A Whale of A Bill

Plus—Millionaires fleeing the UK, Thailand is burning through Prime Ministers, another day and no Epstein files & who is more informed: active or passive news consumers?

Jul 01, 2025

Thar she blows on the Big Beautiful Bill. Seriously, to get Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski’s vote, they inserted a tax break for whaling boat captains. There was a marathon session of voting, cajoling, imploring, wheedling, needling and budgetary non-heeding. One anonymous House Republican said, “How did it get so much f‑‑‑ing worse?”, which the Senate took as a challenge. And now, we finally have a big, beautiful bundle of bill. Among those who voted against the bill were all 47 Democrats and Republican Senators Rand Paul, Thom Tillis and Susan Collins, who either cited that it would add trillions to the national deficit or that Medicaid cuts were too deep. Vice President J.D. Vance was the tiebreaker.

There are a few things you should know about this bill:

National Debt: It raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion and will likely add another $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade.
Creative Accounting: The GOP used the controversial “current policy baseline” trick—which assumes that expiring policies like Trump’s 2017 tax cuts will be extended permanently—to mask $3.8 trillion in tax-cut costs.
Your Pocketbook: As I mentioned on Twitter a few days ago, the wealthiest 10% of Americans would see a $12,000 increase in their resources, while the bill would cost the poorest people $1,600 yearly. While well-off people will certainly enjoy having an extra $12,000, the poorest 10% being further immiserated to the tune of $1,600 is an enormous burden.

Do they make 0% APR balance transfer cards for countries? Because if so, we will want to make good use of that.

Welcome to the Gist List—a nautical news roundup, things you should know, and my thoughts leading up to today’s podcast episode.

Here’s what’s on my mind:

🤐 Yet another delay for the release of the Epstein Files.

🤑 Millionaires hate the UK and are moving abroad.

☎️ Thai Prime Minister suspended after leaked phone call with Cambodian leader.

📰 Who is more informed: active or passive news consumers?

🧑‍🎓 The future of the international student loan business. (🔒)

The Gist List

Mystery Surrounds The Jeffrey Epstein Files After Bondi Claims 'Tens of Thousands' Of Videos (AP)

Attorney General Pam Bondi is under pressure after she claimed that the FBI was reviewing "tens of thousands of videos" of Jeffrey Epstein involving child pornography. Despite the hype and claims that the “client list” was sitting on her desk, nothing that we don’t already know has been released. Even the distribution of binders full of documents labeled "declassified"—already in the public domain—to right-wing influencers hasn't silenced murmurs.

I want to know two things. First, why are people so obsessed with this case, and why is this turning into the schizophrenification of America? Yes, Epstein was a bad guy who did some terrible things and died under suspicious circumstances, but I can’t imagine giving this story more mental space than that. Secondly, are the people obsessed with this case also obsessed with certain kinds of lasers emitted from space? Do they have strong feelings about Austria’s annexation in WWII? Would they be as fixated on this story if instead of Jeffrey Epstein, his name were Jeff Williams or Roderick Willingham III?

A Record Number of Millionaires Are Upping Sticks This Year (Sherwood)

The global number of millionaires is rising to nearly 60 million, and with that much money, they are realizing they can live wherever they want—and for British millionaires, anywhere equals anywhere but England. Millionaires are Brexiting like flies around a jam jar. These millionaires—and because it IS the UK, their million is our $1.37 million—are reacting to national economic uncertainty and tax policy shifts to the tune of 28,800 millionaires having left since 2016, and with them ~$92 billion in lost assets and 28,000 strong opinions on The Eastenders.

Where are they headed? The U.S. and the U.A.E. are the big winners in this exodus of the extremely wealthy due to golden visas, welcoming tax laws and better TV shows.

Thai Prime Minister Suspended Over Leaked Phone Call (BBC)

Thailand’s Constitutional Court has suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra over a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen, calling him “uncle.” In the call, they discussed border tensions, and she offered to “arrange anything” and criticized a Thai military leader.

Sen isn’t really her uncle, but he did have a close relationship with her father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who was also the Prime Minister of Thailand until it suddenly fell apart. She apologized, but defended the call as a negotiation strategy for the country’s border issues. She may become the third Shinawatra to be ousted from power, following her father and aunt, which brings me to the wholly uninformed suggestion that the Thai people reconsider electing so many Shinawatras.

41% of Passive News Consumers Rely on Social Media for Politics (Navigator)

Navigator did an interesting piece on active vs. passive news consumers recently. The world has two kinds of people: those who seek out the news, and those who say the news comes to them. Which ones are Gist List readers, I wonder? There’s only one sure way to have your voice be counted:

It turns out that active consumers watch broadcast television, read papers and use news apps, while the passive consumers rely on social media, friends and family to keep them in the loop. Passive consumers skew younger, are less politically engaged, and are more likely to be women or independents.

But which one is more informed? Well, in a world where everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket, no one can be characterized as being “uninformed,” although active consumers are more up to date on political structures and debates. Passive consumers also know what is going on, but their views are less grounded in the full context of the issue.

And which side of the political spectrum do they fall? If you’re a passive consumer, you’re more likely to be independent/moderate, but active consumers tend to be more ideological, but are polarized on both the left and right.

Lenders Find a Fast-Growing Market in Foreign Grad Students (Bloomberg) 🔒

Despite the ongoing threats to student visas, student lenders have found international students to be a great investment. Lenders like MPower and Prodigy Finance (I love their Smack My Bitch Up Capital Access Platform) can provide financing based on the student’s academic and job potential rather than traditional factors like credit scores. The loans carry higher interest rates, like 14-15%, but are usually cheaper than local options in countries like Brazil or Nigeria. In fact, Africa is seeing a huge boost from these loans, with 50% going to students from just four African nations.

Obviously, schools and lenders are facing some fickle political headwinds. President Trump’s travel ban might expand to include countries like Ghana and Nigeria, and all the loan recipients might get deported if they submit slightly edgier-than-porridge Op-Eds to the student newspaper.

Yesterday on The Show: When Great Artists Make Terrible Choices

Daniel Kehlmann joins to discuss The Director, his novel reimagining the life of G.W. Pabst—a brilliant German filmmaker who escaped the Nazis, only to voluntarily return. Kehlmann grapples with how much human suffering we’re willing to accept as the cost of art.

This newsletter was put together in collaboration with Kathleen Sykes. All mistakes and references to late 90s electronic dance music belong to Mike Pesca.

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