Tired of ads? Want to support our progressive journalism? Click to learn more.
JOIN FOR $1
Enjoy good journalism?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.
We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.
Value Raw Story?
… then let us make a small request. The COVID crisis has slashed advertising rates, and we need your help. Like you, we believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.
Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.
Report typos and corrections to: corrections@rawstory.com.
'Bad policy and bad politics': Manchin is now trying to cut unemployment benefits and limit survival checks
March 02, 2021
Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and other conservative members of the Senate Democratic caucus are reportedly pressing for changes to the emerging coronavirus relief legislation that would cut the bill's proposed weekly unemployment supplement and further restrict eligibility for $1,400 direct payments.
The $1.9 trillion relief measure approved by the House of Representatives late last week proposes extending emergency unemployment insurance (UI) programs through the end of August with a weekly federal supplement of $400, up from the current $300-per-week boost that is set to begin expiring on March 14.
<p>
"Further 'targeting' or 'tightening' eligibility means taking survival checks away from millions of families who got them last time. That's bad policy and bad politics too."<br/>
—Rep. Pramila Jayapal
</p><p>
But as <em>Roll Call</em> <a href="https://rollcall.com/2021/03/01/pension-funding-cobra-coverage-survive-aid-bills-byrd-bath/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> late Monday after conservative Democrats met virtually with President Joe Biden to discuss the relief package, Manchin "said he'd prefer to see a $300 benefit in response to criticism that some laid-off workers could end up making more money on unemployment than they would on the job"—a right-wing talking point that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/25/gop-senate-trio-threaten-delay-stimulus-bill-because-unemployment-benefits-amid" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Republicans have deployed</a> in their efforts to slash UI benefits.
</p><p>
"We're just looking for a targeted bill," said Manchin, whose support Democrats need to pass the so-called American Rescue Plan (ARP) without any Republican votes.
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/03/01/biden-stimulus-covid-relief-minimum-wage/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to</a> the <em>Washington Post</em>, Manchin and other conservative Democrats also pitched "tightening income eligibility for the $1,400 stimulus payments," a demand that House Democrats rejected in their legislation.
</p><p>
The House-passed relief bill calls for sending full $1,400 payments to individuals earning up to $75,000 per year and married couples earning up to $150,000 per year, with the payments gradually phasing out thereafter—an eligibility structure that resembles the one used for the previous two rounds of checks.
</p><p>
Despite <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/04/politically-its-suicidal-frustration-grows-biden-entertains-narrower-eligibility" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">warnings</a> that doing so would be politically "suicidal," Biden has previously said he would be open to lowering the income cutoff for the direct payments.
</p><p>
Noting that progressive lawmakers are already furious over Senate Democrats' plans to move forward with a relief bill that excludes a minimum wage increase—pointing to the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/25/im-sorry-says-ro-khanna-unelected-parliamentarian-does-not-get-deprive-32-million" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">parliamentarian's advisory ruling</a> against the provision—economist Arindrajit Dube cautioned that slashing UI benefits or imposing additional restrictions on eligibility for direct relief payments would "cause a full blown revolt from progressives."
</p><p>
House Democrats, who did not have to contend with the Senate's so-called <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/introduction-to-budget-reconciliation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Byrd Rule</a>, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/27/15-wage-included-house-dems-fulfill-election-promise-passage-sweeping-19-trillion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">included</a> a provision to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 in their relief bill.
</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" class="" data-tweet-id="1366547532743065602" frameborder="0" id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1366547532743065602&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rawstory.com%2Fr%2Fentryeditor%2F2650858082%23&theme=light&widgetsVersion=889aa01%3A1612811843556&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 551px; height: 451px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="Twitter Tweet"></iframe></div><p>Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/1366587817137037313" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">warned</a> late Monday that "further 'targeting' or 'tightening' eligibility means taking survival checks away from millions of families who got them last time."</p><p>"That's bad policy and bad politics too," Jayapal tweeted.</p> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
CONTINUE READING
Show less
Originally published by The 19th
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday renewed her push for an “ultra-millionaire" tax, reviving the proposed wealth tax that defined her own White House campaign to make the case that President Joe Biden could use it to finance his broad economic agenda.
<p>As the Senate takes up the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by the House last week, with a provision to raise the hourly minimum wage that is expected to be stripped out, the White House and Democratic lawmakers are already looking ahead to Biden's “Build Back Better" plan that is expected to be used as a vehicle to update infrastructure and create jobs, including in clean energy.</p><p>During the Democratic presidential primary, Biden did not support a wealth tax like the one <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-jayapal-boyle-introduce-ultra-millionaire-tax-on-fortunes-over-50-million">offered</a> by Warren and other progressive-leaning lawmakers such as Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, who are spearheading the effort in the House. The introduction of the proposal could mark the first notable policy conflict between Biden and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party if the administration does not consider it. </p><p>“It is time for a wealth tax in America," Warren told reporters on Monday.</p><p>She added that a wealth tax would “level the playing field a little bit and create the kind of revenue that would allow us to build back better, as Joe Biden says." </p><p>The proposal unveiled by Warren, Jayapal and Boyle, which mirrors the one detailed by Warren during her White House bid, would levy a 2 percent annual tax on the portion of households and trusts valued between $50 million and $1 billion, with an additional 1 percent tax on any wealth beyond $1 billion. </p><p>It would affect the top 0.05 percent of taxpayers, or about 100,000 of the wealthiest U.S. households. University of California-Berkeley economists have <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Wealth%20Tax%20Revenue%20Estimates%20by%20Saez%20and%20Zucman%20-%20Feb%2024%2020211.pdf">estimated</a> that it would generate $3 trillion in revenue over a decade — even more than they estimated during Warren's presidential bid due to an economic downturn that has exacerbated income inequality and left ultra-wealthy individuals in <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/world-s-richest-become-wealthier-during-covid-pandemic-inequality-grows-n1255506">even better</a> financial shape. </p><p>The clean energy component of Biden's Build Back Better plan has an estimated price tag of $2 trillion. The full implementation cost will depend on whether other components, such as Biden's plans to support the <a href="https://joebiden.com/caregiving/">caregiving workforce</a>, are included and in what form. </p><p>The White House said last week that it did not expect to preview Build Back Better in detail until after <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/02/whats-in-the-pandemic-relief-package/">the COVID-19 relief package</a> is signed into law. Congressional Democrats aim to send the latest COVID-19 relief package to the White House by March 14, when previously passed unemployment benefits related to the pandemic expire. Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that Biden “strongly believes the ultra-wealthy and corporations need to finally start paying their fair share." She did not elaborate on what that might look like. </p><p>“Joe Biden is about to propose a multi-trillion Build Back Better plan that will likely need to be funded in significant part by taxing the rich," said Adam Green with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which supports liberal candidates and policies. </p><p>“Putting this out before he proposes his Build Back Better plan is absolutely strategic and gives him a pay-for on a silver platter," he added, referencing revenue-generating proposals lawmakers often pair with spending on social programs. </p><p>Jayapal said at Monday's news conference that when you look at <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/new-look-racial-wealth-inequalities-pandemic">racial inequality</a> as it relates to wealth and not just income it is “particularly staggering." The <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/12/08/the-black-white-wealth-gap-left-black-households-more-vulnerable/">wealth gap</a> between White households as compared with Black and Latinx households left non-White households less able to weather the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Boyle reiterated a point that Warren frequently made on the campaign trail to support the idea of a wealth tax: that the type of wealth held by most Americans — their house — is already taxed. </p><p>Polls <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-inequality-poll/majority-of-americans-favor-wealth-tax-on-very-rich-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1Z9141">consistently</a> <a href="https://www.dataforprogress.org/memos/voters-in-key-states-support-a-wealth-tax">show</a> that the public <a href="https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Bowman-On-the-Margin-March-23-2020.pdf?x91208">broadly</a> supports the implementation of a wealth tax and it <a href="https://qz.com/1782722/a-majority-of-republicans-actually-support-a-wealth-tax-if-you-dont-call-it-that/">crosses</a> ideological boundaries. </p><p>Democrats control the House and legislation there passes by a simple majority whereas in the evenly split, 100-seat Senate, most legislation, including a wealth tax or broader economic package, would likely require 60 votes.</p><p>Warren noted last month when she joined the Senate Finance Committee that the introduction of a bill to implement a wealth tax would be among her first moves. The proposal is also co-sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, all Democrats. </p><p>As the Senate takes up the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill passed by the House last week, with a provision to raise the hourly minimum wage that is expected to be stripped out, the White House and Democratic lawmakers are already looking ahead to Biden's “Build Back Better" plan that is expected to be used as a vehicle to update infrastructure and create jobs, including in clean energy.</p><p>During the Democratic presidential primary, Biden did not support a wealth tax like the one <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/warren-jayapal-boyle-introduce-ultra-millionaire-tax-on-fortunes-over-50-million">offered</a> by Warren and other progressive-leaning lawmakers such as Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, who are spearheading the effort in the House. The introduction of the proposal could mark the first notable policy conflict between Biden and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party if the administration does not consider it. </p><p>“It is time for a wealth tax in America," Warren told reporters on Monday.</p><p>She added that a wealth tax would “level the playing field a little bit and create the kind of revenue that would allow us to build back better, as Joe Biden says." </p><p>The proposal unveiled by Warren, Jayapal and Boyle, which mirrors the one detailed by Warren during her White House bid, would levy a 2 percent annual tax on the portion of households and trusts valued between $50 million and $1 billion, with an additional 1 percent tax on any wealth beyond $1 billion. </p><p>It would affect the top 0.05 percent of taxpayers, or about 100,000 of the wealthiest U.S. households. University of California-Berkeley economists have <a href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Wealth%20Tax%20Revenue%20Estimates%20by%20Saez%20and%20Zucman%20-%20Feb%2024%2020211.pdf">estimated</a> that it would generate $3 trillion in revenue over a decade — even more than they estimated during Warren's presidential bid due to an economic downturn that has exacerbated income inequality and left ultra-wealthy individuals in <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/world-s-richest-become-wealthier-during-covid-pandemic-inequality-grows-n1255506">even better</a> financial shape. </p><p>The clean energy component of Biden's Build Back Better plan has an estimated price tag of $2 trillion. The full implementation cost will depend on whether other components, such as Biden's plans to support the <a href="https://joebiden.com/caregiving/">caregiving workforce</a>, are included and in what form. </p><p>The White House said last week that it did not expect to preview Build Back Better in detail until after <a href="https://19thnews.org/2021/02/whats-in-the-pandemic-relief-package/">the COVID-19 relief package</a> is signed into law. Congressional Democrats aim to send the latest COVID-19 relief package to the White House by March 14, when previously passed unemployment benefits related to the pandemic expire. Press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Monday that Biden “strongly believes the ultra-wealthy and corporations need to finally start paying their fair share." She did not elaborate on what that might look like. </p><p>“Joe Biden is about to propose a multi-trillion Build Back Better plan that will likely need to be funded in significant part by taxing the rich," said Adam Green with the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which supports liberal candidates and policies. </p><p>“Putting this out before he proposes his Build Back Better plan is absolutely strategic and gives him a pay-for on a silver platter," he added, referencing revenue-generating proposals lawmakers often pair with spending on social programs. </p><p>Jayapal said at Monday's news conference that when you look at <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/new-look-racial-wealth-inequalities-pandemic">racial inequality</a> as it relates to wealth and not just income it is “particularly staggering." The <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/12/08/the-black-white-wealth-gap-left-black-households-more-vulnerable/">wealth gap</a> between White households as compared with Black and Latinx households left non-White households less able to weather the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Boyle reiterated a point that Warren frequently made on the campaign trail to support the idea of a wealth tax: that the type of wealth held by most Americans — their house — is already taxed. </p><p>Polls <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-inequality-poll/majority-of-americans-favor-wealth-tax-on-very-rich-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1Z9141">consistently</a> <a href="https://www.dataforprogress.org/memos/voters-in-key-states-support-a-wealth-tax">show</a> that the public <a href="https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Bowman-On-the-Margin-March-23-2020.pdf?x91208">broadly</a> supports the implementation of a wealth tax and it <a href="https://qz.com/1782722/a-majority-of-republicans-actually-support-a-wealth-tax-if-you-dont-call-it-that/">crosses</a> ideological boundaries. </p><p>Democrats control the House and legislation there passes by a simple majority whereas in the evenly split, 100-seat Senate, most legislation, including a wealth tax or broader economic package, would likely require 60 votes.</p><p>Warren noted last month when she joined the Senate Finance Committee that the introduction of a bill to implement a wealth tax would be among her first moves. The proposal is also co-sponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, all Democrats. </p><p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://19thnews.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=10498"/></p>
CONTINUE READING
Show less
WSJ editorial board gives GOP a reality check: 'Grievances of the Trump past' are a losing formula for Republicans
March 02, 2021
Anyone who doubts that Trumpism remains the dominant ideology of the Republican Party need only watch the speeches from the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, which concluded in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, February 28. From Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to former President Donald Trump himself, the event seldom strayed from its Culture War theme. The Wall Street Journal's conservative editorial board analyzes the event in an editorial published on March 1, warning that if Trumpist "grievance" is going to be Republicans' main focus in the months ahead, the GOP is in trouble.
"The CPAC crowd cheered (Trump's) speech, which was largely a collection of greatest political hits," the WSJ's editorial board observes. "But if CPAC represented America, Mr. Trump would still reside in the White House, not Mar-a-Lago. He lost to Joe Biden, the old Democratic war horse, by 7 million votes. He also lost five states he carried in 2016, even Georgia. That's the cold GOP reality as the former president seeks to dominate the party from exile and tease a 2024 comeback."
<p>During his CPAC 2021 speech, the WSJ's editorial board notes, Trump "laid out his political enemies list and is clearly bent on revenge against anyone who voted to impeach or convict him or disagrees with his election claims" — and those "intra-party fights" will "sap GOP energy and resources when their priority now should be retaking Congress in 2022."<br/></p><p>"Republicans lost the House in 2018 as suburban voters fled to check Mr. Trump," the WSJ editorial board points out. "He proceeded to lose the White House on November 3, and he cost the GOP two Georgia Senate races on January 5 as he made his claims of election fraud the main issue rather than checking Mr. Biden and Nancy Pelosi. Mr. Trump essentially told his Georgia supporters their votes didn't matter, and many stayed home. The GOP lost the Senate."</p><p>The WSJ wraps up its editorial by stressing that Trumpist "grievances" are not a winning formula for the Republican Party in 2022 or 2024.</p><p>"Mr. Trump's base of support means he will play an important role in the GOP," the WSJ editorial board writes. "But as the Biden months roll on and the policy consequences of the 2020 defeat become stark, perhaps the Party's grassroots will begin to look past the Trump era to a new generation of potential standard-bearers. As long as Republicans focus on the grievances of the Trump past, they won't be a governing majority."</p>
CONTINUE READING
Show less
Trending
Latest
Videos
Copyright © 2021 Raw Story Media, Inc. PO Box 21050, Washington, D.C. 20009 | Masthead | Privacy Policy | For corrections or concerns, please email corrections@rawstory.com.
Thanks for your support!
Did you enjoy Raw Story this year? Join us! We're offering RawStory ad-free for 15% off - just $2 per week. From now until March 15th.