Who Wins, Who Pays follows the money.
Laurel Fitzhugh
Foxconn: Building the Deal
From “Eighth Wonder” to AI Megasite
In July 2017, the Trump White House staged a celebration announcing that Foxconn would build a $10 billion LCD manufacturing complex in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, promising up to 13,000 jobs and hailing it as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.”1
State and local governments lined up nearly $3 billion in state tax credits and hundreds of millions more in local subsidies and infrastructure to make it happen.2
The site looks very different today.
The Great Swap: Will Trump’s Impossible $2,000 Promise Alter Perception?
Trump’s November 2025 promise of a $2,000 “tariff dividend” was never economic policy—it was theater. Announced amid election losses and a record government shutdown, the proposal was mathematically impossible and politically strategic. It exemplifies a governing pattern built on distraction: staged crises and headline spectacle that hide an ongoing transfer of wealth from the public to the powerful.
The Buffalo Billion Boondoggle
Buffalo’s $959 Million Solar Factory: A Case Study in Wealth Extraction
Introduction
New York State poured $959 million into a solar-panel manufacturing plant in Buffalo, promoted as the cornerstone of the state’s Buffalo Billion and a model for high-tech economic renewal. The project was meant to create thousands of advanced-manufacturing jobs, attract new industry to western New York, and demonstrate how public investment could drive a clean-energy future.
Katie Hobbs and the Fight to Keep Arizona a Democracy
Arizona stands at a political crossroads. In 2026, voters will decide whether to preserve a balanced state government or hand unchecked power to a single party. Governor Katie Hobbs, the incumbent Democrat, is the last structural counterweight in a system where Republicans already dominate both chambers of the legislature and most statewide offices. Her veto pen has become the only thing preventing Arizona from sliding into one-party rule: a condition that would make state government functionally indistinguishable from those that have been remade under Trump-aligned control elsewhere.
This is a struggle over the survival of Arizona’s democratic architecture—the citizen-led systems that were designed to protect voters from partisan overreach. It is about preserving democracy in Arizona.
Contents: The Long Project of Consolidation → Redistricting Reforms → Citizen-Initiated Democracy → Hobbs’ Record → The Money Behind the Push → It Matters
DGL Licorice: Strengthening the Gut’s Natural Defense
Many people reach for acid-reducing drugs when heartburn or reflux appears, assuming the problem is too much stomach acid. In reality, excess acid is rarely the root cause. Most reflux and gastritis symptoms begin when the protective mucosal lining of the stomach or esophagus becomes thin, inflamed, or slow to repair.
Acid itself is essential for digestion and defense—it breaks down proteins, absorbs nutrients, and prevents infection. The real issue is often a weakened barrier that allows normal acid levels to irritate exposed tissue.
Deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) supports this barrier. Instead of suppressing acid, it strengthens the mucous layer and promotes healing of the digestive lining. For many people, this makes it a logical alternative or companion approach to acid-blocking medications.
Avocado Seed Extracts: Research Summary
A 2022 ScienceDirect review highlights the powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds in avocado seeds, noting that human safety studies are still lacking.
Comprehensive Tincture ABV Reference – pdf
The comprehensive tincture ABV reference is available as a downloadable PDF for offline use. This 22-page document contains alcohol percentages and extraction ratios for 300+ herbs. For the searchable online version, see [Herbal Tincture ABV Reference Guide](https://dittany.com/abv_reference/) [{.alignnone}](/wp-content/uploads/Herbal_Tincture_ABV_Reference.pdf)
Herbal Tincture ABV Reference Guide
Comprehensive searchable database of 300+ herbs with alcohol percentages, ratios, and extraction methods for tincture-making. Find specific parameters for fresh and dried preparations from trusted herbalist sources.
Social Security Privatization: The Ultimate Prize
“In a way, it is a backdoor for privatizing Social Security.”
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, July 2025
Bessent’s admission came during a policy panel on the Trump administration’s new “savings accounts for children.” Stripped of euphemism, this is about privatizing Social Security—the bedrock retirement program serving nearly 70 million Americans. The implications are staggering.