Krystal Kyle & Friends

Every year we seem to hear a new round of speculation about whether black Americans may drift towards the Republican Party, is there anything to the punditry? We are excited to have YouTuber FD Signifier on this week to grapple with this question and to break down the history of black conservatism in America. It’s a particularly relevant topic give the recent launch of Senator Tim Scott’s presidential campaign and new revelations about Justice Thomas’ corruption. Subscribe so you can get early access and the full video version.

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In the meantime, Biden and McCarthy have reached a deal on the debt ceiling, holding off the borrowing limit ($31.4 trillion) until the start of 2025. Good thing, because the country was poised to run out of money by June 5th, less than a week from today. Bad thing, because of course, austerity is a key principle structuring the deal the two negotiators struck, and it leaves us wondering what else the president could have done to set the terms of negotiation.

Republicans set the terms pretty early on: there would be no suspension of the borrowing limit if Democrats did not agree to spending cuts on public welfare programs. Now, as the deal goes to Congress, we know what those cuts (all $136 billion of them) look like. In large part they involve means-testing government benefits, requiring middle-aged childless adults to meet a work expectation in order to receive SNAP and TANF benefits. People aged 18 to 49 are already forced to meet the requirement in order to get the benefits. Biden’s moratorium on student loan payments is over, and he won’t be able to put another one in place. And $30 billion that was earmarked for COVID relief will no longer be put to that purpose.

No worries, though: We’re still spending where it really matters! Amid all of this hand-wringing about belt-tightening, the military budget will still hit $886 billion next year.