Commentary: Outlaw Public Sector Unions

CTA members

California Governor Gavin Newsom is attempting to pivot to the political center in hopes of appealing to moderate Democrats in the 2028 presidential primaries. But Newsom is constrained by the same political machine that influences Democrats nationwide: public sector unions. Some would say this influence is absolute—and in California, that is almost certainly true. Over the past 15 years of Newsom’s political career, public sector unions contributed over $21 million to his campaigns, more than any other special interest group. In second place at $9.5 million were Democratic Party organizations, themselves primarily dependent on contributions from public sector unions.

This is the forgotten enabler of the so-called deep state. When we speak of an out-of-control administrative state, we must consider who organizes these bureaucrats, collects dues automatically from their taxpayer-funded paychecks, and then uses that money to make or break any politician they wish.

Read the full story

Trump Seeks ‘Transformative’ Spending Cuts in First Budget Request of Second Term

Trump meeting

President Donald Trump is seeking massive cuts to government programs, including culling more than $160 billion in non-defense spending in his fiscal year 2026 (FY26) budget request.

Trump released a budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year Friday morning, which asks Congress to approve slashing non-defense discretionary spending 22.6% below fiscal year 2025 levels. Trump’s request to reduce this spending to its lowest level since 2017 builds on the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting initiatives to root out government waste and downsize the federal government. 

Read the full story

Commentary: The Uncomfortable Truths About the Food Stamp Program

Volunteers sorting through food stamps

A recent administrative action has permanently increased benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 25 percent. Unfortunately, this historic boost fails to address the structural problems that plague this nearly 60-year-old program.

The official Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) webpage proudly proclaims that, “SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food…”

To that admirable end, the program formerly known as food stamps distributed $79 billion to 40 million people last year. Yet this desire to provide wholesome food to needy families conflicts with clear evidence that wholesome food is not what they think they need. Whether they play by the rules or not, people receiving SNAP benefits currently spend between 70-100 percent of that benefit on things other than healthy food.

Read the full story

Hunger Didn’t Rise During Pandemic Thanks to Government Programs, Study Says

Two men in grocery aisle, shopping

The expansion of several government programs last year likely prevented hunger from rising despite the sudden economic downturn caused by the pandemic, a study showed.

The percentage of U.S. households that reported food insecurity was virtually unchanged in 2020 compared to the year prior despite the recession, according to a report from the Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service released Wednesday. More than 20.5 million Americans lost their jobs in April 2020 as state and local officials implemented strict restrictions on business activity to curb the spread of coronavirus, Labor Department data showed.

“This is huge news — it shows you how much of a buffer we had from an expanded safety net,” Urban Institute researcher Elaine Waxman told The New York Times. “There was no scenario in March of 2020 where I thought food insecurity would stay flat for the year. The fact that it did is extraordinary.”

Read the full story