Real wages are going backwards. Paychecks rose 1.5% in a year while prices rose 3.5%, and at the same time U.S. retirement accounts hit a record $51.2 trillion.
This is Mike's Mind from Market Update 197: the stuff I couldn't stop reading. Prices since 2019, what a family health plan costs now, Microsoft's buyouts, hedge funds betting against the market, $89.5 billion in Texas data centers, Robotaxis in Dallas, hacked supermarket freezers, and a data center run on human brain cells. Every headline you see on screen is the actual source.
Full episode: https://youtu.be/FDwLSZRFO8U
Chapters
0:00 A data center made of brain cells
0:13 What's in Mike's Mind
0:21 Prices up 31% since 2019
0:43 Family health coverage costs $28,303
0:56 Did paychecks keep up?
1:13 Microsoft buyouts for 60,000
1:28 Wall Street is betting against it
1:44 Retirement accounts hit $51.2 trillion
2:05 $89.5 billion in Texas data centers
2:21 Robotaxis in Dallas
2:33 Hackers hit supermarket freezers
2:53 A data center made of human neurons
Sources
BLS CPI, Sept 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/cpi_10142026.htm
KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey 2026: https://www.kff.org/other-health/workers-now-pay-7471-on-average-annually-for-family-health-coverage-up-9-or-621-from-2025-benchmark-employer-health-benefits-survey-finds/
BLS Usual Weekly Earnings, Q3 2026: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/wkyeng_10212026.htm
TechCrunch, Microsoft buyouts: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/26/microsoft-offers-buyouts-to-around-60000-employees-reports-say/
Hedgeweek (Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs data): https://hedgeweek.com/news/hedge-fund-short-bets-near-five-year-highs-as-goldman-warns-of-squeeze-risk
ICI retirement market data, Q2 2026: https://www.ici.org/statistical-report/ret_26_q2
Industrial Info Resources, Texas data centers: https://www.industrialinfo.com/iirenergy/industry-news/article/abilenes-stargate-project-campus-leads-texas-895-billion-in-active-data-center-construction--360938
Not a Tesla App, Robotaxi geofences: https://www.notateslaapp.com/news/4632/tesla-expands-robotaxi-geofences-in-dallas-and-austin
AP via PBS, supermarket freezer hacks: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/freezers-at-supermarkets-in-several-european-countries-hit-by-apparent-cyberattacks-ruining-food
The Register, Cortical Labs: https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/03/14/inside-datacenter-where-day-starts-with-cerebrospinal-fluid/5224981
Contact Mike: mike@mikemillstx.com | 817-689-6079
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