Tag: Subsidies

Wisconsin Congressman reveals what the government shutdown is actually about

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Wisconsin Congressman reveals what the government shutdown is actually about

Oct 15, 2025: “Complete baloney.” US Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Black Earth) wants Wisconsinites to know that the recurring Republican claim that Democrats are holding out on the federal budget because they want undocumented immigrants to receive health benefits is “manure.” What Democrats really want? Tax credits that provide subsidies for most people who buy health insurance on the federal marketplace—making health insurance more affordable. Pocan says people in Wisconsin and all over the country will find out in the next couple of weeks what insurance premium hikes will look like as they buy their health insurance through the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Pocan says with premiums going up and losing subsidies, “a couple, 60 years old, making $85,000 in my district could see somewhere between a $16,000 and $17,000 increase next year in their premiums.” Pocan hosted town halls throughout Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District this week—that’s not his own district—since Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien), who represents the 3rd, hasn’t been doing them. Pocan says he wants to give people a voice, let them know what’s happening, and answer questions. ✏️ 🎥 Salina Heller

Choreographed Dissent

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

How Reform Rebrands Power Without Redistributing It

Notice: This is not an endorsement of Mr. Reagan. What strikes me is how long it’s taken some folks to catch on—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was never the political outsider she was marketed to be. I remember watching these videos years ago. Even then, it was clear her role was never to disrupt the machinery, but to redirect dissent—to shepherd disillusioned voters back into the Democratic fold. The Justice Democrats weren’t a rupture; they were a renovation.

You can’t change the system from within.

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Trump appoints Brent Sadler, a Project 2025 contributor, to MARAD

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Trump Appoints Top Naval Strategist Brent Sadler To MARAD

Sadler, a veteran naval officer and senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation (the think take behind Project 2025 but also several maritime initiatives), has been one of the few voices in Washington consistently beating the drum on maritime readiness, sealift capacity, and the critical role of the U.S. Merchant Marine in strategic competition. He’s not just another bureaucrat with a résumé. He’s a serious policy strategist who understands that America bleeds influence without hulls in the water, flags on sterns, and skilled mariners at the helm.

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The decline of U.S. shipbuilding

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US port fees on China built vessels would hit grain exporters

Maritime historian, professor, and YouTuber, Sal Mercogliano, who rose to mainstream fame with appearances on the CNN network a year ago on the Dali incident provided comments with a deep historical context.

He pointed to decisions in the time following World War 2 (late 1940s through the late 1970s), where: “…the United States allowed its merchant marine to remain stable, while global ocean trade grew exponentially.”

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How to DOGE USAID: The Wall Street Consensus under Trump

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

How to DOGE USAID: The Wall Street Consensus under Trump

We often hear that the new Trump administration inaugurates the age of technofeudalism. Just look at Elon Musk, pontificating about so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) democracy from the Oval Office while undemocratically occupying the US Treasury payment system. But is the administration simply using bullying as a mode of power, as Adam Tooze recently diagnosed it, destroying institutions without measure or plan?

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