Trump’s Budget Scam, the Meaning of Economic Nationalism, and More

1. Trump’s Budget Scam

New Roosevelt Fellow Michael Linden warns in The Washington Post that we should not be taken in by President Trump’s promises that he can cut the federal budget by $10.5 trillion while dramatically increasing military spending, cutting taxes for the rich, and preserving all popular programs. It sounds too good to be true because it is.

2. Adapt or Resist

Roosevelt Fellow Dorian Warren joined Mic’s Darnell Moore, Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza, and Charlene Carruthers of BYP100 for a live response to President Trump’s congressional address, which Warren called a “white nationalist speech.” Watch the discussion here.

3. It’s the Second One

Responding to Steve Bannon’s CPAC remarks about Trump’s “economic nationalist agenda,” Roosevelt Fellow Mike Konczal tells The Nation that phrase could mean two different things—on the one hand, investing in infrastructure, jobs, and consumer protection, or on the other, targeting Muslims and immigrants and giving the rich free rein.

4. State of the State

Roosevelters from SUNY Binghamton, NYU, CCNY, CUNY John Jay, and Columbia convened for an organizing workshop to learn more about New York’s legislative process, engaging in direct action, and effective coalition-building as part of an emerging youth-led coalition for same-day voter registration and other democratic access issues.

5. On-Boarding

The Roosevelt Institute announced the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Jas Johl, a Senior Business Systems Analyst at University of California, Berkeley and an alumna of the Roosevelt network, and Wole Coaxum, Founder and CEO of Mobility Capital Finance Inc., a startup designed to help underbanked communities.

What We’re Reading:

Bloomberg chronicles the treasure hunt for the House Republicans’ secret Obamacare replacement bill, which led lawmakers from both parties to a hidden room in the Capitol that, sadly, contained only Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady.

Book:

Beyond Politics as Usual: Paths for Engaging College Students in Politics, a new volume from the Kettering Foundation, features a chapter on the Roosevelt network written by National Director Joelle Gamble along with Lydia Bowers, Taylor Jo Isenberg, and Madeleine McNally. It’s available for purchase here.