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Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today. Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
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- Donald Trump has been hit with a record-setting fine from New York Democratic Judge Arthur Engoron.
- From the outset, this judge said that he found that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud—even though no one lost any money and the sophisticated banks who lent the money continued to do business with him—so all of the testimony and evidence during the trial was about what penalties Trump would face.
- Keep in mind that Democratic NY AG Letitia James campaigned on bringing this case against Donald Trump. She asked the court to impose $370 million in fines, and she came pretty close with this verdict where the judge ordered Trump to pay $355 million in fines (in addition to those against his two sons and other Trump organization members). It also prohibited him from controlling his businesses for at least three years and placed the companies under the supervision of a monitor, among other restrictions.
- Engoron seemed to take several personal shots at Trump in the 92-page opinion. Trump has said he plans to appeal the ruling but will likely have to put up a hefty bond in order to do so.
- The New York law used against Trump is so broad, vague and open-ended, that it gives partisan prosecutors a license to go after anyone they don’t like politically.
- The law is so easily abused that business executives will likely reconsider doing business in New York.
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- The Heritage Foundation announced today that its 2025 Presidential Transition Project has reached 100 coalition partners.
- Project 2025 is unparalleled in the history of the conservative movement—both in its size and scope but also for organizing 100 different groups under a single banner.
- Spearheaded by Heritage, the coalition is systematically preparing for successful conservative governance in our nation’s capital. Project 2025’s four pillars will collectively pave the way for an effective and historic administration: A policy agenda, personnel recruitment, training, and a 180-day playbook to kick off the term on Jan. 20, 2025.
- Every day we see the effects of the current presidential administration, whether it’s the open southern border, rampant inflation, a woke and weaponized government, foreign policy disaster, and we need new leadership in this country.
- The administrative state is, at best, completely out of touch with the American people and, at worst, is weaponized against them.
- The goal of Project 2025 is to dismantle the administrative state and put power back into the hands of the people.
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- Business headlines say that inflation is down, yet countless Americans are struggling, particularly with finding somewhere affordable to live.
- How do we reconcile these seemingly contradictory notions? First, lower inflation means prices are rising slower but still rising. Second, housing inflation is being undercounted by official government metrics as much as 4-to-1.
- The consumer price index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is designed to measure the cost increase of a common basket of goods. But neither the exorbitant cost of owning a home nor the drop in insurance coverage is incorporated in the CPI.
- This undercounting of inflation is a key reason why so many people disapprove of the economy despite the official metrics improving.
- Flawed statistics won’t help cover your unaffordable mortgage.
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