While what seems to be the inevitable has come to pass with the new GOP tax disaster for Democracy about to be signed into law, I have to ask where was the Democratic party’s progressive caucus’ annual People’s Budget or CPC, in all of this? This is a budget proposal which would, besides having aggressive ways to invest in America, creating more affordable health care through existing systems, and providing pathways out of poverty among other things, also would have a tax system set up for working families and not the rich.
The Democratic progressive caucus is the largest Democratic caucus which is 76 members strong centered in the house of representatives with the Democratic party’s ranking member on the senate budget committee currently being its only member in the senate. Which should carry some weight for the budget at least in one house. Meanwhile the inconsequential numbers in the senate of that caucus are a bit disturbing to many of people in a party which is now supposed to be rooted in Resistance. Regardless of that, some of you may be unaware of what I am talking about. And that would not be a surprise to me as this budget has remained well hidden by our party. For several years is caucus have released a budget which would be the antithesis of the monstrosity confirmed in the senate without any regular order yesterday. I have found using the Google news news aggregator on days after its release it might have been mentioned in all of less than half a dozen news outlets. While it has never been an official budget the party, or at least the progressive caucus, has gone out of its way evidently to promote it. It has probably never been mentioned on a Sunday talk show or been on the front page of any major news organization. This budget seems to have never been a formal challenge against the excesses of GOP cutbacks. For instance, how often have you found the nation in discussion on the following proposed tax rates on Sunday mornings or in the Op Ed pages or around your water cooler?
Ensure the rich pay their fair share
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New tax rates for millionaires and billionaires:
The CPC Budget preserves existing marginal tax rates for middle-class families while asking the richest Americans to contribute more to fund national priorities. It would restore Clinton-era tax rates from annual incomes above $250,000. For annual incomes above $1 million, it would adopt new progressive tax rates (Rep. Schakowsky’s Fairness in Taxation Act ):
45% for $1 million-$10 million,
46% for $10 million-$20 million,
47% for $20 million-$100 million,
48% for $100 million-$1 billion,
and 49%for $1 billion and over.
This budget proposes adding new tax brackets on to the existing seven we currently have (while a proposal was floated by Trump to cut it down to 3). We used to have closer to twenty five tax brackets until Reagan took them away. Here is some resistance for you left largely unmentioned within the party. With state an local taxes billionaires and those closer to that annual income they would be paying over 50% in taxes annually. Like they used to until the Reagan revolution. It would also include closing corporate loopholes and offshoring, reform the estate tax, cap deductions for the highest brackets, end tax breaks for vacation homes and yachts (Really?!). It taxes Wall St. to fund Main St., taxes profits from capital gains investments at the same rates as income taxes, and expands the EITC and child care credits. And this doesn’t even get into the CPC’s parts about job creation and infrastructure repair which are also part of the big debate we were just having. See the budget to learn about those.
All things which consistently poll anywhere from above 50% to closer towards unanimity with the American public. You know, stuff that gets lots of lip service from our party at large but which is not usually actually laid out as a proposed budget. Which would actually take the fight to the Republicans and challenge all of their failed assumptions. Instead, this budget is missing in action.
To some extent I certainly have to blame the progressive caucus for not suggesting to the public at large to float its most current version of this budget. I would suggest that most of its members do not specifically make it a part of their speeches as far as I’m aware of. As they should have for the last few weeks. Other than an apparent ritualized releasing of the proposed budget it does not seem to get an airing in front of the public. I would assume that their hands perhaps tied as this is only a proposal which is not in line with actual budgets proposed by the party at large. But perhaps it is time for some resistance within our house of representatives and for this caucus to start insisting that this become a competing budget. Or perhaps the next annual budget we offer. Suddenly the Republican’s
And yet, with calls for unity and promises of transparency, it is especially curious why there is not the freedom for the progressive caucus to offer this budget as a proposal to America over the next year as we go into 2018. I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that the caucus is restricted from trying to sell it? Or make it part of the budget discussions nationally? It’s been around for years yet probably most Democrats don’t know about it.
Certainly there are many parts of it that most Democrats in both houses of congress would agree with. Perhaps it is time for more of us to ask our Democratic senators to become part of this caucus if they like calling themselves progressives. If you aren’t part of the caucus and moving aim its goals forward, largely encompassed in this budget, then perhaps your claims to that title should be taken with a grain of salt. Or at least they should champion this budget as our proposed next budget. We need to be bidding high against Republicans. Ask for the moon, and after negotiations you might at least end up on the mountain top.
But if we really want to resist Trump and the Republicans and their special interest elite corporate owners, this budget should be a point of discussion throughout 2018. We should be building towards 2020 on the strength of it. And if it doesn’t begin getting a mention at some point, perhaps its time for activists and Democrats at large to ask the party, its leadership and individual members, why it isn’t. Perhaps it’s time for us to insist our representatives take this much more seriously as a party budget. Give the American people an opportunity to see a different America which many of us envision but one where most of them don’t get to hear the specifics on how to build it. They need to see proposed legislative push back in order for them to consider that alternative.