For 38 years, the US paid farmers NOT to grow too much corn. In 1971, one guy killed that rule. Within 13 years your Coke had corn syrup instead of sugar, food was the cheapest it had ever been, and Americans were getting heavier every year.
Since the Great Depression, US farm policy ran on simple supply and demand. If everyone planted everything, prices would crash and farmers would go broke. So the government paid farmers to leave a chunk of their land empty, and held big stockpiles of grain like an emergency fund.
Then Nixon picked Earl Butz to run the Department of Agriculture. Butz was a farm-economy professor from Indiana who also sat on the boards of giant food companies. He told farmers to "get big or get out" and to plant every inch of land they owned. In 1972, when the Soviet Union had a bad harvest and came shopping, Butz quietly sold them 30 million tons of grain in one deal. The US emergency stockpile was gone overnight. By 1976 he had killed the entire 38-year-old system.
By the late 1970s, the country was drowning in corn, and Washington kept guaranteeing the prices anyway. Corn became the cheapest ingredient in the American grocery store. The government still hands corn farmers about 3.2 billion dollars a year, more than any other crop.
That cheap corn went two places. The first was your soda. Scientists had recently figured out how to turn corn starch into a syrup that tasted almost like sugar. With corn this cheap, that syrup (high-fructose corn syrup, or HFCS) was way cheaper than cane sugar. Coca-Cola started swapping it in by 1980. By 1984, Coke and Pepsi had ditched cane sugar entirely in the US. The average American went from eating zero corn syrup in 1970 to almost 38 pounds of it a year by 1999.
The second place was everything else. That same cheap corn fed the cows, pigs, and chickens packed into industrial farms. It also became the base ingredient or sweetener in most processed food on the shelf. Americans went from spending 17 percent of their take-home pay on food in 1960 to under 10 percent by 2000, one of the lowest rates in the world. Daily calories per person climbed from about 2,054 in 1970 to over 2,500 by 2010. The extra 500 came mostly from added fats, refined grains, and corn syrup. When Butz took office in 1971, about 15 percent of American adults were obese; today the CDC says it's 40.3 percent. Severely obese, defined as way past overweight, used to be under 1 percent. Now it's nearly 1 in 10.
Butz's policy did exactly what it promised. Productivity, exports, and grocery prices all moved the way he said they would, year after year for three decades. The right photo is just what happens to the average American body after fifty years of policy designed to make calories as cheap as possible.
BREAKING: The SEC has reportedly eliminated the Pattern Day Trader rule, replacing it with a new intraday margin system.
The requirement to maintain a $25,000 balance to engage in day trading is being scrapped.
#UPDATE A shooting at a child’s birthday party left four people dead and several hospitalized Saturday evening, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said.
https://t.co/iN4roYyyEW
$SPX TRADE PLAN 📈 📉
SPX bullish plan: SPX above 6849 | SPX Nov 5 6900C 📈
T: 6900, 6934 SL 6800
SPX bearish plan: SPX under 6800 | SPX Nov 5 6750P 📉
T: 6764, 6727 SL 6849
SPX had a very volatile week.
We saw lots of reversals in both directions and SPX printed a new all time high at 6920.
SPX closed at 6840 on Friday.
If SPX gives up 6800 this week I’d avoid calls.
SPX to 6700 possible if 6800 fails.
SPX needs back above 6900 to set up for a move to 7000 next.
Key Events This Week:
1. Fed Interest Rate Decision - Wednesday
2. Fed Chair Powell Press Conference - Wednesday
3. Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Earnings - Wednesday
4. President Trump Meets President Xi - Thursday
5. Apple and Amazon Earnings - Thursday
6. ~20% of S&P 500 companies report earnings this week
We have a huge week ahead.
A sudden change in policy:
The initial policy of raising H-1B visa costs on ALL holders would have impacted ~700,000 people.
Assuming the cost of an H-1B visa rises from $10,000 to $100,000, this would raise an incremental $63 billion PER YEAR.
However, President Trump has reportedly changed his mind less than 24 hours later.
Reports now suggest that the change will only impact NEW applications, or ~85,000 people per year, for ~$8.5 billion per year.
These are two VASTLY different situations.
Indian H1Bs contributed an unfathomable amount to America: 100s of billions in taxes, 10s of billions more in fees, trillions in services. Among the most peaceful, intelligent, interesting people to grace our shores. And what do we give back? Demonization & discrimination...
CPI is premarket tmrw. Most likely we'll see a bigger move AFTER CPI.
If you overtrade when $SPX and $QQQ are stuck in a range, this is how you bleed out your account.
Wait for momentum then attack. That's how you make money day trading.
Aug 4 Premarket TRADE PLAN 🔥
$SPX gapping higher after a 2 day sell off. SPX dropped 200+, now gapping up 35 premarket. If SPX fails to hold 6251 we can see 6200 test by Wednesday. Puts can work under 6251
$TSLA gapping up 7, if it fails to hold near 309 we can see 300 test by Wednesday. Puts can work if TSLA fails to hold 309.
$QQQ under 556 can drop to 550 again. If QQQ fails to defend 550, it can backtest previous ATH at 541. Puts can work under 556 this week.
I'd treat the upside as a quicker day trade until we see SPX reclaim 6334 and $QQQ above 563, We can still see more weakness in August. Good luck today everyone! 🫡
SUMMARY OF FED DECISION (7/30/2025):
1. Fed leaves rates unchanged for 5th straight meeting
2. Fed voted 9-2 to keep interest rates unchanged
3. Indicators suggest growth of economy moderated
4. Inflation in the US remains "somewhat elevated"
5. Unemployment rate remains low and labor market is "solid"
6. Waller and Bowman dissent, preferring a 25 bps rate cut
The Fed pause continues even as Trump calls for 300 bps of rate cuts.
FOMC day is usually a day where most people lose. The volatility will be heavy after Powell starts talking. It's not the time to get aggressive with position sizing BEFORE Powell. You need to be patient and wait for the right levels to trade. 👇
$SPX above 6400 after FOMC = Calls 🟢
$SPX between 6334-6400 after FOMC= sit on your hands 🙅
$SPX under 6334= Puts. 🔴
If you can follow these levels, you'll most likely end the day green on Wednesday.
July 29 Premarket TRADE PLAN 📈
$SPX will gap near 6400 again if it fails to get through most likely we see another consolidation day before FOMC. Calls can work as a day trade above 6400 today.
$NVDA up 2+ premarket, NVDA through 180 can run to 185-187. Calls can work above 180 for this week. NVDA setting up for 200 this year.
$COIN 400 in play If $BTC can breakout above 120k this week. Calls can work above 383 for today as a lotto
Every dip continues to be bought up in the market the past month. If Powell hints at rate cuts in September, I'd expect another breakout this week. $SPX to 6500 and $QQQ to 575. Good luck everyone! 🫡
July 28th Premarket TRADE PLAN 📈
$SPX melt up to 6500 possible after FOMC/tech earnings later this week. I'd be patient for now. We can see a bigger move AFTER FOMC. SPX still bullish above 6334 this week.
$HOOD if there's a positive reaction to earnings we can see a gap up to 115-120. Calls can work above 107 for today
$PLTR setting up for a run to 171+ in August. PLTR possible we see 200 this year if tech continues to lead. Calls can work above 160 for today.
Good luck today everyone!! 🫡
July 24th Premarket TRADE PLAN 📈
$SPX still resilient, setting up for 6400 test if it can get through 6369 today. Calls can work above 6369
$META wants to run to 731+. Needs to break above 719 to look more bullish. Calls can work above 719
$HIMS setting up for a run to 63,67. Best to see it hold above 56 leading into next week. Calls can work above 56.
Let's see if $SPX holds a higher above 6334 and $QQQ above 563 today. Good luck everyone!! 🫡
July 22 Premarket TRADE PLAN 📈
$SPX if it can defend 6300 day we can see 6334 test again. I'd avoid calls if SPX fails to hold 6300 this week. Possible day 2 of consolidation incoming.
$TSLA gapping up 1 premarket, if there's a positive reaction to earnings, TSLA can run to 350-363 by Thursday.
$META gapping up 3.5 premarket, META through 719 will set up for 731,740. Calls can work above 719 for this week.
I'd be patient if you see SPX fail at 6300 and $QQQ break 563. More downside incoming if those 2 levels fail. Good luck today everyone!!! 🫡
TRADE PLAN for Tuesday ✅
$SPX consolidation day before Powell tomorrow. SPX tested 6334 a few times but failed to hold above. If SPX breaks under 6300 it can test 6251 again this week. I'd avoid calls under 6300.
SPX July 22 6280P can work under 6300
$QQQ this week needs to hold near 560 if it fails there it can drop to 556,550. I'd consider puts if QQQ fails at 560. Calls can work near 566
$AMZN wants to test 233 this week, if AMZN reclaims 233 it can run to 240-242
AMZN Aug 1 235C can work above 230.
The price action today was a bit weaker after $QQQ dropped 2 and $SPX dropped 30 into the close. If there's a negative reaction to Powell, the market can continue to consolidate this week. Be patient tomorrow!! 🫡