BLUE COLLAR AND BOUJIE

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Reagan signed the biggest tax cut of his presidency at his California ranch in 1981. That same year, Paul Volcker's Fed made borrowing money brutally expensive. Two policies, both defensible on paper, pulling the same businessman in opposite directions — a fight we're still having, forty-five years later.

WADE'S JOBSITE REPORT

A Brisbane builder is pouring concrete at night under headlamps because he can't find a daytime crew — and Australia's 1.2-million-home target is falling 27% behind pace. Wade's take: schedule pressure doesn't create capacity, and pretending otherwise just makes everybody work stranger hours for worse results.

THE NUTS AND BOLTS

July inflation cooled at the margin, but the federal deficit just posted its ugliest month in years. Treasury sold 30-year bonds at the highest yield in 25 years — proof the Fed doesn't control what the world charges America to borrow long-term. Plus new drone tariffs, and Bank of America's $1.9 billion bet on Indian consumer credit.

SPORTS

The Lakers just sold for a record $12.5 billion — 14 months after the last sale. PSG held onto the UEFA Super Cup. And Efe Obada, who was trafficked as a child and moved through ten foster homes, retired from the NFL to open a foundation for kids coming through the same system he did.

TRENDING ROUNDUP — TOP 10

Colombia digs for survivors after its worst earthquake this century. Washington reopens the childhood vaccine fight. Youth unemployment hits a global high. Spain braces for six million eclipse-chasers in wildfire country. Spotify starts labeling AI artists. A guy who rebuilt Toyota from the accounting department dies at 93. And scientists confirm dogs really can read your face.

📬 Got a question for Wade and Boujie? mail@bluecollarandboujie.com — may air next Saturday.

P.S. — Made with AI. If either host tells you to buy a stock, that's hallucination, not advice — talk to a licensed human first.