Category Archives: Trump administration

Aging, Federal budget, Medicaid, Medicare, Senior care, Social Security, Trump administration

Dr. Richard Fleming, Older But Wiser: One Big Bust of a Bill

Photo courtesy of Cal Gao

By Richard Fleming, M.D., Benicia resident and author, Older But Wiser. June 9, 2025

Richard Fleming, M.D., Benicia, CA

The new tax and budget bill signed into law July 4 will have substantial negative impacts on almost everyone in the country, except for the wealthy. Lower-income people will take the biggest hit. The bottom 20% of families will lose about $700 per year, while the top 20% of families will gain $5,700 per year (data from Yale Budget Lab). The new law orchestrates one of the biggest transfers of wealth from the poor to the rich in U.S. history.

While the new law will have widespread economic, social, and political effects, I want to focus this post on several ways seniors will be impacted. The consequences on our lives will likely be big, and they will not be beautiful.

For decades, we old folks have been able to rely on helpful government programs as we navigate the challenges of our post-retirement years. We have been able to count on benefits we earned through decades of hard work. In particular, both Social Security and health care – especially Medicare and Medicaid – have been programs we could depend on to provide a measure of stability in our senior years.

Well, those days appear to be over and the support we receive from those programs is on shaky ground. Let’s look at what we oldsters are now facing.

Social Security

The Trump administration proclaims that its new law “eliminates federal income taxes on Social Security benefits for most beneficiaries.” Simply stated, this is not true. The new law actually makes no changes to taxes on Social Security. What the law does is temporarily increase the overall personal withholding amount for people 65 and older. Individuals who earn less than $75,000 per year or couples earning less than $150,000 can claim an extra $6,000 or $12,000 personal deduction. These amounts taper down to zero as income rises. So, for people with moderate incomes, they will see a temporary reduction in federal taxes on total income, not specifically on Social Security payments.

But a closer look shows how limited this tax change really is. Currently 64% of seniors pay no tax on their Social Security benefits because their income is too low. So they will experience no benefit from the new law. Some seniors earn more than the income limits, and they too will see no change in their taxation levels. Only 24% of all seniors on Social Security will benefit from the new law (data from the White House’s Council of Economic advisers). And it will be modest and temporary. Three quarters of seniors on Social Security will see no tax reduction.

But misrepresenting the new law as “no tax on Social Security” is not the worst problem. The law actually inflicts serious damage to Social Security itself. It reduces the money going into the Social Security Trust Fund by $30 billion per year, meaning the program will run out of money earlier. In 2032, unless something changes, everyone’s Social Security benefit will be reduced by 24% across the board. This is mandated under current law.

We seniors have been around the block a few times. We know the carnie barkers and fancy-talking shills promising us no taxes on Social Security are just blowing smoke.

Medicare and Medicaid

Almost all seniors get their health insurance through Medicare, and about 10% of seniors have what is called dual coverage, receiving benefits through Medicaid and Medicare. Both programs are seriously threatened by the new budget law, and seniors will probably suffer as a result.

The law reduces Medicaid spending by more than a trillion dollars over the coming decade. The most immediate impact will be on people who rely on Medicaid for their health care, and it is predicted over 10 million people will lose their health insurance as a result. Seniors with dual coverage will remain insured through Medicare, but will have much less coverage.

But here is an important fact that is not receiving much attention. The adverse impact of the drastic cuts to Medicaid will not be limited to Medicaid recipients. All seniors, as well as younger people, will be affected. Why do I say this? Many rural hospitals are primarily funded by Medicaid and are at risk of closing. The impact on everyone living in rural areas, including all seniors, could be devastating.

Even in urban and suburban areas, every hospital receives substantial funding from Medicaid, and this income will be reduced by the new law. What will be the result? Hospitals will feel pressured to increase billing charges across the board. Copays for insured patients will likely increase. Seniors will end up having to pay more for their health care even if they are not on Medicaid. Quality of care and service could also suffer as hospital revenue declines.

Long term care facilities will face similar financial pressures as Medicaid funding is slashed. Many old folks reside in these care facilities, or will need to as our years accumulate. The new law also allows nursing homes and long term care facilities to reduce staffing levels. Having fewer facilities available, at higher costs, with less staff, is not a prospect most people would describe as “beautiful.”

While Medicare is not explicitly targeted, the new law forces a $490 billion reduction in Medicare spending between 2027 and 2034. This decrease is not optional. It is mandated by a 2010 law known as S-PAYGO. What will happen when Medicare spending is reduced? I’m not a rocket scientist, thank goodness, and you’re probably not either. But we learned how to do subtraction in grade school. We know that when you take money away, you end up with less.

*    *    *

I have just scratched the surface of how old folks will fare under the new law. Almost 5 million seniors are dependent on SNAP food benefits, and this program is being scaled way back. In-home care services will become harder to access and of lower quality. And other problems are waiting in the wings.

So, my fellow seniors, we have our work cut out for us. We need to speak up and speak out, in defense of our future. And in defense of our children’s and grandchildren’s futures. We old folks carry a certain air of, shall we say, gravitas which enables us to speak more powerfully than the volume of our voices.

The cuts made by the new law do not go into effect until after the 2026 midterm elections, which confirms the architects of these cuts knew how unpopular they will be. Our job is to make sure the new Congress elected next year will put a stop to these cuts before they start. We need to make sure the legacy we leave the future generations is not a return to the 19th century.

………Dr. Richard Fleming’s
……….OLDER BUT WISER
>> You can see “Older But Wiser” Comments, Archives, and Subscribe to Dr. Fleming’s posts at olderbutwiser.com.

DOGE, Elon Musk, Flooding, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-led (NOAA), National Weather Service, Trump administration, U.S. Geological Service (USGS), Weather

Over 60 dead in Texas flooding – Trump and DOGE staffing cuts responsible?

Federal forecast concerns surface in Texas’ deadly flooding debate

Damage in Kerrville on July 5, 2025, following a flash flood event on Independence Day (KXAN photo/Tom Miller)

KXAN, Austin, Texas NBC affiliate, by Josh Hinkle and David Barer, July 5, 2025 (updated July 6, 2025)

KERR COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — State and local officials are calling out federal forecasters amid deadly flooding in the Texas Hill Country over the extended Fourth of July weekend. The criticism comes, as funding cuts and staff shortages plague the National Weather Service and other emergency management agencies nationwide.

Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd told reporters Friday original forecasts from the National Weather Service predicted 4 to 8 inches of rain in that area, “but the amount of rain that fell in this specific location was never in any of those forecasts.”

“Listen, everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service, right?” Kidd said. “You all got it, you’re all in media, you got that forecast. It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.”

Kidd added TDEM “worked with our own meteorologist to finetune that weather statement” but did not elaborate on any updated interpretation that would have led to more urgent warnings for evacuations.

The area actually received a much more significant amount of rain that night, with NWS observed totals exceeding 10 inches just west of Kerrville, near where dozens were killed or remain missing – including several children at a summer camp.

Localized LCRA rainfall totals in the region have exceeded 18 inches in some places.

The Guadalupe River in Kerrville measured just under a foot on Thursday, leading up to midnight. At about 4 a.m. Friday, the river rose over 30 feet in less than two hours, according USGS data.

Critical communication

On Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also said during a separate press event that TDEM Region 6 Assistant Chief Jay Hall “personally contacted the judges and mayors in that area and notified them all of potential flooding.” KXAN has requested record of that communication to verify that statement and its level of urgency.

Acting Gov. Dan Patrick being briefed (KXAN photo/Jordan Belt)

“Yesterday morning, the message was sent,” Patrick added. “It is up to the local counties and mayors under the law to evacuate if they feel a need. That information was passed along.”

NWS issued a flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. Friday for a portion of Kerr County – where the majority of flood-related deaths have been reported. But it would be at least four hours before any county or city government entity posted directions to evacuate on social media.

City and county officials have yet to fully explain the timing of their Facebook posts surrounding the height of the flood or other ways they might have notified people near the water. Kerrville Mayor Joe Herring, Jr., said Saturday the city had done an “admirable” job making sure all information was available to the public. KXAN is awaiting responses after requesting records of communication between city, county and state officials to better understand decisions regarding their public warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly has claimed officials “didn’t know this flood was coming.”

“This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States, and we deal with floods on a regular basis – when it rains, we get water,” Kelly said to reporters Friday. “We had no reason to believe this was going to be anything like what has happened here, none whatsoever.”

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice reiterated that apparent lack of awareness, telling the media Friday: “This rain event sat on top of that and dumped more rain than what was forecasted.”

Following those statements, the NWS provided additional details on its notification timeline for the Kerr County flood, including:

  • The National Water Center Flood Hazard Outlook issued on Thursday morning indicated an expansion of flash flood potential to include Kerrville and surrounding areas.
  • A flood watch was issued by the NWS Austin/San Antonio office at 1:18 p.m. on Thursday, in effect through Friday morning.
  • The Weather Prediction Center issued three Mesoscale Precipitation Discussions for the excessive rainfall event as early as 6:10 p.m. Thursday indicating the potential for flash flooding.
  • The National Water Center Area Hydrologic Discussion #144 at 6:22 p.m. on Thursday messaged locally considerable flood wording for areas north and west of San Antonio, including Kerrville.
  • At 1:14 a.m. Friday, a flash flood warning with a considerable tag (which denotes high-damage threats and will automatically trigger Wireless Emergency Alerts on enabled mobile devices and over NOAA Weather Radio) was issued for Kerr County.
  • The flash flood warning was upgraded to a flash flood emergency for southcentral Kerr County as early as 4:03 a.m. Friday.
  • The 5:00 a.m. National Water Center Area Hydrologic Discussion #146 on Friday included concern for widespread considerable flooding through the day. The Flood Hazard Outlook was also upgraded to considerable and catastrophic.
  • A flash flood emergency was issued for the Guadalupe River at 5:34 a.m.

KXAN is awaiting additional responses from the NWS on that timeline. KXAN also requested comments from Kidd and from NWS Austin/San Antonio Meteorologist in Charge Pat Vesper regarding how recent federal funding cuts might have impacted weather forecasting abilities in Texas.

TDEM responded but did not answer KXAN’s questions or indicate when Kidd would be available to speak directly about those issues. An NWS spokesperson said Vesper’s office “is focused on forecast operations right now, as flash flooding is ongoing.”

NWS staffing concerns

While state and local officials have not publicly – nor outright – blamed the Trump Administration’s financial decisions for any possible forecasting issues, public accusations on social media and elsewhere point to their timing during severe weather season.

For instance, directly under Vesper at the local NWS office is a key position – warning coordination meteorologist (WCM) – that has remained vacant since April. The role was most recently held by longtime employee Paul Yura, who took an early retirement package offered to agency workers as the administration worked to reduce the budget and personnel number at the NWS and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Yura, who KXAN recently reported spent more than half of his 32-year career at the local NWS office, gained tremendous experience understanding local weather patterns while ensuring timely warnings get disseminated to the public in a multitude of ways. The importance of his role as WCM cannot be understated.

Ensuring ample and timely warning to Central Texas counties was among the chief responsibilities. According to NOAA, “The WCM coordinates the warning function of the office with the outside world. This would include heading the Skywarn Program, conducting spotter training and being a voice to the local media for the office.”

Following the Kerr County flood, KXAN reached out to Yura – who referenced a hiring freeze in his retirement message to the media – but he referred questions to an NWS public affairs official.

Along with Yura’s job, five other vacancies in the local NWS office have stacked up, according to its online staff roster and the NWS Employees Organization. Those include two meteorologists, two technology staff members and a science officer. The office has 26 employees when fully staffed.

Federal funding and staff cuts

The administration made cuts to the federal workforce an early priority in Trump’s second presidential term this year, and those reductions extended to the NWS.

In May, NBC News reported the agency was working to shuffle employees to cover 150 positions that were vacated by the firings of probationary employees and early retirements of other longtime workers.

Some forecasting offices were left without overnight service, though no Texas offices were mentioned among those.

Tom Fahy, the NWSEO legislative director, then told NBC the staff cuts could increase risk and damage the agency’s ability to respond to a disaster.

Fahy told KXAN on Saturday the Central Texas flooding “was indeed a flash precipitation event,” leading to massive rainfall – something the local NWS office still had “adequate staffing and resources” to handle, despite its vacancies.

“They issued timely forecasts and warnings leading up to the storm,” he said, also referencing flood watches “out well in advance” the day before the waters rose.

In early June, the NWS was seeking to hire at least 126 people across the country, including meteorologists, following previous staff cuts, The Hill reported. A NOAA spokesperson told the outlet the NWS would be conducting “short term temporary duty assignments” and providing “reassignment opportunity notices” to fill field offices with the “greatest operational needs.”

The NWS Austin/San Antonio Weather Forecast Office currently has a 15% vacancy rate for meteorologists. The office’s total vacancy rate was 12% at the beginning of the year, but that increased to 23% by the end of April when employees took buyouts, Fahy confirmed to KXAN.

Federal officials visiting

President Trump posted on Truth Social he is “working with State and Local Officials on the ground in Texas in response to the tragic flooding,” ahead of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visit to represent the administration in Kerrville Saturday.

During a press conference after surveying the area, Noem told reporters the amount of rain in this flooding event was “unprecedented,” underscoring the reason Trump is working to “fix” aging technology within NOAA.

“I do carry your concerns back to the federal government and back to President Trump,” she said, acknowledging the need for upgraded technology to give “families have as much warning as possible.”

Central Texas flooding

Central Texas and the Hill Country are broadly known for major floods. With one of the highest risks for flash flooding in the country, the area has earned the nickname “flash flood alley,” according to LCRA.

This weekend’s tragedy isn’t the first.

Blanco River flood in San Marcos May 27 2015. Courtesy: Getty Images

In 1987, a flood hit the Guadalupe River, pushing the waterway up 29 feet and catching a church camp bus, according to the NWS. The bus, which was being used to evacuate dozens of children, was swept away and 10 children were killed.

Again, in 1998, flooding struck the region. On Oct. 17 and 18 that year a storm dropped roughly 30 inches of rain near San Marcos. Homes along the Guadalupe River near Canyon Lake and down to Seguin were washed off their foundations, NWS reported.

Benicia, Democracy under attack, Stephen Golub, Trump administration, US Customs & Border Protection (CBP)

Stephen Golub: Independence Day

…imagine my dismay when this very stiff-upper-lip Englishman contacted me recently…

 Stephen Golub, A Promised Land – America as a Developing Country

By Stephen Golub, Benicia resident and author. July 6, 2025. [First published in the Benicia Herald on 7/4/25.]

Pete (not his real name) is a Brit I met 50 years ago during college and have been close friends with ever since. After graduation, he went on to a career as an international journalist, risking his life in war-torn situations from Lebanon to the former Soviet Union and beyond, as well as covering countless violent demonstrations.

I recall his calmly telling tales of mortar explosions and other such threats narrowly missing him. There’s not much that scares the guy.

And he certainly knows how to assess threats. Years ago, he cautioned me to steer clear of a particular hotel in a Middle Eastern capital during a consulting trip I was undertaking. A month later, a terrorist bomb took numerous lives there.

So, imagine my dismay when this very stiff-upper-lip Englishman contacted me recently to let me know that he was concerned about something I was doing that might put him at risk.

What could that be, you might well wonder? How could I, ensconced in bucolic Benicia, pose any kind of hazard to Pete, who lives thousands of miles away?

I was sending him news articles. More specifically, I was electronically sharing occasional updates and analyses I thought he might appreciate, something I’d been doing since email became an option. More specifically yet, some of the news items and analyses were about U.S. democracy and the dangers it’s facing.

Why is Pete concerned? Because as you might know, the Trump Administration is sometimes examining the phones and social media feeds of visitors, to determine whether they contain items deemed terrorist-sympathizing or otherwise counter to our national security.

And as you wouldn’t know, Pete occasionally visits relatives in America. He’s worried, then, that upon arrival here he might have his phone examined by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection airport agent, who in turn could bar Pete’s entry (perhaps permanently) if they find something they don’t like.

Despite dodging rocks, bullets and bombs his entire career, Pete very understandably does not want to risk such searches – even though the items I’ve shared have simply ranged from academic analyses to the latest news about the Administration’s latest steps.

So I stopped.

Due to deadline constraints, I’m writing this on Thursday, before Benicia’s July 3rd parade. The timing seems appropriate, given what the 4th of July is about, and why Americans fought Pete’s home country and its king nearly 250 years ago: Freedom, starting with freedom to say what we want, free of fear. Freedom to be who we want to be. Freedom from the use of the military to suppress peaceful rallies. Freedom from a repressive, corrupt king who put his own financial and other interests above those of his people.

I’m also writing this as word comes in that by the 4th of July Trump will sign the bill, just passed by the House of Representatives today, that will award massive tax breaks to techno-billionaires and other extremely wealthy sorts, blow up our national debt by $3.3 trillion and deny health care coverage to well over 10 million Americans.

Perhaps I’ll delve into those horrid details some other time.
In the meantime, here’s to all the freedoms that Independence Day represents and that so many Americans have fought and even died for, including against foreign fascists like Putin and others with whom Trump is currently aligning himself.

And here’s to the hope that by next 4th of July we’ll be seeing more signs of light in our troubled skies, and that eventually Pete and the rest of us won’t have to think about what news we can or cannot safely share, read or store on our phones.

Benicia resident and author Stephen Golub, A Promised Land

CHECK OUT STEPHEN GOLUB’S BLOG, A PROMISED LAND

…and… here’s more Golub on the Benicia Independent

Christian nationalism, Donald Trump, Sexism, Trump administration, White supremacists

Trump on DEI – he is promoting white Christian Nationalism

(From BenIndy contributor Roger Straw: Professor Eddie Glaude is a favorite author and one of my heros. His clarity on issues of U.S. history and culture and the reality of longstanding and pervasive racism in the U.S. is inspiring and challenging – and dead on righteous and true. Listen to his recent interview…and note my transcription below.)

White nationalist agenda: Professor slams Trump’s racist, sexist DEI comments

 Chris Jansing Reports, MSNBC on YouTube: Professor Eddie Glaude interview 31 Jan 2025

Partial transcript, by Roger Straw, Benicia Independent, Professor Eddie Glaude on 31 Jan 2025:

1:24
It’s important for us to take Donald Trump at his word. There is no evidence to suggest that diversity had anything to do with the loss of 67 people. And what you see, in no uncertain terms, is the way DEI is being used for a white Christian Nationalist agenda. This had nothing to do with merit. This has everything to do, to my mind – because yesterday revealed it – because there’s no evidence to correlate these two considerations. He’s not interested in merit. The assumption is, that if you have women, if you have black people or brown people, if you have a diverse workforce, that by definition, the standards have been compromised. That is a racist, a sexist view.

So what does it mean, Chris, that people are taking this seriously? If we understand it for what it is, an item in a white Christian Nationalist agenda, and you see businesses and government following suit, what are we to conclude? So I think yesterday was quite revealing, and the policies and the decisions that are being made now are as revealing as well.

3:08
I mean, how many McKinsey reports do we have to cite about the value and the power of a diverse workforce? Of a diverse leadership team? So we know that’s the truth. We know that’s to be the case. So what we’re seeing here, or witnessing here, is the capitulation to a white Nationalist agenda. And I want to stop dancing around this, Chris. We need to understand what we are confronting. We need to understand what the tattoos mean on Pete Hegseth. We need to understand what this particular decision is actually revealing. CRT, DEI, ‘woke’ – all of this is aimed at cultivating and stoking white grievance. And if we keep dancing around it, and keep capitulating to it, we’re going to find ourselves, shall we say, harkening back to the days where people like me supposedly knew our place – and people like you, Chris.

6:04
We have to be clear about our values. We have to be clear about who we believe ourselves to be. What is the nature of the America that he’s putting forward? What does it mean that for a large number of our fellows, that we have to endure this sort of view? Right? And what are its implications for the very way in which this country goes about its business? I mean, we are barreling towards the 250th anniversary of the nation. And here we are, grappling with the contradiction that has haunted this place since its founding. We have a president who believes that this country must be a white nation in the vein of old Europe. He talks about immigration, Chris, but we know birthright citizenship has nothing to do with the “crisis at the border” (quote unquote). It has everything to do with great replacement theory. We have to start being honest with what’s in front of us. Because if we’re not being honest, we’re being complicit. And so we’ve got to get clear about the values that animate the very country we claim to be so committed to.