|
|
Rick Newman: The wealth gap
|
|
|
|
If Donald Trump had run for president in 2024 by promising to enrich the wealthy at the expense of working- and middle-class Americans, Kamala Harris might be in the Oval Office right now.
But that’s just what he’s done. One of the defining features of his second term has been a sharp widening of the economic divide, with higher-income households getting richer while lower-income Americans face stagnant wages and higher costs.
Economists describe this as a K-shaped economy, with one trend line rising while the other falls. While the divide predates Trump, many of the policies widening it bear his signature.
His second-term agenda has consistently tilted in the same direction: policies that raise costs for many working families while giving tax breaks and windfalls to those with significant assets.
Tariffs have made many goods more expensive, cuts to food assistance have hit lower-income households, the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies has raised insurance costs at an unfortunate time, and the Iran war has sent energy prices surging. Those policies have coincided with soaring stock and home prices, which have disproportionately enriched Americans who already owned those assets.
Read Rick Newman’s analysis here.
|
|
|
|
Would you sign up for a Trump Account?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Starting this month, parents can contribute up to $5,000 a year to a new Trump Account, a tax-advantaged investment account for children. The federal government will put $1,000 in accounts for children born during Trump’s second term, and some employers may also contribute to the account.
|
|
|
|
Here are some more highlights of the president’s actions over the past seven days:
|
- Renewed his push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, threatening to pull U.S. troops from Europe over it at a NATO summit
|
- Announced plans to weaken efficiency standards for home appliances that have been shown to cut electricity demand and lower utility bills
|
|
|
|
The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles. This week’s challenger is Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
Although he’s not as vocal a Trump supporter as some of his Senate colleagues, Grassley has backed the president on most of his top agenda items and appointments and endorsed him in both 2020 and 2024. But as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he’s now raising questions about FBI Director Kash Patel’s use of public resources. In a letter viewed by MS NOW, Grassley demanded that Patel provide information on whether he reimbursed the FBI for personal flights aboard agency aircraft and explain the bureau’s purchase of BMW SUVs instead of its traditional Chevy Suburbans. (The FBI did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.) A separate letter from Senate Democrats cites another episode from last summer, when Patel took what they described as a VIP snorkeling trip in Pearl Harbor using military resources. Patel’s spokesman defended the visit as “a historical tour to honor heroes who died” aboard the USS Arizona. Read more.
|
|
|
|
On Tuesdays, you can expect to receive a special edition of the Project 47 newsletter dedicated to covering the biggest issues shaping key races in the midterm elections. If you would prefer to opt out of the special midterms edition of the newsletter, click here and you will automatically be removed.
|
|
|
|
For the second year in a row, people shopping for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace are likely to face double-digit premium increases. KFF found that insurers are requesting a median rate hike of 14% for 2027. While rising healthcare costs remain the biggest driver, policy decisions by the Trump administration and Congress are also pushing premiums higher. When the enhanced premium subsidies that were at the center of the longest government shutdown on record expired at the end of 2025, many consumers saw their monthly bills jump. Compared with the previous year, nearly 3 million fewer people enrolled in ACA marketplace plans in 2026, many of them younger and healthier adults. The Trump administration says the decline reflects a successful crackdown on fraud. Many health policy analysts disagree, arguing that the loss of healthier enrollees left insurers covering a sicker, more expensive pool of customers. KFF estimates that this shift increased premiums by about 4% this year and is expected to continue putting upward pressure on rates next year.
|
|
|
|
This week on “Clock It,” Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels ask if Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s red flags were missed or ignored. Then, they look into Sen. Mitch McConnell’s extended unexplained absence and the lack of a timeline for his return. Listen now and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening and bonus content.
|
|
|
|
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
|
|
|
|
|
