Originally appeared in The New York Times. With a week to sift through the Trump administration’s first full-fledged budget proposal, two inescapable realities have come into sharper focus: the enormous magnitude of the desired cuts in many domestic programs and an utter disdain for numerical integrity. First, no budget in my 40 years of following […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. Phony math is a time-honored tradition in the Washington world of budget making, but the first full fiscal plan from the Trump administration breaks new ground. The bottom line: A budget that the White House says will be in balance by 2027 would, in reality, remain deeply in […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. As the self-anointed job creator in chief, Donald Trump rarely misses a chance to use the presidential podium or his alternative podium, Twitter, to take credit for employment being created or retained in America. But a thorough review of Mr. Trump’s celebrations reveals that virtually none of the […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. As a young New York Times reporter nearly four decades ago, I helped chronicle the rollout of what proved to be among our country’s greatest economic follies — the alchemistic belief that huge tax cuts can pay for themselves by unleashing faster economic growth. Buoyed by this idea, […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. After Republicans pulled their legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act last Friday, President Trump told The Washington Post, “The best thing politically is to let Obamacare explode.” Or he could light a match. Republicans may have conceded defeat in their legislative effort to get rid […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. Watching administration officials play cat and mouse with Sunday talk show hosts is a hoary Washington tradition. But yesterday, Trump spokesmen offered a remarkably large number of flat out untruths as they attempted to defend the Republican health care plan. Untruth #1: “I firmly believe that nobody will […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. After much uncertainty about what President Trump would propose as a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, he opened his kimono before Congress on Tuesday and came down firmly on the side of a structure that would leave millions of Americans with weaker health insurance or none at […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. There he goes again. Donald Trump may be a month into his presidency, but his public remarks continue to be laden with the same mischaracterizations, misrepresentations and, yes, lies as his campaign. Mr. Trump’s alternate reality has been on vivid display in venues ranging from an airplane hangar […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times. House Republicans will be unveiling their replacement for the Affordable Care Act (a/k/a Obamacare) next week and the White House has been signaling that it may reveal its thoughts not long after. But what is becoming increasingly clear is the extent to which Obamacare has become embedded in […]
Originally appeared in The New York Times Even as the horror of President Trump’s immigration ban continues to dominate the news, shadowy outlines of his domestic agenda are beginning to form — and it is an equally ugly sight. As just one example, the White House made clear last week that it will halt a […]
