ON THE FRONT LINES [ 02/09/25 ] PUBLISHED WEEKLY

FEDERAL BUDGET

As Republicans in Congress look for ways to slash spending, some legislators are floating new taxes on college scholarships, an end to student loan repayment plans and a big hike in taxes on university endowments. The ideas affecting higher education are among many in circulation among House committees that are exploring ways to cover the cost of extending and expanding tax cuts passed in President Donald Trump’s first term.

Washington Post: NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 

“The Trump administration this week eliminated much of the federal government’s front line of defense against foreign interference in U.S. elections,” (the Washington Post reports) [...]  alarmed state election officials and election security experts, who warned that safeguarding Americans from foreign disinformation campaigns will be difficult if no one at the federal level is doing that work.”

Trump’s executive order reauthorizing sanctions against international criminal court (ICC) personnel reflects a disgraceful effort to ensure that no American, or citizen of an ally such as Israel, is ever investigated or prosecuted.

 

US-Panama relationship was ‘very strong’. Then Trump upended the diplomatic playing board

 

Quote of the Day February 9, 2025 at 10:51 am EST
“I don’t think there’s any plans to invade Canada.” — National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, on Meet the Press.

THE CULTURAL WORLD ACCORDING TO TRUMP

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is firing members of the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and naming himself chairman. He also indicated that he would be dictating programming at one of the nation’s premier cultural institutions, specifically declaring that he would end events featuring performers in drag.

ON THE DOMESTIC FRONT

 

Parents pull kids from childcare as immigration fears hit US’s youngest

 

Childcare workers also nervous to go to jobs due to deportation threats as Ice raids rampant in Trump era

MEANWHILE

 

Early Traders Had Speedy Profit on Trump Coin
February 9, 2025 at 7:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard

 

“The curious trade came a little past 9 p.m. on Jan. 17 — a $1,096,109 bet less than two minutes after the soon-to-be president of the United States posted on his social media account that his family had issued a cryptocurrency called $Trump,” the New York Times reports.

“In those first minutes, a crypto wallet with a unique identification code beginning 6QSc2Cx secured a giant load of these new tokens — 5,971,750 of them — at the opening sale price of just 18 cents each, starting a surge in the $Trump price that would soon reach $75 per token.”

“This early trader, whose identity is not known, walked away with a two-day profit of as much as $109 million.”

PLEASE CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING

When Donald Trump had real businesses, i.e. an airline, casinos, etc, he built & ran them with a heavy debt load.  When his luck ran out, he left his lender banks holding the bag. Consequently they forced him to sell some of his properties: the airline, the Plaza Hotel, etc. & put him on a millionaire's allowance until the debt was repaid. And then they stopped lending him money.

So Trump, Inc. morphed into something simpler: selling the Trump name for a fee. Think Trump university, Trump condos, Trump steaks, Trump ties, etc. and he expanded the Trump golf clubs, financed primarily by Russian oligarchs (whatever their motivation). This formula has been a success for the Trump family.

But Trump can't quite duplicate that as POTUS so he's doing what he knows best: running the United States just like he did his businesses, i.e. with a humongous debt load. Plus he no longer has to play with those nasty oligarchs who could blow up Trump, Inc. in a nanosecond by cashing in (ergo, his political stance on Russia).

Now Trump has a compliant congress & taxpayer dollars so guess who will be left holding the bag this time? Taxpayers will be treated just like his former banks. And, as for the stock market that only 50% of us are invested in, watch out.

If you have a 401k, adjustable loans or use credit cards, your income might go down and your interest rates might go up, house prices could fall, become harder to sell (or buy), construction, food, cars, appliances, national debt costs (interest) might become more expensive. All that put together is a formula for disaster.

And Trump's financial acumen? It will have come full circle.