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Last week, President Donald Trumps super PAC revealed that it has an unsettling amount of cash on hand for a president who is, his occasional musings to the contrary notwithstanding, constitutionally ineligible to run for a third term in office. According to a midyear report filed with the Federal Election Commission, MAGA Inc. is sitting on nearly $200 million, a sum that includes a shade over $175 million collected just in the past six months. Unless collections fall off a cliff in the second half of the year, Trump should enter 2026 with well over a quarter-billion dollars to spend on the midterm electionsa war chest that would make him not only the Republican Partys unquestioned standard-bearer but also perhaps its deepest-pocketed financier for the foreseeable future. Many of the donors to MAGA Inc. would likely donate to any Republican president: real estate developers, oil and gas companies, firearms manufacturers, Wall Street banks, allegedly crooked mortgage brokers, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, and so on. Others made what proved to be prudent investments in their relationships with Trump, who has long viewed the presidency as a tool for rewarding loyal friends and punishing perceived enemies. A Florida personal injury attorney nominated by Trump as the U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, for example, gave $500,000; an investor who now serves on the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board gave $250,000. Longtime Trump donors Jeffrey Sprecher, whose company owns the New York Stock Exchange, and his wife, former Georgia Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler, gave a cool $2.5 million apiece in June. In a wild coincidence, Trump announced that he would appoint Loeffler to lead the Small Business Administration six months earlier. But the most notable collection of namesand some of the biggest numbersare associated with the cryptocurrency industry, which has, in another wild coincidence, netted Trump and his family hundreds of millions of dollars since he took office in January. Foris Dax, which does business as Crypto.com, gave MAGA Inc. $10 million. Tools for Humanity, better known as World Network or Worldcoin (and cofounded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman), chipped in $5 million, as did Blockchain.com. Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, whose eponymous Silicon Valley firm has invested heavily in crypto projects (including Tools for Humanity), combined to donate $6 million. The Winklevoss twins and their crypto exchange, Gemini Trust Company, donated a total of nearly $4 million. (Tyler donated about $15,000 more in his name than his brother, Cameron, which is how you can tell them apart.) All told, crypto and crypto-adjacent interests have contributed at least $40 million to MAGA Inc. so far this year. This figure does not include $5 million from Elon Musk, whose companies hold crypto assets worth billions of dollars. Despite his extremely funny public falling-out with Trump, Musk evidently still knows whats best for business: On June 27, he ponied up $5 million to the man who more or less just gave him the boot. The steady flow of cash to Trumps political machine is a peek at the struggle for control of the movement Trump creatednot necessarily now, when he is both president of the United States and the leader of the Republican Party, but over the next 24 months or so, as his term winds down and he prepares to return to Mar-a-Lago for good. Everyone involved here understands that it is not only the current White House that is for sale, but also the future of a party that has really not had an identity apart from Trump, a 79-year-old man who is decompensating before our eyes, for a decade now. Many of the people who are giving to MAGA Inc. are roughly analogous to investors racing to get in on the ground floor of a promising startup: For anyone who can foot the bill, the chance to own even a sliver of one of this countrys two major political parties is too valuable to pass up. And because the first six months of Trumps second administration have been so good for the crypto industry, its wealthier-than-ever luminaries have been among the most aggressive early buyers of (even more) political influence. They envision the country as a nascent Silicon Valley plutocracy, and themselves as its leadersequal parts fabulously wealthy oligarchs, industry-friendly regulators, and currency revolutionaries on the verge of making fiat money obsolete. Wealthy people have always been able to buy power in Washington, D.C., but rarely have they been this comfortable being this obvious about it. Part of the challenge with gauging the value of these investments is that there is basically no precedent for them. Super PACs have only been around since 2010, after the Supreme Courts decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the floodgates to unlimited political spending by megacorporations and the billionaires who run them. As a result, President Barack Obama is the only other term-limited president who has ever raised money under the same circumstances, and at the time his supporters plainly did not perceive the same value in continuing to write checks: Again, over the past six months, MAGA Inc. has raked in around $175 million. As The New York Times notes, during the same period in 2013, the primary super PAC affiliated with Obama raised a grand total of $356,000. Generally, candidates from the same party as a sitting president face a tougher road to victory in the midterm elections that followa dynamic that is especially salient when a president whose approval rating was already dropping is also trying to fend off persistent questions about the nature of his friendship with the nations most famous child sex abuser. But the fact that Trump will be the GOPs de facto kingmaker in 2026 will make it very challenging for Republican candidates to break with himon the campaign trail, to the extent that any Republican candidates would have interest in doing so in the first place. If you want to win a primary, you cannot afford to pass up Trumps moneyor, worse yet, to do something to make him angry, such that he starts giving to your more enthusiastically MAGA opponent instead. What I am saying here is that the Republican candidates trying to win in purple districts next falland, in all likelihood, the serious contenders vying for the GOP presidential nomination in 2028are not going to be traditional conservatives trying to appeal to swing voters with promises of limited government and lower taxes. They are going to be Trump acolytes steeped in X clips and manosphere content who promise to do his and his donors bidding. Trumps dominance of the modern GOP has also come at the expense of what remains of the Republican establishment, whose leaders on Capitol Hill are now dealing with the consequences of having long ago ceded control of the party to a made-for-TV businessman who has never cared about its long-term success outside the context of his own political and financial fortunes. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the House, had around $33 million in cash on hand as of June 30, and the GOP-affiliated Senate analogue came in just behind it, at $29.7 million. If youre doing the math at home, this means that the combined spending power of the Republican lawmakers trying to preserve their majorities in the House and Senate is about one-third the spending power of the partys outgoing president. The only group with anywhere close to as much money as MAGA Inc., The Times reports, is Fairshake, a super PAC backed byyou guessed itthe crypto industry. In other words, Republican candidates can take crypto industry cash funneled through MAGA Inc., or directly from its super PAC. But they are taking that money either way, and dealing with whatever strings come attached to it. For several years now, there has been an open question about what will happen to the Republican Party once Trump, for one reason or another, is no longer in control of it: whether it will revert to the establishment conservatives Trump has rendered all but irrelevant, or whether it will continue as a cult of personality propped up by a coalition of bigots, billionaires, and billionaires who are also bigots. MAGA Inc.s massive fundraising haul yields a grim answer: As venal as Trump is, the next generation of party leaders will be even more transparently for sale to the highest bidder. Those who can afford it are already spending accordingly.
Category:
E-Commerce
President Donald Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), recently signed into law, ushers in a number of new tax write-offs and credits. Some of those include the No Tax on Tips provision (which allows eligible tipped workers to deduct a portion of their income from tips on their federal income taxes), car loan and charitable donation deductions, and a child credit. However, other deductions that Trump’s tax bill did not renew will expire at the end of this year, including those related to student loan forgiveness. As a result, borrowers with certain federal student loans may have to pay more taxes. “There are two things that student loan borrowers need to know: There are changes in the way student debt is taxed, and the other is Congress didn’t extend tax-free student loan forgiveness,” Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC), told Fast Company. Some student loans may once again be taxed in 2026 “Forgiven student loan debt is generally considered taxable income in the year it’s discharged, Miryam Wisnicki, tax principal at CliftonLarsonAllen, told Fast Company. However, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily excluded certain types of student loan forgiveness from taxable income through December 31, 2025. This provision was enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and aimed to provide relief to borrowers.” But while student loan forgiveness remains tax-free through the end of 2025, it will be subject to income tax on the amount discharged starting at the beginning of 2026. Which student loan provisions will remain tax-free? The OBBBA did separately make some student-loan-related tax provisions permanent, according to Wisnicki: Loan discharge due to death or total disability will continue to be excluded from taxable income. Employer-provided student loan repayment assistanceup to $5,250 annuallywill remain tax-free under qualified educational assistance programs. This benefit, previously set to expire at the end of 2025, is now permanent and will be adjusted annually for inflation. New loan limits While undergraduate loan limits won’t change, they will for graduate students and parent borrowers, NPR reported. The new law puts a cap on unsubsidized student loans for graduate students at $20,500 per year and $100,000 for a lifetime (down from $138,500). It caps borrowing for professional degrees, for example in law or medicine, at $50,000 per year and $200,000 for a lifetime (up from $138,500). It limits federal student loan borrowing to a total of $257,500 for a lifetime (for both undergraduate and graduate studies). It also caps borrowing for parents through the federal Parent PLUS loan program at $20,000 per year per student and $65,000 for a lifetime, which, according to the SBPC, could force millions into a risky private market. The law eliminates the Graduate PLUS loan program for all new students on July 1, 2026, gutting a critical financial aid program that had previously allowed eligible graduate and professional students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance for their advanced degree. How will the new law affect repayment options? After July 1, 2026, borrowers with new loans will have only two repayment options: a new standard option and a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) option based on income. Current borrowers with loans taken out before July 1, 2026, will continue to have access to an Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan and can continue to enroll in or remain on an Income-Driven Repayment plan, but will need to switch to IBR or RAP by July 1, 2028. Current borrowers who take on any new loan after July 1, 2026, including a consolidation loan, will be eligible only for RAP or the new standard plan, per the SBPC. According to NPR, experts have said monthly RAP payments for many middle-income borrowers will be lower compared with earlier RAP plans, but not as low as they were on the previous Saving on a Valuable Education option. Meanwhile, the lowest-income borrowers will make a minimum monthly payment of $10, or $120 per year, instead of $0. “Congress eliminated the most generous repayment terms and replaced it with a new plan that will cost more money,” Pierce explained. “It is making sure that the lowest-income borrowers have to pay something.” There are still many ways to get your student debt canceled, Pierce said, but the canceled debt will be treated as taxable income: “For example, an average borrower who earns $50,000 a year would end up paying $2,200 more in taxes a year for every $10,000 that is canceled.”
Category:
E-Commerce
The clock has just struck midnight, and about 60 people are bustling around an empty taxiway at Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport (DFW). Architects, contractors, engineers, ground creweveryone has gathered for an unprecedented event. After years of planning and months of meticulous scheduling, six massive buildings are about to be wheeled into place near Terminal C. Yes, wheeled.DFW is the fourth-busiest airport in the world, and it’s currently undergoing a $9 billion project that includes an expansion of Terminals A and C, as well as a new Terminal F. To build out the airport without closing any gates or disrupting the flight schedule, HOK, the lead architecture firm behind the project, turned to an increasingly popular method of building: modular construction.Modular construction has long been a solution for schools and apartment complexes, but airports in cities such as Dallas; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; and Atlanta are now embracing it as a solution to quickly expand their square footage as a tourism boom pushes airports to their limit.Airports have high operational cost, and that is what modular construction offsets, says Richard Saunders, engineering practice leader for HOKs Atlanta studio. He estimates that the operational impacts are roughly cut in half.[Rendering: Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport]Designing for the future of tourismWhen the HOK-designed Dallas-Fort Worth airport opened in 1974, it was hailed as a modern marvel of airport architecture. HOKs director of engineering, Matt Breidenthal, says it even graced the cover of Life magazine that year. The original design, however, wasnt built for modern air travel, he says.Over the past 50 years, global tourism has surged drastically, jumping from 680 million tourists in 2000 to 1.4 billion in 2024. After a yearslong, pandemic-induced slump, the travel industry is expected to reach a new record high in 2025.DFW is responding to this demand by adding 115,000 square feet and four gates to Terminal C, plus 140,000 square feet and five gates to Terminal A. An all-new Terminal F, designed by HarrisonKornberg Architects and Luis Vidal + Architects (slated to open in 2027), will have 31 new gates. The Terminal C and A expansions are scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.[Photo: Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport]A decade ago, a major airport expansion project would have required closing runways, as traditional stick-built construction required erecting buildings directly on-site and turning operational gates into construction zones. But HOK suggested fabricating the structures at a nearby greenfield location, then transporting them into place overnight, during low-traffic hours. DFW was one of the first major airports to pioneer modular construction for terminal expansions back in 2022, when six prefabricated modules formed part of a new 80,000-square-foot concourse at Terminal C. The largest module then weighed 550 tons. This May, the airport set a new record, wheeling in modules twice as heavy.[Photo: Dallas Fort-Worth International Airport]For HOK, modular construction fits large-scale airports perfectly because it can offset steep operational costs. The architects also see potential in stadium renovationsespecially American football arenas, which have a limited amount of time to complete renovations in the off-season. Whatever the building type, says Saunders, it has to be the right size to make it worthwhile. If the building is 10,000 square feet, it doesnt make sense to build here then move it over there, because theres a cost to moving it. [Video: DFW/HOK]Moving a 1,200-ton buildingAt DFW, each move took place over six nights, spaced two nights apart to allow for contingencies. Each operation began around 9 p.m. and wrapped up by 3 or 4 a.m., just as runways reopened to daytime flights. HOK built the new modules just outside the airports security perimeter, which helped accelerate construction and inspection processes.Moving a 1,200-ton building across a taxiway was made possible by Mammoet, a specialist in heavy transport. In 1985, Mammoet invented the self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT), a platform on wheels that can carry enormous loads by driving underneath heavy modules, then lifting them using hydraulics.[Image: HOK]A spokesperson from Mammoet explained that while SPMTs arent new, the combination with its Mega Jack system is a recent innovation. The technology, which was first introduced in Atlanta, allows heavy modules to be lifted to nearly any height and directly onto foundationsrather than just a few feet off the ground. The DFW operation required an army of SPMTs, all coordinated by a single operator using a sophisticated remote control system that Brendeinthal jokingly called a glorified Game Boy.[Photo: courtesy Los Angeles World Airports]Once wheeled into position, the modules were parked adjacent to the terminal, where a precise operation aligned them perfectly before lowering them onto pre-built foundations. After all modules were in place, the team completed the structure by stitching them together with concrete.Mammoets self-propelled modular transporter moves a prefabricated section of a new terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport [Photo: Mammoet]The airport now faces the final tasks: installing baggage handling systems, mechanical units, and interior furnishings.[Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images]Future-proofing airportsAt DWF, speed and operational efficiency were key, but modular construction can also prove more sustainable. When architecture firm Woods Bagot started working on the new American Airlines terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, the goal was to prove that major public infrastructure could be delivered faster, and smarter. This meant designing a fully demountable terminal.The construction industry is responsible for approximately 39% of the worlds global greenhouse gas emissions, and more than a fourth of those come from embodied carbon emissions associated with the production of building materials and construction. If LAX ever needs to reconfigure its layout, it wouldnt need to demolish this terminal and build a new one from scratch. Instead, it could be relocated and repurposed as office space or community facilities.[Image: courtesy Woods Bagot]The LAX expansion involves the MSC South Concoursean eight-gate, two-story building. Woods Bagot used a system called off-site construction and relocation (OCR), which is akin to modular construction but with greater scope. Unlike at DFW, where windows and finishes were added post-installation, the LAX team built nearly the entire terminal off-site, including windows and mechanical systems. Only final finishes like terrazzo floors and wayfinding signs were installed on-site.This made some of the modules heavier than they would have been, but Matt Ducharme, Woods Bagot’s West Coast design leader, says the up-front investment helped avoid the kind of disruption that installing a gigantic windowpane would have caused. LAX is a 24/7 airport and none of the takeoffs or arrivals were disrupted at all, he says. The architects calculations showed that OCR helped cut construction time by six months and saved approximately $30 million compared to a traditional stick build.This technique also called for a rigorous design discipline, where every element had to be justified. One of the more joyful aspects of the project is the brise-soleil, Ducharme says. The shading feature blocks heat from the glass facade, actively cooling the building, but if it had been an architectural flourish, it wouldn’t have made the cut. As Ducharme puts it: Every piece of the building needs to be very hardworking.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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