Embed from Getty Images John Bresnahan and Burgess Everett report Deficit Don? Red ink gushes in Trump era (‘The president endorsed a bipartisan budget deal without any of the spending restraints previously demanded by Republicans’): With a new bipartisan budget deal that does nothing to cut federal spending, Trump is on track for another $1 trillion…
Federal Government
America, Authoritarianism, City, Culture, Federal Government, Libertarians, Liberty, Local Government, Politics, State Government, That Which Paved the Way, Trump-Russia
The Biggest Story of Our Time
by JOHN ADAMS •
In life – at least life in a well-ordered, free society – the highest matters are not political. They are familial, cultural, social – involving greater pursuits than contending over the role of the state. Under this view, one contends over politics (as libertarians do) not because it is too important but because it must…
America, Courts, Elections, Federal Government, Law
Major Supreme Court Decisions (And Where to Find Them)
by JOHN ADAMS •
There were two major United States Supreme Court decisions handed down today, on partisan gerrymandering and on a possible citizenship question for the 2020 census form. There will be significant commentary – some informed, some not – about these decisions, but it’s worth reading them in full. Like most decisions, they’re lengthy, yet always worth…
Economics, Economy, Federal Government, Trade, Trump
The Cost of Trump’s Tariffs
by JOHN ADAMS •
Heather Long reports Trump’s steel tariffs cost U.S. consumers $900,000 for every job created, experts say: President Trump has shown little interest in removing the steel and aluminum tariffs he imposed more than a year ago despite growing evidence Americans are paying a hefty price for these tariffs and increasing pressure from Republicans in Congress…
CDA, City, Conflicts of Interest, Federal Government, Local Government, Taxes/Taxation, Trump
Trump’s Tax Returns
by JOHN ADAMS •
If Trump wanted his tax returns to remain private, then he should not have run for public office. So many men want to be private figures and public officials at the same time, opportunistically claiming one role or another as it suits them. Small-town Whitewater has had a problem like this for years: tiny notables…
Corruption Probe, Crime, Federal Government, History, Law, Trump
Nixon Called for an End of an Investigation, Too
by JOHN ADAMS •
Authoritarianism, Federal Government, Law, Race, Trump
Undermining His Own Case for a National Emergency
by JOHN ADAMS •
Elizabeth Goitein observes Trump Is Destroying His Own Case for a National Emergency (“By waiting for Congress to act, the president is undermining the legal basis for any declaration”): Here’s how the legal process for emergency powers works: Under the National Emergencies Act, passed by Congress in 1976, the president has broad discretion to declare a…
Economy, Federal Government, Never Trump, Transportation, Trump
Commerce Slows
by JOHN ADAMS •
Update, Friday afternoon: Trump folds under pressure agrees to a three-week re-opening of the federal gov’t. Of his Rose Garden address this afternoon (one that I watched in full), Jennifer Rubin observes “[m]aybe this is part of an insanity defense for the Russia probe.” One reads that under the shutdown, interstate commerce now slows: Significant…
Economy, Federal Government, Trump
The Shutdown Brings…a shutdown
by JOHN ADAMS •
Troy Newmyer reports Economists worry ‘zero growth’ may be reality as shutdown drags on: Kevin Hassett, the Trump administration’s top economist, acknowledged yesterday the economy may not grow at all in the first quarter if the shutdown lasts that long. And White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is eyeing an even longer impasse. He…
Employment, Federal Government, Hunger
Food Banks Struggle to Replenish Supplies as Demand Increases
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tom Philpott reports Food Banks Usually Replenish Their Resources in January. This Year, They Got the Shutdown Instead (“Food banks—from Chicago to Washington, DC, from California to Florida to New York City—are reporting jumps in demand for their services from furloughed federal workers, whose numbers hover around 800,000 nationwide”). Meanwhile, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross doesn’t understand…
America, City, Federal Government, Fellow Traveler, Fifth Columnist, Local Government, Never Trump, Russia, Trump, Trump-Russia, Unfit
Trump-Russia Roundup
by JOHN ADAMS •
While the proper focus against Trumpism involves a zealous lawful effort against Trump and his leading operatives, there is also a problem of Trumpism down to the local level. In both cases, officials advancing Trumpism ignore the overwhelming evidence of his betrayal of our own people to the benefit of a hostile foreign power. As…
Bad Ideas, City, Congress, Culture, Demographics, Development, Diversity, Economics, Economy, Federal Government, Immigration, Trump
‘Our Guy’ Isn’t Our Guy
by JOHN ADAMS •
Some months ago, in a radio interview to tout part of the Trump tax bill, the Whitewater Community Development Authority’s executive director Dave Carlson referred to Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner as ‘our guy.’ Sensenbrenner, a pro-Trump septuagenarian multimillionaire from a gerrymandered district, is – literally – Whitewater’s federal representative. Sensenbrenner has never been – and…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, CDA, Charity and Mercy, City, Crony Capitalism, Culture, Dogs, Economy, Education, Federal Government, Foxconn, Free Market, Government Spending, Innovation Center/Tech Park, Local Government, Police, Politics, School District, State Capitalism, State Government, University, UW System, WEDC, Wisconsin
The Broad Outlines of 2019
by JOHN ADAMS •
For many years, I would begin the year with predictions for the twelve months ahead. Events since 2016 have made predictions harder, but one can still discern some short-term developments for the city. These prospects, of course, form an online of topics to ponder, and about which to write (often requiring that one return to the…
Conflicts of Interest, Crime, Federal Government, Law
Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Wrong on Obstruction of Justice
by JOHN ADAMS •
Daniel J. Hemel and Eric A. Posner conclude Yes, [Trump Attorney General Nominee] Bill Barr’s Memo Really is Wrong About Obstruction of Justice. They respond with 6 arguments concerning federal bribery law, “facially lawful” acts, obstruction and collusion, the Starr investigation, the theory of a unitary executive, and the context of appointee Barr’s memo. I’ve…