by Isaiah J. Poole | Jan 29, 2015 | Jobs and Growth, Tax Reform
Details of the proposal by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Texas) and Barbara Boxer to raise money to pay for surface transportation projects though a corporate tax break scheme are now out – and they are as bad as many progressive tax reform advocates feared. This unlikely...
by Meghan Byrd | Jan 29, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
Conservatives in Congress this week launched a renewed effort to weaken the ability of workers to get justice in the workplace against anti-labor behavior by businesses. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced a bill...
by Jeff Bryant | Jan 29, 2015 | Blog
Where can Democrats find clarity in the current debate over how to rewrite No Child Left Behind legislation? For sure, we appear to be in the midst of is an education policy turmoil where instead of right and left "meeting in the middle," what we see instead are...
by Alan Jenkins | Jan 29, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a very important fair housing case, and the Justices’ comments from the bench have had court watchers buzzing ever since. Here’s my take on what the legal back-and-forth in the case does and does not mean. It’s...
by Bill Scher | Jan 29, 2015 | Uncategorized
Obama Fires Shot In Budget Battle "Obama Wants To End The Era Of Sequestration" reports HuffPost: "President Barack Obama will propose a budget on Monday that calls for an estimated 6.8 percent increase in discretionary spending [which] would be offset by cutting...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 29, 2015 | Blog, Trade
U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman appeared before Congress Tuesday to make the corporate argument for "fast track" trade promotion authority. The USTR and President Obama are pushing fast-track pre-approval for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and...
by Robert Borosage | Jan 29, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
The 1 percent continue to capture virtually all of the income growth in the country, while the average incomes of the 99 percent continue to fall. And Americans know it. In a January Pew poll, 92 percent report that their incomes are sinking or treading water. This...
by Robert Reich | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Financial Reform
Presidential aspirants in both parties are talking about saving the middle class. But the middle class can’t be saved unless Wall Street is tamed. The Street’s excesses pose a continuing danger to average Americans. And its ongoing use of confidential corporate...
by Miya Pontes | Jan 28, 2015 | Financial Reform
[fve]https://www.youtu.be/v=eGh2ri0G2xw[/fve] In an effort to control the damage being done to individuals and communities by payday lenders, community activists rallied outside payday lending storefronts in 10 states Tuesday to increase awareness of the lack of...
by Jim Hightower | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Jobs and Growth, Minimum Wage
McDonald’s is scrambling, and I’m not talking about eggs. Your know your business has what image consultants call “quality perception issues” when your public relations team is fielding such questions as: “Does McDonald’s beef contain worms?” Thornier yet for the...
by Dean Baker | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Jobs and Growth, Retirement Security
The Republican Congress decided to make overhauling the Social Security disability program one of its first orders of business. On the first day of the new session it put in place a rule change that would make it difficult to address the shortfall the program is...
by Bill Scher | Jan 28, 2015 | Uncategorized
WH Steps Up Fast-Track Push USTR Michael Froman testifies to House and Senate in favor of fast-track. The Hill: "Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee voiced support for passage of a fast-track bill ... Senate Finance panel Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) ... said...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 28, 2015 | Blog, Climate
The fact that this even needs to be said demonstrates that there's been a breakdown in the democratic process, but we'll say it anyway: Our number one priority should be protecting the planet for future generations. That said, green energy makes sense even if we base...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Jan 27, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
In a small room inside the U.S. Capitol, Sen. Bernie Sanders today was trying to marshal support for a $1 trillion infrastructure investment bill he formally introduced today, discussing the consequences of not spending money on our roads, public transportation, water...
by Terrance Heath | Jan 27, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Economy, Jobs and Growth
After five years of protests, demonstrations and strikes, Greek citizens voted to throw off five years of crushing austerity. Their victory has emboldened populist parties across Europe, and should inspire Americans to resist austerity here at home. The victory of...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 27, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
US Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman testified before the Senate Tuesday. He was there to push Congress to pass Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), so new trade agreements can get pushed through. Protesters disrupted the hearing. The people are trying...
by Leo Gerard | Jan 27, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Economy
Reaganomics, the plot to appease the rich and condemn the rest, got its comeuppance last week in President Obama's State of the Union speech. The President asked: "Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well?" That's the trickle-down economy...
by Bill Scher | Jan 27, 2015 | Uncategorized
Record Low Deficits "Federal deficit falling to lowest in Obama presidency" reports USA Today: "The federal government's 2015 budget deficit will fall slightly this year to $468 billion ... The annual deficit topped $1 trillion for each of Obama's first four years in...
by Mary Green Swig | Steven L. Swig | Richard Eskow | Jan 27, 2015 | Blog, Education
MaryGreenSwig Steven L.Swig RichardEskow President Obama's proposal for tuition-free community college education, and the broader discussion that it has inspired, confirms our belief that it is time for a comprehensive solution to a $1.3 trillion problem: student debt...
by Bill Scher | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
[fve]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODbmKWOyAZI[/fve] Many people are having a good laugh watching Sarah Palin's unintentionally hilarious speech to a conservative gathering in Iowa over the weekend. But Palin is never going to get anywhere near the White House....
by Dave Johnson | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Trade
Negotiators working on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) convened today in New York City. Even the location was kept secret until the last possible minute, but hundreds of trade, labor, environmental, health, communities of color, anti-GMO and food justice,...
by Bernie Horn | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Climate, Conservatism, Financial Reform, Progressive Vision
For years, conservatives used “wedge issues” to split moderates from progressives—measures like criminalizing flag burning, cutting “welfare,” and (until recently) banning same-sex marriage. They still do that, of course, but the Tea Party has forced conservatives to...
by Bill Scher | Jan 26, 2015 | Uncategorized
Huge Triumph Over Austerity In Greece "Syriza’s victory is a milestone for Europe," reports NYT: "Continuing economic weakness has stirred a populist backlash from France to Spain to Italy, with more voters growing fed up with policies that require sacrifice to meet...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Jan 26, 2015 | Jobs and Growth, Tax Reform
There is no real argument over whether the nation needs to do more to improve its infrastructure – its transportation, water, power and information networks. But there is an argument over how best to pay for it all – and that argument is increasingly turning in a...
by Terrance Heath | Jan 23, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
From anti-choice bills in the House, to threats of lawsuits over Muslim “no go zones,” this week showed that the wingnut brain is biggest “no go zone” of them all. But first, let’s relive the “burn” heard around the world. When President Obama delivered the State of...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Jan 23, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/187517644" params="auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /] House Progressive Caucus member Rep. Jan Schakowsky...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 23, 2015 | Blog, Climate, Jobs and Growth
In the last few days Senate Republicans have voted against everything they have promised in public to sell the Keystone pipeline. They said the pipeline is about U.S. jobs, yet they voted against U.S. steel and supplier jobs in the pipeline supply chain. They said the...
by Jeff Bryant | Jan 23, 2015 | Blog, Education
A curious thing happened this week on Capital Hill: A politician said something about education that made sense. The "something" didn't come from President Obama. In the president's annual State of the Union address, "K-12 policy largely took a back seat," Education...
by Bill Scher | Jan 23, 2015 | Uncategorized
Can Dems Stop Fast-Track? The Atlantic's Russell Berman asks if Dems can stop fast-track: "They couldn't in 2011, when the Republican-led House and a Democratic Senate approved long-stalled deals with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. This time around, the...
by Miya Pontes | Jan 22, 2015 | Blog, Democracy
Pocan and Ellison to Introduce Right to Vote Constitutional Amendment In an effort to undo the work being done in numerous states and counties to disenfranchise groups of voters, two progressive House members are aiming to make a promise that is implicit in the...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 22, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the League of Conservation Voters and 41 other environmental groups sent a letter to Congress this week, asking them to oppose "fast track" trade promotion authority for upcoming trade agreements like the...
by Bill Scher | Jan 22, 2015 | Blog, Climate
Over the course of President Obama's State of the Union addresses, he has become rhetorically bolder and more expansive on the subject of climate. In his first couple of speeches, climate was mentioned as part of the laundry list of bills he was trying to get through...
by Bill Scher | Jan 22, 2015 | Uncategorized
Dems In Trade Fight Dems divide over fast-track. The Hill: "Reps. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.) and Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) have been two of the loudest voices in the Democratic chorus against trade promotion authority (TPA) and say they are optimistic they can block the trade...
by Richard Eskow | Jan 22, 2015 | Blog, Populist Majority, Progressive Vision
Today's American right is burdened with a highly specialized and hyper-amplified sense of outrage. That outrage was triggered during this week's State of the Union speech, especially by the president's off-the-cuff response to a group of Republicans who sarcastically...
by Bernie Sanders | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog, Economy
Our infrastructure is collapsing, and the American people know it. The Interstate 75 bridge collapse in Cincinnati on Monday is only the latest example. Every day, motorists across the United States drive over bridges that are in disrepair and on roads with...
by Terrance Heath | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
President Obama’s State of the Union Address, complete with a “mic drop” moment," couldn’t have annoyed Republicans more if he’d entered to the theme from Rocky, and exited to “How Ya Like Me Now.” Obama’s “Mic Drop” Moment If Republicans in Congress expected to see...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog
The President briefly spoke about trade in his State of the Union speech. He admitted that "past trade deals haven’t always lived up to the hype" but then he called for doing more of the same. He called for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) -- "Fast Track" -- to pass...
by Dave Johnson | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog, Trade
Today is the National Call-in Day Against Fast Track. Call Congress now at (888) 804-8311 to oppose fast track trade authority. Or visit Stop Fast Track, enter your phone number and they will call you back and connect you to your representative. An auto-dialer will...
by Bill Scher | Jan 21, 2015 | Uncategorized
TODAY 3 PM ET: Post-State Of The Union Webcast with Rep. Jan Schakowsky Click here to register: "Join Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign for America’s Future, Progressive Majority President Gloria Totten and special guest Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a...
by Robert Borosage | Jan 21, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
President Obama has his swagger back. Ignoring the electoral rebuke of 2014, he claimed the growing economy as a mandate for his progressive agenda, delivering a State of the Union address bristling with veto threats and challenging the Congress to stand with working...
