The Senate released its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act at midnight on Friday, into the weekend news graveyard, hoping it would attract less attention in the news and on social media. It remains an Outrageous Budget-Busting Bullshit Abomination, thanks to an extension of the 2017 tax cuts
I was invited to attend the college graduation ceremonies of two relatives this past week. I cry at weddings and graduations. These were both uplifting and moving in exactly the right way. My nephew completed the undergraduate work for an engineering degree at Santa Clara University. While taking the coursework,
Tomorrow, Saturday June 14, President Trump is planning a massive parade of military hardware to celebrate his birthday and that of the US Army. It's an embarrassing display worthy of the Soviet Union and North Korea. It demeans the institutions and the soldiers it claims to celebrate by
Over a series of posts here, I've laid out my pretty simple philosophy on taxes. After World War II, and mostly up until Reagan entered office, taxes on large incomes and substantial wealth were high. That reflected the economic and social philosophy of an exceptional era in America:
Lots of hyenas-eating-each-other energy in the Trump White House just at the moment. It's important not to lose focus. It was, after all, inevitable that the coalition that put the President in office would fall apart eventually. His MAGA base is nativist, populist and reactionary. His tech-bro enablers
I'm on the road at the far end of a skinny internet pipe, so will be quieter and more sporadic than normal for a bit. I want to lay down this marker, though. The Republican "Big Beautiful Bill" is taking final form. Tax cuts for plutocrats
The "G" stands for "grifty," not "great." I mostly try not to write about stuff covered extensively elsewhere. The avalanche of Trump grift in the past months is so epic and so galling, though, that I have to speak up. I'll keep
A week ago, I wrote: These days, there's a legit risk that your US government, or US government contractor, client will (for example) build software to arrest and deport people in defiance of judicial rulings and without due process. So: If you're in an operating role
Quick one this morning: I've been thinking about how I'd manage a company right now. At both the places where I served as CEO, we had a general philosophy that we wouldn't do business with people who used our products for illegal purposes. I
My wife, her sister, her sister's husband and I spent the weekend in Durham, North Carolina at the inaugural Biscuits and Banjos festival. I'm fired up! The festival was organized by Rhiannon Giddens, an amazingly talented musician who deserves your attention. Her Wikipedia page will fill
I wrote a while back about how to pay for the government we want. That raises the question: What kind of government do we want? Well, I want a government that does important stuff well, and quickly. America responded to the Great Depression by putting the unemployed to work on
The President endured setbacks and failure all week long. A week ago Friday, the administration sent a blustering letter of demands and threats to Harvard. It insisted that the school surrender its independence and bring on MAGA faculty and administrators to police the thoughts and speech of students and professors.