This week yielded ever more about our president’s ongoing spat with the widow a U.S. soldier who was killed recently in Niger. It’s not a good look for Trump, but I’ve got something else on my mind: What on earth are U.S. soldiers doing in Niger?
On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, Republicans are moving forward with a tax plan heavily tilted toward the wealthy.
Most folks generally suspect that the tax code is already tilted that way, but this week Sam Pizzigati runs the numbers and finds an imbalance that might be news to you: If you’re a middle class earner, you pay four times more of your income than millionaires do. Yet many leading millionaires still want to cut their own taxes — and your Social Security benefits.
Also this week, Khalil Bendib imagines EPA administrator Scott Pruitt a skunk, while Oscar Reyes observes that Pruitt’s commitment to killing the Obama administration’s signature climate policies won’t do any good for the flagging coal industry.
Finally, Jill Richardson argues that Congress should take the lead on disaster relief efforts, and Jim Hightower takes establishment Democrats to task for running behind the public and their own party on health care.
- A U.S. Soldier Died in Niger. What on Earth Are We Doing There? / Peter Certo
When our soldiers kill and die in wars we don’t know about and can’t end, we’re not a democracy anymore. - If You Want to Collect Social Security, Trump’s Tax Plan Is an Outrage / Sam Pizzigati
You probably pay about four times more of your income to Social Security than millionaires, who want to cut their taxes and your benefits. - If There’s a War on Coal, Coal Already Lost / Oscar Reyes
Trump’s coddling can’t save the notoriously dirty industry when cleaner options and better jobs abound. - The Sad State of Disaster Relief / Jill Richardson
Former presidents are cajoling individual Americans to donate for relief. Maybe they should lobby Congress instead. - Leading Democrats Are Way Behind the Public on Health Care / Jim Hightower
60 percent of Americans support single payer health care. So why is the party leadership dragging its feet? - Pruitt Stinks / Khalil Bendib
