Great to be back with you Unf*ckers and a hearty welcome to the new Meidas Mighty who have joined us recently. I’ve been driving the lane pretty hard on economic news lately, mostly because of the GOP budget. Now that it’s finally the law of the land, there is still much more to dig into. Most of what was originally proposed actually made it into law, as opposed to Democratic attempts to pass sweeping legislation that leaves progressive policies on the cutting room floor. (See: Branko’s article in the ‘Headlines’ section.) The last line of this story is that the bill is not just a disaster for the American people in the short-term, it’s going to force the world to put the U.S. in the rearview mirror.
When the BRICS+ nations recently assembled in Brazil it was to secure and codify a cooperative economic arrangement to work around the United States. While there were few formal declarations that emerged, behind the scenes BRICS leaders reportedly spoke about ways to reduce global reliance on the U.S. Dollar.
What’s astounding to me is how many engine lights are flashing red in the cockpit right now. Treasury outflows are increasing. The labor market is imploding. Dollars to donuts the next inflation print is going to reveal tariff injury. The consumer has already started pulling back. (See: Amazon Prime Day sales.) And safety nets are about to disappear for more than 10 million Americans. Meanwhile, our global competitors are selling U.S. Treasuries and stockpiling gold reserves. (See: Chart of the Week.) And “90 deals in 90 days” turned into “2 deals and 88 letters.” Note: Return to sender.
We’re smack-dab in the middle of America’s lost decade that came in with Trump and insurrection and a coronavirus outbreak and might end with Trump, a coup and a measles outbreak.
Other things I’m obsessing over…
I’m an avowed action movie fan. It’s how I decompress. So when The Old Guard 2 hit Netflix I was anxious to dig in. The first one is firmly in my Top 20 and cemented Charlize Theron as one of today’s best action stars and most versatile actors. After years of delays, I can officially say that they should have waited longer.
It’s a clear white savior movie but it was a formative one in my youth. Every so often I revisit clips of Gene Hackman abusing racists in Mississippi Burning to soothe my soul. This is my favorite.
Musk’s racist, homophobic and anti-semitic chatbot Grok might be installed in new Tesla models. Helpful if you’re trying to figure out who to run over in one of those woke protests I suppose.
-Max
Killer Left Take of the Week
Killer Left Take this week goes to Mike Figueredo of The Humanist Report for going after corporate Democrats who aren’t taking challenges from the left seriously. From the episode description: “Right-wing Democrats in New York are calling the bluff of DSA after its New York chapter announced its intent to primary five conservative Democrats in their state, including Hakeem Jeffries. One of the Democrats being targeted, Ritchie Torres, basically dared them to primary him, saying he ‘could care less about Mickey Mouse primary challenges.’”
How “Tax Relief for Homeowners” Became Another Giveaway to the Rich.
The State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction sounds like middle-class tax relief, but it’s actually a massive giveaway to wealthy homeowners that does absolutely nothing for renters or working families—and both parties are fighting to make it even more regressive.
Here’s a snippet from the pod:
Max: Let’s talk numbers, because the fiscal impact of expanding SALT deductions is enormous. According to the Tax Foundation’s analysis, raising the cap to $40,000 with a $500,000 income phaseout would cost about $320 billion over 10 years compared to keeping the current $10,000 cap.
To put that in perspective, that’s more than the entire annual budget for the Department of Education. It’s roughly equivalent to what we spend on food stamps over five years. We’re talking about a massive expenditure that would flow almost entirely to households that are already well-off.
We just sent over a new episode to MeidasTouch about Trump’s meltdown over the BRICS+ meeting recently in Brazil. There’s good reason behind the meltdown because the rest of the world is stepping over the flaming carcass of the American economy and moving ahead with their own trade deals. In the background, there are also discussions about reducing the reliance on the U.S. Dollar by someday establishing a new BRICS-driven currency backed by gold. Of course, the participants said it’s still theoretical. But you wouldn’t know it by the increasing volume of gold stores by central banks with China and India leading the pack.
Headlines
Opening Old Wounds
The Baffler surfaced old wounds of Japanese internment camps in the United States and opened them up in the present day. It’s a stark reminder that the fight for humanity and democracy is ongoing. Take your foot off the gas for a second and our demons are at the ready to step in.
From the article:
“History is a house filled with guns, not under lock and key, but scattered all over the house, fully loaded. During his 2024 presidential campaign, at a rally in Aurora, Colorado, Trump said that as president he would invoke the AEA in an effort to ‘target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.’ He repeated ‘1798’ several times, saying, ‘That’s a long time ago, right?’ The AEA appears in chapter two of the Republican Party’s 2024 platform, not as a possibility but a guarantee: ‘We will also invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members.’ It doesn’t mention ‘war,’ but with ‘suspected’ invents a limitless interpretation of enemy.”
Monday morning quarterbacking disasters is often a disgusting endeavor because it borders on tragedy porn. But in the case of the deadly flood in Texas that killed more than 100 people, many of whom were children, it has to be done. Maybe Ezra Klein should stick this in the next fucking printing of Abundance to show that failures to this degree aren’t always due to red tape and bureaucracy. Everyone cleared the way for disaster prevention funding to be given to Kerr County. The Feds made the process easier. Money was allocated. And Red State fuckheads turned down requests for emergency alert systems repeatedly. This isn’t a bureaucratic issue, it’s a mind disease that climate catastrophes can’t happen to Trump country. Sorry, but those kids deserve better.
From the article:
“One solution, county officials noted, would be a flood warning system that could alert residents to rising waters. They estimated the cost of such a system at less than $1 million, and noted that FEMA had grant programs that could pay for it..”
Branko baby. One of my favorite writers. If you’re going to read one article explaining how Biden wasn’t able to pass Build Back Better in one-shot and was stymied by his own party while Trump was able to pull the Republicans together to pass his massive murder bill, make it this one.
From the article:
“Even in his diminished state, Biden was only dealing with two holdouts — West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate — while Trump was dealing with an arguably much more fractious congressional majority: members in swing districts and whose constituents relied on Medicaid who had been yelled at for months about the cuts, and members who wanted more cuts and a lower price tag; members who wanted the deficit-exploding tax cuts for the rich at all costs, and members like those in the radical Freedom Caucus, who had built a reputation as ‘legislative terrorists’ for blocking GOP leadership’s legislative priorities until they got their way.”
“It’s an old joke that ‘military intelligence’ is a good example of an oxymoron so I just asked an AI chatbot to finish a joke about what a military becomes when they implement artificial intelligence. It said, ‘an oxymoron squared’ - or as the generals call it, ‘strategically enhanced stupidity with a confidence interval of 95%’ which is not funny but still managed to be pretty on point regarding the dangers of overconfidence that inevitably follows from the implementation of new technology.”
Since Mike Figueredo is the recipient of our “Killer Left Take of the Week,” it seemed only right to hit for the cycle and recommend his book as well!
“This book tracks the emergence of new LGBTQ+ movements born online in the Middle East and North Africa in the 2000s and 2010s. This second edition of Catalyze includes a brand new preface about the renewed right-wing war on queer people in the West in the 2020s, and how LGBTQ+ rights-namely trans rights-are under attack.”
“The immigration and enforcement budget is 170 billion dollars now. The entire U.S. Army budget is 198 billion dollars. The fed courts are gutted now. We now have the largest secret police force on the planet, and it’s not even close. I just want to point out the incredible danger we are in now. There is nothing in the way..”
UNFTR YouTube Highlight
The Trump administration has declared war on immigrants and poor people and is using immigration as a smokescreen to cover for Medicaid cuts in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. Henchmen like Stephen Miller and Scott Bessent are promoting the false narrative that “illegal” immigrants are receiving Medicaid coverage and responsible for much of the fraud and abuse in the system. It’s a specious argument to distract from the fact that they’re cutting healthcare for millions of vulnerable Americans.
Lina Khan turned the FTC from a corporate rubber stamp into a real watchdog for working people. At 32, she became the youngest FTC chair in history and took on Amazon, blocked monopolistic mergers, and made antitrust policy actually matter to everyday Americans. She proved that change inside government is possible when you're brave enough to challenge wealth and power.
“The Mission of the League of United Latin American Citizens is to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, housing, health and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States.”
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