“The Senate spun its wheels all day Monday, and went into early Tuesday morning without final text of its Big Beautiful Bill, without final parliamentarian rulings, and without a plan to pass it. But as we hit mid-morning that may be changing. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) were the deciding votes on the bill, and for a long while, they got nothing moving in their direction to secure their support. One subtext to Monday’s vote-a-rama is that Murkowski and Collins voted with the Democrats numerous times, including to commit the bill back to committees with instructions. These were free votes for the two, yes, but they signal a lack of full-throated agreement with the bill. Collins did not get the favor returned for her dalliances with the Democrats.” (07/01/25)
“Benefit cliffs occur when earning slightly more — through a raise or extra hours — leaves people worse off because they lose government benefits. Many economists believe these cliffs can be ‘smoothed out’ through better program design. But this view overlooks a critical factor: human psychology. To truly address benefit cliffs, policymakers must move beyond formulas and graphs and consider how people actually think, feel, and behave. In some cases, benefit cliffs may not just be hard to eliminate — they may be impossible to fully remove.” (07/01/25)
“Washington’s foreign policy establishment has a dangerous tendency to dismantle nations it deems adversarial. Now, neoconservative think tanks like the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and their fellow travelers in the European Parliament are openly promoting the balkanization of Iran — a reckless strategy that would further destabilize the Middle East, trigger catastrophic humanitarian crises, and provoke fierce resistance from both Iranians and U.S. partners.” (07/01/25)
“The civil war between sane New Yorkers and the other kind has reached its next phase. The victory of Zohran Mamdani in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary has some high-profile Democrats, like Sen. John Fetterman, expressing chagrin over the success of this openly commie slash-and-burn, soak-the-(white)-rich, pro-Hamas guy. Others, like former President Bill Clinton, who once posed as a moderate, are cheering him on.” (07/01/25)
“It’s pretty easy to condemn something you disagree with, you just say what you really think and feel – done and done. But when asked to condemn something you do not disagree with, something you or your friends support, things get a little complicated. That’s where Zohran Mamdani, Democratic Party nominee for New York City Mayor, finds himself. He’s not uncomfortable there, with the anti-Semitic hate, only with the prospect of having to speak about it in disapproving terms. No one wants to be the skunk at the progressive garden party. Mamdani doesn’t like Jews. Any quick search of his past statements will expose a long list of coded statements and friends who straight-out say as much (Zohran is too smart to be direct, but too much of a believer to be undetected).” (07/01/25)
“The US Senate worked through the weekend on the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’ The goal was to pass it quickly to ensure the House will then pass it and send it to President Trump’s desk before the July 4th holiday. However, disagreements among Republican Senators over reductions in spending on programs including Medicaid and food stamps as well as language in the bill eliminating ‘clean energy’ tax credits were preventing Senate Republican leadership from getting enough votes to pass the bill. Also, some Republicans disagree with other Republicans in both the House and Senate on increasing the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. … One item in the BBB that few Republicans are objecting to is the bill’s increase in military spending. The House version of the BBB added 150 billion dollars to the Pentagon’s already bloated budget. The Senate bill gave the military-industrial complex 156 billion dollars.” (07/01/25)
“The idea of threatening the immigration status of people not born in America has grown increasingly prominent since Trump retook the White House. After former Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk exited the administration, the right-wing populist Steve Bannon called for ‘a formal investigation of his immigration status.’ Some Democrats, too, asked whether the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who first lived in America on a student visa, was a true citizen. … the theme of Trump’s second term is that when experts say a given action is unconstitutional, or won’t work, or would backfire, the White House tries it anyway.” (06/30/25)
“Thirty years ago, when America’s welfare debate was truly raging, some conservatives and centrists would have opposed generous cash benefits that increase family size among the low income bracket. But many of these same people now see such benefits as a good thing, precisely because they’ll help increase family size. Whenever societies debate natalism, ‘cash for kids’ proposals are inevitably part of the discussion. … Ardent natalists perceive demographic decline to be a war-like threat to America and other 21st-century nation states, and a future with fewer people does look austere in many ways. But in America, it may lead to a more expansive attitude toward benefit programs, and convergence with European-style social democracy.” (06/30/25)
“The financial system of the United States has always been prone to instability and crises. Now, however, under the new Trump administration, which is pushing for major cuts in regulation, including in the cryptocurrency sector in which the Trump family has a major financial stake, the financial system has become more vulnerable than ever, posing serious risks to the wider economy. Of course, this matters very little to Donald Trump, his family, and his billionaire friends. For Trump, the actual meaning of ‘America First’ is ‘self-enrichment.’ In the interview that follows, progressive economist Gerald Epstein, a leading expert in finance and banking, talks about the changing nature of the U.S. finance system under Trump 2.0.” (07/01/25)
“The Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran might be a military success but the deteriorating plight of the Palestinians may well produce more future conflict.” (06/30/25)
