Joe Kefauver

2 weeks ago | thinkamerican.news | Joe Kefauver

As a longtime student of political history, I am fascinated with how, over long periods of time, political parties can move their positioning on an issue – sometimes to the polar opposite of where the party was, say, 50 years earlier. Whether it is their positions on foreign policy, world leadership, immigration, taxation or their relationships with Corporate America, our major parties prove themselves to be living, breathing, evolving entities.

1 month ago | thinkamerican.news | Joe Kefauver

There are probably few policymaking challenges for our elected officials more difficult than balancing the interplay between progress and policy. Innovation is the life blood of any capitalist economy and new ideas, new products and new services keep economies healthy and growing. And if innovation is the lifeblood, consumerism is the engine. There must be people to buy the products the economy creates to keep the circle going.

2 months ago | ctinsider.com | Joe Kefauver

If you run a business in Connecticut, you know the feeling. You make a sale, you cover your costs, and just when you think you're ahead, Visa and Mastercard swoop in and take a cut of your revenue through junk swipe fees. It's difficult enough to run your own shop in today's economy, even without credit card giants' unfair tax on your sales, and it's why Connecticut lawmakers should pass a bill during this legislative session that would give businesses and consumers some swipe fee relief.

2 months ago | detroitnews.com | Joe Kefauver

Joe KefauverThe Detroit NewsView Comments Picture this: You walk into your favorite Michigan coffee shop, grab a latte, swipe your card and leave a tip. You assume that you’re fully supporting a local business, right? Not quite. Behind the scenes, Visa, Mastercard and big banks are quietly siphoning a chunk of that transaction — up to 4% — straight into their pockets.  Swipe fees don’t just drain a small business’s profits, they’re an industry racket.

2 months ago | americanbanker.com | Joe Kefauver

America's biggest banks had quite a year in 2024. JPMorgan Chase reported a record-smashing $54 billion in annual profit, with net income surging 50% in the final quarter of 2024 alone. Wells Fargo posted a 47% rise in quarterly profit, bringing in $5.1 billion. Goldman Sachs doubled its quarterly profits to $4.1 billion, marking its best performance in over three years.