They Think You're Stupid Enough to Believe This

In partnership with

This Week's Shell Game: From DoorDash Inflation to a $50B Rural Scam

Welcome back. This week's dispatch is a masterclass in distraction and deception. They're telling you to look at one hand (a DoorDash app, a big-number bill) while the other hand drains your wallet and dismantles your rights. Let's get into it.

The DoorDash Economy: They Think You're Stupid Enough to Believe This

The White House is now pointing to DoorDash breakfast prices as proof they've "conquered inflation."¹ Because apparently, ordering overpriced, fee-laden eggs through a gig-economy app is how regular Americans measure their economic health.

This absurd victory lap conveniently ignores that:

• The administration's own planned tariffs on imports are a direct sales tax that will immediately increase costs on everything from produce to electronics.²

• Actual grocery prices remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.³

• Real wages haven't come close to keeping pace with the cost of housing and food.

They're banking on a cherry-picked app number to distract you from the fact that their policies are making ordinary families poorer, all while their billionaire buddies and corporate donors cash in.

He Didn't Build This: Trump Steals Credit for Chicago's Falling Crime Rate

Donald Trump is out here doing a victory lap over declining crime rates in Chicago, except for one tiny, inconvenient fact: the crime was already dropping long before he sat his ass back down in the Oval Office.

Chicago's homicide rates began their significant downward trend in 2023, hit a five-year low in 2024, and continued that drop well before the January 2025 inauguration. This was a pattern that started under local leadership and federal support from the previous administration.

But facts have never stopped Trump from slapping his name on things he didn't build. This isn't just a narcissist's pathological need for credit; it's a calculated move to manufacture a false narrative that his authoritarian federal intervention works, setting the stage to expand that unchecked power into cities that don't want it.

They're Not Even Hiding It: The All-Out War on the One Agency That Protects You

The Trump administration is moving to completely defund and dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).⁴ They are deploying a radical legal theory in court that challenges the agency's entire funding structure, arguing it can no longer be funded by the Federal Reserve.

This is the same CFPB that has returned over $17 billion to consumers ripped off by predatory lenders, credit card companies, and financial scammers since its creation after the 2008 crash.

Instead of going after the corporations that crashed our economy, Trump is dismantling the one agency designed to protect ordinary Americans.⁵ This isn't a coincidence. It comes just as the CFPB was cracking down on junk fees and predatory payday loans. When Trump says he's for the "forgotten Americans," he apparently means the forgotten banking executives who can't exploit you fast enough.

Smart Investors Don’t Guess. They Read The Daily Upside.

Markets are moving faster than ever — but so is the noise. Between clickbait headlines, empty hot takes, and AI-fueled hype cycles, it’s harder than ever to separate what matters from what doesn’t.

That’s where The Daily Upside comes in. Written by former bankers and veteran journalists, it brings sharp, actionable insights on markets, business, and the economy — the stories that actually move money and shape decisions.

That’s why over 1 million readers, including CFOs, portfolio managers, and executives from Wall Street to Main Street, rely on The Daily Upside to cut through the noise.

No fluff. No filler. Just clarity that helps you stay ahead.

Subscribe free today.

The Last Line of Defense Is Writing an Obituary for the Law

Pay attention to what lower court judges are doing. They are writing increasingly scathing rulings and dissents documenting Trump's abuses of power, illegal orders, and constitutional violations.

They're not doing this because they expect the Supreme Court's MAGA supermajority to uphold the law. They're doing it to create an ironclad historical record for future prosecutions and accountability.

These judges are spelling out in excruciating legal detail how these executive orders violate the law, knowing full well that the corrupted Roberts Court will likely rubber-stamp whatever authoritarian power grab comes its way. This means the legal system's last line of defense knows it's failing, so they're at least making sure history—and potentially future tribunals—will have the receipts.

War for Profit: Why We're Really Sanctioning Venezuela

The United States continues its decades-long pattern of economic coercion and military intervention against nations like China and Venezuela. They're not "threats" to your family; they're a threat to corporate profits.

They wrap themselves in the flag and screech about "freedom," but the reality is a systematic campaign of sanctions that starve civilians. Venezuela, sitting on the world's largest oil reserves, faces crippling sanctions that have devastated its healthcare system—not because of humanitarian concerns (we arm dictators like Saudi Arabia), but because its government won't privatize those resources for ExxonMobil and Chevron.

Meanwhile, the new Cold War with China conveniently distracts from domestic failures while justifying massive Pentagon budgets that could fund our own healthcare and education. American workers see none of the benefits, just the constant threat that their kids might be shipped off to die protecting corporate profit margins.

The $50 Billion 'Rural Health' Scam

Senate Republicans desperately needed a win, so they slapped together a flashy $50 billion 'Rural Health Fund' to claim they're saving rural America.⁶

Except the fine print, in the form of the administration's own rules, reveals it's a scam. Of that $50 billion, states are capped at using only 15% for direct payments to health providers to keep their doors open.⁷ The rest is locked up in long-term projects and bureaucratic programs that won't help the 600+ rural hospitals currently on the brink of closure right now.

This is the GOP playbook: create a massive headline number to flood Fox News with propaganda about 'saving rural communities,' while the actual people in those communities watch their only hospital close because these same senators refuse to expand Medicaid or provide real, immediate funding.

Help Us Sharpen This Tool 🛠️

This newsletter isn't meant to be just another email you scroll past. It's designed to be a useful tool in the fight we're in.

To make it as valuable as possible, we need to know what you need from us. This should be more than just an interesting read; it should be a genuine asset for you.

The best way to help us is to just hit reply to this email and tell us:

• What topics do you want us to cover more?

• Are there specific lies or talking points you need help debunking?

• What would make this newsletter more useful to you?

This is a community, not just a mailing list. Your feedback directly shapes what we do next. Let's build this together.

Support Our Work

If you find this newsletter valuable and want to help us keep fighting, please consider supporting our work. Every bit helps us stay independent and keep this information free.

You can Buy Us a Coffee at the link below.

Thank you for being in this fight.