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The Herald Scotland
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Alligator Alcatraz is cruel distraction from Trump's failure
"This place needs to be shut the hell down," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, said on a press call with the Naples Daily News and other outlets. According to a report from The New York Times, only about 60% of the detainees have criminal convictions. That means 40% did nothing wrong. The facility currently houses about 900 men sleeping in tents. Alligator Alcatraz is a cruel reminder that Trump will do whatever he wants to vulnerable populations in the United States, and only a few Democrats seem willing to call him out on it. It's also cruel for a reason: to appease the MAGA base and keep them from realizing that Trump isn't making good on any of his other promises. And never forget that none of this would be happening if not for Republican support. Trump continues to fail us on the economy Take the economy, for example. Trump campaigned on a promise that he would make it easier for the average family to afford the cost of living, only for his tariff plan and cuts to federal funding to send the economy into a tizzy. The "Big Beautiful Bill," Trump's fiscal agenda, is projected to harm working-class families because of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits. His tariff agenda is leading to an increase in inflation and consumer prices, something that will ultimately cost the average American household at least $1,000. Polling on Trump's handling of the economy has consistently been negative, according to Gallup. While it improved slightly in June, it's still much lower than the economic confidence during Trump's first term. Opinion: Republicans hurt rural Americans with their beautiful bill. Then they clapped. Going after immigrants does nothing to solve the unfolding economic crisis in our country. In fact, the pursuit of the Trump administration's strict immigration agenda is likely to harm the economy, thanks to the way it is affecting businesses that rely on undocumented labor. But Trump hopes you don't notice that, and Republicans know this was never about improving an economy that was already thriving in a global market. America's foreign policy is a global joke. US is no longer a force for good. Foreign relations are another area where Trump is failing - likely because he was making promises he couldn't keep. He claimed he would end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza - only for both conflicts to continue. He claimed there would be no wars under his leadership, then conducted airstrikes in Iran and nearly plunged the United States into another war. New reporting suggests his bragadocious messaging after those Iran strikes was nonsense. Opinion: White House wants us to see Trump as Superman. We all know he's the villain. He's just now realizing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin can't be trusted, and has finally decided to help Ukraine. Other countries are no longer seeing America as a force for good, according to Ipsos polling over the last six months. Pew Research Center polling shows a lack of confidence in Trump's international leadership abilities. He threatened to annex Greenland and Canada - things that there was no way he'd be able to achieve. He has damaged relationships with allies due to his tariffs and ambitious plans, making the United States an international laughingstock and causing tourism to the country to plummet. But sure, let's brutalize immigrants. The Epstein files mess is engulfing the Trump administration Or consider the Jeffrey Epstein files, which have become a source of contention for the MAGA movement. Back in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed the files existed and were sitting on her desk. Then, in July, she claimed there were no such files. Trump doubled down on this and demanded that everyone stop talking about Epstein, "somebody that nobody cares about." At first, this led to a huge backlash among MAGA supporters and conspiracy theorists who wanted answers. Right-wing personality Laura Loomer said in a July 16 interview that this could "consume" the presidency in the same way Trump's ties to Russia did during his first term. Other pundits, like Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, have dropped the conversation altogether. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. But Trump really, really doesn't want you to focus on the fact that he said he wanted to declassify the Epstein files on the campaign trail. It's best if you just focus on the immigrants who are being treated no better than livestock. After all, Trump says they're the root of the problem in this country, and we should believe that, right? In all seriousness, the cruelty is not the point for a Republican Party that is both successful in pushing its agenda and failing in convincing Americans it's worth pushing. The Trump administration is busy producing smoke and mirrors to pacify its political base by targeting immigrants while failing to improve the lives of the working class. The needless meanness is merely a comforting distraction for an entire political party that can't be bothered to actually help Americans. Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeno on X, formerly Twitter, @sara__pequeno
USA Today
a day ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump keeps brutalizing immigrants because he's failing at everything else
The Trump administration is busy producing smoke and mirrors to pacify its Republican base by targeting immigrants while failing to improve the lives of the working class. There seems to be no end to President Donald Trump's and Republicans' cruelty, but don't be fooled: it's all a distraction. The reports coming out of Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention center built in the Florida Everglades, are harrowing. Detainees in the center have reported overflowing toilets, lights on through the night and dismal meals. "This place needs to be shut the hell down," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, said on a press call with the Naples Daily News and other outlets. According to a report from The New York Times, only about 60% of the detainees have criminal convictions. That means 40% did nothing wrong. The facility currently houses about 900 men sleeping in tents. Alligator Alcatraz is a cruel reminder that Trump will do whatever he wants to vulnerable populations in the United States, and only a few Democrats seem willing to call him out on it. It's also cruel for a reason: to appease the MAGA base and keep them from realizing that Trump isn't making good on any of his other promises. And never forget that none of this would be happening if not for Republican support. Trump continues to fail us on the economy Take the economy, for example. Trump campaigned on a promise that he would make it easier for the average family to afford the cost of living, only for his tariff plan and cuts to federal funding to send the economy into a tizzy. The 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Trump's fiscal agenda, is projected to harm working-class families because of cuts to Medicaid and SNAP benefits. His tariff agenda is leading to an increase in inflation and consumer prices, something that will ultimately cost the average American household at least $1,000. Polling on Trump's handling of the economy has consistently been negative, according to Gallup. While it improved slightly in June, it's still much lower than the economic confidence during Trump's first term. Opinion: Republicans hurt rural Americans with their beautiful bill. Then they clapped. Going after immigrants does nothing to solve the unfolding economic crisis in our country. In fact, the pursuit of the Trump administration's strict immigration agenda is likely to harm the economy, thanks to the way it is affecting businesses that rely on undocumented labor. But Trump hopes you don't notice that, and Republicans know this was never about improving an economy that was already thriving in a global market. America's foreign policy is a global joke. US is no longer a force for good. Foreign relations are another area where Trump is failing – likely because he was making promises he couldn't keep. He claimed he would end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza – only for both conflicts to continue. He claimed there would be no wars under his leadership, then conducted airstrikes in Iran and nearly plunged the United States into another war. New reporting suggests his bragadocious messaging after those Iran strikes was nonsense. Opinion: White House wants us to see Trump as Superman. We all know he's the villain. He's just now realizing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin can't be trusted, and has finally decided to help Ukraine. Other countries are no longer seeing America as a force for good, according to Ipsos polling over the last six months. Pew Research Center polling shows a lack of confidence in Trump's international leadership abilities. He threatened to annex Greenland and Canada – things that there was no way he'd be able to achieve. He has damaged relationships with allies due to his tariffs and ambitious plans, making the United States an international laughingstock and causing tourism to the country to plummet. But sure, let's brutalize immigrants. The Epstein files mess is engulfing the Trump administration Or consider the Jeffrey Epstein files, which have become a source of contention for the MAGA movement. Back in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed the files existed and were sitting on her desk. Then, in July, she claimed there were no such files. Trump doubled down on this and demanded that everyone stop talking about Epstein, 'somebody that nobody cares about.' At first, this led to a huge backlash among MAGA supporters and conspiracy theorists who wanted answers. Right-wing personality Laura Loomer said in a July 16 interview that this could 'consume' the presidency in the same way Trump's ties to Russia did during his first term. Other pundits, like Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, have dropped the conversation altogether. But Trump really, really doesn't want you to focus on the fact that he said he wanted to declassify the Epstein files on the campaign trail. It's best if you just focus on the immigrants who are being treated no better than livestock. After all, Trump says they're the root of the problem in this country, and we should believe that, right? In all seriousness, the cruelty is not the point for a Republican Party that is both successful in pushing its agenda and failing in convincing Americans it's worth pushing. The Trump administration is busy producing smoke and mirrors to pacify its political base by targeting immigrants while failing to improve the lives of the working class. The needless meanness is merely a comforting distraction for an entire political party that can't be bothered to actually help Americans. Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter, @sara__pequeno
Business Insider
a day ago
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Tesla Stock (TSLA) in Danger of ‘Implosion' From Loss of EV Subsidies
Tesla (TSLA) stock could 'implode' if President Trump takes away vital government electric vehicle subsidies. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. In an article for Sky News in the U.K., investment analyst Gordon Johnson said the proposed changes by the Trump administration had negative implications for Tesla's fundamentals. Burning Cash 'If all of these government programs were taken away, Tesla would go into losing money and burning cash and the stock would implode,' he warned. According to Sky News, revenue from state subsidies accounted for at least 38% of Tesla's profits of $7.1 billion in 2024 as the company banked $2.8 billion from trading 'regulatory credits,' a state-level subsidy paid to encourage production of electric vehicles. In addition, under Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill', taxpayers will no longer be able to claim a tax credit worth up to $7,500 for purchasing a new electric vehicle, or up to $4,000 for a used EV. Trump's Truth Trump's threats to end Tesla support came in a Truth Social post earlier this month. The President said: 'Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa.' It was the end of a 'big, beautiful, bromance' between the pair. Musk's money arguably helped Trump regain power, with Musk being handed a governmental role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency. The reputational hit, as well as not focusing on the day job, has hit the Tesla share price. It is down 21% this year. It had been hoped that Musk would make his business work a priority once again after leaving government, but his intention to create a new political party has threatened that. Ross Gerber, an early investor in Tesla told Sky that Musk was playing a 'dangerous game.' He said he was selling his Tesla stock and even considering ditching his Cybertruck. Is TSLA a Good Stock to Buy Now? On TipRanks, TSLA has a Hold consensus based on 13 Buy, 13 Hold and 8 Sell ratings. Its highest price target is $500. TSLA stock's consensus price target is $298.97 implying a 6.40% downside.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Congress pulls the plug on $327 million for Allston megaproject. So what's next?
This funding cut wasn't much of a surprise. The Trump administration is on the warpath to clear out any 'equity' related programs left over from President Biden. And Republicans in Congress were eager for savings to help make a bevy of tax cuts permanent in their 'Big Beautiful Bill.' So a target had been on this funding source, known as the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program, for months. Advertisement It still hurt to see what's left of this infrastructure program — nearly $2.5 billion awarded but still unspent, per national nonprofit Smart Growth America's accounting — now zeroed out entirely. Advertisement The MassDOT brass already had to make do with two-thirds of the federal grant funds they had initially hoped for — a shortfall that Governor Maura Healey highlighted in January. Now, there will be more scrambling at Ten Park Plaza. So now, it's time for a backup plan. MassDOT will take two important steps to readjust. They'll embark on an in-depth cost analysis, in part to understand recent impacts from tariffs and inflation such as steel costs. That study would be paired with an independent engineering analysis about how to maximize the project's transportation benefits with the remaining available funding sources. These are logical next steps, and now they're likely necessary for the project's survival. So what kind of funding gap are we talking about? That's still not entirely clear. When asked for a breakdown of where the $2 billion would come from, state officials offered elements from the original federal grant application, including $200 million in toll revenue and $100 million from the city of Boston. Harvard University, which owns most of the old Beacon Park Yard land that would be opened up, would kick in $90 million, while Boston University, whose campus is next door, would contribute $10 million. Harvard and the city of Boston would also provide another $100 million, to be collected from future development there. In January, Healey said she would ask the Legislature for approval to use $615 million in borrowed funds, collected through bonds based on the better-than-expected money flow from the so-called millionaires tax, also known as Fair Share funds. That only gets MassDOT halfway there. In its federal grant application, the state agency signaled it would borrow another $470 million from a federal highway loan program known as TIFIA. It's unclear, though, exactly how much would be available, though US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has pledged to increase the maximum amount in financing available to many projects. Advertisement Project advocates hope the Healey administration can pick up more of the slack — maybe through a TIFIA loan, for example, or more Fair Share funds. State officials aren't entertaining this idea right now, at least not openly. Instead, the word is out that it might be time to get more frugal. Tensions have simmered in Allston for years around just how long it's taken MassDOT to get this far in the planning. It was Governor Deval Patrick, after all, who first promised this new transit hub, dubbed West Station, alongside the turnpike realignment, 11 years ago. Back then, both projects' price tags were a fraction of what they are today. Plans got waylaid during Governor Charlie Baker's administration over the so-called 'Throat' area, a narrow band of land between the train tracks and the Charles River. MassDOT finally settled on keeping all highway lanes on the ground through the area, in part to make it easier to develop on decks above them. By the time MassDOT landed the $335 million federal grant in March of last year, Healey was governor and Joe Biden was in the White House. Healey said then that she hoped for a 2027 groundbreaking; her transportation secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt hoped environmental permitting could be done within a year. The former goal just became much tougher to achieve. The latter, now impossible. Healey hired transportation veteran Luisa Paiewonsky last year, to shepherd the Allston project (along with the hoped-for new bridges over the Cape Cod Canal). Toward that end, Paiewonsky has held monthly task force meetings to update the community and solicit feedback. Advertisement Lately, the big debate has been over layover. The plans call for four tracks to park trains at West Station, to accommodate future cross-state service, despite a promise there wouldn't be any. Allston neighbors prefer trains to be parked elsewhere, as does Mayor Michelle Wu. Harvard doesn't want layover, either, and has drawn up preliminary designs for housing to show how its land could be put to better use. All eyes are on Widett Circle, a 24-acre industrial area just south of downtown that the MBTA acquired two years ago. However, the T says it needs all the space for its own layover tracks, as soon as possible, because of an existing shortage and plans to expand the commuter rail fleet. The T plans to build the first six tracks by 2028, to support electric trains coming to the Fairmount line, and the other 20 would go in over the following seven years. MassDOT is working with the Wu administration to find a new spot that could work for layover —the public works yard next to Widett, perhaps? For now, it remains a disliked part of the state's Allston plans. Other issues remain up in the air: what to do about a temporary closing of the train bridge over the Charles, for example, and how to lessen the project's impact on the river itself. And when the task force reconvenes next week, everyone involved faces the most important of unresolved issues: how to pay for it all. Advertisement Jon Chesto can be reached at
Business Journals
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Journals
Ohio nonprofits brace for impact as 'Big Beautiful Bill' eliminates key source of funding
The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati opened a new facility in the Villages of Roll Hill in April. With the passage of the Trump administration's Big Beautiful Bill, nonprofits across the state are bracing for its impact.
