The real goal of Trumps cuts

Plus: Why Starbucks is making billions but laying people off

February 27, 2025

Good morning! It’s Thursday, February 27. In today’s Morning Update:

⏱️ Estimated read time: 4 minutes, 55 seconds

TELL THE TRUTH

Trump’s cuts aren’t about saving money or efficiency

Donald Trump and his billionaire sugar daddy Elon Musk are pushing forward with their incredibly unpopular plan to eliminate thousands—if not millions—of jobs from the federal government.

  • And while corporate media has blindly accepted Trump and Musk’s framing, the truth is—these cuts aren’t really about “efficiency” or saving the government money.

They’re about destroying the federal government to benefit the wealthy and big corporations while Trump and his MAGA allies consolidate power.

THE BACKGROUND: As historian Heather Cox Richardson points out, Republicans have long sought to dismantle the federal government, a campaign that began in earnest with the New Deal.

  • The goal? Reduce regulations that curb profits for big companies and cut taxes for the ultra-rich.

Of course, billionaires like Musk, who built his empire on $38 billion in government funding, are happy to benefit from federal spending—until it’s time to give back.

AND NOW? Trump, Musk, and "DOGE" are following through like nobody has before. But what they’ve done shows they’re not interested in efficiency, they’re interested in dismantling the government:

As Jon Stewart pointed out, if this were really about cost-cutting, they would look toward oil and gas companies who get billions in subsidies—despite making billions in profit. Instead, Trump is trying to illegally fire inspector generals who check against mismanagement.

WHAT’S NEXT: The good news is that destroying the federal government is much harder (and more unpopular) than Trump or Musk would have you believe. The courts, Democratic lawmakers, federal employees, and the people are starting to realize what’s at stake if our government is gutted. The resistance is waking up.

📰 Most important stories right now

There’s a lot of sh*t out there. Here’s what’s actually important—and why.

Republicans plow ahead with budget that would slash healthcare for millions

Why it matters: Medicaid is by far the largest health insurer in the country—it insures 1 out of 5 Americans—but Trump and House Republicans want to cut nearly a trillion dollars from the program while giving billionaires more tax breaks. Full story from Common Dreams.

Why it matters: The nation’s top public health official, a noted vaccine denier, may not think it’s a big deal, but the medical community disagrees. The outcome of vaccine denial is needless death. Full story from The Daily Beast.

Why it matters: The fact that a democratic socialist, state Rep. Zohran Mamdani, is breaking through a crowded primary field shows the left can win if they tell the truth about late-stage capitalism and offer voters real solutions. Full story from NOTICE News.

🗳️ Question of the day

On Tuesday, we asked: With Trump reversing decades of U.S. foreign policy, why do you think he’s doing it? Here’s what you (overwhelmingly) said:

READERS WRITE: CJ picked “he’s stuck in a ‘misinformation bubble’” and wrote, “He doesn’t do the work to understand the situation.”

Sarah chose “Putin has something on him,” and wrote, “Why else would he do such a brazenly stupid thing?”

Rahburtz voted the same and wrote: “He has always been in Putin's pocket and possibly may be a Russian agent.”

RELATED: There’s speculation circulating that Trump was recruited to be a KGB asset in his 40s. (The non-credible source is the former head of Kazakhstan’s intelligence service, though, so take that with a grain of salt.)

TODAY’S QUESTION: Today we want know—who do you think is worse? Trump or Musk? Tell us why after you vote and we may feature it in Tuesday’s newsletter.

Who's worse?

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BIG PICTURE

Why Starbucks is making billions but still laying off workers

Starbucks announced this week that it’s laying off over a thousand corporate employees and cutting more than a dozen drinks from its menu.

  • The company claims it's a cost-saving measure due to declining sales—a rationale corporate media echoed without question.

But no one asked why a highly profitable company, raking in billions each year, is pretending it's in financial trouble.

THE DETAILS: Starbucks has made at least a billion dollars in net income every year since 2013, per Statista.

  • Yet in late-stage capitalism, simply making money isn’t enough. The only thing that matters is GROWTH—more profit than last year, no matter the cost.

If growth slows, companies like Starbucks slash jobs, hike prices, gut products, and crush unions—not because they’re struggling, but because Wall Street demands endless expansion.

WHY IT MATTERS: This isn’t just about Starbucks—this is how late-stage capitalism works. Workers lose their jobs and customers pay more, while CEOs and investors pocket billions every year.

WHAT’S NEXT: Expect more of the same, until we have a labor movement that fights back. Corporations must be held accountable to the people and resources they exploit, not just shareholder profits.

👀 Under the Radar

Here are some stories the algorithm may have kept out of your feed.

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We’ll be back Tuesday morning. Questions or comments? Just reply to this e-mail.

Thank you for reading, and have a great weekend! - Andrew & Anthony