Newsletter Archive

October 2019

US Deficit Soared 26% in 2019

The federal government’s budget deficit grew to $984 billion in fiscal year 2019, the U.S. Treasury announced Friday.

Plus: Plus, constitutional problems for Pelosi's drug plan?

Five Ways Elizabeth Warren Can Pay for Medicare for All

Elizabeth Warren has promised to provide details in the next few weeks about how she intends to pay for Medicare for All, and multiple economists and policy experts are rushing to help the Massachusetts senator complete the financing plan,…

Plus: Plus, your Thursday news roundup

Why Trump Might Want Another Government Shutdown

President Trump has been known to raise the stakes in political battles, especially when he’s holding a weak hand. Now, political insiders in both parties worry that he might do it again, Jonathan Allen of NBC News reports, by opting for a…

Plus: Plus, your Wednesday news roundup

Obamacare Premiums Drop: A Triumph for Trump?

Affordable Care Act insurance markets are looking stable for 2020, with premiums for benchmark plans set to fall for a second straight year — and some Trump administration officials are touting those developments as a success, even as the…

Plus: Plus, your Tuesday news roundup

The Staggering Cost of Health Care for US Households

Under pressure from competitors and journalists covering the Democratic presidential nomination race, Elizabeth Warren said Sunday that she would release details “over the next few weeks” to explain how she intends to finance her Medicare…

Plus: Plus - Elizabeth Warren will show her math

Are Democrats Too Afraid of the T Word?

House Democrats are pushing ahead with their plan to lower prescription drug prices, even as the already fraught relationship between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Trump, her main bargaining counterpart of the issue, appeared to take…

Plus: Plus, Pelosi pushes ahead on drug bill despite clashes with Trump

Why a November Government Shutdown Just Got More Likely

The dizzying whirl of events in Washington on Wednesday – including a House vote condemning President Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria and an explosive meeting at the White House that ended with the abrupt exit of…

Plus: Plus, the $30 trillion question haunting Elizabeth Warren’s campaign

The Big Tax and Health-Care Takeaways from the Dem Debate

With Democrats debating a variety of ways to expand access to health care and President Trump promising a “phenomenal” plan at some point in the future, it’s a good bet that there could be significant changes ahead for the U.S. health care…

Plus: Plus, a cheaper way to provide universal health coverage? 

Pelosi’s Drug Bill Would Save Medicare $345 Billion: CBO

Given the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump and the turmoil in Syria in the aftermath of the president’s controversial decision to withdraw U.S. troops, health care is likely to be somewhat less of a focus at tonight’s…

Plus: Plus, Bernie Sanders wants to undo Trump’s corporate tax cut

Trump Suffers Two Big Legal Defeats on Immigration, Wall

The Trump administration suffered a pair of legal defeats on major immigration policies Friday, as a federal judge in Texas ruled that the president acted unlawfully in declaring a national emergency to secure funds for a border wall and a…

Plus: Plus, a $1 trillion hit for homeowners?

newsletter test MDR oct 11 2019

States deploying work requirements in their Medicaid programs are spending millions of dollars on administrative costs to implement the new rules, according to a new study by the Government Accountability Office.

Plus: Plus - more great stuff as always

US Deficit Just Under $1 Trillion, Highest in 7 Years: CBO

The federal budget deficit for fiscal year 2019 grew to $984 billion, or 4.7% of GDP, the highest since 2012, the Congressional Budget Office estimated on Monday.

Plus: Plus, 'unsupported' drug price hikes cost Americans billions

The Big Push for Private Medicare Plans

Medicare is shaping up as one of the most important issues in the 2020 election, with several leading Democrats offering proposals that would significantly expand the program. President Trump jumped into the fray with an executive order…

Plus: Plus - US Navy’s $7 billion destroyer is 6 years overdue

Surprise! The Rotten Budget Outlook Has Gotten Brighter: Report

The national debt is now approaching $23 trillion, up nearly $9 trillion from the end of 2010, and the debt held by the public now stands at nearly $17 trillion, up about $7.5 trillion from since the end of 2010. But in a new report, the…

Plus: Plus, Social Security’s 2020 benefit hike

The Incredible Shrinking Tax Rate for the Rich

The highest-income households in the U.S. have seen an enormous reduction in their overall tax burdens since 1950, a development highlighted Sunday by The New York Times’ columnist David Leonhardt, using data from a forthcoming book by…

Plus: Plus: 1 in 4 US health-care dollars is wasted.

Four Takeaways on Trump’s Medicare Executive Order

In signing an executive order on Medicare Thursday, President Trump sought to portray himself as a protector of the health-care program for seniors.

Plus: Plus, how much would Trump’s snake-filled border moat cost?

Trump Blasts Democrats on ‘Socialist’ Medicare for All

President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order to expand private Medicare Advantage plans, bashing Democratic proposals for a government-run Medicare-for-All system as socialism and positioning himself as a defender of private…

Plus: Plus, would a Warren-style wealth tax kill the economy?

Does Impeachment Destroy Any Hope of a Trump-Pelosi Deal on Drug Prices?

As the House impeachment probe into President Trump threatens to push aside envelop everything else on the political landscape, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried Wednesday to emphasize that Democrats still intend to pursue a domestic policy…

Plus: Plus, what Dem candidates would pay under their tax plans.

Bernie Sanders’ New Tax Targets High CEO Pay

Bernie Sanders released a plan Monday that would penalize companies that pay their CEOs far more than their average workers. The proposal is designed to combat rising income inequality, Sanders said in a statement, and to pressure American…

Plus: Plus, USPS ? ICE ?

September 2019

Congress Rebukes Trump on Border Emergency Again

The House on Friday voted to terminate President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southern border, rebuking the president on the issue for a second time this year, but again falling short of the margin needed to override…

Plus: Plus, what tax cheats (and mistakes) cost the IRS