Donald Trump’s shambolic presidency has been one long, nauseating exercise in defining American democracy down. He’s relentlessly undermined the norms that uphold our Constitutional order, while abusing the powers of the presidency to pursue his own selfish interests at the expense of our nation’s interests.
Distracted by the high drama of impeachment, Americans may not be following European political developments very closely. It’s time to tune in, though, because “Old World” demons are stirring again.
In Spain’s recent election, the anti-immigrant Vox party scored dramatic gains, more than doubling its seats in the national legislature. This caught everyone’s attention, because the tidal surge of illiberal nationalism rolling across other parts of Europe until now had bypassed Spain.
Just as Donald Trump dug up ideas long thought to have been dead and buried in this country – nativism, protectionism, “America First” isolationism – the rhetoric and political demands of Europe’s extreme right contain disturbing echoes of the virulent nationalism that swept the continent during the 1920s and 1930s and plunged the world into history’s bloodiest war.
Democratic presidential candidates claim they take money away from public schools. That’s nonsense. Presidential candidates should worry about how to get Americans the most bang for our education buck.
It’s encouraging that she’s rethinking her health plan. Democrats don’t want to hear more debate over “Medicare-for-all vs. the status quo.” Instead, Democrats should be contrasting their proposals to control medical costs and extend coverage with the Trump-Republican campaign to sabotage the ACA.
The debate over “Medicare for All” has sucked the oxygen from many other important health policy issues. Though 28 million Americans lack health insurance in the United States, there is an untold crisis of more than four times that population — 114 million Americans — without dental coverage.
Under current law, the 30 percent solar investment tax credit begins to phase down next year, then disappears altogether for residential consumers in 2022 and phases down permanently to a 10 percent credit for commercial operations.
The poll also found that 73% of Americans have negative feelings about drug companies. Other polls corroborate these feelings, leading to multiple Congressional hearings and legislative proposals.
