Tag Archives: budget

Congress Should Represent All Americans- Not Just the Rich

With a contentious debate in Congress regarding the reconciliation bill and its passage, it would seem that the bill and its contents (pulled straight from President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda) are controversial among the American people as well. Instead, polls have demonstrated that the vast majority of voters support the bill and its provisions. The only group that consistently opposes the bill and actively … Continue reading Congress Should Represent All Americans- Not Just the Rich »

No Infrastructure without Reconciliation

Last night, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced to her caucus that she plans to bring the bipartisan infrastructure bill up for a vote this Thursday, separate from the budget reconciliation package. This stands in direct contrast to the agreement reached within the Democratic caucus that both bills would proceed simultaneously, and must be rejected by all Democrats who care about advancing the party’s full … Continue reading No Infrastructure without Reconciliation »

Neal’s Tax Plan Has Billionaires Popping Champagne

Earlier this week the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, released their rewrite of the federal tax code as part of the Democrats’ budget reconciliation proposal. The committee’s proposed changes are, to say the least, completely inadequate. Their proposal preserves the preferential treatment the rich currently receive in the tax code, ensuring that billionaires in America will continue to pay a … Continue reading Neal’s Tax Plan Has Billionaires Popping Champagne »

Reconciliation Negotiations Are Heating Up

It’s time to get down to business. After months of leadup and preliminary negotiations, committees in the House are just days away from releasing the first official details of the Democrats’ multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation bill. There’s a lot at stake here, with trillions of dollars of support for American families and tax hikes on the rich hanging in the balance as a few centrist Democrats seek … Continue reading Reconciliation Negotiations Are Heating Up »

Spending versus Investments, the Great Debate

We’re finally reaching the point where real economic change is on the horizon through the upcoming infrastructure and reconciliation bills. During this time it can be hard to clearly see progress with all the confusion and noise of Washington. Debates about government spending have often been dominated by concerns from conservatives and moderate politicians. Even still, we have to remember that making investments that will … Continue reading Spending versus Investments, the Great Debate »

California’s Ambitious Budget Proposals Shouldn’t be a Bargaining Chip

This month Governor Gavin Newsom signed California’s $262 billion dollar budget into law, a nearly $60 billion dollar increase from the previous fiscal year.  Flush with extra cash, Governor Newsom and the legislature created one of California’s most ambitious budgets in recent years. This year’s budget will deliver a public school version of preschool along with free school lunches, expand state-funded healthcare to undocumented immigrants, … Continue reading California’s Ambitious Budget Proposals Shouldn’t be a Bargaining Chip »

Congress Failed State and Local Governments. Here’s How They Can Fix It.

This marks the second week since the tumultuous negotiations between Congress and the White House over a fourth COVID-19 stimulus package fell apart. With the Senate on vacation, there is no end to the stalemate in sight.  We need a bill now. The $600 unemployment boost and a litany of renter protections expired last month, leaving between 30 to 40 million people on a financial … Continue reading Congress Failed State and Local Governments. Here’s How They Can Fix It. »

The House Infrastructure Bill Has a Big Problem

House Democrats are making a serious mistake. On July 1st, the Democrat-controlled House passed a massive, $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill. This bill is basically just a messaging bill, intended to serve as a display of Democratic priorities, since it has almost no chance of getting passed in the Republican-controlled Senate. This infrastructure bill has a lot of good things in it, but there’s one significant … Continue reading The House Infrastructure Bill Has a Big Problem »

Negligence, Corruption, and the 737 Max: Boeing Shows the Rot in Our Regulatory System

The saga of Boeing’s failed 737 Max has been continuously in and out of the news since the horrible crashes involving the aircraft in Ethiopia and Malaysia. This is somewhat unusual for a media environment with such a short attention span, but there’s a reason Boeing’s failure is the story that just won’t go away. The more that investigators and journalists dig into the crashes, … Continue reading Negligence, Corruption, and the 737 Max: Boeing Shows the Rot in Our Regulatory System »

An Ultra-Millionaire Tax Will Make New York Better. Why Is Cuomo Resisting?

While the country’s eyes have been turned towards the big, bad federal budget for the past week, there’s an important fight brewing in New York over the state’s own budget, due on April 1st. This disagreement pits New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and a small group of lawmaker holdouts against the will of the majority of New Yorkers in a battle to include higher taxes … Continue reading An Ultra-Millionaire Tax Will Make New York Better. Why Is Cuomo Resisting? »

All the Awful Cuts (So Far) in the Trump Budget

It’s been well noted by now that the Trump administration’s budget proposal released on Monday is a blatant cash grab that would transfer trillions from the poorest in American society to the ultra wealthy. It does this by gutting public services in order to fund extensions for the reckless, unnecessary tax cuts the administration gave to wealthy Americans in 2017. For the normal people in … Continue reading All the Awful Cuts (So Far) in the Trump Budget »

The Big Tax Problem in Trump’s Budget

There’s already been a huge backlash against the Trump administration’s 2020 budget proposal since it was released on Monday, and for good reason. The plan is disastrous for a myriad of reasons, but so far, there hasn’t been much discussion about the way it conceals – and even worsens – the consequences of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Those initial tax cuts are … Continue reading The Big Tax Problem in Trump’s Budget »

Budget for a Nightmare America

On Monday, President Trump released his 2019 budget proposal, a plan that outlines a series of massive cuts to vital public programs in the ludicrously titled “A Budget for a Better America.” While this is just a list of funding ideas that mean nothing without Congressional approval, it outlines Trump’s vision for our economic future – one that allows us already wealthy people to get … Continue reading Budget for a Nightmare America »