Look, if they were serious about making America healthy, here is a short list of things Congress and the Administration can do: • restore and expand Medicaid benefits; • restore and expand SNAP; • eliminate the Medicare Advantage plans; • support and expand childhood vaccinations; • replace our current nightmare of private insurance with single-payer, […]
Federal Funding and Politics, and Safety? When does the latter out-weigh the former? A Texas county devastated by deadly flooding earlier this month had rejected federal funds in 2021. Funds that could have helped install a flood warning system. However, local officials and residents were arguing they didn’t want to be “bought” by the Biden administration. As far back as […]
Trump is counting on his base not understanding that tariffs are a consumption tax. They make imported goods more expensive and allow domestic producers to jack up their prices by relieving competition. “[Douglas Holtz-Eakin] added that Trump was using the letters to demand attention, but, “In the end, these are letters to other countries about […]
Looks like if you want to set up a Ponzi scheme, you just have to call it “anti-woke.” Of course, the opposite of woke is asleep. “The complaint alleges that First Liberty founder Brant Frost IV misappropriated investor funds, making payments to himself and relatives of more than $5 million and used other funds for […]
If you have not heard, slipped in while the nation is not looking, your faith leader can now make a political endorsement without fear of the IRS. You know the Christain Right has had this on their to do list for eons. Right there with abortion and getting some of that government funding for their […]
For eight years, we had rooftop solar. We wouldn’t have done it except that because of state law, Ameren paid half the cost. We also got a 30% tax rebate on the difference. Since we moved, there are too many trees around our house for rooftop solar, but there are more solar panels in our […]
Trump’s BBB is a huge windfall for the Department of Homeland Security: “The bill gives ICE $29.8 billion to hire new staff and conduct deportations. That will lead to a hiring spurt of deportation officers; an additional $4.1 billion bump goes to Customs and Border Protection for new personnel. “For immigration detention, also overseen by […]
Just so you know: Democrats, health advocates, and even some Republicans have spoken out against the Social Security bill firmly. They are calling it a Trojan horse cutting the safety net for millions of Americans while making up for tax breaks for the wealthiest. Mostly and if living in a house with a mortgage as […]
Yes, it cuts Medicaid explicitly. But it will result in cuts to Medicare as well: “But now Republicans have created another problem. They didn’t just cut Medicaid; they also have forced nearly half a trillion dollars in cuts to Medicare, the health program for the elderly. “Because of a statutory requirement to automatically impose budget […]
Dean Baker critiquing and breaking down Tr__p’s BBB Bill That’s the question Republicans in Congress will be debating as they struggle to put Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill (BBB)” in final form to pass and send to his desk. The essence of the bill should be well known at this point. It extends Trump’s 2017 […]