by Dave Johnson | Dec 11, 2015 | Blog
"Establishment" Republicans are warning that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) might not have enough Republican votes to pass right away. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for example, said that President Barack Obama should not submit TPP to Congress for a...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 11, 2015 | Blog, Progressive Vision
Faced with outrage against police violence, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel must decide whether he will turn crisis into an opportunity for accountability and healing for his city. Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is famous for “Rahm’s Rule” of political crises management: “You...
by Bill Scher | Dec 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
Spending Talks Near Completion Senate passes 5-day patch to keep government open. Politico: "The five-day continuing resolution, approved by voice vote, lasts through Wednesday. The House is expected to follow suit on Friday with an identical stopgap measure." Deal on...
by Bill Scher | Dec 11, 2015 | Blog, Climate
Above: Economist and author Robert Pollin discusses his latest book, "Greening the Global Economy," with Isaiah J. Poole while at a congressional briefing in Washington December 8. The expected Paris climate agreement will be a landmark achievement, not just for the...
by Emily Schwartz Greco | Dec 10, 2015 | Blog, Climate
Investors who choose to steer clear of oil, gas, and coal are protecting their portfolios in the short term and the long run. Who has divested lately? The fast-growing list includes the University of California, insurance giant Allianz, the German city of Munster, and...
by Jeff Bryant | Dec 10, 2015 | Blog, Education
Charter schools are now the most rapidly growing form of schools in the nation's education system, but surveys show Americans generally don't understand what charters are even if they tend to favor them. Are these schools public? Are they private? Who really runs...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 10, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
Chanting "No justice, no peace," dozens of federal food service contract workers on Tuesday marched out of the Dirksen Senate Office Building cafeteria and went to stage a sit-in at the office of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). They also gave the senator a “Golden Grinch”...
by Bill Scher | Dec 10, 2015 | Uncategorized
Sanders Resurgence? Bernie Sanders up 10 over Hillary Clinton in CNN New Hampshire poll. USA Today: "Fifty-percent of respondents ... back Sanders, while 40% opted for the former secretary of State ... Polls show he trails badly in two other early voting states: Iowa...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Dec 10, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
[fve]https://youtu.be/oO4fUuuYbbo[/fve]Economist Robert Pollin explains in this interview how government buying decisions can help boost U.S. manufacturing. This should be a no-brainer: As much as possible, every dollar our federal government spends should help...
by Jim Hightower | Dec 9, 2015 | Blog, Climate, Conservatism
Disgraced coal baron Don Blankenship didn’t get what he deserves in his recent federal trial. But he richly deserves what he got. “Guilty,” declared all 12 West Virginia jurors, who convicted this arrogant and avaricious former CEO of Massey Energy of willfully...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 9, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Tax Reform, Trade
See if this business model sounds familiar: ● Close American factories and offshore production to a low-wage country with few environmental regulations. (Note: moving a factory out of the country "increases trade" and they say that's a good thing.) ● Replace...
by Bill Scher | Dec 9, 2015 | Uncategorized
Government In Limbo Congress will miss Friday deadline to pass legislation to fund government. Politico: "In all likelihood, the House will vote Friday on a short-term government funding measure to avoid a shutdown, giving Speaker Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 9, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
House Speaker Paul Ryan condemned Donald Trump’s plan to ban Muslim immigration to the U.S. by saying, “this is not who we are as a party or a country.” Ryan is mistaken: Trump represents exactly what the GOP is, and what progressives must not let America become....
by Dave Johnson | Dec 8, 2015 | Blog, Trans-Pacific Partnership
A "corporate court" has ruled that the U.S. must face $1 billion in tariff punishment because a law U.S. consumers wanted for protection of health and safety has cost foreign companies some profits. The U.S. Congress is being told they must repeal the law or we face...
by Bernie Horn | Dec 8, 2015 | Blog
We all know that some guns should be banned or severely restricted. Machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, silencers, grenades, and many other types of extremely dangerous weapons were essentially banned by the commonsense National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, a law that...
by Jeff Bryant | Dec 8, 2015 | Blog, Education
For years, a lot of money, time, and energy have gone into a national campaign to discredit teachers unions by saying they protect bad teachers and do nothing to add value to our system of public education. Whole organizations have been created to advance this...
by Bill Scher | Dec 8, 2015 | Uncategorized
Clinton To Flesh Out Business Tax Reform Clinton offer manufacturing plan today. Detroit News: "... the former U.S. secretary of state and will roll out a plan giving manufacturers a 39 percent tax credit on equity investments in towns that experience major job losses...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Dec 8, 2015 | Blog
Hillary Clinton's op-ed in The New York Times Monday on how she would handle Wall Street and financial reform as president appears so far to have landed with a thud. There is little evidence that it has sparked the kind of political debate that would be warranted by a...
by Bill Scher | Dec 8, 2015 | Blog, Climate
We're close to an international climate agreement that most agree will be both a major step forward and insufficient to avert a catastrophe. Energy will quickly turn to what should be our next steps. The rival Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders campaigns lay out two...
by Robert Reich | Dec 7, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Tax Reform
Just like that, Pfizer has decided it’s no longer American. It plans to link up with Ireland’s Allergan and move its corporate headquarters from New York to Ireland. That way it will pay less tax. Ireland’s tax rate is less than half that of United States. Ian Read,...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 7, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
The congressionally created Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy (LAC) has just released a scathing report that urges President Obama "in the strongest possible terms" to send the Trans-Pacific Partnership "back to the negotiating table"...
by Bill Scher | Dec 7, 2015 | Uncategorized
No Funding Deal In Sight Four days until shutdown deadline. Politico: "While senior Republicans are confident they will reach an agreement on the yearlong funding measure at some point, it appears increasingly likely that no deal will be in place by the Friday Dec. 11...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 7, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
Many people have come to believe politicians say what they need to say to win, and then turn on them. If Hillary Clinton wants to win the Democratic nomination and inspire people to vote for her in the general election, she must find ways to overcome this voter...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 4, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
Mass shootings in Colorado and California this week, brought out the worst in wingnuts this week, and reminded us that our biggest terrorist threats still come from right here at home. Colorado When Robert Dear opened fire in a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic the...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 4, 2015 | Blog, Trade
The U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday that the October goods and services trade deficit was an enormous, humongous $43.9 billion. This is for a single month. This is up $1.4 billion – 3.4 percent – from September's enormous, humongous $42.5 (revised) billion trade...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 4, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
Friday's November jobs report said nonfarm payrolls increased by a seasonally adjusted 211,000 and unemployment was unchanged at 5 percent. Analysts had expected 200,000 so they are happy; overall hiring seems to be continuing at an OK pace. Wages might not be going...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Dec 4, 2015 | Jobs and Growth
President Obama finally had on his desk Friday a $305 billion, five-year surface transportation bill – a rare legislative accomplishment in an era where gridlock and obstruction on any government action that would create jobs and grow the economy is the rule. But, as...
by Bill Scher | Dec 4, 2015 | Uncategorized
Jobs Up. Rates Next. Steady job growth continues in November jobs report. NYT: "The American economy created 211,000 jobs in November ... The unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent ... wages rose by 0.2 percent, leaving the 12-month change in average hourly...
by Robert Borosage | Dec 4, 2015 | Blog, Jobs and Growth
The November jobs report – 211,000 jobs with the headline unemployment rate staying at 5 percent – met "expectations." It is now virtually inevitable that the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates at its December 15-16 meetings, as Fed Chair Janet Yellen...
by Jeff Bryant | Dec 3, 2015 | Blog
On Wednesday afternoon, the House overwhelmingly passed the proposed Every Student Succeeds Act by 359 to 64. The Senate is expected to vote on the measure this month, and the White House has signaled President Obama's willingness to sign it. As is true with any time...
by Chuck Collins | Dec 3, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Progressive Vision
When should we be alarmed about so much wealth in so few hands? The Great Recession and its anemic recovery only deepened the economic inequality that’s drawn so much attention in its wake. Nearly all wealth and income gains since then have flowed to the top one-tenth...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 3, 2015 | Blog
In the recent post, "How The Clinton and Sanders Infrastructure Plans Measure Up," I mistakenly wrote that candidate Bernie Sanders does not yet have a corporate tax proposal: Clinton’s infrastructure plan says only that it will be paid for through “business tax...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 3, 2015 | Blog, Trade, Trans-Pacific Partnership
One of the selling points for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is that it will "increase trade." Here's the thing. If you close a factory in the U.S., lay off all of the workers, devastate the surrounding community, and move the production to a low-wage...
by Bill Scher | Dec 3, 2015 | Uncategorized
Bipartisan Agreements In Congress House passes No Child Left Behind revamp. AP: "The legislation would maintain a key feature of the Bush-era law: annual reading and math testing of children in grades 3 through 8 and once in high school [but] would encourage states to...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 3, 2015 | Blog, Economy, Jobs and Growth
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen is scheduled today to go before Congress' Joint Economic Committee, where she is expected to declare that the recovery from the Great Recession is nearly complete, and that it is time to raise interest rates again. But progressives...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 2, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism
You might have heard a few things about terror and ISIS and refugees in the last few weeks. There has been a lot of scare talk and propaganda about how refugees are going to swarm in and shoot all of us. You might not have heard that Republicans in Congress are...
by Dave Johnson | Dec 2, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, Economy
Republicans in Congress and the corporate-funded conservative echo chamber (redundant) are temporarily pausing from scaring people with "deficit" propaganda and are instead working on an end-of-the-year backroom deal to give out several hundred billion dollars in tax...
by Isaiah J. Poole | Dec 2, 2015 | Economy
There are a lot of not-so-fun facts in the latest Institute for Policy Studies "Billionaire Bonanza" report on the absurd, widening gap between the people in the Forbes 400 and the rest of us. For example, the top 20 wealthiest individuals in the U.S., according to...
by Terrance Heath | Dec 2, 2015 | Blog, Conservatism, This Is The GOP
A Thanksgiving holiday marred by shootings should remind us that our biggest terrorist threat comes not from Syrian refugees fleeing extremist violence, but from homegrown right-wing extremists. Minneapolis On the Monday before Thanksgiving, white supremacists shot...
by Bill Scher | Dec 2, 2015 | Uncategorized
Transportation Bill Expected To Pass Congress Congress strikes deal for 5-year transportation bill. The Hill: "The measure calls for spending approximately $205 billion on highways and $48 billion on transit projects over the next five years. It also reauthorizes the...
