How an empty North Carolina rural hospital explains a GOP senator's vote against Trump's tax bill
Martin General is one of a dozen hospitals that have closed in North Carolina over the last two decades. This is a problem that hospital systems and health experts warn may only worsen if the legislation passes with its $1 trillion cuts to the Medicaid program and new restrictions on enrollment in the coverage.
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Toronto Sun
3 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
GUNTER: Carney taking lessons from Trump bad for Canada's bottom line
This is a problematic approach, given the Liberal government's penchant for spending. President Donald Trump meets Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington. Photo by Evan Vucci / AP As much as U.S. President Donald Trump loves to exercise power by executive order, rather than leaving lawmaking up to the U.S. Congress, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Canada's very own Prime Minister Mark Carney loves governing by the Canadian equivalent – the order-in-council. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Consider for a minute Carney's refusal to have Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne bring down a budget until November or December. Rather than a budget and enabling legislation to authorize nearly half a trillion dollars in spending, Carney prefers to rule (and spend) by cabinet decree. Before April's election, parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux estimated the federal deficit for the current fiscal year would be just about $47 billion. That's bad enough, but a significant decrease from the $62-billion deficit that the Liberals had to admit to before Christmas for last year. But as Giroux pointed out at the time, his sum was only 'a baseline.' His number was only what the deficit would be before any of the political promises the winning party carried through on. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Since the Liberals were re-elected, Giroux has estimated for reporters that the Carney government's campaign goodies would raise the 2025-26 deficit to between $60 billion and $70 billion 'in the absence of spending cuts elsewhere.' That, of course, is as bad or worse than last year's Liberal amount. Mark Carney intends for his government to spend more money than Justin Trudeau's, and without a budget or proper accountability to Parliament. But even Giroux's latest guestimate doesn't include measures the Carney Liberals have taken since the end of May without recourse to the House of Commons or a budget. Enter Toronto's C.D. Howe Institute. The non-partisan think tank calculates that with measures announced by the Liberals since the election (right up to the cancellation of the digital services tax last weekend), the deficit this year will be $92 billion in the current fiscal year, $75 billion next year, $73 billion the year after that and $71 billion in 2028-29. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. That's a total of $311 billion in extra public debt in just four years. It took the Trudeau government 10 years to add $600 billion. That's a rate of extra debt about 20 per cent faster than the rate built up by Justin Trudeau and his cabinets. You may take comfort in the fact that Carney is a former central banker and international financier. I don't. Canada already has a higher-than-average debt-to-GDP ratio for a developed nation. Carney's orgy of spending will only make it worse. You may agree with some of the Liberals' fiscal policies. I do. They've cancelled the planned capital gains tax hike, lowered the basic income tax rate to 14%, cancelled the digital services tax and dramatically increased defence spending. All good things. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But they do not appear to be ready to make any spending cuts. What about the 100,000 new federal government employees added during the Trudeau years? Payroll and payments to individuals, such as pensions, are Ottawa's two biggest outlays, but Carney plans no cuts to either. Without spending cuts to balance off all the Libs' new spending, the red ink will continue to tsunami through Canada and cause higher interest rates, higher inflation and less affordability for ordinary Canadians. And all of this is being done without a budget or Parliamentary scrutiny. Another example of how Carney, like Trump, is trying to circumvent democracy and rule by decree is Bill C-5, the recently passed law to fast-track 'national interest' megaprojects. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The bill allows cabinet to decide which projects should be fast-tracked, thereby evading all the regulations that will continue to govern every other company and project in Canada. In short, C-5 repeals no environmental regulations imposed by the Trudeau Liberals. Rather, it allows the Carney Liberals to pick and choose which companies enjoy cabinet's favouritism and which must muck about in the mire. And all by order-in-council rather than parliamentary debate. Canada's economy lost nearly $400 billion in investment during the Trudeau years. That trend will continue under Carney. Read More Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun. Crime Toronto & GTA Columnists Editorial Cartoons Columnists
Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Elon Musk says new U.S. political party formed, named ‘America Party'
A day after asking his followers on X whether a new U.S. political party should be created, Elon Musk said on Saturday that the 'America Party is formed.' 'By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!' he said in a post on X. 'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' The announcement from Musk comes after President Donald Trump signed a tax-cut and spending bill into law on Friday, which the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla fiercely opposed. Musk spent hundreds of millions on Trump's re-election and led the Department of Government Efficiency under the Trump administration aimed at slashing government spending, but the two have since fallen out over disagreements about the bill. Opinion: In battle of billionaire egos, Trump-Musk bromance was always doomed Trump earlier this week threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk's companies receive from the federal government. Musk said previously that he would start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who supported the bill. Republicans have expressed concern that Musk's on-again, off-again feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in the 2026 midterm congressional elections.
CTV News
4 hours ago
- CTV News
Musk says ‘America Party' is formed in U.S.
Elon Musk listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) A day after asking his followers on X whether a new U.S. political party should be created, Elon Musk said on Saturday that the 'America Party is formed.' 'By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!' he said in a post on X. 'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' Reporting by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by David Gregorio
