News, Opinions & Events

Jump to Featured Section

Chinese Electrotech is the Big Winner in the Iran War – Paul Krugman/Substack

“An energy-hungry world is being pushed away by America and into China’s arms.”

As U.S. Automakers & Unions Pull Out of Brasil, Chinese Automakers & Sometimes Slave-Like Conditions Move In – Mike Elk/Payday Report

​”As Trump closes doors for American companies, and as economic relations between China and Brazil are expected to deepen, many Brazilian labor leaders are now finding themselves navigating a new international dynamic.”

As New Yorkers splurge, their doormen struggle – msn WaPost

“…Service Employees International Union 32BJ, the union representing the building workers, has scheduled a strike vote for Wednesday. If a strike occurs, New York’s more than 3,000 affected apartment and condominium buildings could face an array of operational issues affecting such services as garbage disposal, package delivery and security…

“RAB estimates that the average door person in New York earns $62,000 annually, but those costs rise to about $112,000 when benefits, including full family health insurance benefits, are included. Board officials said it is reasonable to ask building workers to help cover health care premiums…”

Trump’s entourage is calling his decision to blockade the Strait of Hormuz a brilliant move. Really? Iran’s main bargaining chip is its ability to stop the movement of oil through the gulf and exert economic pain. So, now the US navy is doing that for them? Trump likens the blockade to what he did to Venezuela before decapitating its regime. But that blockade didn’t affect gas prices in the US. This one does. Can someone explain the 3-D chess move here?

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Grim new economic numbers highlight how Trump is losing leverage against Iran – CNN

“The economic news Friday was especially grim for Trump’s ability to keep prosecuting this war and drive a hard bargain with Iran in upcoming negotiations. Let’s briefly recap:

  • The oil shock created by the ongoing logjam in the Strait of Hormuz pushed inflation up 0.9% in March alone, which was the highest one-month jump in nearly four years.
  • Inflation is now at 3.3% on an annualized basis, which is the highest rate since Trump became president.
  • The price of gasoline rose 21.2% in March, which was a record.
  • The much-watched University of Michigan consumer sentiment index — a measure of how confident Americans are in the economy — just hit a record low, in data stretching back to 1952.”

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asks MTG if she ‘genuinely believed’ Trump wanted to wipe out all of Iran – msn/MEAWW

“Blitzer opened the segment by reminding viewers and Greene that she had recently called for Trump to be removed from office under the 25th Amendment following his threat…”

Is Israel already sabotaging a chance for peace? – Responsible Statecraft

“This brings us to the conclusion that, for Netanyahu and his coalition, the forever war and escalation are in themselves the strategy. The longer the fighting goes on, the less likely he’ll be held accountable for his catastrophic miscalculations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran…”

Dear Trump Administration:  Forgive our asking, but isn’t it time you considered getting out of bed with the homicidal Netanyahu regime, which continues slaughtering civilians by the thousands — recklessly and with intent — in Gaza, Lebanon, Iran or wherever else instincts and strategy take them?  Or, dear hearts, if you can’t bear the thought of a Bibi break up, at least begin asserting yourselves in the Israel-US relationship?  Would equal consideration be too much to ask for?  Alas, American voters are losing patience with your supine posture in this oily love affair.  Establishing some boundaries won’t be the end of the world. You all can still be friends.

Hezbollah pauses attacks, sources say, Israel says operations in Lebanon continue – Reuters

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said overnight that the ceasefire suspending the six-week-old U.S.-Israeli war against Iran did not apply to Lebanon, and the Israeli military said it was continuing its operations against Hezbollah there.”

Opinion: Palestine is Trump’s leverage to end the Iran war – Ehud Shapiro/The Hill

Details on Iran’s 10-point proposal at center of 2-week ceasefire – CBS

‘Netanyahu failed’: Israeli opposition leaders say Iran cease-fire ‘a disaster – msn/Haaretz

“From Netanyahu’s left, Yair Lapid said the PM had ‘failed diplomatically and strategically,’ while Yair Golan said Israel’s war objectives had not been achieved. From the far right, a Ben-Gvir MK wrote of Trump: ‘Donald, you came out a duck!’…”

…”MK Ahmad Tibi responded with irony: ‘Wow, the Strait of Hormuz is open. A huge, historic achievement by the Trump-Netanyahu duo. It was open before the war and is open again now – with a bonus: Iran will charge transit fees from every ship. For this alone, Trump will demand a Nobel Prize for Hormuz.’ MK Ayman Odeh wrote: ‘Three main lessons from this war and its end: recognize the limits of force; there is no regional stability without Israeli-Palestinian peace; Netanyahu is a liar and an international arsonist.'”

Trump has his deal. But this senseless episode has caused him incalculable damage – i Paper

Comment: Shame on critics who can’t appreciate just how much the World’s Greatest Negotiator – would-be Emperor Donald Trump – is winning. Winning like never before. There’s too much winning here. (More winning than Marcus Licinius Crassus had with the Parthians maybe?)

Income!

“We are nearing a century low of how much money is going to workers.”

We’re ignoring a key factor in the cost of living crisis, economist says — Americans won’t get ahead until it’s fixed – msn

“A 2025 Wall Street Journal poll showed only 25% of Americans — the lowest number in the survey’s 38-year history — believe they have a good chance of improving their standard of living. Nearly 70% say the American dream of working hard and getting ahead is either dead or never existed (1)…”

Qs for the American “middle class”: If you work hard and save, is your risk of ending up in the ‘bottom 50%’ greater than the likelihood of finishing in the ‘top 20%’? Depending on what your gut tells you, which policies concerning taxes, spending, and the distribution of income will you support?

BTW:

How does income level influence Trump voter demographics 2024? – factually

What’s changed? What hasn’t?

Millions of Americans paid billions in tariffs later ruled illegal — and they won’t see a dime back – Fortune

“Low- and Middle-Income American families, and small businesses, accounting for well over half of our country’s population, paid out a disproportionate share of their incomes to the government due to IEEPA Tariffs recently struck down by the Supreme Court. Total payments amounted to roughly $175 billion. Now these families and small businesses face the prospect of receiving no rebates. Thus, the system is regressive for them on both the front and back ends — the burden of the original high tariffs and now the denial of rebates to compensate them…”

‘We Just Want Life to Be Sustainable’: LAUSD Workers Near Strike in Contract Fight – Capital & Main

“…when Wirt leaves school each day, she returns home to a studio apartment that she shares with her 22-year-old daughter — what she can afford, Wirt says. By her account, she’s had two raises in more than a decade. She earns less than $23 an hour, well below the estimated $50.23 an hour that an adult with one dependent and a fulltime job needs to make in order to meet the basic cost of living in Los Angeles…”

Monopoly Round-Up: Lina Khan Is Back – Matt Stoller/BIG

Former FTC Chair Lina Khan is co-founding a new academic institute, the Center for Law and Economy, at Columbia University, which will focus on the way “law and legal institutions structure the economy.”

Hospitals & Monopoly – Open Markets Institute

What They Are Saying: Hospital Monopolies and Rising Prices Make Care Less Affordable – AHIP

American hospitals wield monopoly power. Decades of experience demonstrate that employers, insurance companies, and patients paying them lack the bargaining power to check ever rising costs. In many areas, hospitals are natural monopolies that cannot be broken up to increase competition. In large metro areas with two or three health systems, corporations can work together to keep hospital prices high – even as their emergency rooms overflow with unmet demand.

Federal and state government agencies operating as purchasers, and price setters, may be the country’s last hope in getting hospital and health care costs under control. It remains to be seen whether the American political system has the capacity to push back against hospital monopoly power.

See Previous Posts

Featured

Thanks to The Hill for running our op-ed:

Trump’s 401(k) proposal could be a major step toward retirement security – Karl Polzer/Hill

“To succeed, Trump’s proposal must meet two fundamental requirements: funds to save and invest and accounts overseen by a fiduciary. The millions of workers with no money left over from their paychecks after covering the cost of living need more than just access to a retirement account — they also need money to put in that plan, week by week and month by month. This is why, without congressional action, most low-income workers will likely still be left out…”

Thanks to the Richmond Times-Dispatch for publishing this column:

New governor prioritizing ‘affordability’ should push reforming Va.’s regressive tax code – Karl Polzer

“…It will take some time for the new governor and Democrats running the state legislature to find effective ways to make life in Virginia more affordable. Reducing the tax burden on low-income families should be part of their agenda. Meanwhile, legislators should avoid adding taxes that hit the poor the hardest.”

States Can Push Back Against Reckless Federal Tax Policy. Here’s How. – Governing

Beware of Republicans bearing cash!

Substituting Cash for Health Insurance Can Drive Up Costs, Medical Bankruptcy – Karl Polzer/CCSE

Not! (for now)

Senate GOP health care plan fails on mostly party-line vote – Hill

As suspected, the two health care subsidy votes were performative art organized by Senate leaders setting a high bar (60/100 votes). Clock’s still ticking for millions of Americans needing health insurance they can afford.

Health Care–Related Savings Accounts, Health Care Expenditures, and Tax Expenditures – JAMA
“Conclusions and Relevance: Participation in FSAs is associated with higher health care expenditures and tax expenditures, while HSAs are not associated with reduced expenditures. Tax policy could be better targeted to enhance insurance coverage and health care accessibility.”

Why Substituting Cash for Insurance Can Drive Up Both Total Costs and Individual Medical + Financial Risk – Statement to US Senate Finance Committee

Submitted to Finance Committee Hearing: “The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for All Americans”

“No matter how many adjustments the government might make, giving people money to leave the risk pool and bargain on their own with the players in health system undermines the basic concept of insurance – which is pooling risk and resources to make hard-to-predict future expenses more affordable.”

A ‘conservative/progressive’ path to negotiating Social Security solvency: Bend the cost curve, grow revenue, and protect low earners – Karl Polzer/IQInk

Updated Oct. 8, 2025

“This paper presents options – some favored by conservatives, others by progressives – as a framework for negotiating an equitable solution to Social Security’s financing shortfall.  Taken together, the changes could generate up to twice as much in savings and revenue as needed to balance Social Security’s books…

“Congress could strike a deal drawing about half the savings needed to fix Social Security through a gradual benefit reduction by changing the formula for determining initial benefit levels while protecting the lowest earners.  The rest of the gap could be filled through tax increases.  These financing options provide room for targeted benefit improvements to help the lowest income pay their bills and families raise children.”

Judge says Trump administration ‘used antisemitism as a smokescreen’ against Harvard – USA Today

Trump Administration’s Cuts to Harvard Funding Are Unconstitutional, Judge Rules – msn/WSJ

CCSE correspondence with Harvard President Garber

“Prediction: Harvard University will be teaching students from all over the world long after what remains of Trump and his brain trust rest in silence beneath the ground. BTW, White House staff could benefit from taking free public finance courses at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Harvard has a positive fund balance. The United State government, not so much.”

No peace, no prize. – Karl Polzer

“Republican members of the US Congress, which is financing Israel’s now escalating ethnic cleansing of Gaza, have nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.  It is hard to fathom the depth and irony of their fawning depravity.  The Nobel prize is clearly a trophy that he covets. But shouldn’t a peace prize have something to do with reducing conflict and killing? The US president and Congress, including a majority of Democrats, are doing the opposite of making peace.  They are facilitating Israel’s daily, systematic killing, starvation, and displacement of entire populations of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank…”

Trump ‘1-2 punch’ shifts tax burden from top onto middle-and lower-income Americans – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“Economists and business analysts increasingly agree that Trump’s tariffs are raising prices. There is far less awareness that the historic spike in tariffs – coupled with the tax cuts just made permanent by Congress – comprise a major shift in the tax burden. Taken together, these two changes promise to make the US tax system more regressive. In our increasingly unequal country, taxpayers at the bottom of the economic pecking order are taking on proportionally more of the tax burden as the well-off shoulder less…”

New capitalism III: Capital – Branko Milanovic

“Why is capital so concentrated and why so few have it?”

“The new capitalism has even in the rich countries failed to produce what Margaret Thatcher, and Friedrich Hayek before her, called ‘property-owning society’. (For good measure, Thatcher added ‘democracy’ too.) Even when we include income from forced savings that becomes pension wealth, between one-half and almost 90 percent of the population in rich countries are financial-capital destitute. That percentage becomes more than 90, or even more than 95, in less developed countries…”

Related CCSE work:

Half of Americans have no retirement savings — here’s how Congress can look after them …. op-ed

How the U.S. Retirement Saving System Magnifies Inequality – Society of Actuaries

Growing inequality has shrunk Social Security’s revenue. Revitalizing its tax base could help restore solvency without cutting benefits.

New Capitalism in America: Richest capitalists and richest workers are increasingly the same people – Global Inequality

Branko Milanovic: The World Under Capitalism – Stone Center/Toronto Public Library

Prof. Milanovic discusses two types of capitalism – “liberal capitalism” in the US and “political capitalism” directed by the Chinese Communist Party. Both systems have produced relatively high levels of income inequality.

Comparing United States and China by Economy – Statistics Times

2025 Social Security groundhog day:

US needs $28 trillion more over 75 years to pay promised benefits

“A few months after the Trump Administration chain-sawed Social Security’s leadership and staff, four newly installed senior officials overseeing the program released the annual report on its declining financial condition.  This year’s actuarial forecast is a bit gloomier due in large part to a benefit expansion enacted by the previous Congress.  However, in the big picture, not much has changed.  Social Security’s looming insolvency remains…

“As I have pointed out to the Senate Budget Committee, the process of spending down Social Security reserves already is increasing overall federal spending and pushing up annual deficits. Drawing down reserves in the Social Security trust funds requires the Treasury to sell bonds (or find other sources of revenue) to raise cash to pay the program’s 74 million beneficiaries.

“On pp. 51-52, this year’s report estimates that Social Security will draw down $181 billion from the combined trust funds in 2025 with the amount rising to $405 billion in 2033. As a result, the federal government is gradually moving to finance part of the program’s benefits through newly issued debt substituting for now-insufficient payroll taxes...”

More on these issues can be found in these CCSE articles and testimony:

‘Trump kids accounts’ in budget bill would drive up inequality and raise the national debt – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“Helping young people learn how to save and build up money for college and adult life are worthy goals. But new ‘Trump kids accounts’ embedded in the massive Republican tax and spending bill before the US Senate not only duplicate existing programs.  They also would widen financial gaps between families in our already very unequal country.  In addition, tax subsidies for money invested in Trump accounts would go mostly to well-off families and push up the national debt…”

Failure to prosecute and jail law-breaking employers is wasting $$ billions in the fight against illegal immigration – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“The federal government has had authority since 1986 to criminally prosecute individuals and companies employing workers not legally in the United State, but it has rarely used that authority regardless of the administration in office. A one-year snapshot taken during Trump’s first term found that no company was criminally prosecuted for having workers not authorized to be in the country, a Syracuse University study shows…

“Changing the equation to incentivize employers to help enforce, rather than skirt, the nation’s immigration laws does not mean subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment.  No need to suspend billionaires and entrepreneurs in cages from a tower or use branding irons.  It does mean applying and stiffening laws against hiring illegals and tax avoidance.  Financial penalties, public shaming, and loss of contracts could be a start.  If that isn’t sufficient, start putting law-breaking employers in jail.  They are lining their pockets by stealing jobs from American workers, both native born and those immigrating legally.”

Thanks to the Virginian-Pilot for running our op-ed:

Many questions, few answers about exempting tips from taxes – Karl Polzer/Virginian-Pilot

“Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to exempt tipped income from state taxes — like President-elect Donald Trump’s on a national level — could help some low-wage workers.  However, it also poses risks for others and raises complex issues facing scrutiny as the state legislature begins its work…”

To provide access to all readers (the newspaper’s op-eds are gated), below is the original submission including links to sources:

Youngkin pitch to exempt tips from taxes could benefit some.  A better option is raising the $2.13 tipped minimum wage.

Statement to 11/20/24 US House Appropriations Committee hearing on Social Security:

A way to ensure Social Security can meet short- and long-term promises to American workers and their families: Bend the cost curve, grow revenue, and protect lower earners – CCSE

“As keeper of the federal government’s purse strings, the House Appropriations Committee plays a part in maintaining Social Security’s commitment to American workers, their families, and taxpayers.  First, Committee members can weigh in as Congress and the Treasury find hundreds of billions of dollars annually in cash outside the appropriations process to draw down Social Security reserves.  The Committee can also help ‘leave room’ in future budgets for revenue increases that might be necessary to keep Social Security solvent as it coordinates with House Ways & Means, Budget, and other Committees on tax and spending issues.”

A ‘conservative/progressive’ path to Social Security solvency: bend the benefit cost curve, grow revenue, and protect lower earners – CCSE

The next President and Congress will face daunting fiscal issues.  In the shadow of historic levels of national debt, lawmakers will be bargaining over trillions of dollars of taxes and spending as they deal with expiration of the Trump tax cuts.  On top of that loom major Social Security financing gaps.   Paying promised benefits will require the government to raise more than $2 trillion in cash over the next eight years and more than $24 trillion to achieve long-run solvency.

This paper presents policy options – some favored by conservatives, others by progressives – as a framework for negotiating a solution.  Taken together, the changes could generate more than twice as much in savings and revenue than needed to balance Social Security’s books. 

Four ‘low-budget’ ways Congress can help working-class families raise more children – Karl Polzer/ Washington Examiner op-ed

– Expand the child tax credit to help more working-class parents and grandparents raising kids.
– Provide Social Security credit for unpaid work raising young children.
– Update/improve SSI so more people with disabilities can work, save.
– If taxes must go up, hold the working poor harmless.

Click here for longer version including references and related articles.

It’s Social Security ‘groundhog day’ as trustees repeat annual forecast of declining finances

“…The trustees’ report, however, neglects to mention how Social Security already is impacting the overall federal budget.  As pointed out to the Senate Budget Committee, the mechanics of spending down Social Security’s reserves require the Treasury to draw funds from general revenue and issue new debt to the public.  As a result, Social Security is gradually and organically moving to paying for current benefits through debt substituting for now-insufficient payroll taxes that it traditionally relies on.”

Missing the obvious: life expectancy in the U.S. is closely related to income – Karl Polzer

“The underlying theory is simple:  More income and wealth allow people and governments to support more years of life.  Fewer resources put them at a disadvantage.  Some politicians who see the connection may be leery of talking about it.  Doing so would lead to awkward questions about improving working and living conditions for millions of Americans and dealing with growing economic inequality.

“The strong relationship between income and longevity is clear when comparing states… (E)ight of the nine states with the lowest median household income also are among the bottom nine in longevity.  Similar clustering occurs comparing the highest ranked states across the two categories. Seven of the nine states with the highest median household income also are among the top nine in life expectancy.   

“Realizing they are rowing in the same economic boat could prompt states to join forces on policy changes, particularly Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, New Mexico, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and others ranking at or near the bottom…

“Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley strongly proposes raising the program’s retirement age on the premise that increased life spans are undermining Social Security’s long-term solvency.  If long-held assumptions about longevity were challenged, and potential losses to low-income workers and low-income states caused by raising the eligibility age came to light, would she change her position?  Republican candidate Donald Trump, by the way, opposes cuts in Social Security as do most Democrats…”

Thanks to the Washington Examiner for running this op-ed:

Senate minimum wage bills make bipartisan compromise possible – Washington Examiner

For longer version with references, see:

Senate minimum wage bills make bipartisan compromise possible.  Now for the political energy to get it done. – Karl Polzer/CCSE

Previous work on this issue:

One way to make living easier in Virginia – letter to WaPost

Yes, raise the minimum wage, but don’t stop there – op-ed

Analysis: Considerations on Raising the U.S. Minimum Wage To Help Workers and Families While Minimizing Negative Impacts

The US should take a hard look at the Netanyahu government’s brutality before giving it more weapons – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“More Americans are rightly asking if Israel could neutralize Hamas without massive destruction and loss of civilian life.  Indiscriminate air attacks by the Netanyahu regime already have killed and injured tens of thousands of Gazans with no end to the violence in sight.  To put this in perspective, imagine how Washington, D.C., would look if a foreign government with the power to fence in the District of Columbia dropped a comparable number of bombs here while shutting off access to water and food and destroying most of the capital area’s housing and medical system.  UN officials say conditions in Gaza are catastrophic.”

Thanks to the Washington Post for publishing our letter to the editor:

One way to make living easier in Virginia – Karl Polzer/letter to WaPost

“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) told reporters he is ‘concerned about the cost of living in Virginia and we’re continuing to evaluate how best to address that,’ as reported in the Nov. 26 Metro article ‘Budget battle looms in Virginia. Facing a tighter fiscal environment and Democratic control of the legislature, Mr. Youngkin and fellow Republicans could help working families without denting the budget by making an expected Democratic push for a higher minimum wage a bipartisan affair.

“The GOP has been trying to attract more minority and working-class voters. However, party leaders have stopped short of addressing core economic issues, such as supporting higher wages and better benefits, and mainly stress cultural issues…”

Background Information on these issues provided to Virginia legislators

View More of Our Work