A Sheep In The Meeting Of Wolves

Political Cartoon is by Rob Rogers at Tinyview.com.
 

Over 1200 Cities Nationwide Protested Against Trump On Saturday

 

Over 1200 cities across the country saw protests against Trump and Musk on Saturday. And there were even protests in England, Germany, and France.

Trump Blows the U.S. Economic Engine

 Political Cartoon is by Dave Granlund at davegranlund.com.

Trump Tariffs Won't Hurt The Rich But It Will Hurt Everyone Else

 

Using Power In A Capricious, Destructive, And Dumb Way

 

The Unemployment Rate For March Climbed Slightly To 4.2%

The Labor Department released the unemployment report for March on Friday. It showed the economy produced about 228,000 jobs for the month. That was not bad, but not enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising to 4.2% (0.1% more than February).

Here are the relevant statistics for March:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE

170,591,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS

7,083,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

4.2%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT

Adult men...............3.8%

Adult women...............3.7%

Teens (16-19)...............13.7%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............6.2%

Asians...............3.5%

Hispanics...............5.1%

No HS diploma...............5.8%

HS graduate...............4.1%

Some college...............3.5%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.6%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted)

1,687,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached)

8,770,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

5.1%

And There Was No Anesthetic

Political Cartoon is by Rick McKee at Cagle.com.
 

Republicans Are NOT Fiscally Responsible - And They're Trying To Hide That

Catherine Rampell (The Washington Post) explains the nasty trick Republicans want to use to hide the cost of their tax cuts for the rich: 

Senate Republicans on Wednesday decided their party alone will control how math works. This is a pressing legislative question at present, because pretzeling budgetary outcomes into prettier shapes and sizes will determine whether Republicans can pass President Donald Trump’s promised tax cuts.

Those cuts are very expensive. They include not only extensions of the 2017 tax law provisions (set to expire this year), but they also lower corporate rates as well as carveouts for tips, auto loan payments and other goodies. In total, Trump’s preferred tax agenda could cost between $5 trillion and $11 trillion over the next decade.

This is inconvenient. Republicans like to pretend they’re fiscal conservatives (at least some of the time). They would prefer not to acknowledge the hefty price tag, and they also don’t want to fully offset it with unpopular spending cuts.

So, they’ve devised a cheat. Rather than admitting how much their tax agenda would cost, they are simply asserting that they get their first $4 trillion — free!

Here’s how: Republicans say that because some (expiring) tax cuts have been in place since 2017, extending them shouldn’t be recorded as costing anything, because they wouldn’t feel different. This is ... not how budgets work. As I’ve explained before, it’s like saying even though your car lease has ended, leasing another car should count as “free” because you got used to the convenience of having a vehicle around.

Normally, neutral referees are available to call out this kind of funny business.

First, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office “scores” significant legislation, to determine how much a bill would change revenue and spending in the years ahead, compared with what would happen if Congress allowed existing law to remain as it is. Then, a person called the Senate parliamentarian would confirm that the CBO number matches what lawmakers had previously agreed their bill would cost. If it doesn’t, the bill becomes much harder to pass.

Republicans have been trying to persuade the Senate parliamentarian to adopt their preferred math. So far, the parliamentarian has delayed making a ruling. But on Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) announced the parliamentarian won’t ever need to decide. He plans to do what the party wants either way.

“I have the authority to determine baseline numbers for spending and revenue,” Graham said in a statement. Under that authority, he said, he can use the special book-cooking math — a “current policy baseline” — that grants his party $4 trillion in freebies.

In other words: 2+2=5, if Republicans decree it so.

Sacrifices To Be Made

Political Cartoon is by Kevin Kallaugher in The Baltimore Sun.
 

Wisconsin May Be A Bellwether - But the 2026 Election Still Won't Be Easy

Democrats are celebrating the Supreme Court win in Wisconsin, and they should. It was a good win. 

But it is no guarantee that Democrats will easily glide to a huge win in the 2026 midterm elections. 

Why do I say that?

For one thing, many of the MAGA voters didn't turn out for the Wisconsin election. They looked at Trump's 11 point win in that state in 2024, saw Musk was pouring millions into the Supreme Court race, and decided an easy win was in the bag and they didn't need to show up. They won't make that mistake in 2026.

Musk involving himself in the race was also a mistake. He (and Republicans) misjudged just how unpopular he is currently. However, that may not be a problem in November of 2026. It is likely that he will have already done the damage that Trump wanted him to do by then - and will no longer be a part of the Trump administration.

In addition, Democrats are not very popular right now. Several polls put their approval at an embarrassing 37%.

The one thing Democrats have going for them is that inflation hasn't let up, and Trump's new tariffs are very likely to make it even worse. Republicans are trying to counter that that claiming the pain will be for a short time so long-time gains can be accomplished. They need to convince independent voters (who voted Republican because they thought they would fix inflation) that is the case.

It will be up to Democratic candidates to get the truth out. The continuing (and increasing) inflation can no longer be blamed on Biden - or any other Democrat. Thanks to his new tariffs on nearly every country, Trump will own the inflation. The pain will be long-term and the gain nonexistent. Democrats must make sure voters understand that.

Trump is making life much more difficult for working Americans. If the voters hold him responsible, then Democrats will do well. But it won't be easy. It never is. 

The Penguins Get A Tariff

Political Cartoon is by Dave Whamond at Cagle.com.
 

The New Reality

 

America Created The World Trading System - Trump Just Burned It All Down

 

Most People Think Trump Will Try For A Third Term (But Shouldn't Be Allowed To)

 

The chart above is from the YouGov Poll -- done between March 30th and April 1st of a nationwide sample of 1,626 adults, with a 3.3 point margin of error.