Intro
Welcome to the Newsletter. Each week, Cameron Lee Cowan wraps up the headlines with commentary that will make you sound smart to your friends and family. Today we have some thoughts on Zohran Mamdani willing the NYC mayoral primary for the Democrats, the economy, and a quick Iran update.
The World is Hard, This is Not
Each week I send out the latest headlines, the latest videos from The Cameron Journal and commentary about the week’s events. If you’re new here, my name is Cameron Lee Cowan M.A. MFA, and I’m the Creative Director here at The Cameron Journal. You can learn more about me on the about page. I do research and commentary on politics, culture, and the world around us.
Remember, The World is Hard, This is Not.
Updates
And that’s that for June! It seems like we had just gotten into the month and pretty soon it was done. Weather has warmed up and we are now into summer. We are heading into the long Independence Day holiday weekend next weekend (the 4th conveniently falls on a Friday this year).
Programming note: There will be no newsletter next weekend because I know you all will be far too busy celebrating the holiday to read up on the headlines. So we’ll just catch up together on Monday during the Newshour!
As far as everything else goes, I’m in the editing phase right now with the next set of podcast interviews and they are truly amazing. Those will start rolling out on Monday! This week, I did the pilot of a new show called “The Living Joke” with a couple of friends of mine. We talked about gaming, dating, things we are playing, and just had lots of fun. The video is up now, and it streams on the same places as the Newshour. We are just trying it out, but look out for another episode this Wednesday at 4 pm Eastern. You can rewatch in Facebook, Youtube, and Twitch.
Let’s turn to the headlines!
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America’s Lost Generation
My next book is going to be out soon, and I’m taking new pre-orders now. America’s Lost Generation catalogs the story of Millennials and what went wrong for America’s largest and most educated generation. They did everything right, and they have been net losers in today’s America. So what happened? I discuss that and more in my new book.
The Latest
Don’t forget to join me on Monday for The Cameron Journal Newshour to catch on everything happening in the world!
Iran Update
Secretary Pete Hegseth went toe-to-toe with the media this week complaining about their lackluster coverage of the Iran strikes against the country’s nuclear capabilities. The targeted strikes used bunker buster bombs to collapse and destroy the facilities. Because they were underground, the satellite images don’t tell the whole story. However, I did look at the IAEA (UN atomic watchdog) and they reported extensive damage and some evidence of nuclear and chemical releases but nothing to worry about and nothing off of the sites. While reporting has varied on how extensive the strikes were and how effective they were in destroying the facilities, Hegseth reports that it was an astounding success and with the evidence from the AIEA, it appears that he may be right. I’m not quite sure what the mainstream media is playing at with this story but his criticism, at least this time, is valid.
President Trump has offered Iran a new deal that would end the war (which is currently in a rocky ceasefire) and give them $6 billion in returned funds, a new nuclear site, and $30 billion in aid for electricity (paid for by Arabian Gulf allies).
The Economy: Struggling but OK?
On Friday, President Trump announced an end to trade talks with Canada “immediately.” Canada announced a new plan to tax digital services which would affect U.S. Tech giants directly. And at the same time, we got new data on GDP, which is set to shrink this year by half a percentage point, and we found out that consumer spending is down slightly. We also found out that the job market is in an interesting place where people are finding jobs, but it is taking longer to find jobs, leading to more jobless claims for longer.
This data reflects what I’ve been seeing and reading around the internet and in the trades. There was a certain euphoria around the tariffs coming in that saw consumer spending tick upwards and overall trade expand. However, all of those numbers are pulling back now and while the economy is not entirely faltering, there is a certain softness out there that people are definitely seeing and feeling. I have been interested in the frustrations people are having finding jobs which now means navigating AI interview systems and review systems, as well as, high competition for every position.
The numbers and the vibe of the economy have not been in sync for a few years now. In 2023, we had the “vibe cession,” and it appears that we are heading into another vibe cession. No matter how good the numbers are, the economy does not feel good to the majority of people. Prices have risen, the cost of living is up, and while we have had wage growth, it’s not keeping up. I can throw a bunch of numbers out there, but the reality is that Americans are feeling poorer these days, and with a longer time to find a job, that’s going to give workers a sense of precariousness. Combine that with the changes coming from AI, and it is going to be hard for anyone to say that the economy is too great.
I will be interested to see what happens by the end of the July as the stocks from before the tariffs were in place will run out and the taxed goods start hitting the shelves. Anything from China will be taxes at 55% and everything else will be taxes anywhere from 10-25%. By the end of July we will start to see how this affects the economy as prices rise further.
Birthright Citizenship?
It’s June so, you know it means that it is Supreme Court decision season! On Friday, SCOTUS solved many of the Trump administration’s legal troubles by restricting how rulings in Federal Court are enforced. The ruling made it so a single Federal judge could not stop a law or policy nationwide. The nationwide injunction has been controversial, and it has been used for decades to stop previous administrations in their tracks from both parties. Justice Sotomayor, in her dissent, said the ruling was “a travesty for the rule of law.”
However, although the ruling stemmed from a Trump executive order ending Birthright citizenship, they did not rule on the constitutionality of birthright citizenship or whether it was constitutional to end it by executive order. That being said, they are allowing him to end birthright citizenship in some parts of the country where states have allowed it. In a 6-3 decision with the majority opinion written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Practically, this means that for children born to non-citizens in certain parts of the country, they will no longer automatically become citizens for being born within the borders of the United States. For the Trump administration, you win some and you don’t get an answer on others. The law oracle does not speak for everybody.
Mamdani and the Threat of Socialism
It is always a struggle when local races get national attention, but the mayor of America’s largest city always tends to attract a lot of attention, and nowhere is this more clear than in the current Democratic primary between Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo. This week, Mamdani handily beat the former New York state governor by 9 points to win the primary and move on to the general election. Mamdani has come under fire from republicans and other democrats for his progressive policy solutions that align more with the Sanders/AOC wing of the party than with the Harris/Biden/Obama side of the party. Among those policies, he advocates for city-owned grocery stores, a $30 minimum wage, permitting reform for food trucks and other street-side businesses, zoning reform, free buses, no-cost childcare, and expressly raising taxes on wealthier and “whiter” neighborhoods to pay for it all.
Obviously, we know that there has been a huge debate within the Democratic party about the future of the party and how progressive the party should be, especially on economic issues. Mamdani has put a stake in the sand with his bold approach. If the party doesn’t get behind it, what does that say for the future of the party? It often seems like the DNC can’t beat back the donor and consultant classes long enough to let anyone take a bold move. Progressives in the party want to be more aggressive and more progressive and offer the American people a different vision for life in America. The older and more establishment-tied parts of the party are resisting this idea, and that has been evident for years. Anything truly progressive gets watered down, leaving the Democrats to come off as “republican-lite,” at least if you talk to the progressive wing. That’s one part of the problem. The other part of the problem has to do with how we think about government programs.
Mamdani represents a politician who doesn’t hate poor people. If you actually clicked on that link, you’ll know it goes to a quoted tweet about the “lack of frugality by poor people.” The top tweet is important, as many government programs do not reward saving money; they support spending money and keep bank balances and assets low. Government programs are excellent at keeping people broke so that they can continue to qualify for them. That sounds bad, right? So you might be wondering, “Doesn’t that mean more social programs will make and keep people poorer? Why would you advocate for them?” And the answer to that is quite simple: it doesn’t have to be that way (structural issue), and not all programs will end up doing that.
Take fully-funded childcare, as an example, the people who are most incentivized to use that are those people who have a job or are looking to get one but need reliable childcare so they can keep the job. As long as there is no insane income requirement or there is reasonable and affordable way to manage moving someone off of the program (or just not ending it at all) then that program will not keep someone poor. The same system can be used for other things like housing. The government grocery stores will keep no one poor. Anyone can shop there. And this illustrates something very important about Mamdani, the progressive-wing of the Democrats, and progressive economics. It’s all how we think about it.
In the past, socialism, as a concept, was tied to some of the most regressive and dangerous regimes on the planet. Socialism was a byword for famine, disease, and disaster. From the Soviet Union to Cuba and Cambodia, everywhere socialism went, things fell apart. However, by the 1990s, socialism began to change. European countries were also socialist but democratic ,and their citizens were happier, healthier, and still part of the “Free World.” Thanks to the internet, younger people have been exposed to European-style socialism, which includes free college, subsidized food, free childcare, and mass transportation, all without the famine and disaster. For anyone under 40, socialism means “Norway,” not “Cuba.” It is no surprise that Mamdani did well with younger New Yorkers. He also did well with wealthy, white neighborhoods whom he wants to tax. Socialism does not need to mean starvation and stagnation. It can also mean creating a thriving society for people and using our collective resources that we create through taxation to build a society that is good for everyone and not just the few. Now I will say that I know that it is too easy for these programs to become boondoggles. The Right-Wing media machine will fall all over itself to point out the issues and problems. I would reply that it is a cause to work harder on getting it right rather than never doing it at all. I still advocate for strong social programs for the simple reason that I want to live in a society where society thrives through well-supported individuals. That’s the heart of my new political theory: Individual Collectivism (more coming soon).
Interesting Video of the Week
The Eiffel Tower is in danger….of rust. In this video from B1M, we learn about the extensive restoration project going on to preserve the iron structure and allow it to continue to stand along the Seine in Paris. It is a big time for Paris’ monuments right now. With Notre Dame being freshly restored after a devastating fire, it appears that Paris’ most iconic landmark needs a fresh coat of paint, some new elevators, and a little foundation work!
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