You really can’t make this stuff up. #isaiahmartin #debate #democrats

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gNC0Zk9FeUg

 

The hidden consequences of Trump’s trade policy #tariffs #economy #trade

Interview: 

https://youtube.com/shorts/gS5Oh_75fGo

Trump’s attack on the federal workforce is an attack on the Black middle class

"…It's impossible to separate conservative animosity toward the federal government from conservatives' history of opposing integration and Black progress. And Trump attacking the federal workforce as he rolls back civil rights edicts and DEI initiatives means we don't have to pretend they're unrelated.."

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-dei-federal-workers-civil-rights-rcna188966

 

Some middle-class families will have a tax rate of zero this year — or less - CBS News

… Middle-class taxpayers earning $50,000 to $75,000 will have an effective average tax rate of -1.9%, while those earning between $50,000 to $75,000 will face a tax rate of 1.8%, the JCT found...

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/income-tax-rate-zero-2021-middle-class-families/

Why Biden's National Security Adviser Plans To Focus On The U.S. Middle Class : Biden Transition Updates : NPR

"What Joe Biden is proposing, and what I am reinforcing as the national security adviser, is that every element of what we do in our foreign policy and national security ultimately has to be measured by the impact it has on working families, middle-class people, ordinary Americans here in the United States," Sullivan said....

https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2020/12/30/951280373/why-bidens-national-security-adviser-plans-to-focus-on-the-u-s-middle-class

Posts Distort Impact of Biden's Tax Plan on Middle-Income Earners - FactCheck.org

Facebook posts falsely claim that under Joe Biden, the “tax rate on a family making 75000 dollars would go from 12% to 25%.” Biden’s proposal does not call for a tax increase on those making less than $400,000, though analysts say an increased corporate tax rate could effectively result in a small tax increase for middle-income earners.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/08/posts-distort-impact-of-bidens-tax-plan-on-middle-income-earners/

The Failure of Meritocracy: A Conversation with Daniel Markovits (Sam Harris, Making Sense podcast #205)

In this episode of the podcast, Sam Harris speaks with Daniel Markovits about the problems with meritocracy. They discuss the nature of inequality in the United States, the disappearance of the leisure class, the difference between labor and capital as sources of inequality, the way the education system amplifies inequality, the shrinking middle class, deaths of despair, differing social norms among the elite and the working class, the ethics of taxation, scales of philanthropy, universal basic income, the need for a wealth tax, the relationship between meritocracy and political polarization, the illusion of earned advantages, and other topics.
Interview:
https://samharris.org/podcasts/205-failure-meritocracy/

Coronavirus economy shows how easy it is to fall from the middle class into poverty - The Washington Post

Louise Lara apologized for crying as she told her story. The 54-year-old single mom had just listed her home in the Florida Panhandle as “for sale by owner,” the latest sign that her middle-class life is slipping away amid the nation’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/05/08/layoffs-poverty-coronavirus/

‘Bad news’ for the economy: Millennials aren’t buying homes - The Washington Post

Because homeownership is the chief builder of middle-class wealth, the trend is "bad news for the economy overall."....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/01/20/millennials-share-us-housing-market-small-shrinking/

Biden hits Trump over economy during Pennsylvania 2020 campaign speech

Former Vice President Joe Biden accused President Donald Trump on Wednesday of ignoring middle-class interests and endangering economic growth as he made his case for the White House in a key 2020 battleground state.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/23/biden-hits-trump-over-economy-during-pennsylvania-2020-campaign-speech.html

Laboratories of democracy: What Seattle learned from having the highest minimum wage in the nation - Vox

The city adopted a $15 minimum wage four years ago. Here's what happened. https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/7/13/20690266/seattle-minimum-wage-15-dollars

Trump’s Tariffs Have Already Wiped Out Tax Bill Savings for Average Americans - FORTUNE

President Donald Trump's trade wars have already wiped out all but $100 of the average American household's windfall from Trump's 2017 tax law. And that's just the beginning. That last $100 in tax-cut gains also could soon disappear — and then some — because of additional tariffs Trump has announced or is considering...
http://fortune.com/2019/06/07/trumps-tariffs-tax-savings/

The GOP tax law’s lopsided giveaway to corporations, explained in one sentence - Vox

Congress’s official think tank finds the Republican tax cuts helped corporations, not workers.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/29/18642928/trump-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-analysis

New study confirms ordinary Americans got fleeced by the Trump tax bill - ThinkProgress.org

Sorry, America's middle class: President Donald Trump's signature tax code overhaul has not generated any meaningful new economic growth that wasn't already underway, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) has found...
https://thinkprogress.org/gop-tax-bill-was-a-bust-1f3a02d12037/

Are Americans benefiting from the strong economy — aside from the rich? A Fed report raises questions - The Washington Post

Amid what is likely to become the longest period of sustained economic growth on record, a new report shows that millions of middle-class and low-income Americans still aren’t on solid enough ground to weather a sustained downturn. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/05/23/americans-arent-ready-weather-sustained-downturn-new-report-shows/

The reality of the Trump economy - The Hill: Juan Williams

The president likes to talk up the economy but his policies have put the squeeze on middle-class Americans...
https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/441071-juan-williams-the-reality-of-the-trump-economy

It takes a $300,000 salary to be middle class in cities like San Francisco and NYC, and a financial expert gives the 'sad' breakdown of why - Business Insider

A standard middle class home in some San Francisco neighborhoods can cost upwards of $1.8M. Sam Dogen spent 13 years working in finance on Wall Street before negotiating his layoff (and a severance package) in 2012 at age 34. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and baby and runs the blog Financial Samurai. He says that in order to comfortably raise a family in an expensive coastal city like San Francisco or New York, a household must earn at least $300,000 a year.....
https://www.financialsamurai.com/living-a-middle-class-lifestyle-on-300000-year-expensive-city/

Robert Reich: A Bold New Idea to Boost Wages

Robert Reich explains how expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit would boost wages for millions of working Americans...
https://youtu.be/M-j741MwVTA

Fact Check: Do 83% of Trump's tax cut benefits go to the 1%? - CNN Politics

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont appeared at a CNN presidential town hall Monday night. After his first question from the audience, Sanders argued that President Donald Trump "said he'd have a tax plan to benefit the middle class, but 83% of the benefits go to the 1%."...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/politics/fact-check-sanders-town-hall-tax-cuts/index.html

Québec's universal childcare policy helped thousands of Canadian women enter the workforce. Here's why the US had a similar policy but got rid of it. - Business Insider

Twenty years ago, Québec instituted a universal, low-fee child care program. Today, middle-class families pay just $6 a day for child care. While the $1.52 billion price tag is high, it means more working women - Québec has the highest participation rate in the world. The increase in working women means more tax revenue...
https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-02-05/what-we-can-learn-canada-s-universal-child-care-model