Blog - Page 2 of 9 - Robert Kuttner

Trump Gave Theresa May What She Deserved

Poor Prime Minister May. She has not been able to get her Conservative Party to agree on a Brexit formula, members of the cabinet are deserting her left and right (mostly right), and now she gets sucker-punched by Donald Trump. May, braving broad hostility to Trump throughout Britain, went out of her way to host a friendly visit for our lunatic president, assuming that Trump might reciprocate with a bit of gratitude. But Trump doesn’t do quid pro quo [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-07-17T13:22:41+00:00 July 13th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

If Putin Is Trump’s Chum, Why the Pressure to Spend More on NATO?

OK, it’s not exactly news when Trump contradicts himself, but consider this doozie: Trump is excoriating America’s NATO allies for failing to meet the agreed-upon target of spending at least 2 percent of GDP on the military. The U.S. spends close to 4 percent, and Trump has just urged NATO members to double their target to 4 percent, too. But hold on. If memory serves, NATO was created to protect Western Europe against Soviet Russia. The Kremlin is no longer [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-07-13T14:11:28+00:00 July 13th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

Kielbasa Republic

Question for today: What exactly is the difference between the way Poland’s autocratic rulers have disabled its Supreme Court and the way the Republicans have taken over the U.S. courts? Poland, where the governing party has an absolute majority in Parliament, is in trouble with the leaders of the European Union and many of its own outraged citizens for jamming through a measure requiring mandatory retirement at 65 for Supreme Court justices. This thinly disguised coup will force the [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-07-08T01:22:15+00:00 July 8th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

You Never Know What You’ve Got Till It’s Gone

Are the centrists in the Democratic Party actually missing the labor movement now that the Supreme Court has dealt public-employee unions what Republicans hope will be a knockout blow? Noam Scheiber of the Times has a really smart piece detailing all of the ways the unions help Democrats and grassroots advocacy groups, and how weaker public-sector unions will set back not just workers but progressive politics generally. This belated discovery by centrist Democrats of the value of a strong [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-07-02T22:48:28+00:00 July 2nd, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

A Big Thank-You to Our Readers

Our spring solvency drive set a goal of $50,000, and our readers came through with a total of $57,960. Thanks so much to all. The week’s events make clear that the Prospect’s voice is needed more than ever. The November election—and more fundamentally the survival of our republic—will come down to a contest of energy and mobilization. Whether people who believe in democracy and a decent society can out-organize and out-motivate the haters and the apologists for tyranny. We [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-06-30T14:06:58+00:00 June 30th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

The Court: First Muslims, Now Public Employees

The Supreme Court has ruled, 5-4, in the Janus case that public-sector unions may not collect “fair-share” fees from workers who benefit from union contracts but choose not to join the union as dues-paying members. This in effect extends “right to work” principles to the entire public sector, the largest source of union growth in recent years, for schoolteachers, nurses, cops, firefighters, and myriad other public workers, some 17 million in all. The decision, in the short run, will weaken unions [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-06-27T23:38:55+00:00 June 27th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

Can Trump Pull This Off?

Trump’s base loves his immigration stance of zero tolerance. His approval ratings are 90 percent among Republicans. He keeps repeating that the separation of families at the border is the fault of Democrats, and that he saved the day with his executive order requiring detained families to be kept together. The situation is so muddled—and the courts are likely to make it more inconclusive—that Trump just might get away with it, right? Wrong. The 2018 midterm elections are going [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-06-25T22:54:38+00:00 June 25th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

Trump’s Full-Blown Trade War

It’s one thing for Trump to demonize Mexicans. Disgracefully, that’s popular with his base, and it also confuses some of the progressive community, because NAFTA really does need to be renegotiated. It’s quite something else to invite retaliation from China with a tit-for-tat tariff war that could be devastating for American farm exports (in mostly Republican states). The EU, likewise, has now decided to strike back with retaliatory tariffs, which will harm American exporters and of course workers, as [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-06-23T00:17:29+00:00 June 23rd, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

Trump’s Tax Fraud

For months, we’ve been warning that you would pay the cost of Trump’s $1.9 trillion tax cuts. Well, here it is, the six-month anniversary of passage of the Tax Act, and the Republicans on the House Budget Committee just unveiled their plan: finance their increased deficit and balance the budget by cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid! Here’s the good news. The Tax Act, which was going to be a big political winner for Republicans, is turning out to be [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-06-20T22:39:57+00:00 June 20th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments

Feeling Optimistic … or Pessimistic?

Let’s try pessimistic first. Mueller is dragging out his investigation while Trump’s allies tighten the noose around him. And his report will only be a report. The impeachment process is hopelessly political, in any case. Meanwhile, Trump succeeded in making his Korea talks look like a kind of breakthrough. Even his tariffs are rallying his base. His approval ratings are up slightly. And his immigration policy may be deeply inhumane, but it plays well in parts of the country [...]

By Robert Kuttner| 2018-06-20T19:15:03+00:00 June 20th, 2018|Kuttner on TAP|0 Comments