robertreich

It was completely manufactured by Kevin McCarthy and his House Republicans

The GOP has manufactured them to deflect our attention from the real crisis

[Some of you received an earlier version of this letter last night] Friends, Did you catch Ron DeSantis’s announcement on Twitter? No? Of course not. Who in their right mind would waste their time listening to DeSantis being interviewed by Elon Musk? Who would want to give any credence at all to the anti-woke culture warrior and the anti-worker robber baron?

Friends Memorial Day as an occasion to honor those who have given their lives so that our democracy can endure. It’s also an occasion to reaffirm our commitment to holding accountable those who have threatened our democracy. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, to 18 years in prison, for seditious conspiracy against the United States. Rhodes is the first Jan. 6 defendant sentenced under that charge, and he received the longest prison term yet in the Justice Department’s probe into the Capitol attack.

Friends, Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Biden reached a deal tonight to raise the debt ceiling and prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations. Is it a good deal? Who will bear the burden? Should it have ever gotten to this point? Did Biden blow it?

Sorry. I intended to send out my latest letter first thing tomorrow morning but was hit a technological glitch of my own making (sort of like DeSantis and Musk on Twitter tonight). Some day I’ll learn how to do this.

DeSantis isn’t the big story today. It’s Elon Musk

DeSantis has come out against the debt-ceiling bill. That gives him an edge.

Please submit your caption in the Comments section. Winners will be announced next Sunday. For consideration, please post your caption by tomorrow (Monday), at 9 pm PT, 12 midnight ET. Last week’s winner: “I thought we were just shutting down drag shows, not dragging down the whole show.”

Friends, This week we look at one of the most hidden of all contributors to widening inequality — macroeconomic policies. Given the current fight over the debt ceiling and the budget deficit, the timing of this class couldn’t be better. Just click on the link below and you’re in.