Money, Wealth & Power—A Daily Look at the Financial World
President Donald Trump has pushed through the most sweeping changes to food stamps in years, tightening work rules and trimming benefits in the name of deficit reduction. Supporters say the new approach will shrink the rolls, boost employment and save taxpayers billions, while critics warn it will push vulnerable households closer to the edge. The…
President Donald Trump has put a simple promise on the table: use tariff revenue to send most households a one-time $2,000 payment, framed as a “tariff dividend” or rebate. The politics are complicated, but the core qualification idea is not, and it revolves around a single income test that would decide who gets a check…
Minimum wage floors are shifting again as a new round of state-level hikes takes effect in December, reshaping paychecks for workers from the Las Vegas Strip to small-town diners. The changes highlight how fragmented the wage map has become, with some states tying raises to inflation while others hold the line at the federal minimum….
I bonds come with a quirky tax profile that can either quietly boost your after-tax return or create surprises at filing time. To make the most of their inflation protection and tax perks, I walk through how I bonds are taxed in eight common real-life situations, from college planning to inheritance, so you can match…
Alt5 Sigma’s role in Donald Trump’s crypto ambitions is colliding with a more traditional force: the rules that govern public markets. A fresh gap in the company’s regulatory filings has raised new questions about whether the Trump-linked crypto platform is keeping pace with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s expectations for transparency. The emerging pattern around…
President Donald Trump’s promise of annual $2,000 “tariff dividend” checks has quickly shifted from a campaign-style applause line to a concrete question for taxpayers: how would a new cash benefit interact with the existing tax code in 2026. The answer depends on how the program is structured, who qualifies, and whether the payments are treated…
Swiss voters have decisively rejected a sweeping attempt to impose a 50% inheritance tax on the country’s wealthiest residents, shutting down one of Europe’s most ambitious experiments in taxing extreme fortunes. The result keeps the country’s long standing low tax model intact and sends a pointed message about how far even a rich democracy is…
California is preparing for a 2026 ballot fight that could redefine how the state treats extreme wealth, pitting a one-time 5% levy on billionaires against fears of capital flight and economic fallout. The proposal, framed as a way to stabilize public services without touching middle-class taxpayers, has already drawn sharp lines between unions, ultra-high-net-worth residents,…
President Donald Trump’s latest tax overhaul is poised to shrink the pool of money flowing from the wealthiest Americans to charities by billions of dollars, just as nonprofits are still adjusting to earlier changes in the code. The plan leans on a new incentive for smaller donors, but the math is stark: a multibillion dollar…
The U.S. Treasury has opened a high-stakes inquiry into whether Minnesota tax dollars were siphoned off through welfare fraud and routed toward the terrorist group Al-Shabaab, turning a long-running state scandal into a national security story. At the center of that escalation is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has ordered a federal review of allegations…