freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I would highly recommend the speech he gave after visiting the Middle East. Here it is, and I’ve included some of the encouraging news from the otherwise devastating situation in the main section.

Seeds

As I’ve said before, we need to focus on what is going well to keep making progress. Thank you for taking the time to reflect on the good in the world. And please continue taking care of yourself and those around you.

Please consider sharing some of the pieces of good news below with your neighbors; we can all use a little more hope.

As with last week, quite a few stories I originally encountered or was reminded of in Jessica Craven’s Sunday post.

Chop Wood, Carry Water

Extra! Extra! 10/22 🎉

Hi, all, and happy Sunday. The world continues to be in devastating turmoil, so it’s perhaps more important than usual to take a bit of time to celebrate the things that *also* happened to go well this week. There were, ironically, a lot of them. Focussing only on the horrible stuff will depress, paralyze, and drain u…

Read more

3 years ago · 107 likes · 33 comments · Jessica Craven

News

Hamas released 2 American Hostages Friday (link). The release was apparently mediated between the U.S. and Qatari officials (link) with other hostage releases being actively discussed.

A Nashville organization, Room in the Inn, partners with local congregations to provide shelter for the unhoused of Nashville, especially during cold winter nights (link).

One of the White House’s recent nominees for a federal judge in Oklahoma is Sara Hill, previously the Attorney General for the Cherokee Nation. Once confirmed, Hill will be the first Indigenous woman to serve as a judge in Oklahoma’s federal courts and the only sitting Indigenous judge for the state (link).

Young drivers are significantly safer than 20 years ago, according to a report by the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Crash and fatality rates among drivers under 21 have fallen dramatically in the U.S. during the past 20 years, a new report says, while noting young drivers are still the riskiest group behind the wheel.

The report says the main reasons for the lowered crash and fatality rates include laws that keep young drivers out of dangerous situations like driving at night or with many peers (link).

Working benefits

In a huge relief for employees, GM agreed to include its EV and battery plants in any contract agreements. Workers were concerned they would win benefits only to lose them in the transition to electric vehicles; this concession by GM ensures employees keep any benefits the company commits to honoring for workers (link).

Collective bargaining by union workers at Kaiser Permanente significantly improved the wages and working agreement for those Americans. The tentative agreement includes 21% raises over a 4-year time, better retirement options, and increased investment in professional development among other benefits (link).

With $3.5 billion announced in strengthening our country’s electric grid over 44 states and 58 projects, it looks like the Biden-Harris Administration are putting the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to work by creating good paying jobs for Americans and increasing our energy independence (link).

The American Climate Corps jobs and training program got 42,000 interested applicants sign up (link). The program seeks to train people for good paying clean energy jobs and work with local communities to make invest in clean air and clean water. One example of these local partnerships is with the Indigenous people who have taken care of the land for thousands of years. CEO of AmeriCorps, Micheal Smith, told Mashable in the link above many of the benefits of the program including higher starting wage, better impact on communities, and improved reliability of career growth.

"We are excited about how this work will not only address the challenges that our tribal communities are facing, but also involve them and make sure that we're honoring their practices," said Smith. "What [AmeriCorps has] heard over and over again is: 'We have been doing this work since time immemorial. We have the solutions. You bring in the investments and let us lead.' That really is the secret sauce of America and what will be the secret sauce of the American Climate Corps. We are not telling individual communities what to do. We are letting this next generation lead the work, and we are letting local communities lead the work."

Other news

The Internal Revenue Service is expanding free, online tax filing to allow millions more Americans to benefit (link). It’s being piloted to a few states and expanded to all states in the coming years.

Giant tax prep companies like H&R Block and TurboTax have fought free filing for years, making tax preparation much more complicated and expensive than it should be. But with substantial new IRS funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the beleaguered agency was able to expedite the pilot program. 

The shipping industry is looking to cut fuel costs and pollution using an innovative new technology: sails. Seriously, companies are even looking at how these new sails could help current fossil fuel powered ships cut emissions. Check the article for a cool picture of the interesting new sail designs (link).

After the first 20 trucks of humanitarian aid successfully got to the civilians in highest need in Gaza, 14 more aid trucks arrived today. The trucks carry water, food, medicine, and other highly needed supplies for the civilians there (link). The continued successes of getting aid to the civilians in need means it is likely to continue.

The murder rate fell by 6.1% in 2022 with 2023 on track to follow it by another decrease in murders by 12% based on current data as of writing (link).

I’m also encouraged we as a nation cut violent crime significantly from its level in the 1990s and for the past 12 years kept it lower than we’ve seen in over 50 years (link).

The nation’s violent crime rate has remained largely flat over the last 12 years and those seeking to push the narrative of a violent crime wave in this country are badly out of step with the data.

After the chaos in the U.S. House resulting from Rep. Gaetz ousting the Speaker and multiple failed attempts by the Republican representatives to agree on and elect a replacement, there is hope they will get back to governing (link). While Rep. Emmer seems to have support and experience getting consensus, it seems the most extreme voices in the Republican conference are against him.

If the majority still fail to elect a Speaker, hopefully it will push them to consider the bipartisan path minority leader Jeffries has been suggesting (video below, bipartisan option discussed at 4:32).

I encourage us all to call your representative and let them know what you would have them do since they will be making decisions in the coming days.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Bonus Tracks

Hope you enjoy! 😁🌱.

Spare Time by The Classic Crime

• Apple Music

• Spotify

• YouTube

Cool video on math and hidden universes

Interested in math? History? Hidden universes? I think you’ll enjoy this one. 😁

For transparency, I know it’s been a hard couple of weeks for me, and I can imagine it has been for you, too. There has been a lot of heavy and hard news, lately. The kind of news I want to share my perspective on. Yes, I know it’s my newsletter and I can talk about what I want…I just also feel like Sowing Hope is our newsletter.

So on this post, I’m opening up comments to all subscribers, both free and paid.

It has been on my mind for a few weeks, now. I want your feedback. I want to hear how you are feeling about Sowing Hope.

Because your voice matters.

Because you matter.

Hope outshines despair

Even with the hard news, there is still a lot of good happening in our world and in our communities. Sowing that positivity is why I started writing. So let’s get into it. Because while despair destroys, hope heals.

Much of what I share below I found from Jessica Craven’s Substack, Chop Wood, Carry Water, where she does a recap of hopeful progress. While I have often linked to other reporting or the sources she gives, here is the full post if you want to read all of it (link).

Hope is an action

A 101-year-old shares his secret to happiness; make new friends, everywhere 😁(link).

Our planet’s health

NPR Roundup

Below are 5 short highlights from an NPR article (link). They talk about even more and link to great articles that cover each topic in greater depth. Definitely worth your time 😁.

Pink Salmon are on track to have one of their best runs in a decade this year in Puget Sound.

There is a new variety of avocado that is more efficient for our earth and more tolerant of extreme climates. For the avocado that apparently requires a ton of water, that’s a big deal for our planet.

Some coral rescued around Miami was able to spawn successfully in a hatchery lab. While that is no guarantee they will be viable, it’s a promising sign for the coral after it felt brutal weeks-long heat.

Since 1998, New Mexico has paid, trained, and educated young people on conserving and stewarding the land. Allen Baca, a member of a crew with the Forest Stewards Youth Corps in New Mexico, highlights how he helps encourage Indigenous people to return to and care for their ancestral lands.

Water monitoring and regenerative agriculture have helped Oklahoma restore “nearly 100 unhealthy streams”.

Other breaths of fresh air

After a lot of work by those in the tribes, it looks like some tribes originally from the California-Oregon area have hopes of restoring their way of life (link). Below you can find an excerpt from the article and a quote by Annelia Hillman, a member of the affected Yurok Tribe.

For members of the Yurok, Karuk and other tribes who have been immersed in the struggle for much of their lives, the undamming of the Klamath represents an opportunity to heal the ecosystem and help fish populations recover by opening up hundreds of miles of spawning habitat. They say the coming changes hold promise for them to strengthen their ancestral connection to the river and keep their fishing traditions alive.

“This river is our lifeline. It’s our mother. It’s what feeds us. It’s the foundation to our people, for our culture,” Hillman said. “Seeing the restoration of our river, our fisheries, I think is going to uplift us all.”

For the first time, Ireland’s wind power generation exceeded demand (link), a very good sign for our global transition towards more reliable and cheaper sources of energy.

The Pernambuco holly tree was thought to be lost to extinction around 200 years ago…and scientists in Brazil found it! (link)

Wait…another one? Yeah, Australia also recently exceeded their demand exclusively with renewables (link). This time with rooftop solar. ☀️

A Swedish company claims can help decrease greenhouse gasses by cleaning up cow farts (link). Bovine digestion creates methane, a major greenhouse gas, and this company seeks to decrease the methane they create by up to 80% with their seaweed additive to cow food. Smells like a sweet deal to me 🐮

Other Seeds

The FTC is taking steps to ensure companies are required to be transparent about the total cost after any fees (link). The rule proposal is aimed at preventing junk fees and hidden costs for the consumer. They are asking for our input, so I encourage all of us to read the link and comment when the time comes.

Ohio’s Ballot Board unanimously approved a proposed Ohio constitutional amendment to move forward with signature collection (link). The proposed amendment would require fair maps to be drawn by a bipartisan commission of citizens. (If you know someone in Ohio, you may want to share this with them 😉)

Like monarch butterflies? Me too, and they are apparently doing better than we thought 😁 (link).

Next steps

Remember, I’m looking to hear your voice in the comments, open to all paid and free subscribers. Use the buttons below or the speech bubble at the top and bottom of this post. Share what you like, what you’d like to see, or if nothing else just a word of encouragement would be welcome 😁.

I’m excited to get to read any of your opinionated, kind, and open-minded thoughts.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Bonus Tracks

Today, I wanted to share a few songs I enjoy. No particular reason. Hope you enjoy them 😁🌱.

Blue Flower by The Gray Havens

• Apple Music

• Spotify

• YouTube

⠀Misunderstood by The Vocal Few

• Apple Music

• Spotify

• YouTube

I will continue researching the causes of the other economic factors I discuss in What We Make.

Disclaimers

New here? Welcome 😁. In my first post, Out of Many, One, I committed to us being opinionated, open-minded, and kind.

This is where I do that by sharing my perspectives which inform the stances I share here at Sowing Hope.

• Americans have proven strong and resilient

• The U.S. economy is strong with no signs of recession coming

• The American people are the heroes of this story

Reasons for the economy

Inflation

I have always heard workers were to blame for inflation. If you’d like to talk, I would love to discuss the complex topic of inflation and everything that influences it. In this post, though, I’m going to focus on one part, specifically: corporate profits.

I feel like we often neglect this part of the conversation. You know I am not one to claim companies are evil or billionaires have to be jailed because they made profits. I just also realize the NYTs, the Foxes, and other mainstream outlets are corporations for profit. And their bias causes them to avoid this part of the topic. And their bias makes their profits. And their bias is from their human-ness.

So we are going to talk about corporate profits and inflation today. 😁

Historical data

The vertical gray bars show when U.S. recessions happened.

Corporate profits (1950s to April 2023)

• Corporate profits continued growing in the 1990 recession and rebounded within about a year in the 2001, 2008, and 2020 recessions.

• Companies in the U.S. have done phenomenally well since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. From around $260 million in Q4 1989 to $2,800 million (or $2.8 trillion) in Q4 2022.

• For reference, it’s like an average worker going from $62,000/year in 1989 to $670,000/year in 2022. It would be a very nice raise 😁

• The recessions of 1990, 2001, and 2008 hurt median incomes when adjusted for inflation and took 5 to 6 years to rebound.

• Workers have also done pretty well since the fall of the end of the Cold War in 1989. We aren’t at $670,000/year or anything, but definitely better than in 1989. 😁

• Since the 2020 recession and until recently, wage growth has been less than inflation. Worker wages have beaten inflation in the past 4 months (I first mentioned this in Building Bridges) faster than in previous recoveries (i.e. 3 years rather than 5).

• That means most of the inflation had to be from something other than workers.

Inflation (1950s to Aug. 2023)

• The spike in inflation in 2021 and 2022 follows a similar path as the spike in corporate profits over a similar time (see above).

• Fortunately, inflation has consistently been coming down since it peaked about a year ago. As I mentioned earlier, wages are now growing faster than inflation again. I’m hoping this lets families like yours breathe a little easier 😁

• I did cut off some of the pre-1957 data so it lined up better. I encourage you to visit the link to see the full graph.

Influencers of inflation

• In times past, about 60% of inflation was affected by increased labor costs.

• This time, increased corporate profit was the majority of the reason. Nonlabor costs affected by Russia’s invasion and U.S. adversaries raising oil prices also impacted inflation.

• With company profits growing at more historically reasonable rates (see below), it makes sense inflation is dropping, too.

A sidenote

I do want to mention the elephant in the room; I have heard some say that increased government spending is the reason for inflation (link). I’m just personally unconvinced a 2% raise for workers (the CARES Act of the previous administration and American Rescue Plan of the current administration gave $1,400 to workers, about 2% of median income) impacted inflation more than a 60% raise for companies (see below).

As always, I know reasonable minds can differ, and I welcome our differences in perspective. 😁 If you want more, historical data seems to fall short of suggesting government spending causes inflation (link) and I feel the CARES Act of the previous administration, the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, the bipartisan Infrastructure and Jobs Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act helped get our economy back on track.

I digress. Regardless, we can all agree it is average Americans like you who are the heroes of this story. We got through this the way we always do: together. 🌱

Back to profits

• The red line is the percent change in profits from a year before.

• Notice huge increases in profits with a 60% year-over-year increase in 2021 when inflation was at its highest.

• You see corporate profits returned to normal growth levels recently and inflation followed their drop.

As I’ve talked to others, I hear that families like yours and mine have started to feel a little more breathing room lately as a result. If that isn’t you, I hope you feel it soon. ❤️

Final thoughts

Thank you so much for your attention. I know anytime we talk about the economy, it is complex with so many possible influences. My hope with this post is to shine a light on a part of the conversation I feel often is overlooked. I am not meaning to avoid other topics. I’m not trying to misrepresent anyone. And I’m definitely not seeking to vilify the companies. I hope I have highlighted a part of the discussion we sometimes overlook yet often agree on.

Companies should make a profit in capitalism, they just should avoid causing hardship for everyone else involved.

Looking ahead

• I will have a post in the near future where all subscribers can comment. I’m not sure what it will be yet, but I want to get all of your feedback, soon. I thought I would get it in the Chat (here), though, it seems most of you all prefer email over the app. That is totally good with me, it just means I needed to adjust to get your feedback 😁

• If you would like to like this post, there should be a white ❤️ button all the way at the top and all the way at the bottom. If not, that’s fine, too. 😄

• Also, if you’d like to talk about the post in a comment (paid subscribers only) or share the post with someone you think would like it, that’s also appreciated. No pressure, though. I just need to say all the things 🫠

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Bonus Tracks

Here is an article and video I enjoyed this week. Hope they bring you joy, too. 😁

Article

Summary: Faith families continue the tradition of seeking reconciliation and fighting for justice by trying to acknowledge and correct wrongs against Native Americans.

Link: Churches confess and repent for sins against Native and Indigenous people

Not Just Bikes

I enjoyed this video about ways to make places more enjoyable to travel in. The creator is based in Amsterdam, but much of what he shares could apply anyway. Hope you enjoy 😁

Thank you so much for your kindness and patience. You all really are the best subscribers I could ask for. I appreciate all of you who have reached out to check on me or given me encouragement.

Tonight’s post will be shorter, and we will be back on schedule this Monday. If you’re interested, we will have our Friday Good Things chat tomorrow (if you are reading this on Thursday night). Everyone is welcome 😁 You can find the chat with the orange button below. See you there!

Update

You know I have continued sharing data showing how strong the American economy has been recently (the What We Make post and the Addition > Division post’s update section if you want a refresher). Apparently, inflation continues to cool and consumer spending data continues to show American workers doing well in this economy (link). I suspect we are doing well because unemployment remains at record lows for the longest time since around 1968 (link).

I love that because it means more of our neighbors have steady incomes and more workers are getting better wages to support themselves and their families.

Walking forward

This past weekend, my hometown hosted Arts ‘Round the Square, a day to gather and enjoy community together. It was wonderful! We opened two streets on the court square to pedestrian-only traffic, welcomed dozens of artists, and offered a wonderful environment to enjoy our beautiful community. If interested in seeing pictures, I would highly encourage you to visit the Paris-Henry County Arts Council website (link); they have amazing pictures. I know many of you who are local enjoyed it like I did 😁.

Got me thinking

As I walked around the square Saturday, I started to wonder…how many people would come if we did this every Saturday? Or once a month?

What if we made our courtsquare more pedestrian-focused once a week with other fun community events? This has been on my mind lately because we have lost multiple pedestrian lives on the courtsquare in recent months (link). This is something I know our local leadership has actively been looking for solutions. I have personally spoken to some, and I can tell they really do want to help.

Aligning goals

As I have dug into research, it seems making spaces safer for pedestrians increases the business of local shops and restaurants. It also feels like it would increase happiness and a sense of community for residents. I also know young people I have spoken to are looking for more 3rd spaces. I feel like this could make life better for all involved if it is realistic.

TVA seeks public input

If you have followed Sowing Hope for a while, you will remember me highlighting our new solar farm in Puryear TN (in the Building Bridges post if you are interested). Well, if you live in Henry County Tennessee, you may want to know TVA is seeking public input on how they should proceed with the project (link). Comments are accepted until October 18th.

Thank you all again for being incredible! See you tomorrow for our Subscriber chat if you want to join 😁. As always, no pressure. Do all the things with the liking, subscribing, and sharing if you want.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Bonus Tracks

Today, I wanted to share a music video and a quote with you.

The One Moment by OK Go

Hopefully, a reminder when I have too much going on that slowing down can be beautiful and interesting. Hope you enjoy 😁

• Apple Music

• Spotify

• YouTube

“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” - Fredrick Douglas

Sowing Hope progress

You all really have made these first two months amazing! 😄 I thought I would share some details about how you have helped us grow. First, you have helped me meet my goal of sharing hope with a variety of different people from different geographies and different perspectives. At time of writing, most subscribers join here in Tennessee. We also have neighbors from 11 other U.S. states and 1 other country. I think that’s really cool.

I have written 12 total posts, including 10 free posts. You have encouraged almost 1,000 views over these first 12 posts. Thank you so much for liking (the heart button at the top and bottom of the post), sharing, and commenting on these posts. It really does encourage me to continue and helps spread hope to more people.

We’ve also had three really awesome conversations in the Sowing Hope Chat in the Substack app. More on that later. 😁 Paid subscribers have also helped me get custom email and URL to better represent the Sowing Hope Substack with seeds@SowingHope.how and the www.SowingHope.how website. While there is never any pressure to pay, I really cannot thank those of you who do enough for your extra support.

Lastly, you may have noticed I added a new logo (see the top right) 🌱. The little seedling is my attempt at capturing my focus of trying to grow positivity, hope, and collaboration. I am no graphic designer, but I think it turned out okay. If you agree, would you mind clicking the like button for the post?

Addressing a concern

It does seem like some of you (about 1-3 per post) are not getting my emails. If you get them by email, you may need to reply to one and/or add this email address to your contacts to show your email provider this is not spam. If you talk to someone who subscribes and they miss a post, could you let me know or help them do this?

Another way to fix it is to download the app. If email is the best way for you to get newsletters, then I completely understand. I just wanted to mention it in case you might be interested in trying the app. Here is a link if you’d like to try it.

Get more from Matthew Chisolm in the Substack app

Available for iOS and Android

Get the app

Disclaimers

I started Sowing Hope for three main reasons:

• Highlight what is going right in the world

• Encourage constructive and kind conversations

• Fertilize cooperation so we can keep making the world better

The first one we will talk about at the end of the post today…I’m very excited 😁. The second two I wanted to highlight because you all of your awesome conversations!

Update

You have all really encouraged me with all your positive, productive conversations and commitment to doing the work that makes our communities better 🌱. You all really are awesome 😎, and it is an honor to have you a part of this community.

We’ve been having great conversations over in the Chat since it launched.

Good Things Friday

Our Good Things Friday Chats where we take some time to focus and share something good have been really encouraging: Patricia shared about her upcoming reunion, Amedicine highlighted how incredible the young people she works with are, and Kimberly shared how Hosea encourages her with its example of unfailing love

Civic service opportunities

Another conversation we had in the Chat last week was about serving our communities to make them better. Leah brought  up the suggestion of doing a voter registration drive and Suzan gave details about how that would work. If you are in Henry County and interested in helping with that, come join us in the (insert link) or send me an email at seeds@sowinghope.how with the subject “Volunteer for Henry County Voter Registration” and I can keep you updated. Also, if you are outside Henry County and want to start a voter registration drive, come join the (insert link), too! 😁 We can help each other get information, plan, and problem solve so we all can grow our communities better.

Last opportunity I wanted to bring up for us: sending letters to encourage others to vote. I recently encountered an organization called Vote Forward. Their main goal is to increase voter participation in elections by having other legal voters send letters to share their personal commitment to vote. That is important because I feel the way you prevent abuse of power in a democracy is to have high engagement from voters.

For transparency, Vote Forward seems to lean left. I especially like them because the training I’ve gone through specifically calls to avoid partisan language. Again, their main goal is to increase voter turnout, not act for a party. With Virginia currently having elections going on, I thought it would be fun and cool to have a virtual letter writing night where we encourage more legal voters to make sure their voice is heard at the polls.

Again, working to get more voters engaged and have their voices heard protects against corruption.

What I need from each of you

If encouraging voters to make their voice heard sounds like a cool idea, can you let me know by reaching out to me? As always, you can just send a reply to this email, send an email to seeds@SowingHope.how, or reach out to me some other way. Thanks 😁

Positive news

I have been wanting to write a post about global health progress for a while now, and with last weeks news I just had to do it this week.

Background

• Tuberculosis (TB), malaria, infant mortality, and other health concerns plague communities around the world.

• These health concerns cause heartache and pain on their own.

• People in less well-off or well-connected communities are hit by these pains the hardest.

Fortunately, we have been seeing some positive progress for communities.

TB tests

On September 19 2023, Global Fund, Stop TB Partnership, and USAID released news of a reduction to the price of important TB tests through a collaboration with Danaher, the company that makes them (link). Getting these high quality tests under $8 each means more than 5 million more tests can be purchased by the communities that need them most.

And while numbers are helpful, we care about people here. People like Phumeza Tisile who could have avoided the month long diagnoses which resulted in over 3 year journey in which she lost her hearing and took thousands of pills. With more of these tests available, the next Phumeza can be diagnosed more quickly and accurately hopefully protecting health and speeding their healing. There’s definitely more work to do. The fact Danaher through these groups’ collaboration agreed to not profit and commit to 3rd party verification is incredible and encouraging.

If interested, more information in the video below. 😁

Danaher agreeing to sell these tests at cost to the most vulnerable communities will make a huge positive impact on people’s lives.

Malaria vacines

Yes, you read that right. The disease killing around half a million people a year worldwide (link 1 link 2) now has an recommended vaccine (link and another promising vaccine in progress.

Again, this matters because people get malaria through no fault of their own and families endure a lot of pain because of this deadly disease. They lose work, time at school, loved ones…and with these vaccines we can continue decreasing the amount of pain this disease causes for communities around the world.

And I think that is wonderful progress to be able to celebrate 🎉

So much more…

If you are interested, the first time I heard about the malaria vaccines was in this video which highlights 22 problems we made progress in solving during the 2022 year. It is a really awesome watch, so if you have the 29 minutes I would recommend it. 😁

Whether it is increased access for fast and effective TB tests, approved vaccines for preventing malaria infection, or any other of the great news…I’m so thankful for what we are able to accomplish together.

And I’m so thankful you are here to help us make a positive change, together.

Subscribe now

Leave a comment

Share

Bonus Tracks

I have really appreciated learning about meditation. Meditating is a practice talked about in scripture that I never felt knowledgable on and didn’t know where to start. A friend shared this app that breaks it down really well, even if you know nothing like I didn’t (thanks for sharing, Leah!). It approaches meditation without an emphasis on scripture, but I find the practice helps me when I do go to study and meditate on scripture. This link will offer you a year for free if you are interested. Also, I do not get any benefit from you joining. I really just have found value in it.

The meditation Balance helps you practice increases focus and positivity in your life. If we can do that more, we can do more good for more people.

• Balance App 1 year free subscription

https://twitter.com/MisterRogersSay/status/1540630272831623168