While parents take on debt for school supplies and seniors stretch their prescriptions, the President is most excited about...his new helipad? Working families need relief. He's giving them vanity projects.

Trump shows off his new helipad, brags about construction projects

For a brief period Wednesday, the president set aside more troubling issues to revel in his role as White House redeveloper.

washingtonpost.com

The clownishly corrupt high court’s shadow-docket decision isn’t the final word on mail-in ballots, but it reveals the conservative bloc’s comfort with the Trump regime’s voter suppression schemes. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4wXe1kD #ProtectTheVote

This morning in Danbury, ICE was arresting parents at school bus stops. But it’s more sinister. ICE waited until the kids were on the bus so when they are dropped off at the end of the day, they are alone, scared to death they can’t find their parents. I’m heading to Danbury.

Gasoline has NEVER been this expensive this late in the year. National average: $4.10. Extra household spending in six months: $56.4 billion — roughly $477 per home. Big Oil's profits last quarter: $90 billion. Trump's war. Your bill. Their windfall.

Americans Have Never Paid This Much for Fuel So Late in The Year

It’s peak driving season in the US, and gasoline and diesel prices have never been this expensive this late in the year.

bloomberg.com

Organized labor is celebrating the life and legacy of Dolly Parton, who championed working women and carried a union card for almost 60 years. https://bit.ly/4xiy91p

Dolly Parton Was a Proud Union Sister

Organized labor is celebrating the life and legacy of an artist who championed working women and carried a union card for almost 60 years.

bit.ly

59% of Americans — including nearly half of Republicans — disapprove of how Trump handles corruption. One voter said it best: "he is now a member of the swamp." People see it. And they know who's paying for it: them.

Trump’s record disapproval, bipartisan bitterness & more | Enten roundup | CNN Politics

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten runs the numbers of the week, from Trump’s new record low approval rating to democratic socialism’s eruption.

cnn.com

“I’m very worried about the future of Higher Ed in Minnesota. We have a mission to train our job force for our state, and if we don’t have the funds to teach people where they’re at, then we can’t do that mission.”

BUSTED: Over a dozen U.S. companies that signed a 2021 letter urging Congress to strengthen the Voting Rights Act continue to contribute to state political groups that are actively working to undermine the legislation, according to a campaign finance watchdog. Read more: https://bit.ly/46lStTG

The latest tale of two economies: Pay-later loans are now "working capital for the modern middle class" as Americans have to finance groceries. Meanwhile billionaires borrow against their stock tax-free at rates you'll never be offered.

Consumers Lean on a ‘Hamster Wheel’ of Credit to Manage Rising Costs

As prices increase for gas, groceries and other staples, more and more households are borrowing to get by.

nytimes.com

Rising prices are literally rewiring how Americans shop: smaller carts, skipped staples, store brands, food put back at the register. The steepest grocery price surge in 50 years — made worse by Trump & Republicans in Congress that CUT food assistance.

Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years

Living through the biggest jump in grocery prices in a half-century has many Americans changing their eating and food shopping habits.

apnews.com

"Three anniversaries, one question: Why, in 2026, are we still fighting for rights already won -- the right to vote, equal pay, the Equal Rights Amendment Congress refuses to recognize as ratified?" Read more here: https://bit.ly/3SMKOe1 #ProtectTheVote

Arizona's SNAP enrollment dropped 53% between June 2025 and March 2026 — over 469,000 people lost food assistance because of the GOP's cuts. Hunger didn't fall. Help was taken away. Remember exactly who did this.

Millions lose food stamps under Trump cuts. Arizona is hardest hit

Half of Arizona's SNAP participants have lost their benefits.

reuters.com

“I’m making sure somebody has food to eat. I’m making sure somebody has healthcare so they can get cancer treatment. I’m making sure somebody has a home to call their own. And that’s what keeps me going every day.” Meet Benjamin Henry, President of AFSCME Local 517 in Washington County.

We hear a lot about top 1% & top 0.1% but how rich is that really? Turns out defining extreme wealth is more complicated than it looks 🧵 A new video on @equitablegrowth.bsky.social & the Extreme Wealth Center's report from @austinclemens2.bsky.social helps explain: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXdP...

Defining extreme wealth is more complicated than it looks

YouTube video by Washington Center for Equitable Growth

youtube.com

The Trump-GOP health care cuts, one year in: ✅ 8 million Americans lost coverage. ✅ Premiums up 25% across the board — doubled or tripled for 22 million people on the ACA. ✅ Rural hospitals shuttering. ✅ All to help cover a $1.7 trillion tax break for billionaires. Read more here:

On the First Anniversary of the OBBBA, Millions of Americans Have Been Left Behind

One year after the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, millions of Americans are losing health care coverage and food assistance while the wealthiest households benefit from tax breaks.

americanprogress.org

If Democrats take back control of Congress and the White House, undoing the damage the Supreme Court has done to voting rights — and preventing them from doing it again — will be a top priority, Hakeem Jeffries said. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4wuEFRm #ProtectTheVote

ICYMI – debt-to-GDP has passed 100% and reached WW2 levels, but debt-to-wealth in the US is 20% and ~half WW2 levels. @dsmitch28.bsky.social and I argue the most cited debt statistic doesn't account for all our resources.

Democrats should use Congress’ August recess to lean into economic populism and take on corporate interests — not just “simply oppose Trump and his billionaire friends,” according to a memo by a quartet of progressives.

Exclusive: Senate Democrats advise party to break out economic populism

Democrats should use Congress’ August recess to take on corporate interests, the four senators wrote.

semafor.com

"While the potential economic upsides of AI are immense, so are the potential economic downsides. Tax policy needs to help us prepare for those risks."

Raise the Corporate Tax Rate to Stem AI-Related Economic Inequity

Opinion: AI’s economic impacts may include more inequity and job dislocations and losses. A higher corporate rate would raise substantial revenue from the wealthy without stifling innovation or growth...

news.bloombergtax.com

“People are starting to see this system is not working, and what they are being fed is not true.” What we heard in Rochester echoes what we are hearing across Minnesota: The status quo is broken and Minnesotans are ready for a different direction.

At a time when the U.S. president is actively interfering in elections, these groups, activists, and officials are protecting their local systems from federal sabotage 👇 Read more here: https://bit.ly/4i9EbN0 #ProtectTheVote

With 100° temps a new norm, Republicans are trying to stop all federal heat safety protection regs, now or in the future. HR 6213 prohibits OSHA from creating or enforcing ANY national heat safety standard. We MUST stop it! act.seiu.org/a/fedheatreg... #WeFeedYou

Taxing the rich DEFINITELY works. #TaxTheRich

Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed voting protections into law Thursday, the anniversary of the 1965 federal Voting Rights Act, at an historic Black church in Wilmington. Read more here: https://bit.ly/4wzeysV #ProtectTheVote

“The bottom line is without the funding that we need to support the people, we can’t do our work.”

“This vote defeated a bad amendment decisively. Missourians made clear they would rather invest in their children’s classrooms than bankroll another tax giveaway that disproportionately benefits the wealthy." - Kristen Crowell

Missouri Voters Choose Public Services Over Tax Giveaways

Families Over Billionaires statement on Missouri's rejection of Amendment 5

fobaction.substack.com

83% of Missouri voters just rejected an amendment to eliminate the state income tax and shift the tax burden to working families. That plan would have cut services and given the richest 1% a $40k/year tax cut. Red state or blue state, everyone wants a fair tax code to fund our society.

Missouri voters reject income tax phaseout, initiative petition changes • Missouri Independent

Missouri voters resoundingly rejected major Republican priorities on Tuesday as proposals to eliminate the income tax and change the way majorities are counted lost by large margins across the state.

missouriindependent.com

Can’t profit if people stop buying 😂

Meet Mike Ness, an educational support professional (ESP) at Harriet Bishop Elementary in Rochester. Mike helps students who need extra support on academics or behavior. He spends 6 years working with the same kids from kindergarten through fifth grade. Watch here: youtu.be/bjLWtmn15Os #WeMakemN

We Make Minnesota: Meet Educational Support Professional Mike Ness

YouTube video by We Make MN

youtu.be

"Perhaps we are seeing a turning of the page in the party toward a focus on a bigger, better government that truly delivers for working people by providing more services while also lowering costs."

The Death of Middle-Class Tax Cuts as a Bulletproof Idea

Two Democratic senators with an eye on the White House probably thought they’d score political points with their tax-cut legislation. The overwhelming criticism suggests a sea change in the party.

newrepublic.com