Sam Gustin
@samgustin.com
Reporter and editor. Biz, tech, policy. Bylines @ TNR, The Nation, Vice, Time, Wired. samgustin.com
GovExec: Trump’s federal workforce changes cost the economy more than $165.6B, analysis finds www.govexec.com/workforce/20...
Trump’s federal workforce changes cost the economy more than $165.6B, analysis finds
The Partnership for Public Service report includes the costs of the deferred resignation program, severance pay for laid-off civil servants and federal employees who were on paid administrative leave ...
govexec.com
Shocker: Trump is delivering a giant gift to the crypto industry. trib.al/3BRjOkv By making volatile crypto products widely available to millions of Americans via their 401(k)s, Trump is delivering a desperately needed bailout to a battered industry in which he happens to be a major investor.
Trump has spent much of his second term using the U.S. presidency as a giant ATM for himself, his family, and his cronies. Now he’s devised a way for the cryptocurrency and private equity industries to do the same. trib.al/cPlmGK0
Trump’s New Gift to Crypto and Private Equity: Access to Your 401(k)
The president wants to open up workers’ retirement plans to his pet industries, so that he and those industries can reap a windfall while Americans shoulder the risk.
trib.al
Trump’s New Gift to Crypto and Private Equity: Access to Your 401(k) newrepublic.com/article/2083... via @newrepublic.com
Trump’s New Gift to Crypto and Private Equity: Access to Your 401(k)
The president wants to open up workers’ retirement plans to his pet industries, so that he and those industries can reap a windfall while Americans shoulder the risk.
newrepublic.com
In the 60 Minutes controversy, Weiss is likely doing what she always does: producing a line of propaganda masquerading as news coverage that serves the interest of her patrons–in this case, David Ellison, whose interests are served by protecting Donald Trump. https://bit.ly/45bGW9m
Bari Weiss's Counter-Journalistic Crusade Targets “60 Minutes”
The new editor in chief at CBS News has shown she's not merely stupendously unqualified--she's ideologically opposed to the practice of good journalism.
bit.ly
Trump’s FCC chief Brendan Carr has weaponized the agency to intimidate news organizations and media companies by threatening their broadcast licenses. @thenation.com (from June) www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Trump’s FCC Chief Brendan Carr Is Acting More Like a Mob Enforcer Than a Federal Regulator
With a new GOP majority, the incoming FCC boss aims to punish criticism, reward obedience—and screw the public.
thenation.com
How Trump Plans to Manipulate US Economic Data to Gaslight the Public @thenation.com [from March] www.thenation.com/article/econ...
How Trump Plans to Manipulate US Economic Data to Gaslight the Public
The president and his GOP cronies want to tamper with government statistics and use deceptive budget gimmicks to lie about the impact of their massive tax and budget cuts.
thenation.com
I write in @thenation.com that Paramount’s recent settlement with Trump is a symptom of deep structural rot in our hyper-capitalistic media system. I argue that we should be thinking now about the structural media reforms we need for the post-Trump era as we rebuild journalism from the ground up.
The Media’s Profits Trump Democracy, Once Again
Paramount’s settlement with Trump is a symptom of deep structural rot in our corporate media system.
thenation.com
Trump’s FCC Chief Brendan Carr Is Acting More Like a Mob Enforcer Than a Federal Regulator @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Trump’s FCC Chief Brendan Carr Is Acting More Like a Mob Enforcer Than a Federal Regulator
With a new GOP majority, the incoming FCC boss aims to punish criticism, reward obedience—and screw the public.
thenation.com
Robert McChesney, the Great Champion of Journalism and Democracy, Has Died. Tribute from @nicholsuprising.bsky.social www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Robert McChesney, the Great Champion of Journalism and Democracy, Has Died
The academic and activist inspired generations of people to challenge corporate power and support a media reform movement that lives on.
thenation.com
congestion pricing is one of the most comprehensively successful policies NYC has ever seen, so of course all the worst people want to get rid of it
Sam@samd.bsky.social · 2y agosome more congestion pricing Ws: Broadway attendance: up 21% Restaurant reservations: up 7% Pedestrian traffic: up 4% Retail sales: up $900M Commercial leasing: up 61% Subway crime: down 37% Car crashes: down 50% Honking complaints: down 69%
Fodder for novels about our times: 1) Trump Commerce Sec H Lutnick says people won't really notice if SocSec misses a payment cycle: www.axios.com/2025/03/21/s... 2) Lutnick just bought house in DC for $25 million, all cash 3) Seller: Bret Baier of Fox www.washingtonian.com/2024/12/20/b...
axios.com
As FCC chair, Brendan Carr has launched multiple attacks on freedom of the press. He’s demonstrated a clear pattern of supporting Trump’s authoritarian takeover by using his government perch to quash dissent. My latest piece dissects his seven most chilling attacks on free speech.
How FCC Chairman Carr Has Fueled Trump's Authoritarian Takeover
Carr has undermined free speech and press freedom as he carries out Trump’s promises of retribution for those who report critically on his actions.
freepress.net
The Federal Reserve has significantly revised down expected growth for this year and meaningfully revised up expected inflation for this year. Trump’s chaotic and harmful approach to the economy is already showing up.
DOJ is ditching a bunch of guidelines on how businesses can accommodate people with disabilities. It's supposedly about combating high prices.
Justice Department Announces Actions to Combat Cost-of-Living Crisis, Including Rescinding 11 Pieces of Guidance
The Justice Department today announced that it is taking action in response to President Trump’s Presidential Memorandum “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost...
justice.gov
www.thenation.com/article/econ...
How Trump Plans to Manipulate US Economic Data to Gaslight the Public
The president and his GOP cronies want to tamper with government statistics and use deceptive budget gimmicks to lie about the impact of their massive tax and budget cuts.
thenation.com
Catherine Rampell@crampell.bsky.social · 2y agoFT ed board weighs in on the White House war on federal statistics. I hope more media outlets do as well. Still waiting for more market participants who rely on these critical data series to speak up. www.ft.com/content/a2cb...
Yale Budget is out w/ illustrative analysis of what following the House budget plan could look like - of what cutting Medicaid & SNAP while extending the Trump tax cuts could look like. It’d hurt the poor, be roughly neutral for the middle class, & help the rich. budgetlab.yale.edu/news/250319/...
Important new work from my @budgetlab.bsky.social colleagues Harris Eppsteiner & John Ricco on the House budget resolution. Neutral illustrative policies consistent w/ committee deficit targets suggest the proposed tax + spending cuts are regressive: they benefit the top & hurt the bottom. 1/3
Wrote about "current policy baseline" earlier this week. www.thenation.com/article/econ...
How Trump Plans to Manipulate US Economic Data to Gaslight the Public
The president and his GOP cronies want to tamper with government statistics and use deceptive budget gimmicks to lie about the impact of their massive tax and budget cuts.
thenation.com
Carl Quintanilla@carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 2y agoThe “current-policy baseline” gimmick makes the big leagues. 🇺🇸 @politico.com www.politico.com/live-updates...
Trump and his GOP allies are plotting a massive budgetary gimmick designed to conceal the fact that their budget numbers don’t add up—and they know it. @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/econ...
How Trump Plans to Manipulate US Economic Data to Gaslight the Public
The president and his GOP cronies want to tamper with government statistics and use deceptive budget gimmicks to lie about the impact of their massive tax and budget cuts.
thenation.com
The Trump administration is looking for ways to obscure the true cost of its economic plans at a time when the US economy is already flashing warning signs of a recession. @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/econ...
How Trump Plans to Manipulate US Economic Data to Gaslight the Public
The president and his GOP cronies want to tamper with government statistics and use deceptive budget gimmicks to lie about the impact of their massive tax and budget cuts.
thenation.com
AP: Trump downplays business concerns about uncertainty from his tariffs and prospect of higher prices apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump downplays business concerns about uncertainty from his tariffs and prospect of higher prices
President Donald Trump is dismissing business concerns over the uncertainty caused by his planned tariffs on a range of American trading partners and the prospect of higher prices.
apnews.com
AP: US economic worries mount as Trump implements tariffs, cuts workforce and freezes spending apnews.com/article/trum...
US economic worries mount as Trump implements tariffs, cuts workforce and freezes spending
President Donald Trump's flurry of tariffs, government layoffs and spending freezes may be doing more to harm the U.S. economy than to fix it.
apnews.com