We were hoping for the summer of love, or at the very least, the summer of ice cream and going to the beach, but alas, @damemagazine tells us, it’s the summer of stagflation. Kaz Weida explains the difference between this and a common-or-garden recession, the signs that indicate the U.S. is going in that direction, and lessons from the past about how to survive the squeeze.

https://www.damemagazine.com/2025/05/20/the-summer-of-stagflation-is-here/

#Trump said he wants to charge higher import #taxes on goods from the #EU, a long-standing US #ally, than from #China, a geopolitical rival that had its #tariffs cut to 30% this month so Washington & Beijing could hold negotiations. Trump was upset by the lack of progress in trade talks with the EU, which has proposed mutually cutting tariffs to zero even as Trump has publicly insisted on preserving a baseline 10% tax on most imports.

…… big companies have been warning recently they’re uncertain about the future. #Walmart, for example, has said it will likely have to raise prices because of #tariffs. That caused #Trump over the weekend to criticize Walmart & demand it & #China “eat the tariffs.”

Walmart #stock fell 1.2% Monday.

Other big #retailers are on the schedule to report their latest quarterly results this upcoming week, including #Target, #HomeDepot, #Lowes & TJX Cos.

The #credit downgrade also adds to a long list of concerns that have already weighed on the #market. Chief among them is #Trump’s trade war, which has already forced investors globally to question whether the #US #bond market & the #USdollar still deserve their reputations as some of the safest places to park cash during a #crisis.

The #US & #China paused most #tariffs for 90 days & sent markets into temporary & misguided euphoria on Monday, after last week's announced #trade deal w/ the #UK.

China’s state-backed Global Times said Friday the 90-day US tariff truce is too short & should be extended. Analysts say China seeks flexibility, as tariffs may return after the truce.

*Talks* continue in #SouthKorea, but #Trump's tariffs are likely to stay high beyond the 90-day pause.

“I think we’re going to be very fair. But it’s not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us,” #Trump said during a meeting w/ business executives in the UAE.

Trump said #Treasury Secy #ScottBessent & #Commerce Secy #HowardLutnick “will be sending letters out essentially telling people” what “they’ll be paying to do business in the United States.”

"It's going to be a patchwork of trying to fill in those gaps," Koskenoja said. "But we lost a very functional system for delivering this #care to patients. And now, we're just having to make it up as we go."

"We know that #telehealth cannot bridge every gap; however, the majority of the services #PPMI provides will remain available via the Virtual Health Center & PP Direct, including #MedicationAbortion, #birthcontrol, #HIV services, #UTI treatment, emergency #contraception, #gender-affirming care, & yeast infection treatment. Learn more at ppmi.org/telehealth."

Suddenly, new #online providers entered the field, advertising virtual consultations & pills shipped directly to your home. And plenty of #patients who still have #access to a brick-&-mortar clinic prefer that option. "Put more simply, it’s gotta change their [#PlannedParenthood] business model," she said.

While the current #TitleX freeze doesn't yet include #PlannedParenthood of #Michigan, #PPMI's chief advocacy officer, Ashlea Phenicie, said it would amount to a loss of about $5.4 million annually, or 16% of its budget.

PPMI didn't shut down any clinics the last time the #Trump admin froze its Title X #funding. …because the funding was stopped for only about 2 years, 2019–2021, when #Biden restored it.

#PlannedParenthood Association of #Utah, where courts have blocked a near-total #abortion ban and where abortion is currently legal until 18 weeks of pregnancy, announced it will close 2 centers in May.

This spring, the #Trump admin began temporarily freezing funds to many clinics, including all #TitleX providers in #California, #Hawaii, #Maine, #Mississippi, #Missouri, #Montana & Utah, according to a KFF analysis.

#PlannedParenthood of #Illinois (a state that has become a post #RoeVWade #abortion destination) shuttered 4 clinics in March, pointing to a "#financial shortfall."

Planned Parenthood of Greater #NewYork is now selling its only #Manhattan clinic, after closing 4 clinics elsewhere in the state last summer due to "compounding financial & #political challenges."

Clinics are also bracing for the #Trump admin to again exclude them from #TitleX, the federal #funding for low- & no-cost #FamilyPlanning services, as the previous Trump admin did in 2019.

#PlannedParenthood of #Michigan (#PPMI) says the cuts are painful but necessary for the organization's long-term sustainability.

If a clinic could survive the fall of #RoeVWade, "you would think that resilience could carry you forward," said Brittany Fonteno, president & CEO of the National #Abortion Federation.

But #clinic operators say they face new #financial strain, including rising #costs, limited reimbursement rates & growing demand for #telehealth services.

"It's gotten more #expensive to provide #care, it's gotten more #dangerous to provide care, & it's just gotten, frankly, harder to provide care, when you're expected to be in the clinic & then on the statehouse steps, & also speaking to your representatives & trying to find somebody who will fix your roof or paint your walls who's not going to insert their opinion about #health care rights."

Experts say the closures indicate that #financial & operational challenges, rather than future #legal bans, may be the biggest threats to #abortion access in states whose #laws still protect it.

"These states that we have touted as being really the best kind of versions of our vision for #ReproductiveJustice, they too struggle w/problems," said Erin Grant, a co-exec dir of the #AbortionCare Network, a national membership org for independent clinics.