TIA’s report includes $51.6 trillion for Medicare and $67.1 trillion for Social Security for benefits that have been promised to recipients down the road but are not considered in the ordinary national debt conversation.

"These numbers come from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports, which include calculations of the present value of projected benefits over the next 75 years, offset by the dedicated receipts expected over that period," TIA Founder and CEO Sheila Weinberg told The Center Square. "Our calculations focus only on current participants – we do not include receipts or benefits from future participants."

Yet there is a broader point, too: The whole “firewall” strategy is malfunctioning extremely badly. Sensible observers have long predicted it, and now it is becoming ever more obvious: Freezing the AfD out only serves to make it stronger.

One thing that does not make Berlin’s ruling parties, the CDU and SPD, any more popular is that they have concluded their negotiations on how to divvy up the spoils of ministries and other goodies. Indeed, it is extremely embarrassing for the new governing coalition of conservatives and Social-Democrats (SPD) that the most recent AfD milestone breakthrough is happening now. It is a coincidence from hell: there they are, the traditional parties, seemingly safe behind their “firewall” and all ready to go, and the voters – uncouth as they can be – show them just how unpopular they are.

Germans expect little from them, even now: A fresh poll shows that two thirds do not believe that things will change under the new coalition of tired old parties. “What a scandal! Opening the gates to the far right!” many will scream. Yet they have it all upside down: Disregarding the fact that, in reality, the CDU/CSU conservatives and the AfD mostly see eye-to-eye ideologically, one day, in the not so far away future, the AfD may well enter and perhaps even dominate a German government. The irony is that when that happens, those who have upheld the, frankly, moronic “firewall” will have only themselves to blame. Because the real question is not if the AfD will enter government in Berlin but how and, in particular, how strong. The longer the “firewall” is kept up, the more likely the AfD will not just participate but dominate.

“It can no longer be a six-digit figure – towns, communities, schools, hospitals and infrastructure are overwhelmed.” The number of asylum seekers entering Germany has already fallen by 30 per cent, according to government statistics for 2024. But Mr Merz is under intense pressure to adopt a tougher stance on mass migration after the far-Right anti-migrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) came second in February’s elections. Tensions over migration also rose following a series of terror attacks committed by asylum seekers and other migrants in the run-up to the elections.

In a post on X on Monday, Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, suggested that Merz was following in the footsteps of his Nazi father. “Chancellor candidate Fritz Merz is haunted by the memory of his father, who served in Hitler’s Wehrmacht. Now Merz has suggested a strike on the Crimean Bridge. Think twice, Nazi,” Medvedev wrote.

According to media reports, Merz’s father Joachim was conscripted into the Wehrmacht - the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany - around 1941. His grandfather, Josef Paul Sauvigny, had also been a member of the Nazi party since 1933.

Unlike EU countries and the UK, “the Trump administration is trying to get to the bottom of the issue and, most importantly, understand the root cause” of the Ukraine conflict, Lavrov told Kommersant in an interview published on Monday. Trump initiated direct talks with Russia in February, stressing the need to broker a ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev as soon as possible. His envoy, Steve Witkoff, met with President Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on Friday, marking their third meeting this year.

It turns out that the Paris Climate Accords led to unilateral economic disarmament in the West, especially in Britain; that China has proved to be a malevolent force and is now eating our lunch; that the overly draconian Covid lockdowns were a mistake; that the “swamp” or “deep state” – call it what you will – is a real threat and was subverting democracy; and that mass migration has been an economic and cultural disaster.

Trump is right that towns and cities have been hollowed out, on both sides of the Atlantic: places like Ohio and Scunthorpe have suffered, with closed industries leaving dilapidated town centres and a trail of social and drug problems in their wake.

This is not a new challenge. I spent my primary school years in the 1980s in Paisley. Its disused cotton mills pointed to the town’s better days. But it has become all encompassing. It’s actually worse here than in America – with sky-high energy prices and a refusal to permit fracking making it hard for the remaining British manufacturers to survive.

This was demonstrated by Saturday’s dash by MPs to Parliament to back what was tantamount to steel nationalisation – engendered by China and net zero, for which MPs had enthusiastically legislated. As they congratulated themselves for turning up to work on a weekend, few of them seemed prepared to do any deep thinking about why we were in this mess in the first place.

Food is one of the biggest industries in America. According to a report from CBS News Health Watch, it’s estimated that Americans spend a total of $1.7 trillion every year on food and beverages. However, there’s a big issue lurking underneath that most people don’t know. “American food companies keep secret much of what they put in their products,” the report indicated.

For decades, food companies have taken advantage of a regulatory loophole known as the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) rule, which allows manufacturers to determine the safety of their own additives without requiring FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) approval. This means that companies will be able to introduce new chemicals into the food supply without notifying regulators or conducting long-term studies on their effects.

The result is a system where profit-driven decisions affect public health, and leaving consumers exposed to substances that will undoubtedly harm their bodies over time.

It was revealed last week that British warships now being built are expected to contain large amounts of steel made by France, Germany, Belgium, Sweden and Spain. If such countries can maintain modern steel industries, why can’t we? I’d say for two main reasons. The first is we fell idiotically for the promises of globalism. This preaches that it doesn’t matter if you ditch proper industry.

The other is we bowed down before the new religion of Warmism. We let a dodgy set of beliefs about global warming rush us into a series of rash choices which we will have centuries to regret. A real steel industry without coal is pretty much impossible. How China must laugh at us, as it runs a mighty industrial revolution on its huge coal stocks and builds two new coal-fired power stations almost weekly, as we blow ours up.

The extraordinary Saturday sitting to save British Steel's Scunthorpe plant from closing required the new law to clear both houses unopposed and receive royal approval before nightfall, in order to empower Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to assume command before the furnaces were extinguished.

It came amid dramatic scenes as, just hours before the legislation passed, executives from Chinese owners Jingye attempted to enter the plant but were blocked by British Steel workers until police arrived and forced them to leave. While the new law stopped short of nationalisation, Mr Reynolds said full state ownership 'remains on the table' and may be the 'likely option' for British Steel. He accused the company of failing to negotiate 'in good faith' after it decided to stop buying enough raw materials to keep the blast furnaces going.

The situation reached a crisis point this weekend, with the steelworks just days from closure. Sir Keir Starmer decided the Government had to step in because once the blast furnaces are turned off it is hugely expensive to switch them back on again. This became a matter of national security – the plant's closure would have left the UK as the only member of the G7 group of leading economies unable to make virgin steel.

Liu, 48, had imbibed the words of Xi Jinping, China’s new emperor. “As President Xi said, we don’t provoke trouble, but we’re not afraid of it,” he said. “I think China’s tough stance this time is absolutely necessary — it boosts morale. "

Beijing woke up on Thursday to the news that while most tariffs had been paused, China still faced a tax of well over 100 per cent, enough to end most trade. The question is whether either country can survive without each other and, if so, which.

But here’s the kicker: tariffs are not always fully passed on to the consumer. Importers and retailers know they can’t raise prices beyond what the market will bear. Sometimes they absorb part of the cost, cut expenses, renegotiate contracts, or shift to different suppliers. The market reacts; it doesn’t just lie down and take it.

Still not convinced? Look at the real-world data. The National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed the 2018–2019 US tariffs on Chinese goods. They found that for every 10% tariff, retail prices rose 1–2%.

“We have stuff that you haven’t even seen or heard about. We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before. There’s nobody — what we have is incredible.” Woodward later wrote that anonymous sources confirmed the existence of a classified weapons system.

With these revelations, Trump reaffirmed that under his command, the United States is not just back — it’s armed with weapons the world has never imagined and led by a president who refuses to bow.

Shortly after the banner was revealed, a giant devilish-looking creature emerged from the pentagram, meant to symbolize Satan’s summoning. While the devil-like figure was emerging, a second banner was unveiled, again in Latin, stating: “Ad Lucem Nos Trahe, Orbem Mundi Regna, Surge ex Flammis et Appare.” (“Draw us to the light, rule over the world, rise from the flames and appear.”) The team of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, nicknamed the “red devils,” won the match against Fortuna Düsseldorf with 3 goals to 1.

Catholic philosopher Sebastian Ostritsch commented on the demonic display in an article for Die Tagespost, warning that Satan is our “adversary par excellence.” "For most people, the devil is about as real as Rumpelstiltskin or Harry Potter. The devil is merely a metaphor for dangerous and wild soccer and goes particularly well with the club’s red home shirts.” Citing Ephesians 6 about putting on the whole armor of God, Ostritsch warned that “anyone who does not believe in the existence of the enemy is defenseless against him. Anyone who then – metaphorically speaking – invites him in with the door open should not be surprised when he actually comes in. The devil’s best trick is to make people believe he doesn’t exist."