Chop Wood, Carry Water 4/7
This is tough. We're tougher.
Hi, all, and happy Monday.
Good grief. It’s nuts out there. By the time you read this newsletter the situation may have changed again—things are beyond chaotic—but as of this moment the markets are plunging, CEOs are saying we’re on the verge of a “Trump Recession” and Team Trump is doubling down by threatening an additional 50% tariff on China. Great times.
Mike and I happened to have a meeting with our financial advisor this morning, (which is why this newsletter is so late), and not only did we learn what we’ve personally lost from our retirement accounts already—yikes!—but we heard what financial advisors across the country are most worried about: “super inflation.” According to our advisor many working in finance think we’re looking at the possibility of Venezuela-level inflation (that’s 50%) for the next ten years if these policies keep up. Tell your friends.
As if this weren’t enough, we’re also facing the possibility of the Republicans’ reconciliation bill being passed in the next few weeks. The GOP Senate passed their budget resolution—an initial step—on Friday night after voting down a number of Democratic-introduced amendments to protect Social Security, Medicaid, and childcare funding, among other things. While the wording of their resolution is different than the House’s version the impact will be exactly the same: giant cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, clean energy tax credits, and ACA subsidies partnered with 4.6T worth of tax cuts for primarily the top 5% of income earners and massive corporations. Again, they’re doing this via reconciliation so Democrats can’t filibuster it (more on reconciliation in this great explainer).
But wait, there’s more! Republicans will be using a budget trick called the “current policy baseline” to make it seem like extending the Trump tax cuts (and adding a bunch of new ones) won’t add to the deficit. Yes—even though it will, by a ton. It’s an outrageous abuse of budgeting norms and common sense, and we need to call them out on it loudly. There’s much more on this below, but suffice it to say that so-called Republican “deficit hawks” want to have their cake and eat it too. They want their massive tax cuts, but they also want to pretend that they’re not adding 5-10T to the national debt when they absolutely are. It’s mind-blowing.
In other important news, Federal Judge Paula Xinis has set a deadline of 11:59 p.m. tonight for the Trump administration to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back from a Salvadoran mega-prison. Judge Xinis castigated the "grievous error" of deporting Abrego Garcia to El Salvador without evidence he was an MS-13 gang member, placing him at risk in a way that "shocks the conscience." Trump has asked the Supreme Court to block returning Abrego Garcia to the U.S. We should hear on that soon; obviously the implications of a bad decision here would be staggering.
But we won’t just sit and wait for a result, and we won’t just simmer in outrage. We’ll take action. We have a lot to be loud about, and it’s really really important that we do so. There’s another big recess coming up next week, too, so we’ll have a chance to try to talk to our reps in person. Since the lawmakers most responsible for all of this, however, will turn tail and run rather than try to justify the unjustifiable to their constituents, our calls will be more important than ever.
One last thing before I close: some of you complained that I didn’t include crowd size numbers for Saturday in “Extra! Extra!” It’s true—because I haven’t been able to find any verifiable counts. I’ve heard 5 million, but not from a verifiable source. I’ve also heard 2 million from Indivisible, which sounds about right to me, but I’m not sure where they got the number. The mainstream media, meanwhile, universally undercounted the size of the protests, with most referring to the crowds as being in the thousands, and one even saying “scores of people.” So frustrating! Anyway, when I do have confirmed numbers I’ll share them with you, but for now let’s just say that massive numbers of us showed up everywhere and it was a great, great day. I felt elated by my Los Angeles event, and I know you had the same experiences at yours, because I’ve heard from so many of you. Bravo!
OK, all. Lots to do today. It’s rough out there; know that I’m sending you love and strength. We’re going through it, but at least we’re going through it together.
If we stay that way we’ll survive, thrive, and eventually win.
P.S. Don’t forget I’ve got my weekly Substack Live today at 4PM PT / 7PM ET. No guest, just me. But I’ve got LOTS to talk about.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
First, I am distressed about the state of the economy and Trump’s stupid, destructive tariffs. I want the Senator to co-sponsor and actively work to pass S 1272, the Trade Review Act. This would take control of tariffs back from Trump and give it to Congress, which is where it belongs. We need to stop the global meltdown, and fast. [Add a sentence about how today’s market crash is affecting you.]
[If GOP add all of the below]
Americans are very clear that Republicans could end this today. If they don’t we will vote every one of them out next year.
Also, I am disgusted by the Budget Resolution the Senate passed on Friday. Republicans want to cut taxes for rich people, gut services for the rest of us, and then pretend they’re not blowing up the deficit when they are. How stupid do they think we are? If Republicans pass this bill we will vote every one of them out. Thanks.
Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.
First, I know that Congressman Bacon is introducing a companion bill to the Senate’s Trade Review Act, a bipartisan bill to make tariffs imposed by Trump — or any future president — disappear after 60 days if not approved by Congress. I expect the Congressmember to co-sponsor it and do whatever it takes to pass it. These tariffs are a 6 trillion dollar tax increase on working Americans. They are already tanking our economy. They need to be lifted now.
[If GOP add all of the below]
Americans are very clear that Republicans could end this today. If they don’t we will vote every one of them out next year.
Also, I am disgusted by the Budget Resolution the Senate passed on Friday. Republicans want to cut taxes for rich people, gut services for the rest of us, and then pretend they’re not blowing up the deficit when they are. How stupid do they think we are? If Republicans pass this reconciliation bill we will vote every one of them out. And I mean every one. Thanks.
Extra Credit ✅
The House will be voting on the SAVE Act on Thursday. Please send your House rep this click to send letter (feel free to personalize) asking them to oppose it. If you prefer, you can copy and paste the text of the email and drop it into the “contact me” form on your rep’s website.
Get Smart! 📚
Senator Jeff Merkley made a short video explaining the approach Republicans are trying to use to make their tax cuts permanent in the reconciliation bill. It may help make things more clear to you. Check it out!
Congressman Neal also wrote an Op-Ed explaining it, if you prefer to read your explainers.
Messaging! Messaging! Messaging! 📣
‘Current Law’ vs. ‘Current Policy’ in the Trump Tax-Law Debate
Here are facts & talking points about the Republicans’ $5 trillion budget gimmick. Please use the talking points to explain it to your friends and family!
Hit the Streets!
The 50501 Movement has already announced their next major protest date for April 19th. See what’s scheduled near you here.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T
] [Text SIGN PJIXGI to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram]Mass deportation will have immense costs for our friends and family, our communities and our economy. As advocates are now admitting, it will also have a huge price tag just to execute. The White House has suggested they’ll need more than $86 billion in appropriations just to start, and the American Immigration Council has estimated taxpayers will need to spend almost a trillion dollars over the next decade to complete their round-ups – much of which will go to mass detention camps 24 times as large as what we have now. This will be a human rights disaster, and at a time when some in our government are insisting we cannot afford to fully fund Medicaid or feed the hungry it is an unacceptable use of our limited resources. Please oppose every single penny requested in appropriations for mass deportation and the detention camp archipelago.
OK, you did it again! You’re helping to save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
It will be interesting to watch GOP politicians, bankers and America's oligarch bros scattering out of the sunlight, like cockroaches, as their all powerful leader tanks America's safety nets, one by one.
In every state, approximately 5 million Americans marched in small and large gatherings this weekend. The momentum is shifting against Trump 2.0 and his overblown MAGA megaphone.
The vast majority of Americans do not want the consequences of Trump's campaign of cruelty, retribution and destruction. They're worn out of Trump's relentless and ludicrous Reality TV show "Trump the President"
For those who remember the Vietnam war protest era, it took from 1965 to 1968 to start turning the country against a wildly unpopular war. With the help of Trump's delusional madness, we are getting there faster.
We must double down and get the guy out of office ASAP.
I wrote a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe this AM about how they represented the crowd which they say they are considering publishing tomorrrow. I think polite letters to the editor of newspapers you subscribe to can be effective whether they are published or not. I wrote "Millions of people showed up around the country for the "Hands Off" protest on Saturday and I have been checking to see how the events were covered in the media. While the Globe's physical paper had an accurate headline in the Metro, as of Monday morning, the on-line version, which is what most people read, was still 'Thousands march across New England to protest Trump administration, Elon Musk.' If you weren't actually there this would come off as nothing special rather than a protest that was 10 times larger than previous protests per the police estimates of thirty thousand you reported further down in the story.
The Globe is not alone in this weak framing, but it is a missed opportunity. The growth of protests deserves more prominence because of what they represent at this point in history and what we are likely to see in the coming months. And it is also a chance for the Globe to show these tens of thousands of potential new readers--most of whom probably looked to social media to see their experience reflected-- the value of accuracy and balance that professional journalism offers."