Category: US

No comments

The Prospects for Progress in DC

  By Economic Justice, PBPC Blog posts, US

News stories from Washington, D.C., are beginning to remind us of a melodrama with one cliffhanger after another—and they got worse after Speaker Pelosi decided not to hold a vote on the infrastructure bill last night. The key question appears to be: “will division between progressives and moderates in the Democratic party” be overcome so they can pass a reconciliation bill, an infrastructure bill, and an increase in the debt limit? Drama is almost always a part of major policy change, and cliffhangers sell newspapers and generate clicks on the Web. But looking forward, it seems clear that much of this daily drama is hysterical. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that President Biden and the Democrats in Congress are going to do all of these things within the next week or two. Why do I believe this? First, as a recent poll by… Continue reading

No comments

1968 and 2020

  By Democracy, Fascism, US

I was talking on a national call about this time and 1968. I was only 13 then and maybe don’t recall how crazy and unsettled and uncertain that time felt, what with the Tet Offensive (which made it clear that Vietnam was a lost cause), the assassinations and riots, the Democratic convention, and the election of Nixon (and probably more I don’t remember). But this time feels more uncertain and scarier. I’m not exactly sure why but I suppose it’s mostly Trump and the support he has from half this country. Police brutality, property destruction in cities, even COVID-19 wouldn’t feel utterly unmanageable if we had a president who was not both incompetent and a threat to our Constitution, democracy, and freedom. And while Nixon’s possible election was scary, he was never nearly as scary or as bad as Trump. The immorality of Vietnam weighed heavily on us, but it… Continue reading

No comments

No “Buts”—Really Seeing White Supremacy in America

  By Racial Justice, US, White Supremacy and Structural Racism

Prefatory note: I start more writing projects than I can finish and usually have 20 or 30 half-finished pieces that I’m waiting to complete at the right moment. This seemed the right time to finish and post this one on racial justice. There is nothing new here at all. But it seems important for white people to be talking about these issues at this moment. My colleagues in the State Directors Racial Equity workgroup of the State Priorities Project State Directors helped me immensely with the hard thinking and personal reflection that led to this piece. Of them, I particularly want to thank James Jimenez of New Mexico, a great colleague and friend who contributed in many ways to this piece. I’ve been part of a group of directors of organizations that parallel mine who came together to better understand how racial equity should fit into our work. And those… Continue reading

No comments

M4A and the Future of American Politics

  By Health Care, Inequality, Politics, Public Policy, US

Elizabeth Warren’s campaign may be over soon. But before she disappears, let’s learn from what may have doomed her campaign, her stance on health care. Some of my friends who know that I’m a latecomer to Medicare for All might be surprised I’m enthusiastic about it now. And those who believe some of the silly stuff Sanders’s supporters said about Warren’s version of M4A, will be outraged that I think Warren has something to offer on this subject. Going really bold and then pulling it back was not smart politics by any means. Warren pulled off a political self-hat trick. First, she offered a bold M4A plan that scared the centrists. Then she offered an interim health care plan that the left felt was a betrayal. And, ultimately, she made everyone wonder if she knew what she was doing. But for reasons I’m going to explain, both her ultimate goal… Continue reading

No comments

Trump’s Nihilism and How to Defeat It

  By Philosophy, Politics, Resisting Trump

I wrote the first four paragraphs on Facebook on August 3, 2016. Trump’s Nihilism The Trump campaign reminds me that a central element of fascism and its appeal is the embrace of nihilism. One way to understand nihilism is as the denial that there is any meaning or truth or purpose beyond our will. Nihilism both describes the “philosophy” of Trump’s political practice—it’s utter disregard for any norms of conduct and any standards of argument and evidence—and his appeal to the people in America who have seem to lost their sense of purpose and connection to one another or ideals beyond themselves.  Trump’s pursuit of power for its own sake answers to that loss of purpose as does his willingness to create chaos. As Nietzsche put it, “man would rather will nothingness than not will.” Trump’s readiness to break up NATO; his lack of concern about causing a collapse in… Continue reading

No comments

Is Barr’s Letter a Whitewash of the Obstruction of Justice Charge?

  By Resisting Trump

After reading Attorney General Barr’s letter summarizing the principal conclusions of the Mueller report, it seems to me even more imperative that the full report be released as soon as possible. For there is some real reason to think that Barr is whitewashing Mueller’s conclusions, especially when it comes to the question of Trump’s obstruction of justice. According to Barr, Mueller does not reach a conclusion about whether Trump should be charged with that crime but, instead, sets out reasons for and against doing so. But then Barr concludes, with only 48 hours of considering the issue, that he should not be charged—and presumably should not be investigated by the House of Representatives—for obstructing justice. Barr says that no actions taken by Trump “had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent.” That is a plain restatement of what appears to be the law… Continue reading

No comments

A Temporary Setback on the Way to a Just America

  By Federal Taxes, Taxation, US

The Trump-GOP tax cut bill passed the House on a party-line vote with twelve Republicans voting against it this afternoon. It  is likely to pass the Senate tonight. This process reminds us that history does not move in a straight line. There are moments, like this one, in which America takes a step away from its promise of equality and justice for all. A combination of ideological zealotry, partisan extremism, and financial power has given us legislation that will cut taxes for the richest Americans while ultimately raising taxes and insurance premiums for working people and the middle-class and taking health insurance away from 13 million people. Wall Street will benefit, but the rest of us will be harmed by higher taxes, insurance premiums, deficits, and interest rates, and, if the Republicans have their way, deep cuts to the social safety net. This legislation will ultimately rank in the same… Continue reading

No comments

It redistributes from working people and the middle class to the rich. And that’s just wrong.

  By Federal Taxes, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Social Justice, Tump, US

Originally published at KRC-PBPC. With all the controversy over the details of the tax cut bill that is moving towards a final vote in the House and Senate this week it is easy to forget about the basic features of the bill. As they did during the debate over repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the Republicans put forward noxious proposals—to radically reduce the state and local tax deduction, to tax graduate student stipends, to eliminate the deduction for teachers who use their own funds in classrooms, and to eliminate the deduction for extremely high medical expenses among others—and then removed them from the final proposal. But we shouldn’t be gratified that these horrible elements of the bill are gone when the basic framework of the bill, which has remained constant in every version considered by the House and Senate, remains so awful. The legislation is basically a huge and… Continue reading

No comments

On the Passage of the US Senate GOP Tax Bill

  By Federal Taxes, PA Budget and Policy Center, Statements, US

Marc Stier, director of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, released the following statement on the passage of the U.S. Senate GOP tax bill: “Budgets are, it is frequently said, moral documents. If that is true, and we believe it is, then the tax plan adopted by the Senate today represents an extreme moral failure on the part of the Republican Party. At a time when incomes are becoming ever more unequal, the Republican tax plan will ultimately make the rich richer and the poor and middle class poorer. It will benefit corporations at the expense of families. And, because of the repeal of the individual mandate, it will cost 13 million people nationwide — and 500,000 in Pennsylvania — health insurance leading to 1000 to 2000 premature deaths in our state alone. Continue reading

No comments

The GOP Tax Bill: An Assault on Economic Equality and Democracy

  By Federal Taxes, PA Budget and Policy Center, PBPC Blog posts, Taxation, US

Budgets, it is frequently said, are an embodiment of our moral ideals and commitments. If so, the tax plan adopted by the Senate on Friday represents an extreme moral failure on the part of the senators from the Republican Party who voted for it. At a time when incomes are becoming ever more unequal, the Republican tax plan will ultimately make the rich richer and the poor and middle class poorer. Not only will working people and the middle class suffer, but so will our whole country. And not only that: one has to wonder what kind of democracy America has, when our government acts in such utter disregard of a majority of the country and the common good. Many of the features of this bill that work to help the rich and harm everyone else are now well known. So let’s quickly review them with links to the hard… Continue reading