Reader contest: A Post columnist needs help coining a term
Jack Shafer's Feb. 2 Opinion essay, 'Milking the system,' was superb. It's long overdue for The Post to expose, without regard to party or special interests, the numerous ways elected officials impose hidden taxes on all Americans to serve a multitude of special interests. I agree with him that, in a world where branding matters, using economic jargon — 'rent-seeking' — to describe the thievery that masquerades as sound public policy won't generate the buzz and outrage it deserves. Herewith, with a tip of the hat to ChatGPT, some alternative epithets: game riggers, rule riggers, privilege profiteers, system gamers, policy pirates, lobbying leeches. Maybe The Post should hold a contest to pick the term that clicks the most with people of all political stripes.
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Time Magazine
7 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Poor People Are America's Swing Voters
In January, while the world waited to see what a second Donald Trump Presidency would look like, photos from the Inauguration offered a snapshot of what was to come. Some of the wealthiest people in the world joined politicians in the Capitol rotunda to mark the beginning of the Trump regime while everyone else was locked out in the cold. Six months later, Congress passed one of the largest transfers of wealth from low-income people to the rich in history. As lawmakers go home for their August recess, the record is clear: the White House and Congress are working hand-in-hand to serve the interests of elites at the expense of everyday Americans. On the one hand, this is the worst of times: power is concentrated in the hands of people who pray at the opening of Congress, then act to prey on the people they swore an oath to serve. But a close look at voter demographics and the failure of both Democrats and Republicans to engage poor voters in recent decades suggests that a small percentage of poor voters who understand that they are losing their health insurance, nutrition assistance, and rural hospitals because of their political leadership have the potential to upend American politics. Over the past four decades, as inequality has grown exponentially for all Americans, the number of poor and low-income white people—66 million in 2018—has swelled higher than any other demographic. This is one reason low-income, majority white communities became susceptible to the 'populist' appeal of the MAGA movement. If white people are hurting, the divide-and-conquer myths suggests, it must be because Black people or immigrants are taking from them. By leaning into an aggressive investment in extreme ICE raids, Trump's regime has bet the farm on this myth. But the reality of American politics is that, despite these appeals, most poor people don't vote against their own interests. While Trump improved in 2024 among low-income voters who cast a ballot in the election, new data from Lake Research Associates makes clear that the real change was in the number of poor and low-income people who decided not to vote in the race between Trump and Harris. More than 19 million 'Biden Skippers' who helped elect President Joe Biden in 2020 didn't show up in 2024. When asked why, nearly a third said their number one reason for not voting was that they didn't feel like the Democrats' message spoke to their economic situation. When asked, these 'Biden skippers' were not disinterested in politics. Far from it, nearly half say they check the news more than once a day and the majority favor Democrats in a generic match-up. What they want is a candidate who speaks to them, commits to fight for them, and presents an economic agenda that they know would make a difference in their lives. Poor people are not driving the extremism in American politics, nor are they the true base for Trump, whose major policy achievement has been to cut government programs that serve everyday people so he can give tax breaks to corporations and wealthy Americans. Poor and low-income Americans are, in fact, the largest swing vote in the country. We need a movement to engage poor people who haven't voted because they've never imagined the system could work for them. As they begin to feel the impact of the cuts from Trump's big ugly budget bill, poor and low-income people must organize to demand candidates who will represent them. Movements that bring poor people together across lines of race and region can build on America's history of moral fusion movements to strengthen democracy for all of us. In our book White Poverty, we wrote about how the 2018 midterms saw a roughly 10% increase in voter participation over the previous midterms—a larger four-year-increase than Obama's record-breaking turnout in 2008. Many factors contributed to this surge in participation, but a raw number increase in low-income voters made a significant contribution to the 'blue wave' that returned control of the U.S. House to Democrats in 2018 and put a check on Trump's use of the White House to reward elite interests and undermine policies that lift poor people in 2020. A movement can change how candidates talk and what agenda they promise to pursue when elected. Democrats need a new wave of leadership that not only articulates a vision for how government can serve everyday people, but also demonstrates that they are committed to use executive action, change courts, and use power when they are in office to win policies that lift from the bottom so everyone can rise. If a moral fusion movement, led by poor and low-income people, can rise up in America today, we have the numbers to change the political conversation. This is why we have organized Moral Mondays across the South to go to the districts that will be hurt first and worst by cuts to healthcare and organize people who will be directly impacted to speak directly to their representatives with clergy and moral leaders by their side. A movement led by these people, linking arms across racial lines and joining hands with progressive allies, could not only decide the Presidential elections, but many Congressional and other statewide races as well. Poor and low-income people make up a third of the U.S. electorate—more than 40% of the electorate in the swing states that will decide the 2026 midterms. It's time for poor people of every race to reject the myths that have been used to divide us and come together to demand an economy that works for all of us. Such a movement isn't only good news for the poor. It's the best hope for American democracy. Adapted from White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy, by William J. Barber with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove (Liveright), out in paperback August 5, 2025.
The Hill
36 minutes ago
- The Hill
Republicans fear Trump tariffs are cutting into economy
Republicans on Capitol Hill are feeling jittery about the economy after the latest jobs report showed the economy added far fewer jobs than previously estimated over the past three months. President Trump and his economic team insist that the economy is going strong and poised for significant growth, but their bullish projections are meeting skepticism from some in the GOP who worry Trump's trade regime is creating economic headwinds. 'It definitely is indicative of a weakened economy, an economy that's not acting in a robust fashion. I've all along felt like there's a lag between tariffs and actual economic downturn,' said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Trump announced a new round of tariffs, including steep tariff increases on Canada and Brazil, the same day the jobs report was released. Paul argued the impact of tariffs are often delayed because companies usually sign contracts to set the prices of imports months in advance. Once those contracts expire, the higher prices of imported raw materials or finished goods are then reflected in the next round of business agreements, he said. 'I've had retailers telling me that they think their prices will have to change in the fall. As their initial contracts change, their input price is higher [and] goods will go higher, too,' he said. 'I think it is worrisome and I do worry that the news has been relatively benign on tariffs so far,' Paul said. 'The proof is really in the next couple months. 'I think there's more to come. I don't think we've seen the full impact of tariffs,' he said. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) warned that Trump's fluctuating tariff rates are increasing costs for consumers and creating uncertainty among businesses and employers. 'My view is that there's no question that consumers, Americans, pay a price for tariffs. It increases the price of the goods coming into the United States. The question is, 'Is there a reason that tariffs in a temporary way can solve trade barriers that have been artificially created against our products going somewhere else?'' he said. The Kansas senator said Trump's tariffs could have 'a beneficial outcome' if they can get other countries to open their markets to U.S. goods but cautioned 'there's no question tariffs are a tax on the cost of a product, a good.' 'A tax raises the cost of living for everybody,' he said. Asked about the impact on job creators, Moran replied: 'I know enough to know that certainty matters and at the moment there's not very much certainty about what's happening next.' 'Therefore, businesses delay decisions to expand, to hire, to spend money. So uncertainty creates a challenge for a growing economy,' he warned. A third Republican senator who requested anonymity said Friday's weak jobs report creates a significant political problem for Trump and Republicans in Congress. 'I don't think that the administration can ignore them,' the senator said of the jobs report. 'You have to see that connection, that link' between the disappointing jobs report and Trump's tariff policies, the senator said. 'I don't think spinning it is good enough,' the source added. The president responded to the negative jobs report by firing the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Erika McEntarfer. The report revised down the number of jobs gained in May and June by 258,000. But that move is also getting a skeptical response form some Republicans. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) warned that the shake-up at the data-reporting agency could undermine confidence in future economic data. 'The numbers are what the numbers are,' Tillis said. 'If we get to a point to where BLS [and] all these organizations that are considered to be the gold standard for data, if we start undermining them or people start losing their jobs because we don't like the result, that's a big boo-boo.' 'There are a lot of government-reporting agencies that are like the gold standard for financial markets,' he said, warning 'there better just be very clear evidence' of misconduct to support McEntarfer's termination. 'If they don't' provide that evidence, 'I think they're making a huge mistake,' he said. Several major U.S. employers have reported substantial business losses in recent weeks. Ford Motor reported last week a net loss of $36 million from April through June, compared with a profit of $1.8 billion a year ago. The automotive giant projects tariffs will cost it $2 billion this year alone. Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway on Saturday reported that its earnings dropped by 4 percent compared with a year ago, in part because of tariffs. The company warned in its second-quarter earnings report that the 'adverse consequences' of international trade policies and tariffs 'could significantly affect our future results.' United Parcel Services's stock dropped last week after it reported weaker-than-expected earnings. The company said it would no longer provide forward guidance on revenues and profits, citing the lack of certainty in the economic outlook for the rest of this year. Appliance maker Whirlpool also announced disappointing second-quarter earnings and said it would lower its quarterly dividend payout. Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have said for months that they could support tariffs for a short period of time to put pressure on foreign trading partners to negotiate better deals for U.S. exporters but warned against putting long-term tariffs in place. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) warned in April that 'high tariffs in perpetuity' would be bad for the economy. 'I am not a fan of tariffs,' Cruz told Fox Business host Larry Kudlow at the time. 'My hope is these tariffs are short-lived and they serve as leverage to lower tariffs across the globe,' he said. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett dampened Republican hopes that high tariff rates would be transient when he told NBC's 'Meet the Press' on Sunday that many rates are already locked in Asked by NBC's Kristen Welker if Trump would change tariff rates if the financial markets dive, Hassett said: 'I would rule it out because these are final deals.'
Politico
37 minutes ago
- Politico
Trade in OT
Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Canada Playbook | Politico Canada Welcome to Canada Playbook. In today's edition: → Ottawa turns to Mexico City. → Who's who on NSICOP. → A short week, a long list: What we're tracking. Trade war IF IT'S TUESDAY — Foreign Affairs Minister ANITA ANAND and Finance Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE are in Mexico City for the next couple of days. They're expected to meet Mexican President CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM with 'economic growth, security and trade' on the agenda. Sources told CBC News that the meeting in this morning. 'This visit will also serve to strengthen bilateral dialogue in anticipation of Prime Minister Carney's upcoming visit to Mexico,' Global Affairs Canada said in a release. At the G7 summit, the PM committed to a trip south 'in the coming months.' — State of play: Last week, DONALD TRUMP awarded Mexico a 90-day extension of his tariff deadline. Before the trade clock had even expired, the president hit Canada with a 35 percent hike, though goods covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement are exempt. — Acadian exit: Canada-U.S. Trade Minister DOMINIC LEBLANC hightailed it out of Washington without a deal — or any indication of when he'll be back. — He didn't go quietly: Carney's trade emissary blitzed media with back-to-back interviews, including with POLITICO, Radio-Canada and PAUL WELLS. ('Were there negotiations? Sure, there were,' he said in response to suggestions otherwise.) LeBlanc also popped up on 'Face the Nation' on Sunday, telling MARGARET BRENNAN he remains optimistic. 'The conversations have been informative, constructive, and cordial,' he told the CBS News anchor. 'I would expect the prime minister will have a conversation with the president over the next number of days.' — Always be closing: LeBlanc told POLITICO that he spoke last week with his Mexican counterpart about kickstarting USMCA renewal talks 'as early as this fall.' — Trade is trade: For his part, Prime Minister MARK CARNEY sounded chipper in a weekend scrum in Vancouver where he popped up at the Pride parade. 'Yes, we'll come to something with the Americans — something constructive with the Americans,' he said. — Opposition reaction: Conservative Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE has said his party 'will always put Canada first by working with all parties to get a deal that ends the tariffs and protects our sovereignty.' Poilievre, in a statement Friday, called on the Liberals 'to repeal their anti-development laws, and cut taxes on work, energy, investment and home building.' Interim NDP Leader DON DAVIES swiped at Carney for a 'failing' strategy. 'He hinted at a missed deadline days ago — and now it's happened,' he said in his statement. — Hold the line: Pollster SHACHI KURL told Playbook last week that the PM has some leeway with Canadians — 'some space to play a little bit of hardball.' The Angus Reid Institute has since released new data Aug. 1 that shows Canadian resolve hardening with almost 60 percent suggesting Ottawa should respond with counter tariffs equal to what the U.S. imposes. — Armchair adviser: Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada DAVID COHEN was asked by the National Post what advice he'd give to Canadians about the U.S. 'Be proud and recognize how incredibly important you are to this relationship,' he said. 'On the other hand, recognize that in tough negotiations, you may not have the best hand because of the asymmetry of the financial nature of the relationship,' he added. Want more POLITICO? Download our mobile app to save stories, get notifications on U.S.-Canada relations, and more. In iOS or Android . THE ROOMS THAT MATTER — Prime Minister MARK CARNEY is in Kelowna, British Columbia (the hometown of his top policy adviser, TIM KRUPA — a federal candidate in the 2021 election, where one of the first-ever Playbooks caught up with his campaign). THREE THINGS WE'RE WATCHING FIRE SEASON More than 740 wildfires are burning in Canada: The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre warns that the potential for emerging significant wildland fires is high to extreme. The air in Toronto was reported to be near the worst in the world. And our American readers can confirm air quality alerts extend across the midwest and northeastern U.S. Keep up to smoke forecasts here. 'It's like … something out of 'Lord of the Rings,'' a resident nearby Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island told the Globe of the out-of-control blaze there on the weekend. CONSULTATION NATION Ottawa is doubling down on 'building Canada strong': Canada-U.S. Trade Minister LEBLANC, on his way out of D.C., said he was turning his focus to 'building the One Canadian Economy and the major projects.' The PM will meet Thursday with Métis nations on the Building Canada Act, which seeks to 'urgently advance projects throughout Canada' that are in the national interest. 'We have a big, big pool of potential projects to get to work quickly on that will strengthen our economy,' LeBlanc told POLITICO. At 8:30 a.m. today, Statistics Canada will release its latest read on Canada's merchandise trade balance. On Friday, it will share the latest jobs numbers. TRUMP 2.0 LEVEL SET 'Versions of the truth': In the rush into the long weekend, Canadians may have missed Trump's decision to fire ERIKA MCENTARFER, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, because he didn't like the latest 'phony' jobs data. Then the Smithsonian Institution acknowledged it had removed a reference to the 2019 and 2021 impeachments of Trump from an exhibition on the presidency — though it has since said it's updating the exhibit. There is more. PETER BAKER of The New York Times writes: '[Trump's] efforts since reclaiming the White House to make the rest of government adopt his versions of the truth have gone further than in his first term and increasingly remind scholars of the way authoritarian leaders in other countries have sought to control information.' For your radar NATIONAL SECURITY — Cabinet has appointed new members of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, now chaired by Liberal MP DARREN FISHER — a member of the committee last year until his brief elevation to Cabinet. — Soft landings: A pair of high-profile Liberal MPs also landed on NSICOP: Former House Speaker GREG FERGUS and former Cabinet minister GINETTE PETITPAS TAYLOR. — Oppo voice: The Bloc Québécois tapped veteran MP RHÉAL FORTIN, a longtime member of the House justice and human rights committee. — From the Senate: Conservative CLAUDE CARIGNAN, the Progressive Senate Group's MARTY KLYNE and the Canadian Senators Group's REBECCA PATTERSON. — CPC MIA: The most recent Conservative MPs on the committee were ALEX RUFF and ROB MORRISON. None was named in the spate of orders in council. LOBBY WATCH Noted in our daily check-in on notable meetings around town: — Canadian American Business Council CEO BETH BURKE met with Canadian Ambassador KIRSTEN HILLMAN on July 30 to discuss 'keeping trade flowing between Canada and the United States, and working to remove barriers such as tariffs.' — Teneo's PHILIPPE LETARTE logged recent meetings on behalf of LKQ Corporation, a U.S.-based alternative and specialty auto parts provider. The staffers in the room: GALEN RICHARDSON, a senior adviser in stakeholder relations for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister LEBLANC; and ÉLYSE MOISAN, a Quebec regional adviser to Finance Minister CHAMPAGNE. MORNING MUST-CLICKS — From SEAN PREVIL of Global News: Canadian Armed Forces airdrop humanitarian aid into Gaza. — U.S. Transportation Secretary SEAN DUFFY is poised to announce plans to build a nuclear reactor on the moon, POLITICO's SAM SKOVE reports. — DAN MCLAUGHLIN in the National Review explains why polling is about to get harder. — 'My phone has been ringing with opportunities,' Trade Minister MANINDER SIDHU tells CP's DYLAN ROBERTSON. — MIKE CRAWLEY of CBC News reports that the costs of Trump's tariffs are starting to add up for Americans. — 'The United States has destroyed the global trade system it created and left nothing in its place but a set of ad hoc arrangements,' EDWARD ALDEN, a trade expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, tells The New York Times. — Question from DAVID HERLE on this week's 'Curse of Politics' pod: 'Why is anybody bothering to talk to Lutnik about anything when it seems evident that this is a capricious decision by Trump at the end of the day?' PLAYBOOKERS Birthdays: HBD to Sen. GWEN BONIFACE (70), former Cabmin CATHERINE MCKENNA and former senator and mental health advocate MICHAEL KIRBY. Spotted: Housing Minister GREGOR ROBERTSON, with the PM at the Vancouver Pride Parade … Acadia University's ALEX MARLAND, noting a fraudulent citation bearing his name: 'We're all struggling to figure out the best way to teach university-level research and writing skills in an age of ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot & Perplexity.' RONA AMBROSE and LAUREEN TESKEY HARPER, hiking with Hawkins. Movers and shakers: Manulife's SCOTTY GREENWOOD has been appointed a senior fellow at the Munk School … ALEXANDRE BOULÉ is now a senior adviser at the PMO … Former Liberal MP MARC SERRÉ is chief administrative officer for the Municipality of Markstay-Warren, Ontario. In memoriam: HILARY WESTON, philanthropist, businessperson and former Ontario lieutenant governor, has died. 'Our mother lived with unwavering devotion to her family and a belief in the power and importance of community and service,' said her son, GALEN WESTON JR., in a statement. The Star and the Globe have more on her life and legacy. Got a document to share? A birthday coming up? Send it all our way. PROZONE Our latest policy newsletter for Pro subscribers: Carney's U.S. trade minister heads home. The latest headlines for our paid subscribers: — The White House AI Action Plan. — Congress is on summer break. Funding 'chaos' awaits. — Interior adds another obstacle to wind and solar development. — Canada's trade minister confident that countries will come to a deal. — Trade representative backs Trump's punitive approach to global tariffs. TRIVIA Friday's answer: On Aug. 1, 1885, a six-man jury found LOUIS RIEL guilty of treason. The first legislation Manitoba Premier WAB KINEW introduced after his NDP government came to power was to recognize Riel as the first premier of the province. Props to LISA KIRBIE, ELIZABETH BURN, MAUREEN MACGILLIVRAY, MALCOLM MCKAY, ELIO PETERSON, MAIA EASTMAN, ROBERT MCDOUGALL, JENN KEAY, DARRYL DAMUDE, PATRICK JUNEAU, JORDANO NUDO, MARC HUMBERT, WAYNE EASTER, SHAUGHN MCARTHUR, JOHN MERRIMAN, DOUG RICE, RAY DEL BIANCO, DARREN MAJOR, ALEXANDER LANDRY, BILL DAY, DEREK DECLOET, JOHN PEPPER, BEN PURKISS, GORDON RANDALL, MARCEL MARCOTTE and ANDREW SZENDE. Today's question: Name the artist who designed a six-coin series for Canada's centennial. Answers to canadaplaybook@ . Canada Playbook would not happen without: Canada Editor Sue Allan, editor Willa Plank and POLITICO's Grace Maalouf.
