The Gild and the Billed

Snap Snapped, You're Being Recorded

A coalition of billionaires is teaming up to fight a proposed wealth tax in California. The idea of a one-time, one-state wealth tax probably isn’t the ideal way to address the exploding economic divide in America. But it says something about the numbers at stake that one opponent alone, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has put $82 million into the effort. Despite the cries of victimization and calls to fix the system from many of the most fortunate Americans, one can make the argument that there’s never been a group of people who have benefited more from the confluence of technologies, markets, and policies than today’s billionaires. That’s one end of the American food chain. At the other end, there’s a struggle for food. In addition to the economic divide, many of the poorest Americans have seen the One Big Beautiful Bill take one big bite out of their SNAP benefits. At the very moment the richest are making historical gains, the poor are experiencing the deepest cuts in SNAP history. The administration’s strategy is to increase the paperwork and bureaucracy between people and food, and in places like Arizona, it seems to be working as intended. “The number of Arizonans getting SNAP benefits has fallen by about half in less than a year, a remarkable drop in nutrition aid that may preview the program’s future nationwide following a landmark law to limit assistance that President Trump championed last year.” NYT(Gift Article): Faced With Piles of New Paperwork, People Are Losing Food Stamps.

+ WaPo (Gift Article): 1.5 million children lost food aid since last July, analysis says.

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Your Record Deal

Sometimes, recording a meeting makes perfect sense. Say you’re getting details about a potential medical treatment and you want to save and be able to share a summary of what your doctor explained. Sometimes, recording a meeting makes no sense. Say, you’re talking to someone at a bar or online about a date. Whether it makes sense in the moment or not, these days, it’s a good idea to assume that everything is being recorded. WSJ (Gift Article): This Conversation Is Being Recorded. They All Are. We’re being surveilled by the government and by corporations, and now we’re surveilling each other.

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Bad Ideas, Worse Timing

“Americans are aging rapidly and living longer, creating soaring demand for elder care when the industry is already buckling under the weight of chronic labor shortages.” So, this would be a really bad time to actively work to create a caregiver labor shortage. Hence, the administration is doing just that. Senior Living Facility in Distress as Immigrant Caregivers Are Forced Out. “Millions of immigrants, eligible to work in the United States, fill positions across the elder care industry such as nurses, dietitians, fitness instructors and maintenance technicians. And countless undocumented immigrants care for seniors in their homes, part of a vast informal economy. Immigration enforcement is choking both labor pools.”

+ The “war in Iran is raising oil prices, climate change is fueling record heat that is driving up demand for air conditioning and new data centers are straining America’s electricity supply.” So, this would be a really bad time to actively work to create more demand for energy. Hence, the administration is doing just that. The U.S. Is Pulling Back on Energy Efficiency Just as Prices Are Rising.

4

Shits and Wriggles

It’s only a matter of time before they come up with a way to blame Biden for the diarrhea. “A day after federal health officials tied an outbreak of cyclospora to shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by the large produce company Taylor Farms to Taco Bell, investigators are turning their attention to the farms in Mexico where it was grown and the facility that shredded it, according to administration officials.” Cyclospora Investigation Turns to Farms in Mexico. “As the investigation intensifies, Taylor Farms, among the nation’s largest producers of salad greens and vegetables, has hired a former Trump White House official. In a meeting on Thursday evening with the White House and F.D.A. officials, company executives sought to distance the company from the outbreak and cast doubt on the officials’ conclusion.” (This effort is gonna cost them a lot of lettuce.)

+ Bloomberg (Gift Article): The Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Is a Master Class in Miscommunication. (America is in the middle of a four year course.)

5

Extra, Extra

Everything is Being Taken Care Of: “Trump said he would ‘take care of’ the Houthi rebels if the Iran-backed militant group follows through on its threatened blockade of Saudi ports. ‘If something like that happens, we take care of it.’” (Phew.) Here’s the latest from The Guardian.

Canadian Fakin’: “Although the president has recently threatened tariffs against America’s neighbor in retaliation for wildfire smoke that poured into the northern part of the United States, administration officials said that the latest tariffs are unrelated. The levies take effect in 30 days, covering about $20 billion of Canadian goods.” (Just give some thought to how crazy the first part of that quote is...) Trump’s new 50% tariffs on Canada risk igniting a fresh trade war. (I doubt these new tariffs will go into effect, but the threat should help make our closest ally hate us even more.)

+ Ebola Acceleration: “The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo on May 15 is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. The Bundibugyo virus responsible for the outbreak is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment.” At least 930 people have died in Congo’s Ebola outbreak.

+ Tate Accompli: “According to federal court complaints unsealed on Monday, British officials have accused both brothers of choking women, sometimes until they passed out, and then raping them.” Tate Brothers to Stay in Jail as New Details About Charges Emerge. How did these guys, who were already being held in Romania, end up free in America in the first place? You can probably guess. NYT (Gift Article from December): How a Manosphere Star Accused of Rape and Trafficking Was Freed. “Barred from leaving Romania, Andrew Tate courted powerful figures on the American right, from Tucker Carlson to Barron Trump. Then an extraordinary order let him go.” (So the immigration policy bars elder care providers but welcomes rapists.)

+ Cut! “Paramount’s owners were planning to have secured firm control of Hollywood rival Warner Bros. Discovery by the end of this week in a blockbuster deal that has the blessing of President Trump’s Justice Department. A federal judge has instead ground the process to a halt, at least for now.” Court ruling freezes Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.

+ What Supp? “The New York Times found hundreds of A.I.-generated doctors, healers and wellness influencers on social media touting the health benefits of supplements to American consumers. Many of these hyperrealistic looking ads promise medical miracles, and appear to be targeting older women, while making misleading health claims for a profit.” NYT (Gift Video): The Fake Influencers Selling Wellness on Your Feed. (In fairness, the AI-generated influencers were no less honest than the human ones pushing the same supplements...)

+ Mon Armor: “Surging interest in armored cars offers a window into American anxiety. The people who shop at Miami Armored, Daskal said, are concerned about carjackings, smash-and-grab thefts and road rage, which has become more prevalent in recent years, according to the Pew Research Center. But there is no doubt that, for some, an armored car is a status symbol — the ultimate luxury accessory for one-percenters who already own panic rooms, guard dogs and perhaps a desert bunker or two.” Now on the American Road: Bulletproof Cars.

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Bottom of the News

“Goats spend a lot of time bashing their heads into things. Winning a headbutting contest shows other members of the herd who’s boss—but bumping heads is also a way to play or explore new objects, so it’s often assumed goats must be protected against head injury by the shape of their skull and strong neck muscles. A new study challenges that assumption.” Goats love to bash heads—but it might give them brain damage. (Wait until they try social media.)

+ “As prediction markets and prop betting gain popularity, more couples are integrating them into their celebrations.” Want to Bet on My Wedding? (Wanna bet on my RSVP answer?)