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Mark Funkhouser

@mayorfunk.bsky.social
3.1K followers 1.5K following 1.4K posts

Local government policy, governance, strategic planning, and finance. President at Funkhouser & Associates, KCMO Mayor, 5/07 to 5/11. GOVERNING Publisher, 3/14 to 8/19.

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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 10h
"fierce and nimble" You gotta admire the creativity of the headline writers at the Times. Most of us could come up with a couple of thousand words they might use to describe her and still would not have guessed they'd land on those.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This stuff is just insane.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"As wealth has concentrated at the top, so has political power to alter the laws and rules by which the market functions — taxes, labor laws, anti-monopoly laws, and even foreign policies in the forms of tariffs and wars." robertreich.substack.com/p/there-is-n...
robertreich.substack.com
There is no such thing as a “free market”
All markets are defined by laws and rules. The question is who are the laws and rules for?
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation ... rather than accept his defeat in the 2020 election, he engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results and prevent the lawful transfer of power"
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
America's oligarchs may soon find that their money will not protect them from the whims of a capricious tyrant. Some will wind up in prison and others may fall out of windows.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Stopped at a little cafe in rural PA and saw this. At a time when Trump is trying to destroy our history, it gave me a little jolt of hope.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
“we are witnessing an extraordinary transfer of power away from governments to a handful of private corporations and individuals,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, yesterday at the United Nations General Assembly heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
September 22, 2026
In 1945, still reeling from World War II, representatives from 50 nations reached back to the U.S.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Page 236. Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class. Jefferson Cowie
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Went to Belmont Park with my son. He studies the races more than me so I just bet with him and we came out on top!
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"...in America, we simply do not enforce the law against the powerful." open.substack.com/pub/mattstol...
open.substack.com
AI Is an Elite Crime Spree
Documents show a Microsoft exec called AI the "largest theft of labor in human history.” New AI regulations are besides the point, the problem is we don’t apply existing laws to the powerful.
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Julie the Crazy Cat Lady @juliecumberland.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
There needs to be a rule when Supreme Court candidates lie like this action can be taken about their appointment after the fact. Unless they can give clear, concise reasons why they have changed their viewpoints. And “my religion says” is not a clear concise viewpoint.
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Americans for Tax Fairness @4taxfairness.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A truck driver working 40-hour weeks to make $50,000 a year pays about $3,800 in federal income tax. An 8% rate. An investor earning the same $50,000 in long-term capital gains pays $0. Work gets punished. Wealth gets rewarded. This tax code is a scam.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The ramifications of the nation's rapidly increasing economic inequality are far reaching and as yet little understood. This is one of them. robertreich.substack.com/p/the-real-f...
robertreich.substack.com
The Real Fix For Social Security
We may be on the brink of a bipartisan solution that’s fair
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
See this chart? Workers’ share of the nation’s income is at the lowest it’s been since records began in 1947. Corporate profits’ share, on the other hand, is the highest it’s been since 1950. This is why we must build back worker power.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people’s masters.” Grover Cleveland in 1884 heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/september-...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
September 4, 2026
On September 5, 1882, workers in New York City celebrated the first Labor Day holiday with a parade.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It is time for a political movement that rebuilds economic dignity...and exposes the war on immigrants for what it is: a war on labor here and across the world.https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/opinion/politics/trump-immigration-iran.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-lA.jBDp.X1pIyRdMb5wT&smid=bs-share
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump’s Foreign Wars Are Breaking His Anti-Immigrant Coalition (Gift Article)
President Trump’s foreign adventurism will drive immigrants to the United States. And his anti-immigrant base knows it.
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Mr. Blabalino 🇳🇴🇺🇸💙 @blabalino.com · 02/09/2026
Remember this going into the midterms.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
"Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle warned that the Navy, which has borne the brunt of operations against Iran, cannot sustain its current level of support for the war." The danger to America right now from foreign adversaries is huge. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-31-...
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
August 31, 2026
Alex Horton and Tara Copp of the Washington Post reported on Sunday, August 30, that military leaders are warning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that a plan to continue large-scale operations in Iran ...
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Target paid its CEO $21.8M last year — 794x the median Target worker's pay of $27,506. Target has also spent $13.9B on stock buybacks since 2019, while remaining among the largest employers of Medicaid and SNAP recipients in America. This is what I mean by a rigged economy.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
"Facing a “perfect storm” of financial pressures thanks largely to federal cuts, Cook County’s sprawling safety net health system is counting on the county board to fill a budget gap of $40 million this year." This kind of damage will ripple across the country. www.chicagotribune.com/2026/08/30/c...
chicagotribune.com
Federal cuts lead to growing burden on Cook County health system, taxpayers
Cook County’s sprawling safety net health system is counting on the county board to fill a budget gap of $40 million this year or face potential service cuts.
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Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
It must be embarrassing being as rich and successful as Google and still having to get on your knees for an 80 year old felon who falls asleep at work all day. It’s Lake Ontario, you clowns.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Taxes are the price of civilization. Cutting them makes "it harder for cities and counties to afford the quality of life investments like schools, libraries and recreation centers that residents have come to expect." lizfarmer.substack.com/p/what-stree...
lizfarmer.substack.com
What streetlights tell us about relying on government fees
As tax limits spread, paying for basic public services could start to look more like an a la carte menu.
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Brian F. Kelcey @stateofthecity.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Many will see Google's decision to map "Lake America" in the US as taking the US side in the Canada-US Trade War. The problem with that logic is: since Exec Orders have no legal force outside the US Executive Branch, Google is actually taking **the President's** side. It's a highly partisan act.
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Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
US national debt just hit $40 trillion. Why? HINT: It's NOT because the government is trying to provide its citizens healthcare or childcare.
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Rob Bon Vivant🌊 @77sunnyandclear.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Fourteen years ago, HBO's 'The Newsroom' laid out the truth about voter ID in this segment. It’s striking how little the arguments — or the tactics — have changed. Still a solution in search of a problem. History doesn’t repeat itself — it gets rerun.
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SunnyandSheryl @commgal.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
A woman with a cane stands at a ticket window staffed by a man. A nearby kiosk has an out of order sign. The ticket clerk says, "OK, one more time. Go home and log on to our website from your computer, create an account and purchase your ticket with your credit or debit card, download the ticket to a smartphone, then come back at the allocated time...Just what part of 'easier and more convenient ' don't you get?"
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I'll never forget when you told me that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. In a world of distractions, that's sound advice. theindependentcenter.substack.com/p/new-govern...
theindependentcenter.substack.com
New Governors Top 10 List: Do These Before You Are Sworn In
Eighteen states will have a new Governor in 2027, none of whom will have ever been governor before.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Here it comes. As a result of the OBBBA local officials are going to be faced with either raising taxes or letting some residents starve in the streets. nysfocus.com/2026/08/25/n...
nysfocus.com
New York Counties Weigh Tax Hikes to Cover Trump SNAP Cuts
New York counties face more than $1 billion in added SNAP costs as federal funding falls, potentially forcing property tax hikes or service cuts.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
"Until something is agreed to... nothing was agreed to!" Exactly. You come to agreement first - and then send the text, which is supposed to reflect what was agreed to.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
"Just as divided government is meant to pit ambition against ambition, our freedom is best served when the two primary domains of American life — public and private — serve as a check on one another. Today, unfortunately, the two sides are in bed together." www.notus.org/perspectives...
notus.org
Reagan Worship Is So Yesterday. Republicans Need a New Hero — And It Should Be Teddy Roosevelt.
To everything there is a season. During his first inaugural address, Ronald Reagan declared, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Almost ...
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
"Every time a big moneyed offender...is excused from serving a sentence which a man of less prominence and fewer friends would have to serve, justice is discredited in the eyes of plain people—and to undermine faith in justice is to strike at the foundation of the Republic." Theodore Roosevelt
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
"His continuation in the presidency constitutes a clear and present danger to the United States." Trump is the greatest threat to the United States since the Civil War. robertreich.substack.com/p/he-really-...
robertreich.substack.com
He Really IS Stark-Raving Mad
This proves it
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Adam Kinzinger @adamkinzinger.substack.com · 21/08/2026
BIg Beautiful Bill
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"Between Musk’s DOGEing of the federal government and the Big Beautiful Bills’ decimation of SNAP and Medicaid, we are experiencing the destruction of public goods at a breakneck speed." workingclassstories.substack.com/p/dont-let-t...
workingclassstories.substack.com
Don't Let Them Take What's Ours
From urban Minneapolis to rural Wisconsin, working class people are organizing to protect public goods from private buyers
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
"we got into a war with Iran" It just happened I guess. No one started it. Right?
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
The president is refusing to spend taxpayer money assisting Americans suffering from natural disasters solely because their states didn't vote for him. I know there are a thousand scandals at the moment, but this one deserves some more oxygen at every level.
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Reporter: DHS plans to spend $10-20M on Taser gloves so when they arrest people, they will be tased. Hochul: That appears to me, on its face, to be a civil rights violation. James: It appears to violate several laws. Courtesy of @acyn.bsky.social
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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
This is how you know we need a wealth tax
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jimmycraig42.bsky.social @jimmycraig42.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
We need to stop fining corporations for the crimes they commit and start jailing the execs who make the decision to commit crimes If corporations are people because people run corporations, then people ought to go to jail for the crimes the people running those corporations commit
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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
This by CNN is genuinely reprehensible. Everyone involved should be embarrassed. -The 'new pain' case vs Mamdani is *solely* his religion. -He was in NYC on 9/11, at grade school -Soon after attack GWB himself gave famous speech warning against blaming all Muslims for terrorism -25 yrs later, this.
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
"This isn't policy, it's a heist."
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
"Abdul El-Sayed's upset win in Michigan's Senate primary — the latest in a string of victories by candidates running on the radical notion that people shouldn't have to choose between rent and insulin." www.patreon.com/LyzLenz/post...
patreon.com
Dead center: Wall Street's think tank picks a fight with the left (again) — Dingus of the Week Podcast #35 | Men Yell at Me
Democrats keep winning elections, and Third Way has had just about enough of it. After Abdul El-Sayed's upset win in Michigan's Senate prima
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Abdul El-Sayed is not a socialist. "I’m a capitalist who reads about capitalism. And when you read about capitalism, it is very clear, even to the originators who coined the idea, that the biggest risk to capitalism .. was always going to be monopoly." open.substack.com/pub/mattstol...
open.substack.com
BOOM! An Anti-Monopolist Smashed the Democratic Establishment in Michigan Last Night
Populist Abdul El-Sayed shocked the Democratic Party establishment by beating an incumbent Congresswoman for a Senate nominating contest, despite being outspent nine to one. What comes now?
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
The effective federal corporate income tax rate: 1950: 50% 1990: 25% 2020: 13% Stop asking "but how we will pay for it?" Restore the corporate tax rate. That is how we will pay for it.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
FEDWATCH: “.. If yields break above 5%, interest costs of debt would surge toward $1.7 trillion, double the defense spending budget ($857 billion) ..”
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
"a lot of “charitable giving” results in more money for organizations that cater to or do the bidding of the rich, and less for things we all need. Behind the facade of “charitable giving” is a profoundly anti-democratic tax loophole." open.substack.com/pub/robertre...
open.substack.com
"Charitable Giving" Isn't What You Think
And the gusher of it is just beginning
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California Dreamin’… 😎 @jerasikehorn.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Out of the 45 different Presidents of the United States, Donald Trump is now responsible for 28.6% of the US national debt… That’s almost a third of the total. Enjoy. 😎✨
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
"If Elon Musk ran the GPS system, you’d hear about it nonstop, valorizing this great man who built something so remarkable and valuable. But since it’s government invented, owned, and operated, it just works, quietly and without fanfare." open.substack.com/pub/mattstol...
open.substack.com
Google Maps, Uber, and Wall Street Run on Socialism: How the U.S. Government Built the Global Positioning System
The Federal government built a global navigation system, nicknamed "Lighthouses in the Sky" on which Google Maps, Wall Street, and shipping rely. Just don't call it socialism.
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Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
A small act of kindness toward someone vulnerable just went viral, proof that you do not need grand gestures to make a real difference. Sharing food, helping a hurt animal, aiding a stranger, this is
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Mark Funkhouser @mayorfunk.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
It makes them look far less dignified and less fitting for a great nation.
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