Newsletter Archive

November 2019

Trump’s Secret Service $core

It’s a shocker, we know: Newly released documents raise fresh concerns about the extent to which President Trump is personally profiting from his public office, showing that the Secret Service spent more than $250,000 at Trump properties…

Plus: Plus, Trump says drug importation plan coming ‘soon’

Senate Punts Shutdown Threat into December

The Senate passed a stopgap bill Thursday to keep the government open through December 20, sending the measure to President Trump’s desk hours before current funding was set to expire.

Plus: Plus, your Thursday news roundup

Pentagon Fails Audit — Again

The second audit of the Department of Defense ended the same way as the first one: with a failing grade.

Plus: Plus, does the deficit matter? What top economists told Congress

Dems’ New Taxes Wouldn’t Just Hit Billionaires

The House on Tuesday passed a stopgap measure to fund the government through December 20. The Senate is set to take up the bill before current short-term funding expires on Thursday night, and the White House has signaled that President…

Plus: Plus, House votes to push shutdown deadline to December

Congress Has Three Days to Avert a Government Shutdown

You may not have realized it with everything else going on, but we’re technically just a few days away from a government shutdown. Current funding for federal agencies expires after November 21 — that’s Thursday — and Congress will need to…

Plus: Plus, a new fight over Trump's tax law

Trump to Force Hospitals to Reveal Prices

The Trump administration on Friday released the final version of a rule forcing hospitals to publicly disclose the prices they negotiate privately with insurers or face fines. The rule, which would take effect in 2021, is intended to…

Plus: Plus, rethinking the debt threat

Elizabeth Warren Escalates Her Battle With Billionaires

Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax has ruffled quite a few feathers among America’s billionaire class, and her rhetorical battle with the superrich entered a new phase this week when investor Leon Cooperman directed some choice words…

Plus: Plus, tax breaks for a superyacht marina

The Horrifying Number of Americans Who Can’t Afford Their Prescription Drugs

An estimated 58 million Americans — nearly 23% of the population — report that they couldn’t afford a drug they needed at some point in the last 12 months, according to a new Gallup poll published Tuesday. That number has risen…

Plus: Plus, fiscal hawk challenging Trump drops out of presidential race

What Warren’s Wealth Tax Would Do to Billionaires

Elizabeth Warren says her wealth tax — 2% on household wealth over $50 million, rising to 6% on household wealth over $1 billion — would raise trillions of dollars to pay for new social programs, including universal child care, student…

Plus: Plus, Sanders and Buttigieg release plans for VA

Elizabeth Warren vs. Bill Gates

Elizabeth Warren’s proposed wealth tax seems to have unsettled some of the country’s wealthiest citizens, inspiring criticism from the likes of Bill Gates and Leon Cooperman — and maybe playing a role in Michael Bloomberg’s renewed…

Plus: Plus, your Friday news roundup

Democrats Roll Out New Tax on Millionaires

Two Democratic lawmakers unveiled a plan Thursday that would raise taxes on high-income households.

Plus: Plus, Hillary Clinton knocks two of Elizabeth Warren's big ideas

4 Big Questions About Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare-for-All Plan

Elizabeth Warren’s new Medicare-for-All plan has won the candidate some praise for providing more detail than Bernie Sanders or other Democratic presidential rivals have. But it has also raised plenty of questions, including:

Plus: Plus, Trump won't rule out another shutdown

Trump White House Rejects Pelosi Drug Plan

The White House on Tuesday rejected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan to lower prescription drug prices, with an unnamed senior White House official telling the Associated Press that the plan is “unworkable.”

Plus: Plus, another huge tax windfall for the wealthy?

Elizabeth Warren’s $20.5 Trillion Medicare-for-All Plan

Elizabeth Warren on Friday detailed how she intends to pay for Medicare for All without raising costs for middle-class households. The senator from Massachusetts said her plan will cover everyone in the country without raising overall…

Plus: Plus, the national debt just hit $23 trillion

October 2019

Trump Pushes for More Tax Cuts Ahead of 2020 Election

With one eye on the upcoming election and other on a decelerating economy, President Trump is pushing administration officials and Republican lawmakers to come up with a new package of tax cuts, according to a report in Thursday’s…

Plus: Plus, Senate passes spending package, but border wall stalemate persists

Economy Cools as Trade War Bites, Tax Cuts Fizzle

The economy grew at a 1.9% annual pace in the third quarter, according to preliminary data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday. Although the topline number was better than expected, the report confirms that growth is slowing,…

Plus: Plus, Sanders on paying for Medicare for All

A Bipartisan Plan to 'Rescue' Social Security?

A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney introduced legislation Tuesday that would create new congressional committees focused on the fiscal health of federal trust funds, including Highway, Medicare Hospital…

Plus: Plus, two takes on GOP debt hypocrisy

The Eye-Popping Tax Hikes Needed to Pay for Medicare for All

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget is the latest group to take a stab at answering the big question looming over the Medicare-for-All debate — and Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign: How to finance a transition that would…

Plus: Plus, the Navy can't afford the fleet it wants