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The Insider’s Track
Good morning,
I paid $8 for a black iced coffee yesterday in my neighborhood. Eight. Dollars. Sometimes I think most of the underlying rage you see bubbling up around the country can be attributed to this feeling of just being constantly ripped off wherever you go.
Speaking of getting ripped off, Congress is in the process of stitching up the votes on President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” flagship legislation in hopes of getting it to his desk by the Fourth. Following a narrow 51–49 procedural vote over the weekend, the Senate advanced the bill to the debate stage, with Senators Rand Paul and Thom Tillis joining all Democrats in opposition. Targeted by MAGA for his disloyalty, Tillis immediately announced he’s not running for re-election, thus putting NC potentially in play for Senate Dems next year (the modern GOP has no room for actual conservatives). So once the Senate passes the bill, it gets kicked back to the House as part of the reconciliation process before going to Trump. I’d put it at extremely likely that this giant turd of a bill becomes law in time for the fireworks on Friday.
So what’s in this thing? It’s mostly an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, with some deep cuts to the welfare state for good measure. The current Senate version raises the debt ceiling $5 trillion. It’ll increase the deficit by some $3 trillion over the next decade, per the Congressional Budget Office. (I’ve seen lots of Trump supporters attack the CBO for its scoring of this bill as some kind of “lefty” organization. Please. The CBO is run by a Bush appointee).
The bill uses this well-worn accounting trick to make it look like Republicans are actually reducing the deficit by $508 billion, as Lindsey Graham falsely claimed over the weekend. But that’s based on this little gimmick that lets them basically write off the $4 trillion cost of extending the tax cuts. So when you see Republicans tossing around that $508B number this week, it should immediately set off your B.S. detector.
Here’s some other random little tidbits that caught my eye in the current manifestation of the bill:
A huge cut in SNAP benefits and food assistance for the poor, plus another $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare (but mostly Medicaid). Millions will probably lose their coverage. This is the provision that Dems could run with as a winning message for the midterms, if they aren’t too busy fighting for trans girls in sports or whatever.
A tax on remittances, which is the money that immigrants send home, has been watered down to effectively be meaningless. House Rs passed a 5% tax on remittance, which was cut to 3.5% by the Senate, and then further to 1%. It also doesn’t apply to bank transfers. This is one of those things I don’t understand. It’s a tax on US dollars flowing out of the country. Who is the lobby pushing Senate Rs against this? Western Union?
On the energy front, the bill phases out Biden’s tax credits for solar and wind—not surprising—while adding an excise tax on new renewable projects that utilize components made in China. At the same time, there’s provisions tucked in there to incentivize domestic coal production. Making Coal Great Again, baby. Our children will be ashamed of us.
Thankfully, the bill no longer includes Sen. Mike Lee’s provision to sell off millions of acres of pristine federal land in the West to developers after an outcry from (actual) conservative voters. Teddy Roosevelt would’ve been spinning in his grave.
The bottom line is that this legislation acts as a giant wealth transfer from the poor to the rich and the young to the old. Younger earners get nothing from the tax cuts, which are all structured to benefit higher-earners. It adds trillions to the national debt, which means higher taxes and mortgage payments for young Americans trying to start or build their families. One nonpartisan analysis suggests a 40-year-old making the median income will lose $7,500 over their lifetime, while a 70-year-old with the same income nets $17,500. The Boomers win, as always. And then we wonder why young voters turn out in record numbers in our most expensive city to elect a socialist. If this is the alternative, why wouldn’t they?
If this whole charade does anything, it should finally disabuse Americans of this notion that modern-day Republicans are the conservative party. You simply cannot be an actual conservative while voting to increase the debt, adding to the deficit, all while doing precisely nothing to deal with our spending problem.
The Rundown
Iran’s Supreme Leader Challenges Trump
A fierce war of words has erupted between Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Donald Trump following recent U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Khamenei accused Trump of “exaggerating in order to cover up and conceal the truth,” directly responding to Trump’s claim that the U.S. had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear sites. Separately, Trump said that he is offering Iran “nothing” and is refusing to engage with Iranian officials, signaling a hardening U.S. stance. Read more.
Also happening:
- US-Canada trade talks: Canada and the United States have resumed trade negotiations after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to rescind the country’s digital services tax on U.S. technology companies. The development follows President Donald Trump’s announcement on Friday that he was suspending all trade talks with Canada “effective immediately” over the tax policy. Here’s the latest.
- Week in review: President Donald Trump is coming off what may be his most successful week in office—a landmark Supreme Court ruling, a successful NATO summit, a ceasefire that appears to be holding in the Middle East, another peace deal in Africa, a stock market back to setting records and a key trade breakthrough with China. Read more.
This is a preview of The 1600—Tap here to get this newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
The post The 1600: America Doesn’t Have a Conservative Party appeared first on Newsweek.
