April 11, 2025
Our nation’s trade war with the rest of the civilized world raged over the weekend, with the U.S. and China playing a game of “I know you are, but what am I?” with tariff rates. After the markets surged on news that President Trump was pausing most tariffs for 90 days, the Dow took another nosedive on the news that our largest trading partner was not invited to the dance. It is safe to assume, however, that we were all comforted by the advice we got from the president’s supporters to “not look at your 401(k),” which is how a typical 17-year-old treats a sink full of dirty dishes. If we don’t look at them, they will just magically do themselves.
Our new U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick came out this week to preach patience on the president’s trade strategy, and we were reminded once again that being a member of the president’s incumbent party is not always a barrel of laughs. We fondly recall the days when former Sen. Bob Casey Jr. had to take to the airwaves to defend then-President Biden’s every – sometimes mystifying – move, which might explain why he is no longer a U.S. senator.
Meanwhile, Congress has cleared a path for the continuing budget resolution to move forward. Noticeably absent from the framework is about $264 million in already-earmarked funds for Pennsylvania. If you somehow continue to believe that federal policy won’t impact our fine Commonwealth, please remove your head from your… uh… the place your head should never be.
The U.S. House completed the work on the resolution, passing it by a hair-thin 216-214 vote. This move sets the stage for the renewal of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, plus a bevy of unidentified spending cuts. This, dear readers, is known as the time the rubber hits the road. It remains to be seen if the road rises up and hits back.
President Trump also called for a new review of Nippon’s bid to acquire U.S. Steel, with the caveat that the steel maker must remain in U.S. hands. Maybe a long-term lease-back agreement? Maybe turn U.S. Steel into a big, steel-making Airbnb? The possibilities are endless.
New numbers released today show that consumer confidence is now down to levels not seen since Dwight Eisenhower roamed the Rose Garden. The big caveat, however, is that hiring remains brisk and consumer spending has not slowed. This is America in a nutshell. Damn the torpedoes, get the credit card out, Martha! Ignore those dirty dishes!
Down in the southeastern corner of our slice of heaven, SEPTA unveiled its so-called “Doomsday budget,” which details rate increases and service cuts that will occur absent any new state funds. Among the proposed plans will be to shutter all services to the Philly Sports Complex, which is a pretty shrewd threat when you think about it. We have been told by reliable sources that Philly residents really enjoy going to watch their sports teams engage in friendly, healthy competition.
The PA House advanced a plan to make so-called device stalking illegal. It didn’t take long for enterprising young stalkers to realize that a simple air tag designed to track your luggage can also be used to track other humans. This is why we can’t have nice things.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s relentless focus on permitting reform in state government has been hailed as a potential nationwide model, contrasting it with the “DOGE method,” which is to just slash the living daylights out of everything that moves. The obvious downside to the Shapiro method is that it lacks the panache of a good old chain saw. Nobody goes to the movies to see the killer use a scalpel. Coming soon: the Texas Scalpel Massacre.
The Lower Chamber also passed a bill that would provide a cost-of-living increase to a handful of retired state employees who have not seen one in 23 years. If you don’t believe this is a big deal, try living for the next 23 years on exactly what you make today. Get back to us, or to whomever is running this joint, in 23 years.
There is an in-home care crisis brewing in the Commonwealth, as we continue to far outpace the rest of the country in the sheer number of older adults who call Pennsylvania home. As in-home care is drastically cheaper than institutional care, the solution here seems like a no-brainer. HOWEVER, in times of tight budgets, long-term investments tend to fall into the “pennywise, pound-foolish” category. By the way, can we stop using “pound foolish?” If the basis of the phrase is pennies, why not “dollar foolish?” Why the weird jump to an old British currency?
Remember the days when some members of a particular political party (rhymes with Them-o-Cratic) rhapsodized about defunding the police? Well, it turns out that the new problem that cities such as Philadelphia are facing is… wait for it… not enough police on the streets. Philly is staring down an astounding 1,200 officer shortage and making slow progress.
The state Game Commission’s officers would be outfitted with body cameras under a plan being proposed in the legislature. The new bill comes on the heels of the State Police unveiling their brand-new body cameras, all of which were provided by (Shameless Client Plug alert!) our good friends at Axon.
Speaking of client alerts, today is National Pet Day, so if you happen to reside in beautiful NEPA, head on over to Pocono Raceway’s Bark Park and let your pupper play until his or her heart is content!
In our We Can’t Make This Up segment, we take you to Newark Airport, where a Pennsylvania man was detained after TSA agents found him trying to smuggle a turtle, which he had shoved down the front of his pants, onto a plane. It is difficult to claim the turtle was purely for emotional support when it was located behind his zipper. Sound like more than “emotional support” to us.
That’s what passes for news around here as we head into another rainy weekend here at the center of Pennsylvania politics. We will see you next week, when members of the General Assembly will be safely tucked away in their home districts and we will be here, toiling away anyway. From all your friends at Team Triad, have a great weekend!