Tag Archives: Medicaid

Salon: “I feel like I’ve lost my country”: Americans who oppose Trump are now looking for the exits

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As President Donald Trump ushers in his so-called “Golden Age” for the nation, some Americans are jumping ship. Yale University history professor Marci Shore is relieved to be one of them. 

She and her husband, historian Timothy Snyder, had long been on the fence about leaving the United States, Shore told Salon, with professorships at the University of Toronto available to them for at least two years should they have wished to take them. Trump’s reelection in November and the proverbial smoke before the fire in the immediate aftermath made it clear to her that now was the time to pull the trigger. 

“I felt like this country had everything right in front of them, and people chose this — a lot of people chose this, and that was heartbreaking,” she said. “And I also felt like, ‘I don’t want to come back to this.’ I don’t want to, and maybe I’m not devoted enough. Maybe I’m not enough of a patriot. But I felt like, ‘I don’t want this. I don’t want this for my kids. I don’t want this environment.'”

Shore is a part of a small but burgeoning group of Americans who have lost faith in their country since Trump’s reclaimed the presidency — who have lost hope that a good future is still possible there …

?url=httpswww.salon.com20250518i-feel-like-ive-lost-my-country-americans-oppose-are-now-looking-for-the-exits

https://www.salon.com/2025/05/18/i-feel-like-ive-lost-my-country-americans-oppose-are-now-looking-for-the-exits

Also here:

“I feel like I’ve lost my country”: Americans who oppose Trump are now looking for the exits
Professional relocation consultants say they’re fielding more calls from Americans trying to leave the country

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/i-feel-like-i-ve-lost-my-country-americans-who-oppose-trump-are-now-looking-for-the-exits/ar-AA1EZvhK

MSNBC: Trump’s White House accidentally admitted the truth about its tax plan [Opinion]

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Earlier this week the White House published evidence that the president’s “big, beautiful bill” hikes taxes on the poor to cut taxes for the rich.

The subtitle say it all: “hikes taxes on the poor to cut taxes for the rich”!

Opinion | Trump’s White House accidentally admitted the truth about its tax plan
Earlier this week the White House published evidence that the president’s “big, beautiful bill” hikes taxes on the poor to cut taxes for the rich.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trumps-white-house-accidentally-admitted-truth-tax-plan-rcna207301

MSNBC: How Trump’s ‘bribe now, pain later’ budget scheme hit a surprise roadblock [Opinion]

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The conservative revolt over Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ threatens a major component of his bid to keep Congress in the GOP’s hands next year.

Rep. Chip Roy of Texas had major problems with the bill his fellow Republicans presented to the House Budget Committee on Friday. On paper, the legislative package for President Donald Trump’s agenda slashes more than a trillion dollars in federal spending over the next decade. But Roy and other hard-line conservatives on the panel were frustrated at the bill’s timeline for those cuts. Their “no” votes tanked the bill and sent House leadership scrambling for last-minute weekend negotiations to salvage what Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill.”

Roy is right about the imbalance and trickery on display, as the current bill back-loads the savings while raising the federal deficit in the short term. The problem for him is that Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and the rest of the House leadership team aren’t the source of his concerns. Instead, the catalyst for his ire lies Roy is right about the imbalance and trickery on display, as the current bill back-loads the savings while raising the federal deficit in the short term. The problem for him is that Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and the rest of the House leadership team aren’t the source of his concerns. Instead, the catalyst for his ire lies down Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House.

Meanwhile, “down Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House”:

That hesitance from the White House can be chalked up in part to next year’s midterm elections. Politico’s Rachel Bade recently reported that Trump is already “hyper-engaged in the fight to keep the GOP’s majorities in Congress” …

It’s those pesky mid-terms that are spooking them!

Opinion | How Trump’s ‘bribe now, pain later’ budget scheme hit a surprise roadblock
The conservative revolt over Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ threatens a major component of his bid to keep Congress in the GOP’s hands next year.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-congress-budget-tax-cuts-chip-roy-rcna207299

Explicame: Trump proposes $50 tax on every $1,000 sent in remittances

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Also billed as the Republican’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” and bullshit like this subtitle:

… the bill actually continues tax cuts for the wealthy on the backs of the working poor, those living hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck. Buried starting at page 327 of 389 is a new 5% tax on remittances sent to family & friends overseas. This 5% tax is on top of the income taxes and the 15.3% (yes, the actual amount is twice the deduction that appears on your check stubs!) social security and medicare taxes that the sender has already paid, plus 2-4% in currency exchange fees.

Amidst the buzz surrounding the ambitious fiscal plan revealed by Republicans this week, a particular proposal has flown under the radar yet holds the potential to severely impact millions of workers and their families both within and outside the United States: a new tax on remittances sent abroad, costing up to $50 each month.

This initiative is part of the ‘ways and means bills,’ as termed by lawmakers aligned with President Donald Trump. The legislative package seeks to extend and expand tax exemptions implemented during his first term while introducing a series of public spending cuts. However, among the numerous provisions, the remittance tax stands out for its immediate and silent social impact.

The proposal specifically calls for a 5% tax on remittances sent from the United States. This levy would fall on the sender, meaning the worker in the U.S. who sends money to their home country to support loved ones, with an amount of $50 for every $1,000 sent.

With this tax, a monthly transfer of $300 could cost the worker an additional $15 in taxes, a figure that may seem small in macroeconomic terms but represents a significant expense for households living paycheck to paycheck.

Trump proposes $50 tax on every $1,000 sent in remittances
In a sweeping fiscal plan unveiled by Republicans, a proposed tax on remittances could significantly impact millions of workers and their families.

https://www.explica.me/en/News/Trump-proposes-50-tax-on-every-1000-sent-in-remittances-20250516-0016.html

GOP’s “big beautiful bill” would tax payments that many immigrants send back home
The bill would impose a 5% tax on remittance payments, with exceptions for most transfers made by U.S. citizens.

https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/05/14/gops-big-beautiful-bill-would-tax-payments-that-many-immigrants-send-back-home

Apparently there are a few Republicans who think the bill is not so big and beautiful.

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5304927-trump-agenda-shaky-congress

MarketWatch: Millions of Americans may lose health insurance under GOP tax plan. Here’s who will be affected most.

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The plan would represent the largest cut to Medicaid ever

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill could lead to at least 8.6 million Americans losing health coverage, with the majority expected to lose Medicaid. Most affected would be low-income adults without dependents, earning a bit more than a poverty income of $15,650 for a single person.

Go for it, suckers! Mid-terms are coming, and they will come with a vengeance!

?url=httpswww.marketwatch.comstorymillions-of-americans-may-lose-health-insurance-under-gop-tax-plan-heres-who-will-be-affected-most-bd965669

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/millions-of-americans-may-lose-health-insurance-under-gop-tax-plan-heres-who-will-be-affected-most-bd965669

Musk Watch: Musk promised budget cuts. He delivered a panopticon.

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The Department of Government Efficiency, the secretive White House initiative founded by Elon Musk, was sold to the American public under the guise of cost-cutting. In this regard it has failed. After more than 110 days of austerity theater, DOGE has shaved just a few billion dollars from annual federal spending. Musk, who is poised to “significantly” reduce his involvement in the project, had promised $2 trillion.

DOGE has had much more success expanding the executive branch’s domestic surveillance capacity.

Citing whistleblower complaints, Rep. Gerald Connolly divulged last month that DOGE is building a “master database,” a single exhaustive repository containing personal data held by numerous federal agencies, including the IRS, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services.

“The DOGE team is reportedly engaged in an unprecedented effort to build a massive database using data from SSA and across the federal government,” the Democratic lawmaker wrote in a letter to the SSA Office of the Inspector General.

Efforts to build the database are part of a Trump executive order dictating the elimination of the federal government’s “information silos.” In signing the executive order in March, Trump tied it to DOGE’s nominal mission of “stopping waste, fraud, and abuse.”

But in action, amalgamating federal data is part of the White House’s push to deport and intimidate undocumented immigrants, including by falsifying SSA death records to prevent undocumented immigrants from accessing housing and banking services. DOGE employees are also using data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to remove undocumented immigrants from housing, even if they are living with family members who are legal residents.

The DOGE master database is being built and housed at the Department of Homeland Security and includes the use of biometric data to track immigrants, according to Wired. “They are already cross-referencing immigration [data] with SSA and IRS as well as voter data,” one DHS official told the outlet. FedScoop reported last week that members of DOGE have been spotted at a DHS border security office that houses fingerprint, facial, and iris records.

China would be so proud!

Musk promised budget cuts. He delivered a panopticon.
The Department of Government Efficiency, the secretive White House initiative founded by Elon Musk, was sold to the American public under the guise of cost-cutting.

https://www.muskwatch.com/p/musk-promised-budget-cuts-he-delivered

Raw Story: ‘Political life or death’: Analyst warns GOP at risk as Trump flip flops on core principle

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Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman is hearing from members of Congress that President Donald Trump’s willingness to raise taxes on the super wealthy is causing a stink on Capitol Hill.

Speaking to MSNBC’s Katie Tur on Friday, Sherman mentioned a Trump post on Truth Social in which he said that Republicans “probably should not” raise taxes — “but I’m OK if they do!!!”

Taxes on the super wealthy? Raise ’em high! Throw in a wealth tax while you’re at it!

‘Political life or death’: Analyst warns GOP at risk as Trump flip flops on core principle

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/political-life-or-death-analyst-warns-gop-at-risk-as-trump-flip-flops-on-core-principle/ar-AA1EuWgL

Raw Story: ‘Pay for Trump’s golf trips’: Observers call out ‘Orwellian language’ in Republican budget

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“The GOP budget has $0 for FEMA’s emergency management funding, yet provides $300M to pay for Trump’s golf trips,” complained Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.). “Extreme weather doesn’t discriminate between red and blue districts. The GOP is choosing Trump’s golf over the safety and security of their constituents.”

‘Pay for Trump’s golf trips’: Observers call out ‘Orwellian language’ in Republican budget
President Donald Trump released his 2026 budget proposal on Friday in a document that says he’s cut $163 billion from federal spending so far. Fox News reporter Edward Lawrence said that this was a “skinny” topline budget request, but it “does not include Medicare and Medicaid spending. Represents an increase of 13.4%, for the military,” Lawrence s…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pay-for-trump-s-golf-trips-observers-call-out-orwellian-language-in-republican-budget/ar-AA1E42tw

Newsweek: Medicaid Update: Trump Pushes Republicans to Mandate Change

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President Donald Trump is pushing to have the pharmaceutical industry help fund his tax cuts by requiring drugmakers to lower Medicaid drug prices, according to reporting by Bloomberg News.

Newsweek reached out to the White House by email on Friday afternoon for comment.

Trump targeted drug prices as part of his effort to bring down costs for Americans: He first signed an order that rescinded former President Joe Biden’s executive order that lowered the cost of prescription drugs, but last month signed a fresh order telling the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to take new steps to lower drug costs through competition and market forces rather than through presidential mandate.

So the bottom line is that thanks to King Donald’s meddling, we now have a net INCREASE in prescription costs to Medicaid patients.

Medicaid Update: Trump Pushes Republicans to Mandate Change
The proposal comes amid negotiations over how to cut hundreds of billions of dollars in spending to fund the GOP tax package.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/medicaid-update-trump-pushes-republicans-to-mandate-change/ar-AA1E42uD

Fox News: Harvard professor reveals university was ‘not ready’ after Oct 7 as Trump revokes tax-exempt status

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An adjunct professor at Harvard spoke out Thursday after the Ivy League university’s president, Alan Garber, apologized as scathing internal reports exposed that antisemitism and Islamophobia were prevalent on campus. 

Eugene Litvak, who teaches at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that one of the nation’s top universities “was not ready” for the anti-Semitic and anti-Islamic behavior that has plagued Harvard since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

“Obviously, I was really, really upset,” Litvak told Fox. “What happened at Harvard after October 7th, and [at] the university, in my opinion, again, that’s my personal opinion, the university was not ready to face these kinds of challenges. None of the universities were ready.”

“I’m commending, actually, the letter from the president of the university,” the Harvard professor added. “What I really like, in science, we say that you cannot solve any problem unless you formulate it. So he formulated the problem in his letter. He acknowledged that there is a problem. Otherwise, nothing would happen.”

Harvard president Alan Garber apologized in a letter Tuesday after internal reports unveiled antisemitism and Islamophobia’s presence at the Ivy League school. Garber described the findings as “disturbing.”

“I think that’s a step in the absolutely right direction,” Litvak told Fox News Digital. “I would like to see the fruits of it. But again, I was very, very pleased because of the acknowledgment that there is such a problem.”

But:

Despite Garber’s apology and admission, President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social Friday stating that the administration will be “taking away Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status,” noting “It’s what they deserve!” 

Harvard professor reveals university was ‘not ready’ after Oct 7 as Trump revokes tax-exempt status
A Harvard school of Public Health professor spoke out after scathing internal reports unveiled antisemitism and islamophobia at one of America’s top universities.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/harvard-professor-reveals-university-was-not-ready-after-oct-7-as-trump-revokes-tax-exempt-status/ar-AA1E6efu