July 13—The Social Democrat will continue to remind readers that something extraordinary—and extraordinarily bad—is happening in the United States of America: a confirmed traitor to American democracy has lied his way into the Oval Office. After traducing our democracy by instigating, and then pardoning, the perpetrators of an attempted coup d'etat aimed at preventing the orderly transfer of the presidential office to a duly elected successor, Donald Trump has attempted with every resource at his disposal, aided and abetted by a coterie of co-conspirators in the executive branch and Congress, to turn the United States into an elective dictatorship. His latest outrage: threatening to "revoke" the citizenship of comedian Rosie O'Donnell. Of course the president of the United States has no authority to revoke anyone's citizenship: as the old legal adage goes, in this democratic republic, the people can choose the government, but the government can't choose the people.We must not fall into the trap of treating, or speaking about, Donald Trump as if he is an ordinary president of the United States. Nor will TSD give the scoundrel the honor of the presidential title, preferring to refer to this traitor and incipient dictator in our midst as the "Diktraitor." For a fuller treatment of the Diktraitor's attack on our democracy, see TDS's latest "Social Democracy Outlook."

July 13—Aside from a few populist items you'd never expect to see in Republican legislation (limited taxes on tip income, government-funded $1,000 investment accounts for every newborn), the massive tax and spending bill which has been the focus of Congress's efforts for months is straight out of the standard right-wing playbook, with massive tax breaks for the wealthy and brutal cuts to social programs, notably Medicaid and food stamps. In fact, as this New York Times article explains, the bill is the most regressive tax proposal to pass Congress in 40 years: that is, taking from the poor to give to the rich. The non-partison Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill may increase by 14 million the number of Americans without health coverage, belying the "false promise" of Medicaid work mandates. TSD thinks it's fine to demand that able-bodied and minded citizens work, but believes that government, if it is to impose such conditions, must make sure suitable jobs are available for those concerned.

July 13—The Diktraitor has again extended his deadline—this time until August 1—for our trading partners to reach trade deals with the U.S. or face unilaterally—and whimsically—imposed import duties. The most salient of these are a 25 percent levy on all imports from Japan and South Korea, our most staunch allies in the Far East; 30 percent on Mexico and the European Union, among our largest trading partners; a 50 percent levy on Brazilian imports, largely because the current Brazilian govenment is prosecuting former president and Trump acolyte Jair Bolsonor for involvement in an attempted coup d'etat aimed at overturning his 2022 election loss to Lula da Silva (sound familiar?); and a 30 tariff on all imports from our erstwhile friendly northern neighbor, Canada. TSD cannot imagine that these regressive taxes levied on American consumers will not significatly reduce working Americans' buying power.

July 13—The extreme nationalization of news can sometimes blind us to the fact that in our federal system, many of the most significant elements of government authority—education, police protection, health and safety laws, transportation, and much more—occur at the state level. And amid the gloom and doom of a national government under the authority of a traitor to our democracy, in league with a band of determined reactionaries in Congress, we can be cheered by looking at the many state-level social democratic initiatives which have not come to a screeching halt just because the Diktraitor controls the federal government. These include several measures to deal with the national crisis in affordable housing, in a red state such as Montana as well as in blue bastions like Oregon or the city of Chicago. Or those dealing with another national crisis—that of affordable child care. TDS is also heartened by a growing attention to one of our most cherished social democratic priorities: preparing our non-college-bound youth (and also the college-bound) for the workplace with apprencticeships and work-school partnerships, as evidenced by programs in Indiana, Texas, and elsewhere. Meanwhile a new Democratic policy group, States Forum, has arisen to share, promote and replicate social democratic successes at the state level.

July 13—In a narrow legal decision with nonetheless wide-ranging effects, the Supreme Court on July 8 reversed lower court rulings that had halted mass layoffs at multiple federal agencies. The Court ruled that an executive order directing federal agencies to downsize their workforces was not, in itself, likely to be unconstitutional. The Court stipulated, however, that specific downsizing plans can still be challenged in the lower federal courts (on grounds, typically, that such mass firings represent a failure to execute the laws, as passed by Congress, which both established those agencies and provide for their ongoing funding). Pending the adjudication of such cases, however, the Court ruled that the mass firings may resume.

July 13—One of the most significant book events of the season has been Abundance, by New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and economist Derek Thompson. Klein, firmly on the left, argues with Thompson what has traditionally been a Republican talking point:  that a plethora of unnecessary regulations impede economic vitality and contribute to such woes as the nation's serious shortage of available dwellings. The authors assert, among other things, that Democrats lose voters' allegiance when important infrastructure projects passed into law—such as those under the Biden administration's signature Inflation Reduction Act—take years getting off the ground because of red tape and overlapping environmental reviews. Taking a page from the Abundance playbook, Califormia lawmakers, with the support of Governor Gavin Newsome, have relaxed requirements for environmental review under the State's CEQA statute, considered one of most restrictive in the nation.

July 13—A major event for social democracy occurred aproximately one year ago (July 4, 2023), when Britain's voters put the Labour Party in charge after 14 years of Conservative rule. The landslide electoral victory gave Labour an absolute majority in Parliament, and thus theoretical free reign to implement its social democratic philosophy in British governance. Things, however, have not been quite that simple. To assure success in its electoral campaign, Labour ruled out most new taxes and borrowing, leaving it with limited margins for social spending. And in spite of major social democratic initiatives—including, most significantly, a tangible reversal of the country's National Health Service's declining performance, and a program to deliver 1.5 million affordable housing units over the next ten years—the government has faced multiple revolts from its own left wing over attempts to trim around the margins of social spending on disability benefits, child tax credits and winter fuel subsidies. The Kier Starmer government, facing a British public as impatient and fickle as those of other modern democracies, is suffering woeful approval ratings. This AP article sums up Labour's freshman year; and Polly Toynbee, the incredibly astute Guardian columnist, names Labour's missteps while also giving credit where it is due. She pleads that the only egress from Labour's dliemmas is to forget its electoral promises and raise the revenue needed to make their social democratic visions a reality. Toynbee waxes particularly enthusiastic about Labour's recently rebranded initiative, Best Start, aimed at making sure all British children get a good start in life: a "moral mission," says Bridget Phillipson, secretary of state for education and labor in the Starmer government.

Jun 28—The Social Democrat will continue to remind readers that something extraordinary—and extraordinarily bad—is happening in the United States of America: a confirmed traitor to American democracy has lied his way into the Oval Office. After traducing our democracy by instigating, and then pardoning, the perpetrators of an attempted coup d'etat aimed at preventing the orderly transfer of the presidential office to a duly elected successor, Donald Trump has attempted with every resource at his disposal, aided and abetted by a coterie of co-conspirators in the executive branch and Congress, to turn the United States into an elective dictatorship. We must not fall into the trap of treating, or speaking about, Donald Trump as if he is an ordinary president of the United States. Nor will TSD give the scoundrel the honor of the presidential title, preferring to refer to this traitor and incipient dictator in our midst as the "Diktraitor." For a fuller treatment of the Diktraitor's attack on our democracy, see TDS's latest "Social Democracy Outlook."

Jun 28—There is a large and dangerous time bomb ticking away beneath the flurry of the daily news cycle, and that is the impending bankruptcy of Social Security and Medicare. The Treasury Department's latest report projects that, if nothing is done, Social Security, which supports 68 million retired Americans, will by 2034 only be able to pay 81 percent of promised benefits to retirees. The "Big, (Not) Beautiful" budget bill now working its way through the Republican-controlled Congress does nothing to address this imminent disaster. Fixes are not difficult, and the issue should be a top priority, and a top talking point, for Democrats heading into the 2028 election cycle.

Jun 28—Among of spate of emergency rulings, as the Supreme Court wraps up its spring term, the most consequential is no doubt that striking down the use of nationwide injunctions by lower federal courts. Such injunctions, typically issued by federal district court judges, prevent the federal government from carrying out orders throughout the nation, not merely against the specific plaintiff in a case before the court. With the new Supreme Court ruling in effect, district courts will lose a major tool against unconstitutional orders issued by the Diktraitor, though class-action lawsuits, or appeals up to the Supreme Court itself, can provide work-arounds: albeit on a much slower timeframe than the immediacy of a nationwide injunction.  And for a progress report on all the many lawsuits engendered by the "man who would be king," see the handy AP Trump Lawsuit Tracker.

Jun 28—The Supreme Court ends its spring term this week with a spate of rulings favorable to the Diktraitor's regime in areas as diverse as immigration, transgender soldiers and the authority of the president to cashier heads of independent agencies established by Congress. The New York Times offers a handy checklist of cases won, or lost, by an administration determined to govern, as much as the courts will allow, by executive orders.

Jun 28—As Senate Republicans struggle to meet a July 4 soft deadline for okaying their version of the Trump-inspired comprehensive budget plan, the basic lineaments are coming into sharper focus. This anti-social democracy bill pairs large tax breaks for the wealthy with major cuts to social programs that help working Americans. This New York Times article offers a comparison of the House and Senate versions. And this Times article gives a highly detailed description of every provision in the Senate bill. Once again, Republicans belie their self-description as the party that believes in balanced budgets, as recent Congressional Budget Office projections forecast the bill to add trillions in federal debt over the coming decade. Meanwhile a new AP/NORC poll finds large majorities of Americans opposed to any cutbacks in the key safety net programs of Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps or Social Security.

Jun 28—A three-member panel of the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled as unconstitutional a recently passed Louisiana law requiring the Biblical Ten Commandments to be posted in all public school classrooms. The Court ruled, unsurprisingly, that the law violates the U.S. Constitution's prohibition against the establishment of a state religion. Next door in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott and Republican legislators appear to be concerned about the possible outbreak of "worshipping graven images" or "coveting one's neighbor's maidservant," a similar prevision has been promulgated. TSD can only hope, along with all other sane Americans, that the federal court system, up to the Supreme Court, will stand firm against this madness.

Jun 28—One of the most important social democratic issues facing virtually every region of the country is a lack of affordable housing for average working individuals and families, and nowhere is the problem more acute than in California. A plan developed by Gavin Newsome to kickstart home construction by relaxing some government regulations has run afoul of powerful California labor interests. Although we social democrats strongly support union representation for workers, Josh Barro addresses the question: are there times when a committed social democratic government has to learn to say "no" when organized labor's red lines stand in the way of the general welfare?

Jun 15—The Social Democrat will continue to remind readers that something extraordinary—and extraordinarily bad—is happening in the United States of America: a confirmed traitor to American democracy has lied his way into the Oval Office. After traducing our democracy by instigating, and then pardoning, the perpetrators of an attempted coup d'etat aimed at preventing the orderly transfer of the presidential office to a duly elected successor, Donald Trump has attempted with every resource at his disposal, aided and abetted by a coterie of co-conspirators in the executive branch and Congress, to turn the United States into an elective dictatorship. We must not fall into the trap of treating, or speaking about, Donald Trump as if he is an ordinary president of the United States. Nor will TSD give the scoundrel the honor of the presidential title, preferring to refer to this traitor and incipient dictator in our midst as the "Diktraitor." For a fuller treatment of the Diktraitor's attack on our democracy, see TDS's latest "Social Democracy Outlook."