Bits n’ pieces from east, west and beyond
East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact.
A recent sampling:
President Donald Trump’s preferred pick to head the USPS, FedEx board member David Steiner, has been appointed Postmaster General. FedEx is the USPS’s leading competitor. The letter carriers union sees the appointment as a conflict of interest and an ominous step toward USPS privatization.
Since taking office Trump has changed his tariff policies at least 50 times: The Washington Post.
Various media: House Republicans hope to pass their budget bill before the Memorial Day weekend. Over the next decade its tax cuts would cost the federal budget at least $4.6 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office says. If passed, tax cuts would begin immediately, whereas the bill’s Medicaid cuts are scheduled to wait until 2029 -- to dodge voter backlash in the mid-term and 2028 elections.
Critics of the current bill say if Republicans truly want to cut “waste, fraud, and abuse” they would scrutinize the privatized part of Medicare, Part D, known for overpayments, and could save over $1 trillion. Writers at The Hill say pairing tax cuts for the rich with cuts to Medicaid, SNAP and clean energy benefits is a gamble for Republicans, since those programs are popular with Republican voters.
From leaked audio of a recent FEMA staff meeting with the new acting director, shared with Drop Site News: the president’s aim is to push a large part of FEMA response and recovery onto the states.
Historian Heather Cox Richardson looks at federal spending: in the past 50 years discretionary spending fell 40%. By the end of the 2023 fiscal year deficits were driven by tax cuts from George W. Bush ($8 trillion) and Trump ($1.7 trillion).
As to over-taxation complaints: the U.S. is far below the average taxation of 37 other nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Center for American Progress says in 2023, if taxed the same as the average OECD level, over 10 years the U.S. would have an additional $26 trillion in revenue.
And if taxed like the average of European Union nations, there would be an additional $36 trillion. Trump wants tariffs to replace taxes, and says Walmart’s price-raising due to his tariffs would not happen if the corporation would just “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and “not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
Trump’s proposed budget includes a 40% cut to federal renting assistance, with other public housing voucher programs “essentially shuttered,” The Lever warns.
Saudi Arabia wants to diversify their oil-dependent economy, with a focus on AI, The New York Times reported. On a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, Trump was joined by U.S. business executives seeking Saudi investments. In exchange for Saudi’s promise of $600 billion to invest in the U.S., Trump promised $142 billion in state-of-the-art defense and security equipment from U.S. defense firms.
A Ukraine-U.S. deal has been reached on sharing Ukraine’s mineral resources, The Week reported. Ukraine rejected a U.S. demand that already-received military aid would be used for future mineral projects, and agreed instead to forthcoming assistance as payment for resources. After speaking to Ukraine’s president Trump said he’s convinced Vladimir Putin “doesn’t want to stop the war.”
Due to Trump’s budget cuts, weather forecasts are expected to become less accurate, particularly impacting air travel, farming, shipping and energy production, Vox reported. The National Weather Service is credited with triggering billions of dollars in economic benefits and lives saved.
From the trimming-the-federal-budget file: The Independent shared details from White House documents of plans for a “massive military parade” on Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14, also the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. The Washington Post says it will cost an estimated $25 to $45 million.
Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary has talked with producers of Duck Dynasty about creating a reality show where immigrants compete to move their citizenship applications faster: various media.
Relevant headlines: A Musk-funded group is trying to change the law so that it’s easier for billionaires to sue their critics into bankruptcy; There’s a growing global call to boycott American-made goods; Judge Forced to Pause Trial Because DOJ Lawyers Are So Unprepared [about banning transgender service members]; Trump’s FBI Moves to Criminally Charge Major Climate Groups; ‘Risk to public safety’: Wildfire season may be unpredictable after federal budget slashing hits supplies; Moody's Pushes U.S. Out Of Elite 'AAA' Credit Club, Citing Rising Debt [Trump’s proposed tax cuts makes lending to the U.S. riskier].
At least 50 migrants sent to infamous El Salvador prison entered US legally, report finds [Libertarian think tank] Cato analysis goes against Trump administration’s claim that only undocumented people were deported to CECOT; UN warns 14,000 babies could die in Gaza in next 48 hours without aid [U.S. complicity is driven by lobbyists]; Another world leader who embraced Trump gets burned [Romania voted anti-Trump, as did Canada and Australia]; Migrant stop and searches rarely lead to drugs; and Ex-Israeli general hits out at government for “killing babies as a pastime” in Gaza.
Blast from the past: “They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds.” Greek poet and novelist. Dinos Christianopoulos, 1931-202