Forecasts suggest that Joe Biden is eager to implement an irreversible ban on future offshore oil and gas exploration in certain areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This maneuver is projected to cause significant hurdles for any succeeding administration who might want to overturn such decisions. Particularly for the incoming Trump administration, this appears to be an entrenched obstacle.
Biden ambitiously plans to set into motion a law designed to increase Social Security payments for existing and past public employees. Interestingly, this motion is predicted to impact close to 3 million people who are entitled to pensions from their service as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and various other public service roles. Supporters of Biden claim this to be an attempt at correcting a long-standing discrepancy. However, it’s impossible to ignore the pressure this will create on the Social Security Trust Funds, which are already grappling with an impending solvency crisis.
This newly introduced bill seeks to revoke two provisions — the Windfall Elimination Provision as well as the Government Pension Offset — which curtail Social Security benefits for recipients who receive retirement pay from alternative sources. These alternate sources may include public retirement schemes from a state or local government. A seemingly enticing proposition, except for the question of how sustainable this really is.
Many older adults find Social Security to be their financial lifeline during retirement. Did you know that an astonishing 83% of workers according to a 2024 Gallup poll, plan to depend on their benefits at some level in retirement? Shockingly over one-third of these individuals believe Social Security will be their major income resource. While this might seem promising, it’s troubling how overlooking one vital aspect of Social Security often leads to major misunderstandings among older adults: the full retirement age.
Casting light on Donald Trump’s New York secretive money case, the presiding judge recently implied that he is looking at an ‘unconditional discharge’ as the preferred verdict. This is allegedly due to the respect he holds for the presidential immunity doctrine. Despite the cloud of controversy, Judge Juan Merchan has called upon Trump to appear, physically or virtually, for his sentencing on January 10. This date is conveniently just 10 days prior to Trump’s presidential swearing-in ceremony.
Merchan, in his official statement, described an unconditional discharge as the ‘most viable solution to ensure finality and allow Defendant to pursue his appellate options.’ Seems fair? Let’s remember that the world of politics often plays by different rules.
Donald Trump, ever the charismatic leader, surprised everyone by choosing former State Department spokesperson, Morgan Ortagus, to serve as deputy special presidential envoy for Middle East peace in his forthcoming administration. Interestingly, Trump’s announcement made a direct reference to the past criticism of Ortagus. She was infamous as a Fox News contributor in 2016, voicing her disdain for Trump’s behavior she found, in her own words, ‘nauseating.’
Contrary to popular belief, politics isn’t always about smooth talk and appeasement but often about the art of embracing your critics. Such is the case when the President-elect picked Ortagus, turning a critic into a champion of sorts for his cause. Or at least that’s what he’d like everyone to believe!
In a shocking claim, Russia has professed to have countered eight US-made ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine on a Saturday morning. The use of these missiles, capable of covering a distance of up to 300 kilometers (or 186 miles), is viewed by Moscow as a significant military escalation. Bold moves and strong responses are going to be the operating principles on both sides no doubt.
News has emerged regarding the demise of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike last year. It’s believed that the fatal strike happened inside the militant group’s war operations room. A series of Israeli airstrikes leveled multiple buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27, 2023, leading to the death of Nasrallah.
The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed the death of six individuals following the airstrike. With these events unfolding on a global stage, it’s clear that the game has changed and that the world is in for an unprecedented geopolitical pivot.
From Biden’s manipulative social security politics to the unfolding global drama, it’s evident that we live in extraordinary times where the political chessboard is continuously being rearranged.