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Ripple Effect

The Engels’ Pause Is Here

Loading ...Addison Wiggin

November 7, 2025 • 46 second read

Job market
The Engels’ Pause Is Here

The last time we saw a non-pandemic surge in layoffs like this was after the tech wreck in 2000-’02:

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Layoffs have jumped to their highest monthly rate since 2003. (Source: Barchart)

Welcome to what efficiency consultant Robert Allen calls the Engels’ Pause: efficiency up, payrolls down.

Anticipating a sluggish labor market, the Fed has cut rates twice this fall.

Unfortunately, you can’t fix a reorganization with cheaper money. AI will eat the easy tasks first, so the pain you see — pink slips — is only half the story. Those jobs will likely never return.

Harry Dent was adamant about the second part of the story on Grey Swan Live! yesterday: New technology always leads to newer higher higher-paying jobs. Always.

The Engels’ Pause recognizes a lag between higher corporate profits and new job openings. You can expect the slow job market to raise new concerns about a deepening recession outside of AI and the stock market.

~ Addison

The Grand Realignment Gets Personal

January 13, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

Sunday night, Powell addressed the probe head-on in a video post — a rarity. He accused the White House of using cost overruns in the Fed’s HQ renovation as a pretext for political interference.

The White House denied involvement. But few in Washington believed it.

What followed was bipartisan condemnation of the investigation. Greenspan, Bernanke, and Yellen co-signed a blistering rebuke, warning the U.S. was starting to resemble “emerging markets with weak institutions.”

The Grand Realignment Gets Personal
A Rising Sign of Consumer Stress

January 13, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

Estimates now indicate that the average consumer will default on a minimum payment at about a 15% rate – the highest level since a spike during the pandemic lockdown of the economy.

President Trump’s proposal over the weekend to cap credit card interest at 10% for a year won’t arrive in time to help consumers who are already missing minimum payments.

Not to fret, the other 85% of borrowers continue to spend on borrowed time. Total U.S. household debt, including mortgages, auto loans, student loans, and credit cards, reached record highs in late 2025, exceeding $18.5 trillion. This surge was driven partly by rising credit card balances, which neared their own all-time peaks due to inflation and higher interest rates.

A Rising Sign of Consumer Stress
Protest Season Amid the Grand Realignment

January 12, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

There’s an old Wall Street maxim: “Don’t fight the Fed.”

This year, you could add a Trump corollary.

A wise capital allocator doesn’t fight that storm. He doesn’t argue with it. He respects it the way sailors respect the sea: with preparation, with humility, and with a sharp eye for what breaks first.

In 2026, the things that break first are the stories. The narratives. The comfortable assumptions.

Protest Season Amid the Grand Realignment
Breaking: Government Budgets

January 12, 2026 • Addison Wiggin

Total municipal, state and federal debt service costs soared to nearly $1.5 trillion in the third quarter of 2025. Debt’s easy to accumulate when rates are low. Trouble is, you are obligated to refinance them even after rates go up.

It’s also a key reason why the Trump administration is demanding lower interest rates – even if it means reigniting inflation.

Breaking: Government Budgets