Humanoid Robot Roundup: Auto Industry Poised To Lead First Wave Of Adoption

In last week's "Humanoid Robot Roundup" report, we provided readers with additional color on Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot following the company's annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas. Limited production of Optimus has already begun at Tesla's Fremont, California factory, with plans to scale production next year.

In this week's robotics roundup, we highlight new insights from Goldman analysts led by Mark Delaney, who met with Sanctuary AI, a Vancouver-based robotics and AI company developing industrial-grade humanoid robots. 

Our view here is to gain a clearer view of current robotics progress and the broader trajectory of automation. 

Delaney's discussion with the heads of Sanctuary AI offers not only a snapshot of where humanoid robotics stands today, but also early signals of when automation may begin scaling across major sectors such as automotive, a shift that will translate into significant job displacement. 

Within the analyst's four takeaways, number three is the most important. He concludes that industrial and automotive companies will likely be among the earliest adopters of humanoids. Timing is important as well: the expectation is that broad industry scaling is still two to three years away.

1. Sanctuary highlighted data/AI and hands/dexterity as key focus areas for R&D: On hardware, the company mentioned hand technology as one key area for development. Management discussed how it is developing proprietary technology for tactile sensors and utilizing hydraulics to improve hand technology and make progress with aspects including touch, strength, and power management. The company believes its hydraulic approach to the humanoid hand is the correct path, and that electromechanical hands can have drawbacks in terms of strength and overheating.

Sanctuary also noted the need for data to further develop its AI. While humanoid robots can be trained from open sourced LLMs and video data, the company noted that those inputs often lack the physical aspect to the world, including the sense of touch and torque. Sanctuary is developing its own foundational AI.

2. Management discussed that not all robots/humanoids need to be bipedal and noted safety, payload, and power usage as key considerations: On the form factor of the bots, Sanctuary commented that while there will be applications for bipedal robots, not all humanoids need two legs and, often times, customers are not specifically asking for bipedal robots. Management noted that some potentially limiting factors for bipedal robots in certain use cases include safety (e.g. two-legged robots can fall over including if they lose power), payload (e.g. the amount a humanoid can lift), and a higher level of power consumption.

3. Sanctuary commented that it believes the first use case for humanoids will be automotive and industrial customers, followed by services and logistics, with consumer applications being last: Management highlighted that industrial and automotive customers would likely be first to adopt humanoid technology in a meaningful way, as these organizations often have robotics/automation departments, and due to cost and safety considerations. The company commented that it is currently working with companies in these verticals on proof of concept deployments. The company also commented that many industrial customers are looking at how fast, accurate, and reliable humanoids are as key KPIs.

Sanctuary is also engaged with logistics companies, and they can have similar challenges as auto and industrial customers, although the requirements on hand/grip strength can vary. For consumer applications, the company cited cost, safety (e.g. the robot falling over), privacy, and connectivity as reasons that this market will likely be later for deployments.

On time to market, Sanctuary noted that while wider scale industry adoption could be 2-3 years away, small targeted deployments could be much sooner (and we believe small trials are underway already in some factories for the industry more generally). Longer-term, the market could be much bigger per the company. This is directionally consistent with the view expressed in our report: Platforms & Power - Part II: Humanoids and profit implications for autos & industrial tech.

4. Management plans to outsource a significant part of the manufacturing, but will make some key parts such as the hands in-house: Sanctuary commented that manufacturing is not one of its core competencies, and it will generally outsource manufacturing. However, the company noted it will do the final assembly and manufacture the hand in-house.

With our focus on point number three, we shift our attention to ....

• China's DeepSeek Issues Rare Warning Of An Incoming AI-Fueled Jobpocalypse

Let's go back in time to our March 2023 warning:

• AI Will Lead To 300 Million Layoffs In The US And Europe

Jobpocalypse incoming.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 22:10

Anti-Abortion 'Word Game' Referred To Aussie Authorities For Investigation

Authored by Naziya Alvi Rahman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A fundraising “game” created by prominent anti-abortion campaigner Joanna Howe has sparked political backlash in South Australia.

Joanna Howe speaks to supporters of an abortion law reform gather on the steps of Parliament House in Adelaide, Sept. 25, 2024. AAP Image/Matt Turner

It has now been referred for investigation by the Attorney-General after questions were raised during a heated debate on late-pregnancy abortion laws.

The bingo-style fundraiser was launched on Nov. 12, as the Legislative Council prepared to debate a bill seeking to restrict abortions later in pregnancy.

Supporters were invited to “buy” parliamentary words and phrases—from $1 to $70—that MPs might use during the debate.

Examples on her list included phrases such as:

• pregnant person ($70)
• abortion care ($70)
• misinformation ($50)
• late-term abortions are rare ($10)
• trust the experts ($10)

On her website, Howe wrote that “the beautiful irony is that politicians will be inadvertently funding us every time they attack us.”

The fundraiser was raised in parliament within hours.

Greens MP Robert Simms asked whether the scheme complied with South Australia’s lottery and fundraising laws. He told the chamber that “followers are being encouraged to buy words … in relation to a debate that is due to occur in the parliament this afternoon.”

“My question to the Attorney-General is: is he aware of this fundraiser, and does it raise any concerns for him?” Simms asked.

Attorney-General Seeks Examination

Attorney-General Kyam Maher confirmed he had seen the reports about the fundraiser. He told parliament its legality depended on “a whole range of circumstances,” including whether it fell under South Australia’s Lotteries Act.

“There are certain requirements around things depending on the value of the prizes,” he said.

“Whether it is a major lottery and licences need to be applied for, or whether it is a minor lottery.”

Maher said he would refer the matter to Consumer and Business Affairs.

A spokesperson for the agency later confirmed it was aware of the concerns raised.

“Consumer and Business Services is aware of the matters raised in Parliament this week and is considering them,” he told The Epoch Times.

The issue emerged during an emotional debate, with several Members of the Legislative Council visibly distressed. The late-pregnancy abortion bill was ultimately defeated 11 votes to eight.

Long History of Tension

Howe has held several federal advisory roles, including positions on the Ministerial Advisory Council on Skilled Migration in 2021, the panel reviewing Australia’s Migration Program in 2022, and an International Labour Organisation (ILO) working group on temporary labour migration in 2019.

Her activism has also brought her into repeated conflict with Parliament.

She is currently banned from the South Australian parliament precinct over what officials called “threatening and intimidating tactics’’ during an earlier abortion bill dispute.

Howe denies the allegations, saying that “no formal complaint or allegation has actually been put to me’’ and that she had been denied “procedural and substantive fairness.’’

She has also been a central figure in multiple conservative-backed attempts to wind back abortion access, including working with former One Nation MLC Sarah Game on the bill to restrict abortions after 22 weeks and six days.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 21:45

Consumers Ditch Restaurants For Groceries As Budgets Break 

Goldman analysts led by Christine Cho attended the Restaurant Finance & Development Conference (RFDC) in Las Vegas earlier this week. The conference drew restaurant executives and founders, franchisees and multi-unit operators, private-equity investors and lenders, industry consultants, and other stakeholders across the broader restaurant ecosystem.

Cho and her team met with many of these restaurant industry insiders and heard a very alarming and consistent message: the operating environment is deteriorating, especially among lower- and middle-income consumers, pushing brands to use discount campaigns to defend market share. 

She said there was also increasing discussion around accelerating AI adoption, with operators betting on hybrid human-AI models to reduce costs and improve service.

Cho's takeaways from RFDC are extensive and offer new color into the health of the restaurant industry and, by extension, the consumer. ZeroHedge Pro subscribers can find the complete list of takeaways in the usual place.

In this note, we're focusing on just two of the takeaways. The first is the alarming shift among low- and middle-income consumers who are increasingly giving up on eating out and instead buying groceries and eating at home:

• Also noted was the drag on restaurant traffic by non-restaurants, particularly grocery and c-stores. A combination of data and surveys indicate growing evidence that consumers are leaving fast food and fast casual restaurants, replacing the meals with a combination of grocery (Aldi and Trader Joe's specifically highlighted as taking share), fresh format grocery (for example, the hot food bar at Whole Foods), and c-store food (particularly with breakfast).

The second takeaway that caught our attention is the coming automation tidal wave that's about to sweep through the restaurant industry:

• For the second year in a row, AI was front and center at the conference, with the focus split between current applications of AI and potential future developments across the restaurant space.

• Central to the discussion on current applications of AI was the focus on leveraging the technology to enhance the customer experience. Experts from both the restaurant industry and technology industry believe that it is not a case of robots fully replacing humans, but rather a hybrid approach by which humans leverage AI to drive efficiency gains and redirect their time and effort to other tasks that are more critical to the customer. From the perspective of a restaurant general manager, AI can help inform and expedite critical decisions around labor scheduling, inventory management, and food prep timing, and can also be leveraged to help train the workforce (seen as particularly critical given that it is a high turnover industry). Voice AI in the drive thru was also highlighted as a strong use case, with operators noting that is performing well in their tests.

Given these findings, let's build on yesterday's UBS note from analyst Jonathan Pingle, which highlights a tale of two consumer worlds…

And it gets worse. 

• Early Warning Indicator Signals Sharp Sentiment Deterioration Among Low-Income Consumers, Gen Z

Financial strains are building among low-income, millennial, and Gen-Z consumers, suggesting the Trump administration will likely push an affordability agenda into hyperdrive (read here) to prevent younger and lower-income voters from drifting toward the new unhinged Democratic Party that has been seized by Marxist DSA-ers, which will be dangling "free stuff" heading into next year's midterm elections. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 21:20

Bipartisan Congressional Report Finds CCP Manipulates Global Mineral Prices

Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A bipartisan congressional report published on Nov. 12 revealed that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) manipulates critical minerals markets to further its global ambitions.

A worker at a factory for Xinwangda Electric Vehicle Battery Co. Ltd, which makes lithium batteries for electric cars and other uses, in Nanjing in China's eastern Jiangsu province on March 12, 2021. STR/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. House Select Committee on the CCP released the “Predatory Pricing” report following an investigation into market manipulation.

“From cell phones to fighter jets, every American is dependent on minerals that China manipulates for its own selfish reasons,” Committee Chair Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said in a statement. “As we saw last month with its rule on rare earths, China has a loaded gun that is pointed at our economy, and we must act quickly.”

Moolenaar accused China of predatory practices that have caused Americans to lose their jobs, driven American miners out of business, and jeopardized national security.

The investigation revealed several findings, including that the Chinese communist regime subsidizes its state mining companies with tens of billions of dollars and gives zero-interest loans to support its global acquisition of mining assets.

The regime engaged in a decades-long strategy to dominate the rare-earth element supply chain, according to the investigation. The strategy involved luring in mostly Western companies to collaborate with Chinese companies, then selling products significantly below existing market prices to put competition out of business.

“Finally, after establishing its dominance, the PRC wielded this market clout as a geopolitical weapon,” the investigation found.

Beijing has also established a legal framework governing mineral price reporting, giving it the ability to raise and lower prices to favor its national security interests, the report said.

China intentionally kept rare-earth element prices low to ensure that Western participants did not enter the market, according to the investigation.

The regime also pushed down the price of critical minerals, including lithium, an important element used in rechargeable batteries and electric vehicle batteries, the report said.

Chinese miners are expected to continue dominating lithium production through 2030, the investigation found.

When prices were low, the regime subsidized its firms to aggressively acquire mining assets and cement its control over the global supply chain, according to the report.

A man drives a front loader to shift soil containing rare earth minerals for export to Japan at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, on Sept. 5, 2010. Edited by The Epoch Times, STR/AFP via Getty Images

“The PRC government, under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has engaged in a coordinated, decades-long scheme to control different critical minerals and bend the global market to their will,” the investigation states.

On Oct. 9, China’s Ministry of Commerce issued a global export licensing regime for rare-earth items, but that was a culmination of policies, investments, and other moves made over decades, according to the investigation.

The congressional report gives several policy recommendations, including aligning critical mineral financing and industrial-base programs under a single authority, such as a “critical minerals czar.”

The report also suggested bolstering U.S. mining and recovery efforts and discussed how to expedite permits while keeping important safeguards.

In this July 6, 2010, file photo, workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in the Baiyunebo mining district of Baotou in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. AP Photo, File

They also suggested preventing unfairly priced imports from undermining U.S. industries, developing federal tools for price discovery and costs, and strengthening coordination among allies on critical minerals.

The report also suggested creating a Strategic Resources Reserve, similar to the federal reserve for oil.

The committee also encouraged creating a critical minerals tax credit, supporting low-cost loans for critical minerals projects, and developing an American rare earths workforce.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 20:55

RFK Jr. May Revive Food Pyramid Focused On Whole Foods

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Donald Trump's Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, will be releasing new dietary guidelines in December to reset America's food supply chain away from toxic seed oils and highly processed foods toward real food, the kind our grandparents and parents ate many decades ago.

Ahead of next month's release, a new Bloomberg report on Thursday night says the administration may roll out a revamped food pyramid centered on protein and whole foods. Sorry, Bill Gates, fake food and insects are not on the menu.

The food pyramid was retired in 2011 and replaced with MyPlate, but RFK Jr., according to the report, could make the food pyramid great again. 

America's top health official has long criticized previous nutrition advice, arguing that saturated fat was wrongly vilified. 

Health and agriculture officials say the forthcoming 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines will be rooted in better "science," focus on reducing chronic disease, and support the administration's "Make America Healthy Again" theme, which will be supercharged in the midterm election cycle. 

The only major hurdle to eating real food that isn't grown on massive commercial farms drenched in chemicals is cost. That's why the Trump administration rolled out Operation Affordability this week, an effort to cut tariffs and strengthen trade deals to boost imports of staple foods and drive grocery prices lower next year.

The administration should also place more emphasis on rebuilding local food supply chains by strengthening small farms and ranches.

Americans are long overdue to push back against the globalist food giants on the food system (see here), a system saturated with chemicals and additives that have left the nation in a health crisis.

One of the simplest acts of rebellion is to plant your own "MAHA Garden" during the Northern Hemisphere's next growing season. Also, purchase chickens and other farm animals ... time to know where your food comes from. 

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 20:30

New Heart-Kidney Syndrome Affects 90% Of Americans... And You've Probably Never Heard Of It

Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Nearly every American adult has a health condition that could lead to heart failure, yet nine out of 10 have never even heard of it. Now, the American Heart Association (AHA) is sounding the alarm on cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a newly defined cluster of interconnected diseases that doctors have been treating separately for decades.

The condition encompasses a cluster of interconnected conditions—including heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity—that often occur together, significantly increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. It was first defined in a 2023 AHA Presidential Advisory. Despite affecting roughly 90 percent of U.S. adults, few people have heard of it, according to a recent AHA survey.

In early 2026, the AHA will release its first-ever clinical guidelines on the syndrome to help health care providers better identify and treat this widespread condition.

Study Reveals Widespread Prevalence of CKM Syndrome in U.S. Adults

“It’s really common to have risk factors for heart, kidney, and metabolic disease [like diabetes] at the same time, and they’re interconnected,” Dr. Stacey E. Rosen, national volunteer president of the American Heart Association, told The Epoch Times.

The problem, Rosen noted, is that care for people with multiple conditions is often fractured, with various specialists and primary care clinicians working in silos. Through the AHA’s CKM Health Initiative, the association aims to help doctors work together and treat cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic risk factors together, because that’s how patients experience them, she said.

The Numbers Behind the Problem

A comprehensive analysis of U.S. adults based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey spanning 2011 to 2020 showed that nearly 90 percent of adults had signs indicating early stages of CKM syndrome. They carried risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity, or problems controlling blood sugar.

About 15 percent of adults were classified as having advanced stages, which include having blood vessel damage or kidney disease. Older adults—particularly those aged 65 and older—were most affected, with more than 55 percent classified as having advanced stages.

The study found that the prevalence of CKM syndrome remained steady over the decade, with no significant improvements in reducing the overall burden of disease. Even younger adults aged 20 to 44 showed notable risk, especially among black adults and men, who were more likely to be in higher stages of CKM syndrome.

The condition stems from overweight and obesity in its initial stage and progresses to multiple risk factors and advanced disease, warranting early recognition, Dr. Eugenia Gianos, director of cardiovascular prevention at Northwell Health and director of women’s heart health at Lenox Hill Hospital, told The Epoch Times.

How Heart, Kidney, and Metabolic Systems Are Connected

CKM health involves three critical systems: the heart, kidneys, and metabolic system.

The heart pumps blood to supply oxygen and nutrients; the kidneys filter waste, regulate fluids, and help control blood pressure; and the metabolic system turns food into energy and manages blood glucose levels.

When one system functions poorly, it can create a domino effect, worsening the others. For example, reduced heart function can lower blood flow to the kidneys, impairing their ability to filter waste and regulate blood pressure. Conversely, kidney dysfunction can lead to high blood pressure and fluid overload, which increases strain on the heart.

Additionally, metabolic issues such as high blood sugar and excess weight contribute to inflammation and damage across these systems.

This interconnected cycle can escalate silently, often without obvious symptoms, until significant damage occurs.

Current guidelines emphasize cardiovascular screening beginning at age 40. “Yet the early drift in blood pressure, glucose, and lipids often begins much earlier, especially among young adults with sedentary lifestyles,” Akshaya Bhagavathula, associate professor of epidemiology at North Dakota State University, told The Epoch Times.

While metabolic syndrome has gained attention as a warning stage, he noted, chronic kidney disease can go unnoticed. “Nearly nine in 10 adults with kidney impairment are unaware of it until significant damage has occurred,” Bhagavathula said. The CKM model encourages integrating prevention, screening, and treatment of the metabolic, renal, and cardiovascular systems together, rather than waiting for the disease to declare itself.

Warning Signs You Shouldn’t Ignore

Many people expect heart disease to appear with dramatic chest pain, but early warning signs are far subtler, Bhagavathula said.

Less obvious symptoms include unusual fatigue or weakness that isn’t proportional to activity level and mood changes—such as depression or brain fog—which might also be early indicators. Other symptoms that may indicate trouble include swelling in uncommon areas such as the abdomen or the back of the ankles, which may be caused by fluid retention related to heart or kidney issues.

Something else to watch for is changes in urination patterns, including foamy urine indicating protein loss, dark urine, or decreased urine output, which can be signs of kidney problems.

Toxin buildup from impaired kidney function may cause a metallic taste or bad breath, and difficulty sleeping can stem from fluid overload or breathing difficulties.

Elevated blood pressure that develops gradually without noticeable symptoms is another warning sign.

“Women may present with jaw pain, nausea, or extreme tiredness rather than classic pressure pain,” he added.

“Even small rises in resting heart rate, post-meal glucose, or inflammatory markers predict future cardiac events years in advance,” Bhagavathula said. “These patterns reflect the systemic nature of CKM syndrome; the heart rarely fails in isolation.”

How to Improve Heart and Kidney Health

Most people with CKM syndrome can reverse or slow down the disease process with lifestyle changes and appropriate medications to reduce their risk for heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, Rosen said.

These lifestyle changes include:

• Adopt a Heart-Healthy Diet: Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, while limiting salt intake to help control blood pressure.
• Stay Physically Active: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly to significantly improve overall health.
• Monitor Health Regularly: Track blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, weight, and kidney function through routine checkups to catch potential issues early.
• Avoid Tobacco and Limit Alcohol: Both habits significantly increase risk across all three systems.
• Manage Stress Effectively: Use mindfulness or relaxation techniques and ensure adequate sleep.
• Follow Medical Advice: Take prescribed medications and attend routine checkups.

People should also be cautious with over-the-counter medications such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which can harm kidney health if used excessively.

The AHA offers educational resources and tools through its CKM Health Initiative website to help people understand these connections and take early action to prevent serious complications such as heart attacks or strokes.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 20:05

China Warns Citizens Against Travel To Japan Amid Serious Taiwan-Related Dust Up

It's no secret that Japan and China have had a long history of animosity, which at times appears to cool but at others flares up to intensity again. The past week has seen historic tensions explode to the forefront once again, resulting in China summoning the Japanese ambassador in Beijing to vehemently denounce some recent statements by Tokyo leadership.

The spat started when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments in a parliamentary meeting which made clear Japan could possibly intervene militarily in the scenario of China invading Taiwan.

Sanae Takaichi, via Japan Forward

This represents a public first, and potential initial move abandoning the US ally's longstanding 'strategic ambiguity' on the Taiwan issue.

China's foreign ministry had been quick to blast the comments as "egregious" - related in the following:

The current tensions were sparked at a parliamentary meeting in Japan last Friday, when an opposition lawmaker asked Takaichi what circumstances surrounding Taiwan would count as a survival-threatening situation for Japan.

"If there are battleships and the use of force, no matter how you think about it, it could constitute a survival-threatening situation," Takaichi responded.

A "survival-threatening situation" is a legal term under Japan's 2015 security law, referring to when an armed attack on its allies poses an existential threat to Japan. In such a situation, Japan's self-defense forces can be activated to respond to the threat.

Now, a week after the initial provocative remarks, and China has further escalated the spat by formally advising its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan in the near future over 'safety concerns'.

The foreign ministry specifically invoked PM Takaichi's incendiary Taiwan-related comments, going so far as to say her words created "major risks" to the safety of Chinese nationals in Japan. The ministry further cited "a surge in crimes against Chinese citizens and numerous attacks against them." 

The NY Times reviews how this could set off deteriorating relations less than a month in to Takaichi taking office:

The abuse abruptly ended a honeymoon between Ms. Takaichi, in office for less than a month, and China. She had met China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, just last month in South Korea, with the two leaders warmly shaking hands and smiling.

It also ended China’s turn away from so-called wolf warrior diplomacy, an aggressive, in-your-face approach to foreign relations that took shape after Mr. Xi rose to power in Beijing in 2012 but had largely faded in recent years.

Relations between China and Japan have for decades been prone to intemperate feuds fueled largely by bitter Chinese memories of World War II, when the Japanese army committed multiple atrocities, including the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, crimes for which Beijing believes Tokyo has never sufficiently apologized.

The drastic move further followed a Thursday social media posting by China's foreign ministry - issued in Japanese and English - which warned Tokyo must "stop playing with fire" and that it would be "act of aggression" if Japan "dares to meddles in the cross-Strait situation."

Our message to Japan is clear: Japan must fully repent for its war crimes, immediately stop its wrong and provocative statements and moves that interfere in China’s internal affairs, and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan question. Those who play with fire will perish by it! pic.twitter.com/F0G6FvU6qD

— CHINA MFA Spokesperson 中国外交部发言人 (@MFA_China) November 13, 2025

As for Japan, it has been most angered at a social media post issued last Saturday by China's consul general in the Japanese city of Osaka, Xue Jian. He had shared article about Takaichi's parliamentary remarks on X with his own words, "the dirty head that sticks itself in must be cut off." Tokyo quickly lodged its own diplomatic protest over the "high inappropriate" commentary.

But China has still maintained all of this ultimately stems from the "extremely wrong and dangerous" words of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi related to defending Taiwan.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 19:40

The Swamp Got Bigger, Better Paid & More Secretive Since 2020

Via Open The Books,

If you were told a business increased their staff headcount by 5% over four years but its payroll rose 24% over that time, all the while withholding the names of 39% of their staff, would you invest in that company?

Unlikely. But that’s just what the United State government does, funded by taxpayer dollars and operating as if accountable to no one.

Open the Books analyzed the FY 2024 payroll records of executive agencies and found that 2.9 million federal employees were paid $270 billion, compared to 2.8 million employees paid $217 billion in FY 2020. While the civilian employee ranks grew 5%, pay grew nearly 5 times as much, 24%.

The Office of Personnel Management provided the pay for over 1.5 million executive agency bureaucrats; Department of Defense provided pay for its 761,624 civilian employees; and United States Postal Service gave its 638,007 employees’ payroll, via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

Not included are pay for judicial branch employees; the 535 members of Congress and their staff; the 1.3 million active-duty military members; the Office of the Vice President (which claims itself entirely exempt from FOIA); nor the staff of several intelligence agencies.

While payroll records don’t include benefits, adding an estimated 30% to the $270 billion payroll brings total costs to $351 billion.

That means the disclosed federal workforce costs the American taxpayer $673,000 per minute, $40.4 million per hour, and just under $1 billion per day.

Meanwhile, more than a million civilian names were redacted from payroll productions produced by Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense.

The Trump administration has a historic opportunity to bring much-needed transparency to the administrative state. While federal employees don’t add as much to the debt as safety net programs, defense, and overall agency spending, they are an indicator of government growth.

A New Minimum Wage? $100,000 Earners

These employees are now being paid more than ever before.

The average pay exceeded $100,000 in 117 of 127 executive agencies and the White House.

In FY 2024, there were 31,452 federal employees who out-earned every governor of the 50 states. That includes the highest paid, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who collects a $250,000 salary.

Even worse, there were 956 federal employees who outearned the president himself.

The vast majority — 939 people — are medical officers at the Veterans Health Administration, while another 15 doctors at the National Institutes of Health earning more than $400,000.

Two more people outearned the president: Micah Nix, an emergency room doctor with the Indian Health Service, part of Department of Health and Human Services and one other redacted employee working at Bureau of Prisons, part of Department of Justice.

The highest paid federal employee is cardiologist Gary H. Gibbons, Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He earned $519,246 last year.

Lest one think these highly paid doctors are the only ones raking in big checks, the payroll is top-heavy across the board.

Of the 2.1 million non-DOD employees in FY 2024, 793,537 people made $100,000 or more, a 49% increase from 532,784 people in FY 2020.

There were 68,445 employees who earned $200,000 or more – an 82% increase from 37,631 in FY 2020.

Those making $300,000 or more numbered at 14,144 – an 84% increase from 7,692 in FY 2020.

At least 20 federal agencies have an average pay above $150,000. Topping the list is Commodity Futures Trading Commission, where the 721 staffers make an average of $236,006.

The obscure Public Buildings Reform Board and Arctic Research Commission each pay their staff an average of $192,000, while the 1,851 employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau earn an average pay of $187,120.

Boards for Civil Rights Cold Case Review, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight, and Surface Transportation have average pay between $166,091 and $181,903.

The Swamp Gets Larger

In the largest federal agencies, there’s little correlation between employee headcounts and increased pay.

In most cases, even a decrease in headcount still led to an increase in total pay for that agency.

For instance, the Post Office lost 6% of its staff between FY 2020 and FY 2024, yet payroll increased 11% during that time.

At Department of Justice, headcount decreased less than 1% but its payroll nonetheless increased 16%.

Social Security Administration and Department of Commerce both lost staff in those years, 4% and 8%, respectively, but their payrolls still increased 11% and 13%.

At the agencies where headcount increased, payroll soared past them. Department of Homeland Security increased its staff by 6% but its payroll went up 26%. Department of Transportation saw its staff grow by 3% but its payroll by 19%.

Those that grew headcount significantly saw their payroll skyrocket, including a 19% staff increase at both Department of Health and Human Services and Department of State, with 39% and 35% increased payrolls, respectively.

A 20% increase in Department of Energy headcount led to a 37% increase in paychecks.

Top 20 Departments and Agencies by Employee Count

FY 2024 Compared to FY 2020

“Name Withheld” for 39% of Staff

The secrecy of the federal bureaucracy has worsened.

It’s bad enough that Department of Defense redacted all 761,624 civilian employee names from their payroll, and that records production excludes pay for 1.3 million active-duty military members.

When Open the Books requested the FY 2022 federal payroll, the Biden administration had redacted the names of 350,860 rank-and-file employees.

In the most recent FY 2024 production a record-breaking 383,000 names were redacted in 58 federal agencies. Back in FY 2016, a mere 2,300 names were redacted. What gives?

Many of those include investigative and law enforcement roles in agencies including Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury and Veterans’ Affairs — which account for 97% of the redactions.

But still, dozens of additional agencies redacted names, from two each at U.S. Agency for Global Media, Office of National Drug Control Policy and Armed Forces Retirement Home, to over 1,000 each in Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Transportation and Health and Human Services. At Department of Interior, 2,331 identities were redacted.

The payroll report also contains no information about staff in the Office of the Vice President.

That’s because the Office of the Vice President claims not to be subject to FOIA and is not listed on the FOIA website.

Open the Books has tried unsuccessfully in the past to obtain the salaries through open records requests, and has accessed limited payroll information in the semi-annual Report of the Secretary of the Senate.

In the most recent report covering Oct. 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025, we can see that Kamala Harris ended her stay in the office with 43 staffers, while J.D. Vance began his vice presidential term with 23 staffers.

As the federal headcount and payroll grow, there are far too many redactions and blind spots that DOGE should have identified and fixed. We can’t have accountability for the federal workforce without better transparency.

Tyler Durden Fri, 11/14/2025 - 19:15

Peter Schiff: Printing Money Is Not the Cure for Cononavirus



In his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff talked about coronavirus and the impact that it is having on the markets. Earlier this month, Peter said he thought the virus was just an excuse for stock market woes. At the time he believed the market was poised to fall anyway. But as it turns out, coronavirus has actually helped the US stock market because it has led central banks to pump even more liquidity into the world financial system. All this means more liquidity — central banks easing. In fact, that is exactly what has already happened, except the new easing is taking place, for now, outside the United States, particularly in China.” Although the new money is primarily being created in China, it is flowing into dollars — the dollar index is up — and into US stocks. Last week, US stock markets once again made all-time record highs. In fact, I think but for the coronavirus, the US stock market would still be selling off. But because of the central bank stimulus that has been the result of fears over the coronavirus, that actually benefitted not only the US dollar, but the US stock market.” In the midst of all this, Peter raises a really good question. The primary economic concern is that coronavirus will slow down output and ultimately stunt economic growth. Practically speaking, the world would produce less stuff. If the virus continues to spread, there would be fewer goods and services produced in a market that is hunkered down. Why would the Federal Reserve respond, or why would any central bank respond to that by printing money? How does printing more money solve that problem? It doesn’t. In fact, it actually exacerbates it. But you know, everybody looks at central bankers as if they’ve got the solution to every problem. They don’t. They don’t have the magic wand. They just have a printing press. And all that creates is inflation.” Sometimes the illusion inflation creates can look like a magic wand. Printing money can paper over problems. But none of this is going to fundamentally fix the economy. In fact, if central bankers were really going to do the right thing, the appropriate response would be to drain liquidity from the markets, not supply even more.” Peter explained how the Fed was originally intended to create an “elastic” money supply that would expand or contract along with economic output. Today, the money supply only goes in one direction — that’s up. The economy is strong, print money. The economy is weak, print even more money.” Of course, the asset that’s doing the best right now is gold. The yellow metal pushed above $1,600 yesterday. Gold is up 5.5% on the year in dollar terms and has set record highs in other currencies. Because gold is rising even in an environment where the dollar is strengthening against other fiat currencies, that shows you that there is an underlying weakness in the dollar that is right now not being reflected in the Forex markets, but is being reflected in the gold markets. Because after all, why are people buying gold more aggressively than they’re buying dollars or more aggressively than they’re buying US Treasuries? Because they know that things are not as good for the dollar or the US economy as everybody likes to believe. So, more people are seeking out refuge in a better safe-haven and that is gold.” Peter also talked about the debate between Trump and Obama over who gets credit for the booming economy – which of course, is not booming.

We are living in crazy times. I have a hard time believing that most of the general public is not awake, but in reality, they are. We've never seen anything like this; I mean not even under Obama during the worst part of the Great Recession." Now the Fed is desperately trying to keep interest rates from rising. The problem is that it's a much bigger debt bubble this time around , and the Fed is going to have to blow a lot more air into it to keep it inflated. The difference is this time it's not going to work." It looks like the Fed did another $104.15 billion of Not Q.E. in a single day. The Fed claims it's only temporary. But that is precisely what Bernanke claimed when the Fed started QE1. Milton Freedman once said, "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." The same applies to Q.E., or whatever the Fed wants to pretend it's doing. Except this is not QE4, according to Powell. Right. Pumping so much money out, and they are accusing China of currency manipulation ? Wow! Seriously! Amazing! Dump the U.S. dollar while you still have a chance. Welcome to The Atlantis Report. And it is even worse than that, In addition to the $104.15 billion of "Not Q.E." this past Thursday; the FED added another $56.65 billion in liquidity to financial markets the next day on Friday. That's $160.8 billion in two days!!!! in just 48 hours. That is more than 2 TIMES the highest amount the FED has ever injected on a monthly basis under a Q.E. program (which was $80 billion per month) Since this isn't QE....it will be really scary on what they are going to call Q.E. Will it twice, three times, four times, five times what this injection per month ! It is going to be explosive since it takes about 60 to 90 days for prices to react to this, January should see significant inflation as prices soak up the excess liquidity. The question is, where will the inflation occur first . The spike in the repo rate might have a technical explanation: a misjudgment was made in the Fed's money market operations. Even so, two conclusions can be drawn: managing the money markets is becoming harder, and from now on, banks will be studying each other's creditworthiness to a greater degree than before. Those people, who struggle with the minutiae of money markets, and that includes most professionals, should focus on the causes and not the symptoms. Financial markets have recovered from each downturn since 1980 because interest rates have been cut to new lows. Post-2008, they were cut to near zero or below zero in all major economies. In response to a new financial crisis, they cannot go any lower. Central banks will look for new ways to replicate or broaden Q.E. (At some point, governments will simply see repression as an easier option). Then there is the problem of 'risk-free' assets becoming risky assets. Financial markets assume that the probability of major governments such as the U.S. or U.K. defaulting is zero. These governments are entering the next downturn with debt roughly twice the levels proportionate to GDP that was seen in 2008. The belief that the policy worked was completely predicated on the fact that it was temporary and that it was reversible, that the Fed was going to be able to normalize interest rates and shrink its balance sheet back down to pre-crisis levels. Well, when the balance sheet is five-trillion, six-trillion, seven-trillion when we're back at zero, when we're back in a recession, nobody is going to believe it is temporary. Nobody is going to believe that the Fed has this under control, that they can reverse this policy. And the dollar is going to crash. And when the dollar crashes, it's going to take the bond market with it, and we're going to have stagflation. We're going to have a deep recession with rising interest rates, and this whole thing is going to come imploding down. everything is temporary with the fed including remaining off the gold standard temporary in the Fed's eyes could mean at least 50 years This liquidity problem is a signal that trading desks are loaded up on inventory and can't get rid of it. Repo is done out of a need for cash. If you own all of your securities (i.e., a long-only, no leverage mutual fund) you have no need to "repo" your securities - you're earning interest every night so why would you want to 'repo' your securities where you are paying interest for that overnight loan (securities lending is another animal). So, it is those that 'lever-up' and need the cash for settlement purposes on securities they've bought with borrowed money that needs to utilize the repo desk. With this in mind, as we continue to see this need to obtain cash (again, needed to settle other securities purchases), it shows these firms don't have the capital to add more inventory to, what appears to be, a bloated inventory. Now comes the fun part: the Treasury is about to auction 3's, 10's, and 30-year bonds. If I am correct (again, I could be wrong), the Fed realizes securities firms don't have the shelf space to take down a good portion of these auctions. If there isn't enough retail/institutional demand, it will lead to not only a crappy sale but major concerns to the street that there is now no backstop, at all, to any sell-off. At which point, everyone will want to be the first one through the door and sell immediately, but to whom? If there isn't enough liquidity in the repo market to finance their positions, the firms would be unable to increase their inventory. We all saw repo shut down on the 2008 crisis. Wall St runs on money. . OVERNIGHT money. They lever up to inventory securities for trading. If they can't get overnight money, they can't purchase securities. And if they can't unload what they have, it means the buy-side isn't taking on more either. Accounts settle overnight. This includes things like payrolls and bill pay settlements. If a bank doesn't have enough cash to payout what its customers need to pay out, it borrows. At least one and probably more than one banks are insolvent. That's what's going on. First, it can't be one or two banks that are short. They'd simply call around until they found someone to lend. But they did that, and even at markedly elevated rates, still, NO ONE would lend them the money. That tells me that it's not a problem of a couple of borrowers, it's a problem of no lenders. And that means that there's no bank in the world left with any real liquidity. They are ALL maxed out. But as bad as that is, and that alone could be catastrophic, what it really signals is even worse. The lending rates are just the flip side of the coin of the value of the assets lent against. If the rates go up, the value goes down. And with rates spiking to 10%, how far does the value fall? Enormously! And if banks had to actually mark down the value of the assets to reflect 10% interest rates, then my god, every bank in the world is insolvent overnight. Everyone's capital ratios are in the toilet, and they'd have to liquidate. We're talking about the simultaneous insolvency of every bank on the planet. Bank runs. No money in ATMs, Branches closed. Safe deposit boxes confiscated. The whole nine yards, It's actually here. The scenario has tended to guide toward for years and years is actually happening RIGHT NOW! And people are still trying to say it's under control. Every bank in the world is currently insolvent. The only thing keeping it going is printing billions of dollars every day. Financial Armageddon isn't some far off future risk. It's here. Prepare accordingly. This fiat system has reached the end of the line, and it's not correct that fiat currencies fail by design. The problem is corruption and manipulation. It is corruption and cheating that erodes trust and faith until the entire system becomes a gigantic fraud. Banks and governments everywhere ARE the problem and simply have to be removed. They have lost all trust and respect, and all they have left is war and mayhem. As long as we continue to have a majority of braindead asleep imbeciles following orders from these psychopaths, nothing will change. Fiat currency is not just thievery. Fiat currency is SLAVERY. Ultimately the most harmful effect of using debt of undefined value as money (i.e., fiat currencies) is the de facto legalization of a caste system based on voluntary slavery. The bankers have a charter, or the legal *right*, to create money out of nothing. You, you don't. Therefore you and the bankers do not have the same standing before the law. The law of the land says that you will go to jail if you do the same thing (creating money out of thin air) that the banker does in full legality. You and the banker are not equal before the law. ALL the countries of the world; Islamic or secular, Jewish or Arab, democracy or dictatorship; all of them place the bankers ABOVE you. And all of you accept that only whining about fiat money going down in exchange value over time (price inflation which is not the same as monetary inflation). Actually, price inflation itself is mainly due to the greed and stupidity of the bankers who could keep fiat money's exchange value reasonably stable, only if they wanted to. Witness the crash of silver and gold prices which the bankers of the world; Russian, American, Chinese, Jewish, Indian, Arab, all of them collaborated to engineer through the suppression and stagnation of precious metals' prices to levels around the metals' production costs, or what it costs to dig gold and silver out of the ground. The bankers of the world could also collaborate to keep nominal prices steady (as they do in the case of the suppression of precious metals prices). After all, the ability to create fiat money and force its usage is a far more excellent source of power and wealth than that which is afforded simply by stealing it through inflation. The bankers' greed and stupidity blind them to this fact. They want it all, and they want it now. In conclusion, The bankers can create money out of nothing and buy your goods and services with this worthless fiat money, effectively for free. You, you can't. You, you have to lead miserable existences for the most of you and WORK in order to obtain that effectively nonexistent, worthless credit money (whose purchasing/exchange value is not even DEFINED thus rendering all contracts based on the null and void!) that the banker effortlessly creates out of thin air with a few strokes of the computer keyboard, and which he doesn't even bother to print on paper anymore, electing to keep it in its pure quantum uncertain form instead, as electrons whizzing about inside computer chips which will become mute and turn silent refusing to tell you how many fiat dollars or euros there are in which account, in the absence of electricity. No electricity, no fiat, nor crypto money. It would appear that trust is deteriorating as it did when Lehman blew up . Something really big happened that set off this chain reaction in the repo markets. Whatever that something is, we aren't be informed. They're trying to cover it up, paper it over with conjured cash injections, play it cool in front of the cameras while sweating profusely under the 5 thousands dollar suits. I'm guessing that the final high-speed plunge into global economic collapse has begun. All we see here is the ripples and whitewater churning the surface, but beneath the surface, there is an enormous beast thrashing desperately in its death throws. Now is probably the time to start tying up loose ends with the long-running prep projects, just saying. In other words, prepare accordingly, and Get your money out of the banks. I don't care if you don't believe me about Bitcoin. Get your money out of the banks. Don't keep any more money in a bank than you need to pay your bills and can afford to lose.











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The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

The FBI released a summary of its file from the Hillary Clinton email investigation on Friday, showing details of Clinton's explanation of her use of a private email server to handle classified communications. The release comes nearly two months after FBI Director James Comey announced that although Clinton's handling of classified information was "extremely careless," it did not rise to the level of a prosecutable offense. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the next day that she would not pursue charges in the matter. "We are making these materials available to the public in the interest of transparency and in response to numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests," the FBI noted in a statement sent to reporters with links to the documents. The documents include notes from Clinton's July 2 interview with agents, as well as a "factual summary of the FBI's investigation into this matter," according to the FBI release. Throughout her interview with agents, Clinton repeatedly said she relied on the career professionals she worked with to handle classified information correctly. The agents asked about a series of specific emails, and in each case Clinton said she wasn't worried about the particular material being discussed on a nonclassified channel.