Part 2: Building a Stronger, Fairer Economy
1. Trump inherited the longest economic expansion in American history and he squandered it.
a. Even before COVID-19, the manufacturing sector was in recession
i. https://www.epi.org/publication/reshoring-manufacturing-jobs/
b. Trump raised taxes on working families and cut them for big business
c. trade war with China was reckless and cost 300,000 American jobs, sending farmers to bankruptcy
2. Working families incomes have been stagnant for decades, all while the cost of living keeps rising
a. The rich are getting richer faster
b. Intergenerational mobility has gone down, children born in US are less likely to move up the income ladder than those in European countries
c. Women are still earning less than men, with greater disparities for women of color
d. Racial wealth gap – avg white household has 6x more wealth than typical Latino family and 10x more wealth than typical Black family
3. Housing is a right not a privilege, and no one should be homeless or go hungry
4. Protecting Workers and Families and Creating Millions of Jobs Across America
a. Raising Wages and Promoting Workers’ Rights
i. raise federal minimum wage to $15/hr by 2026
ii. prioritize passing the PRO Act and restoring workers’ rights, including the right to launch secondary boycotts
iii. repeal right-to-work laws that undermine worker power and lead to lower wages and less protection
iv. recognize unions with majority sign-up
v. ban captive audience meetings
vi. protect private-sector workers’ right to strike
vii. support the right of workers to form unions
viii. increase funding and staffing at Dept of Labor to aggressively enforce wage, hour, health, and safety rules across the economy
ix. all workers should be able to hold employers accountable for unpaid or underpaid wages, regardless of corporate structure
x. pass the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act
1. provide federal guarantee for public-sector employees to bargain for better pay and benefits
xi. take on racial biases at work in employment system
1. wage gap between Black and white workers is higher today than it was 20 years ago
2. be more proactive and aggressive in rooting out discrimination in our employment system
3. increase funding to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and increase its authority to investigate violations
4. Federal contractors should be required to develop and disclose plans to recruit and promote people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and veterans
5. Enacting Robust Work-Family Policies
a. US is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee either paid sick leave or paid family leave for all workers
i. And we should. It was really frustrating for me at my last job that I didn’t get sick pay. If I didn’t work, I wasn’t paid. The end. And that just encourages people to work when they are sick, which is no good.
b. we will implement paid sick days and paid family and medical leave (guarantee at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for all workers and family units)
i. I think this is a really good thing. Devon got 8 weeks paid leave when Jenna was born and it was seriously the best thing in the entire world. I definitely did better with my mental health because of having him home.
c. increase the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
d. provide access to affordable high-quality child care on a sliding scale by boosting funding for grants to states to help people afford child care
i. I’m all about making high-quality childcare more accessible. I think this could make a huge difference not just for kids but for parents.
e. enact universal preschool for 3 and 4 year olds
i. This is one thing I don’t agree with/that worries me a bit. I am already upset that kindergarten has gotten so rigorous, now I’m worried that preschool will be the new kindergarten. Let kids be kids! If we’re going to enact universal preschool can we PLEASE pay attention to actual child development experts and make sure we keep things like testing, specific standards, etc out of preschool. Preschool is a time to learn through play, they don’t need academics forced on them. Plus, even if we’re going at this from a Head Start perspective, that low income children need this, research has shown that any advantage gained in these programs disappears by the 3rd grade. So…maybe it’s not the problem solver we think it is.
f. invest in expanding long-term services and supports and home and community based care for seniors and people with disabilities
g. increase wages and benefits for paid caregivers
6. Investing in the Engines of Job Creation
a. Invest in infrastructure
b. launch a clean energy revolution
c. repair, modernize, and expand our highways, roads, bridges, and airports
d. install 500,000 public charging stations for electric vehicles
e. invest in high-speed rail and passenger and freight rail systems
i. will reduce pollution, connect workers to good union jobs, slash commute times, and spur investment in rural communities
f. ensure public transit is affordable and accessible
g. upgrade ports, lock and dam systems and freight infrastructure
h. increase demand for American-made ships by ensuring US cargo is carried on ships flying our flag
i. make sure every community in America has access to clean, reliable drinking water and safe wastewater systems
i. replace lead pipes
ii. invest in innovative water technologies to reduce water waste and conserve water
j. modernize and green public schools, making sure they are accessible for those with disabilities
k. invest in broadband and 5G technology, including rural and municipal broadband
l. restore FCC authority to take action against service providers who violate net neutrality principles
m. create an infrastructure bank – a public bank that will fund infrastructure projects
n. ensure labor protections, Davis-Bacon wage standards, project labor agreements, collective bargaining neutrality, and domestic sourcing requirements
o. oppose any policy that promotes the privatization of public services or infrastructure
p. more products should be Made in America, expand support for American manufacturing
q. invest in career and technical education and high-quality job training programs, including registered apprenticeships
r. boost funding for small businesses, increase their access to credit
s. end Trump Administration effort to starve the Minority Business Development Agency
t. expand USDA loan programs, and make sure the USDA is proactive in supporting training and resources for farmers of color (bc of history of racial discrimination in USDA’s core farming programs)
i. This is big. If you don’t think there is a history of racism in the USDA, here are some resources for you. This is something I just recently learned about.
2. https://www.eater.com/2019/1/25/18197352/american-farming-racism-us-agriculture-history
4. https://www.agdaily.com/insights/food-science-babe-structural-racism-u-s-food-agricultural-system/
u. limit foreign ownership of U.S farmland
v. farmers should be able to repair their own farm equipment
w. expand domestic markets for family farmers and ranchers
x. make the US agriculture sector the first in the world to achieve net-zero emissions
y. strengthen the Renewable Fuel Standard
i. support research and development of advanced biofuels
z. support climate-resilient, sustainable, low-carbon, and organic agricultural methods
i. I do take a small issue with this because it lumps “organic” in with “climate-resilient” and “sustainable” and it is neither of those things.
aa. strengthen enforcement of Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts and the Packers and Stockyards Act
i. https://business-law.freeadvice.com/business-law/trade_regulation/anti_trust_act.htm
ii. https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/packers-and-stockyards-act
bb. improve workers safety at meat packing plants
cc. continue to support NASA and space exploration, we should go to Mars
i. Meh. I don’t really get why space exploration is important, but maybe if I knew more about it I would care. I don’t think we need to go to Mars. But, I don’t necessarily have a problem with continuing to fund NASA, since the scientists there have come up with a lot of great things that have improved the lives of average Americans. https://www.uschamber.com/co/good-company/growth-studio/8-technologies-we-can-thank-nasa-for
7. Building a Fair System of International Trade for Our Workers
a. trade policy should put workers first
b. negotiate strong and enforceable standards for labor, human rights, and the environment
c. Future trade agreements should build on the pro-labor provisions added to the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement
d. take aggressive action against China, demand that they stop conducting cyberespionage against our companies
e. eliminate tax and trade policies that encourage big corporations to ship jobs overseas and evade taxes
i. if companies shut down operations here and outsource jobs, we will take back public investments or benefits they received from taxpayers
8. Putting Homeownership in Reach and Guaranteeing Safe Housing for Every American
a. no one should have to spend more than 30% of their income on housing
b. government should work to increase the supply of affordable housing
c. Rehabilitating housing and expansion of housing owned by land trusts will increase the amount of housing available for homeownership
d. equalize access to affordable credit and improve access to down payment assistance
e. increase assistance to first time buyers
i. create a new tax credit of up to $15,000 to help
ii. make this refundable and advanceable so you can use it at the time of purchase
f. invest in the Housing Trust Fund
g. expand Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
h. make energy efficient upgrades for low-income households to save people money and make homes safer
i. Provide Section 8 housing support for eligible families, enact protections to keep landlords from discriminating
j. support a housing-first approach to ending homelessness
i. strong protections for veterans, LGBTQ youth
k. enact a Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights to protect families from abusive lenders and landlords
i. establish a national tenant right to organize
l. vigorously enforce the Fair Housing Act, Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule
9. Leveling the Economic Playing Field
a. Reform the Tax Code to benefit working families
i. make sure the wealthy pay their fair share
ii. raise corporate tax rates
iii. raise estate taxes back to historical norm
iv. reform the tax code to be more equitable
b. Curb Wall Street Abuses
i. separate retail banking from more risky investment operations
ii. Wall Street investors should pay their fair share in taxes
iii. enforce Dodd-Frank financial reform law
iv. back criminal penalties for executives who illegally gamble with the savings and economic security of their clients
v. create a public credit reporting agency, will require all federal lending programs to use it.
vi. repeal sections of bankruptcy laws that lead to people losing their homes due to medical debt, divorce, or job loss
c. Ending Poverty
i. support the 10-20-30 funding approach
1. direct at least 10% of federal funding to communities where 20% or more of the population has been living below the poverty line for 30 years or longer
ii. raise minimum wage
iii. expand Medicaid, make it easier for low income people to access healthcare
iv. increase funding for SNAP, WIC and school meals
1. remove barriers that keep the formerly incarcerated from accessing food assistance
a. I think this is a good idea because once a person has served their time, we cannot continue to punish them AND their children, who had nothing to do with the parent’s choices. If a person has been released from prison and is working to put their life right, they should have access to these programs. If they don’t, it’s going to be a lot easier for them to slip back into criminal activity.
v. increase investment in the Legal Services Corporation so those who can’t afford a lawyer can access the civil justice system
vi. double funding for CDFI’s, expand Community Development Block Grant, increase # of Rural Business Investment Companies, expand the New Markets Tax Credit
d. Protecting Consumer Rights and Privacy
i. eliminate the use of forced arbitration clauses in employment and service contracts
ii. work with Congress to pass into law the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights
iii. data collected in schools should only be used for education, not commercial purposes
iv. update Electronic Communications Privacy Act
e. Tackling Runaway Corporate Concentration
i. concerned that increase in corporate concentration is stifling competition and creating monopolies
ii. direct federal regulators to review mergers and acquisitions to assess whether they have increased market concentration, raised consumer prices, harmed workers, increased racial inequality, reduced competition, or constricted innovation
10. Guaranteeing a Secure and Dignified Retirement
a. Support Social Security reform, reject efforts to cut, privatize, or weaken it
b. against raising the retirement age
c. protect public and private pensions
d. amend federal bankruptcy laws to protect workers’ earned pensions from being taken away by employers going through bankruptcy
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