David Ditch

Policy analyst covering the federal fisc. Free agent. Fan of struggling causes (limited government & Buffalo Bills).

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

The federal government cracked $38 trillion in gross debt yesterday. We're well on the road to $40 trillion - and some in Congress want us to get there faster.

My rundown of bad policies on the horizon:
https://t.co/uhya3Oavo3

[National Debt Tweets @NationalDebt]

$38,019,813,354,700.26 (+) #NationalDebt

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

@marcjoffe Nothing fuels election conspiracies better than protracted, opaque vote counting in a de facto one-party state.

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

@EsotericCD “Here’s your crown, king!”

*drill powers up*

[Brian Blase @brian_blase]

1. $0 premium plans remain prevalent, although roughly 3 million fewer people have access to them than last year.
2. A federal judge blocked important Trump administration reforms in 2025 aimed at reducing improper enrollment, including stronger income verification and a $5 premium requirement for inactive, automatically reenrolled enrollees.
3. Congress eliminated the 100–150% FPL Special Enrollment Period, which was subject to widespread abuse. The Trump administration has also finalized additional program integrity reforms in the most recent Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters.
4. The One Big Beautiful Bill requires full repayment of excess subsidies for people who underestimate income to claim larger subsidies than they are eligible for—or whose brokers did so on their behalf.
5. The administration has already removed an estimated 1–2 million people who were simultaneously enrolled in Medicaid and an exchange plan or who failed, as required by law, to file tax returns reconciling advance premium tax credits.

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

It was wildly inappropriate for the federal government to provide seed money (and implicit endorsement) to a radical activist group like SOGIE. Funding for leftist vanguards was common under Biden and received ~0 pushback from federal agencies.

This should never happen again.

[Meg Brock @MegEBrock]

A $20 million grant from the Department of Health and Human Services created the Child Welfare Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression Institute (SOGIE) in August 2024. SOGIE was on track to employ a 40-person team to push transgenderism on child welfare agencies.

[The Daily Economy @thedailyeconomy]

James Buchanan’s Public Choice framework helps explain why political conflict intensifies and rhetoric becomes more divisive as government power grows.

cc: @thomas_savidge & Ryan Yonk
https://t.co/fhjO3QW69K

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

NY is Cooked Megathread: NY state legislature referring to mothers as “gestating parents” in 2026.
(36/♾️)
https://t.co/rumvnIlhuQ

[Bill Hammond @NYHammond]

Holy Gestating Parent of God, this is ridiculous

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

New York State/City being absolutely cooked deserves an ongoing MEGATHREAD because it is only going to get worse. Starting with this bonkers stat on NY's homeless industrial complex, which is apparently trying to compete with California's.

(1/♾)

[Mike Bird @Birdyword]

Absolutely astounding figures from the NY state comptroller: spending on services for the NYC street homeless population ran to $81,705 per person last year, up from $28,428 pp 6yrs ago. Figures do not include all kinds of other spending, supportive housing, policing costs etc.

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

NY is Cooked Megathread: NY's Medicaid spending up 16% in one year despite stagnant population and already high per capita spending. Beyond unsustainable.
(35/♾)
https://t.co/Dcp7ThRtbt

[Bill Hammond @NYHammond]

This is the largest such increase in 15 years - with no obvious justification.

Back then NY was emerging from a recession, Medicaid enrollment was up & a temporary boost in federal aid was expiring.

Now, the economy is growing, enrollment is dropping and federal aid is rising.

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

While I’m sad that EPIC is gone, the spirit of EPIC lives on in important places. Literally can’t think of anyone better for the job than Paul!

[Dominic Pino @DominicJPino]

Awesome to see @paulwinfree is advising Kevin Warsh as he takes over at the Fed.

Another positive sign that Warsh is taking the job seriously and hiring smart, independent-minded people (and a GMU econ grad).
https://t.co/PrQGhPjYrB

[Brian Blase @brian_blase]

BREAKING: @Paragon_Inst's new report, The Persistent Obamacare Enrollment Fraud.

1) 6.2 million improper enrollees in 2026
2) 27% of enrollees are improper
3) Massive & suspicious switch from silver plans to bronze plans among lowest-income enrollees

https://t.co/CvboMYKjvf

[Russ Greene @GreenPlusAnE]

Democratic political operatives:
Don't blame our climate policies for driving up your energy costs. We care about affordability now.

Environmentalists:
Of course our climate policies are driving up your energy costs. That's how it's supposed to work!

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

@ismurray Tories still digging their own grave.

[John Arnold @johnarnold]

"When the government supplies public services, its goal should be to supply those public services as efficiently as possible—not run a tax-and-transfer system to aid the relatively small number of people lucky enough to be union members."
https://t.co/S2nKUyvdYP

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

@GreenPlusAnE Please don't let everything become slush funds for leftism the way so much 20th century philanthropy devolved into 🙏

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

@DanielDayJewish @GreenPlusAnE @AlanMCole

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

@AlanMCole @GreenPlusAnE Need someone to create the Boomer version of this.

-House Hoarding
-Worship of the Written Entitlement Program
-Fear of Openly Discussing Medicare
-Progress is Bigger Tax Exclusions for Retirees

[Grover Norquist @GroverNorquist]

Truly stupid and destructive ideas can only be imposed at the national level. If you impose a bad idea in one state its failure is too easy to see. Good ideas move forward state by state strengthened by the success they demonstrate: home schooling, flat rate income taxes rather than graduated/progressive tax rates, zero rate state taxes (see TX,FL,TN etc)concealed carry, tort reform, right to work.

Below the example of Vermont and single payer. Mass did something similar and buried in the backyard at night.

[Mary Katharine Ham @mkhammer]

NPS has longstanding backlog of “deferred maintenance.” The go-to answer is they’re underfunded, but Great Outdoors Act 2020 gave $10 billion over 5 years for deferred maintenance and the backlog went UP NOT DOWN in those years. Levin sponsored it but is now mad maintenance is happening instead of deferment instead of being mad these projects don’t get done when funded.

[City Journal @CityJournal]

Your tax dollars at work: States laundered $145 BILLION this year alone using a Medicaid loophole to skirt congressional approval.

A 2021 federal investigation found that only 8 states provided complete & accurate data on the utilization of medical services.

This is a scandal.

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

@KurtCouchman

[David Ditch @DavidADitch]

Everyone wants to avoid it but spending restraint is the only answer. Even dramatic tax hikes would badly fail to keep up with spending growth, let alone generate the kind of deficit reduction we need.

[Will McBride @EconoWill]

New piece out today summarizing the current fiscal situation in the US (not good) and the potential solutions. Directionally, tax reform and AI can help, but ultimately spending growth must be brought under control.