“Repealing capital gains tax would give King County’s uber wealthy a huge, unnecessary tax break,” explains Washington State Budget & Policy Center senior fellow Andy Nicholas.
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Offering asides, recommended links, blogworthy quotations, and more, In Brief is the Northwest Progressive Institute's microblog of world, national, and local politics.
“Repealing capital gains tax would give King County’s uber wealthy a huge, unnecessary tax break,” explains Washington State Budget & Policy Center senior fellow Andy Nicholas.
Launch“Sanders, just weeks from his eightieth birthday, is on the cusp of leaving an indelible mark on the federal government, having shepherded a $3.5 trillion spending blueprint through the Senate this week,” The Washington Post’s Mike DeBonis reports.
LaunchA new paper from the London School of Economics reinforces what progressive activists and economists already know: Trickle down doesn’t. Tax cuts for the wealthy do not create jobs. In fact, they result in greater wealth hoarding and income inequality. It’s time to require the wealthy to pay their fair share in dues to our world community.
Launch“Many lawmakers and advocates for the poor say filing a tax return shouldn’t be necessary for people on Social Security since the government already knows how to send this population monthly checks. The $2.2 trillion aid package said that if someone has not filed a 2019 or 2018 tax return, the U.S. Treasury should get their information from Social Security, if applicable,” The Washington Post reports.
Launch“The need for a Green New Deal can rendezvous with the imperative of anti-depression public investment. Much of this sweeping proposal is on the drawing boards and has not been done for lack of funding. Some of it will take some advance planning. The time to start is now.”
LaunchImagine if Tim Eyman became governor and began taking an axe to Washington’s public services. That’s what is happening in Alaska, where right wing extremist Mike Dunleavy is using his line item veto power to force through a 41% cut to the University of Alaska system, plus gut Medicaid, behavioral health, and the Alaska State Ferry system.
Launch“Fully 60% of millionaires support Warren’s plan for taxing the wealth of those who have more than $50 million in assets,” CNBC reports.
LaunchNancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer met with Donald Trump at the White House and got exactly what they came for.
Launch“We’re going to have a challenging midterm anyway, and I don’t see how putting the attention on shutting down the government when you control the government is going to help you.”
LaunchThe Washington Post’s Dana Milbank finally trains his ire on a deserving figure for once.
Launch“Republican policies in the ’20s instead pushed to concentrate more of the income at the top. Nine decades later, Republicans are rushing to do it again — and they are sprinting toward an economic cliff. Another round of Government of the People, by the Republicans, for the super-rich will be catastrophic. The American people must call a halt before it’s too late,” writes Robert S. McElvaine.
LaunchProfessor Stephanie Kelton, who teaches public policy and economics at SUNY Stony Brook, has written the op-ed of the year, explaining how U.S. fiscal policy really works.
Launch“B.C.’s new. government will spend $51.9 billion for this fiscal year to support the NDP’S stated goal of making the province more affordable for residents,” the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports. The budget will be balanced through increases in the corporate income tax, personal income tax (for wealthy families), and pollution tax.
LaunchThis is arguably the first real “deal” Donald Trump has made as President. It comes more than seven months after his regime came into power.
LaunchCongresswoman Pramila Jayapal questioned Budget Director Mick Mulvaney about Trump’s new budget proposal during the House Budget Committee hearing today. Watch the video and read the transcript.
LaunchSouthwestern Oregon’s public services are rotting away or shutting down due to voter unwillingness to pay dues to keep them running. The New York Times looks at the collapse of the commons in an often-ignored area of the Pacific Northwest.
Launchhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWebDbGtQI4 From ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live: “Trump released a proposed budget that would cut funding for PBS, Meals on Wheels, and The National Endowment for
LaunchU.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene and Pramila Jayapal have been forcefully speaking out against the House Republicans’ extremely destructive Trumpcare bill as it has speedily made
Launch“At a time when Washington’s towns and cities were just specks on a map, our state’s founders chose education as our paramount duty. Not roads or railroads. Not jails. They chose schools. So should we,” the Governor declared.
LaunchOn Monday, the Seattle City Council took up a proposal which would stop all business with Wells Fargo due to the direct financing of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Launch“Over all, Chris Wallace was better than I expected. But he was pretty bad on fiscal issues,” writes Paul Krugman.
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