NEW: The Iran War has cost Americans nearly $50 billion at the gas pump. "The economic damage from this conflict is already done." @jeffcolgan.bsky.social of @watsonschoolbrown.bsky.social:

More than 300,000 companies are set to collect from the $166 billion raised by Trump’s tariffs. Meanwhile, unless Congress steps in, American consumers who paid the price at the grocery store and the gas pump aren't likely to see a dime.

“Societies fall apart when a tiny elite captures political and economic power, walls itself off from ordinary life, and uses that power to entrench its own privilege.” @igorvolsky.bsky.social #taxtherich otherwords.org/i-fled-the-u...

By weakening the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court has undermined over five decades of essential progress towards equal racial representation in our government, damaging democracy for Americans of all races, writes IPS fellow Dedrick Asante-Muhammad.

Virginia’s “Data Center Alley” provides a revealing look at Big Tech’s new vision for America—one that entitles corporations to extract resources from any community with no regard for the residents’ health and safety. Danny Caine on @inequality.org:

While centrist Democrats have cautioned against alienating “moderate” voters with left-leaning policies, recent elections show that populist economic policies focused on affordability are a hit with moderates and progressives alike, writes @ruwithsonali.bsky.social.

NEW: Findings out today show that between August 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, U.S. strikes in Venezuela, the Caribbean, and the Eastern Pacific cost at least $4.7 billion. IPS scholar @hannahomestead.bsky.social and @jekavanagh.bsky.social of @defpriorities.bsky.social with @costsofwar.bsky.social:

If you paid taxes for 2025, you likely paid: $124 — school lunch & nutrition programs $49 — diplomacy to prevent wars $19 — USPS $19 — Federal Aviation Administration $18 — national parks and $4,049 — weapons and war. These priorities are hurting us all. We need change. #TaxDay

NEW: If you paid federal taxes for 2025, you likely paid $4,049(!) for Pentagon contractors, military personnel, nuclear weapons, aid to foreign militaries, and last year’s bombing of Iran’s nuclear energy facilities. IPS @nationalpriorities.bsky.social research out now in @commondreams.org:

GOP politicians are brazenly attempting to stoke another wave of Islamophobia. We must all demand that our elected officials honor the Constitutional right Muslim Americans to exist and live in this country, free from hate and bigotry.

While normal Americans are paying the price for Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran, the wealthy fossil fuel corporations are cashing in. The solution is clear—we must tax those profits and reclaim our political system. Meghan Schneider & Cass DiPaola

Together with the U.S. intervention in Venezuela earlier this year, the war on Iran shows how the race for fossil fuels is compromising global stability. The solution—we must decrease dependency on fossil fuels through renewable energy, writes @ruwithsonali.bsky.social.

The current wave of anti-trans legislation is built on a manufactured hysteria that ignores a mountain of scientific evidence. What's more, these attacks set a dangerous legal precedent for everyone’s access to health care and right to privacy.

When corporate resources are funneled into the pockets of those at the top while ordinary employees have to rely on public assistance, we are all subsidizing the executive mansions and private jets, write @sarahanderson.bsky.social and @reyannaj.bsky.social of @ips-dc.

"The bombs falling on Iran today will not liberate anyone." Dena Al-Adeeb on spending her life fleeing, surviving, and bearing witness to wars justified by lies.

finally a president who speaks out against reckless wars and interventions

NEW: While billionaires dismiss the concept of affordability, they're the ones directly driving the crisis — from monopolizing food to hoarding housing. IPS scholar @chuck77.bsky.social in @theprogressivemag.bsky.social:

What to do about companies that pay their workers so little they have to rely on public assistance? @adamshah.bsky.social of @jwj.org proposes a "Bad Business Fee," with community members deciding how to spend the revenue. inequality.org/article/bad-...

NEW: Companies are already selling robots that pick fruit and vegetables and weed bots that can tell baby ragweed from baby carrots. Corporations are trying to automate farming. Time for farming communities to come together to resist, writes journalist, organizer, and farmer @suzan63.bsky.social:

A useful moniker has emerged to describe the global network of elites whose power and privilege continue to protect them from accountability: the Epstein Class.

NEW: Many of the largest low-wage U.S. companies pay their workers so little that they're forced to rely on public programs for basic needs. Yet their CEOs make, on average, 900x more than their median employees. We need to crack down on this malfeasance, write IPS @inequality.org scholars. REPORT:

NEW: The military systems that the U.S. sent to the Iran region in recent weeks ALONE cost us nearly $60 MILLION per day — just a fraction of the cost of this war. That ~$60 million could cover Medicaid for 4 million Americans per day, or SNAP for 9.5 million. From @nationalpriorities.bsky.social:

As part of their brutal anti-immigrant campaign, the Trump administration is now going after lawful immigrants with Temporary Protected Status — a cruel and unnecessary move that could endanger the lives of tens of thousands of people, writes Jordan Liz.

NEW: While many lawmakers point to stock market highs as proof of a booming economy, regular Americans are facing an affordability crisis, writes Lindsay K. Saunders. "A rising Dow Jones doesn’t pay for a child’s doctor visit or lower the price of eggs."

“When the workers who are stepping up to try and reveal violations are silenced, the standard comes down for the whole industry.” @sarahlazare.bsky.social reports that attacks on immigrant workers threaten all workers’ ability to fight for better pay & conditions. #abolishICE

“...ICE funding should be cut... the cuts to your healthcare are what’s paying for this.” —Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @ruwithsonali.bsky.social reporting on more people supporting the abolition of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). inthesetimes.com/article/demo...

The money fueling ICE’s abuses comes directly out of the pockets of working Americans who are already struggling. #AbolishICE

NEW: The masks, lies, and celebration around the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are "the hallmarks of a lynching," write Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II and @wilsonhartgrove.bsky.social. "We must recognize what’s stirring within us as righteous anger to fuel a moral struggle."

NEW: Senators have a unique opportunity to pull back ICE’s powers by refusing to back an appropriations bill passed by the House. They must use it. Journalist and author @ruwithsonali.bsky.social:

If Trump again resorts to war in Iran, he will likely only strengthen Iran’s repressive leaders and risk another catastrophic endless war. The best way to support protestors and avoid harm, writes @david-vine.bsky.social, is through diplomacy, not military force.

"This escalating violence is an outgrowth of ICE’s appalling treatment of immigrants... Americans understand that no one is safe as long as ICE still exists, operates with impunity, and terrorizes communities. How many more deaths will it take for Congress to hold this agency accountable?"

No more harm and separation of our families, no more militarism in our streets. Fund what actually keeps us safe, like our healthcare, instead.

NEW: If climate change isn’t reason enough to break the political power of the fossil fuel industry, its role in incentivizing war is another. IPS scholar @basavsen.bsky.social:

NEW: In the wake of the ICE killing of Renee Nicole Good, new polling shows that 46% of Americans of all parties support abolishing ICE, outweighing the 43% who oppose abolishing it. Abolishing ICE is “now quite literally the moderate position.”

While oil is one factor in the decision to carry out military operations against Venezuela, the Trump administration’s real agenda is even more troubling — an attempt to exercise complete political control over Latin America. @ocampomar.bsky.social on Foreign Policy in Focus:

Commentary: Ohio is home to over 200 data centers and recent reporting has tied that growth to rising utility prices in the state. The relentless push for data centers is raising our power bills and polluting our communities. It doesn’t have to be this way. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/01/13/t...

"Trump hasn’t explained why the same tax dollars that paid for this invasion can’t be used to make health care, food, or housing more affordable for people here." - @lindsaykosh.bsky.social available for republication via otherwords.org! otherwords.org/congress-mus...

at least 17 pardoned jan. 6 defendants have been implicated in new crimes -- from home invasions to making death threats to public officials and sexually exploiting kids, according to two criminologists. available for re-publication via otherwords.org!

Excellent analysis by my colleague @lindsaykosh.bsky.social at @ips-dc.org on the travesty of Trump and Congress to invade Venezuela using taxpayer dollars at a time when Americans are struggling to make ends meet.

"To be sure, *someone* will benefit from this invasion — just not ordinary Americans. The president has offered oil companies taxpayer dollars to take Venezuela’s oil. They hardly need the help, though they did contribute handsomely to his campaign."

NEW: Not only is there "certainly no fentanyl involved" between Venezuela and the U.S., but the region's most prolific drug traffickers have often in fact been U.S. allies. In a new BBC interview, IPS drug policy scholar @sanho.bsky.social dismantles Trump admin claims. Watch:

NEW: While the Trump administration adds even more barriers to SNAP, Colorado's new universal free school lunch program is showing the benefits of addressing hunger with no eligibility requirements at all. @ruwithsonali.bsky.social:

Immigrants account for nearly a third of long-term care workers in this country. Under Trump's mass deportation campaign, half of all U.S. nursing homes have stopped taking new residents.

"A young man I knew died that November night — Thanksgiving — after the cops had taken everything he had to keep him warm. This isn’t how life in the United States should be."

As Trump makes wild accusations about Venezuelan president Maduro trafficking drugs, he just pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was sentenced to 45 years last year for creating “a cocaine superhighway to the U.S.”

To fund universal free school lunches, Colorado slightly raised taxes on residents making more than $300k a year — people whose own children will also benefit. It’s a simple calculus, one that we’re seeing more of in the absence of federal action.

NEW: Research shows that SNAP work requirements have little effect on employment. The GOP's big, brutal bill includes them anyway — and will cause 2.4 million people to lose food benefits in an average month. IPS scholar @reyannaj.bsky.social:

NEW: Dozens of federal judges, nominated by both Democratic and Republican presidents, have condemned the Supreme Court's "shadow docket" rulings as confusing for them and harmful to the judiciary. Paul Gordon of @peoplefor.bsky.social:

The Trump administration’s deep cuts to SNAP will be devastating for many of the 42 million Americans that rely on food assistance, writes @ruwithsonali.bsky.social. It’s time to let lawmakers know — basic necessities take priority over tax breaks for billionaires.