Judas, tax cuts and the Great Betrayal

THE denarius, ancient Rome's silver coin, was supposedly the daily wage of a manual worker.

If that was indeed so, the tax cuts that the richest one per cent of Americans will receive if the Affordable Care Act is repealed - tax cuts that are, obviously, the real reason for repeal - would amount to the equivalent of around 500 pieces of silver each year.

What inspired this calculation? The spectacle of Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, and Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, defending President Donald Trump's firing of James Comey.