The historic repudiation of President Donald Trump’s agenda on Election Day had lots of ingredients.
asserted
repudiation → have → ingredients
Voters were outraged over data centers, ICE cruelty, DOGE’s trashing of the federal workforce, the gutting of science funding and environmental protections, and more, but blatant corruption and high prices seemed to be the top concerns.
asserted
corruption → outrage → funding
The incoming Congress will conduct hearings and investigations, and perhaps even impeach a few officials, but if the Democrats don’t promptly address the economic elephant in the room, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told the New York Times last week, “we’re going to be screwed.”
asserted
we → conduct → Times
The inflation resulting from Trump’s ill-conceived tariffs and war of choice in the Middle East have caused Americans’ living expenses to grow faster than their wages, while the AI-fueled stock market boom has only paid off for America’s wealthiest 10 percent (which holds more than 88 percent of the stock).
asserted
which → result → stock
Taming consumer costs is one obvious goal, and Democrats have floated a number of interesting proposals, but voters may also appreciate efforts to redistribute back to the poor and middle class some of the economic spoils that Republicans redistributed to the rich in 2017 and 2025.
uncertain
Republicans → tame → 2017
The scale of the Democratic sweep, as Paul Krugman wrote in a recent Substack post, “showed that Americans want fundamental change, a decisive break with Trumpism.
asserted
Americans → write → Trumpism
Yet with Trump still wielding the veto pen, what should they do in the remaining two years of his term?”
asserted
they → wield → term
His answer: “Pass highly popular legislation that would clearly benefit ordinary Americans and not the oligarchs, knowing full well that Trump will veto the legislation.
asserted
Trump → pass → legislation
Here are seven ways the Dems could help the people who delivered them their landslide—along with ideas to pay for them.
uncertain
who → help → them
Ambitious stuff, but who knows: With 2028 approaching, and Republicans desperate to win back voters, maybe some of it will even survive the veto pen.
asserted
some → know → pen
Trump stubbornly refuses to accept that the world needs to wean itself off its oil addiction, but the Iran war he launched without congressional approval has made that point crystal clear.
asserted
point → refuse → approval
For now, though, we depend on the global flow of oil to keep prices in check.
asserted
we → depend → check
Congress could help restore that flow by refusing to keep funding the war, which will pressure the administration to end it quickly.
uncertain
which → help → it
For that to succeed, Democrats will need to completly reject the nearly 50 percent raise Trump is seeking for the Pentagon.
asserted
Trump → succeed → Pentagon
His budget request is totally bananas—especially given that actual US military spending already exceeds $1.5 trillion, and the increase Trump desires would boost it to between $2 trillion and $3 trillion, according to an analysis by the Project on Government Oversight.
uncertain
Trump → give → Oversight
That exceeds the combined military spending of every other nation combined.
asserted
That → exceed → nation
Ending the war would save the government tens of billions—and the American people much more.
asserted
Ending → end → billions
Congress has the power to place limits on a president’s tariff authority.
asserted
Congress → have → authority
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced just such a bill in July, and the odds of it passing
asserted
odds → introduce → it
Plenty of Republicans are not down with the tariffs, which are costing American families a lot of money.
asserted
which → cost → money
With Trump weakened, they may be willing to defy him, at least on tailored legislation.
uncertain
they → weaken → legislation
The tariffs on Canada, for instance, have badly damaged the US relationship with one of our best allies and trading partners, and imposed high costs on US consumers and businesses—especially in northern border states, but elsewhere, too, because America’s automobile and construction trades rely on Canadian inputs.
asserted
trades → damage → inputs
Unless he’s reined in, Trump will keep doubling down—literally.
asserted
Trump → rein → ?
Just yesterday, he threatened to double tariffs on another top trading partner, Mexico.
asserted
he → threaten → partner
How to pay for it: More like, how can we afford not to do it?
asserted
we → pay → it
Stop taxing low and moderate incomes
Under the Working Americans Tax Cut Act, introduced in March by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), a single filer would pay zero tax on their first $46,000 in earnings ($92,000 for a couple filing jointly), a baseline tied to median income.
asserted
filer → stop → income
An eligibility phaseout ensures that people earning up to $80,500 (couples: $161,000) get a partial exemption, but no freebies for anyone who makes more.
asserted
who → ensure → more
The main winners, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model‘s analysis, are households in the second through fourth income quintiles—whose average 2024 earnings ranged from $49,380 to $136,800.
uncertain
earnings → accord → 136,800
Depending on which quintile, they would see average tax cuts of $465 to $1,545.
asserted
they → depend → 1,545
Families in the 81st through 99th income percentiles are not affected.
asserted
Families → affect → percentiles
Van Hollen and Beyer propose a hefty surcharge on taxable income in excess of $1 million a year, starting at 5 percent and rising to 12 percent on income over $5 million ($7.5 million for a couple).
asserted
Hollen → propose → couple
Don’t weep for these folks: Most families with income that high are reaping far more in untaxed investment gains.
asserted
families → weep → gains
Subtracting the middle-class breaks from the zillionaire surcharges, Penn Wharton calculates a net revenue gain of about $264 billion over a decade if the bill becomes law.
asserted
bill → subtract → decade
Restore Medicaid, SNAP, and Obamacare subsidies
asserted
Restore → restore → Medicaid
This would address affordability concerns for many low- and middle-income Americans.
asserted
This → address → Americans
The ironically named One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which slashed the safety net for America’s poorest by about $900 billion, was projected to cost the average family in the lowest income quintile $805 a year (after taxes and transfers) while boosting the average income of top 10 percent households by more than $15,000—top 1 percent households got about $63,000 extra.
asserted
households → name → 63,000
A Yale study conducted prior to the bill’s passage found that, when likely voters were informed of such effects, Republican opposition more than doubled and overall public support for the bill fell to 11 percent.
asserted
support → conduct → percent
The Medicaid and food stamp (SNAP) cuts are being accomplished largely by imposing burdensome bureaucratic requirements that cause people to fall off the rolls.
asserted
people → accomplish → rolls
Recipients, for example, must repeatedly provide proof of employment, which may sound reasonable but is actually a nightmare for people just scraping by—even more so now that the world’s richest man has gutted the federal workforce, resulting in extra-abysmal customer service.
uncertain
man → provide → service
(See: “The IRS is imploding.”)
asserted
IRS → see → ?
…and 56 more, not listed.
The Aporia
