Green New Deal

[eevee-fan]

I guess it depends on your definition of ultra wealthy but the top 1% made about 21% of earnings and paid over 38% of income taxes in 2017. They actually paid more than the bottom 90%.

... because the top 0.1% made more than the bottom 90%, so seeing the top 1% paying more in taxes than the bottom 90% is actually NOT impressive. That is like saying the top 1% spend less on food and housing so what is wrong with these bottom 90% and why don't they do their part to pick up the economy by spending more money that they do not have on food and housing.

https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/

 

[rays427]

... because the top 0.1% made more than the bottom 90%, so seeing the top 1% paying more in taxes than the bottom 90% is actually NOT impressive. That is like saying the top 1% spend less on food and housing so what is wrong with these bottom 90% and why don't they do their part to pick up the economy by spending more money that they do not have on food and housing.

https://inequality.org/facts/income-inequality/

The top .1% paid $310 billion in taxes in 2017 of a total $1,601. The bottom 75% paid $223 billion. So saying the ultra wealthy pay little or no tax is not quite correct. The PDF download of this shows tax paid in 2017 by the various earning groups including the .1%.
Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2020 Update

 

[eevee-fan]

The top .1% paid $310 billion in taxes in 2017 of a total $1,601. The bottom 75% paid $223 billion. So saying the ultra wealthy pay little or no tax is not quite correct. The PDF download of this shows tax paid in 2017 by the various earning groups including the .1%.
Summary of the Latest Federal Income Tax Data, 2020 Update

OK, so just ignore:

Amazon will pay $0 in federal taxes this year — and it's partially thanks to Trump

https://money.cnn.com/2013/03/04/news/economy/buffett-secretary-taxes/index.html



US tax system is supposed to be progressive. I am in that progressive range, pay a decent marginal rate, thus higher avg rate than someone making less than me. The case for the 1% and 0.1% does not look progressive.

 

[rays427]

OK, so just ignore:

Amazon will pay $0 in federal taxes this year — and it's partially thanks to Trump

Buffett says he's still paying lower tax rate than his secretary



US tax system is supposed to be progressive. I am in that progressive range, pay a decent marginal rate, thus higher avg rate than someone making less than me. The case for the 1% and 0.1% does not look progressive.

Top .1% paid 19.34% of federal income tax and the bottom 50% paid 3.11%. That seems fairly progressive to me. By the way most ultra wealthy probably make most of their income from capital gains and dividends rather than salaries. US maximum federal capital gains and dividend tax is 23.8%. Including state taxes the average is 28.6% which is higher than the average OECD rate. In California the maximum is 37.1% including the 13.3% maximum state tax. Scandinavian Capital gains and dividend tax rates are about the same as the US. So there ultra wealthy probably end up paying about what they would if they were in the US. In fact in high tax states they would probably pay more in the US. Their maximum income taxes are generally higher but they kick in at much lower rate. This makes them less progressive. In addition they have 25% VAT which everyone must pay including the poor.

 

[mspohr]

Amid Coronavirus, America Needs a More Just Society Opinion | The America We Need

The United States does not guarantee the availability of affordable housing to its citizens, as do most developed nations. It does not guarantee reliable access to health care, as does virtually every other developed nation. The cost of a college education in the United States is among the highest in the developed world. And beyond the threadbare nature of the American safety net, the government has pulled back from investment in infrastructure, education and basic scientific research, the building blocks of future prosperity. It is not surprising many Americans have lost confidence in the government as a vehicle for achieving the things that we cannot achieve alone.

 

[jerry33]

Amid Coronavirus, America Needs a More Just Society Opinion | The America We Need

The United States does not guarantee the availability of affordable housing to its citizens, as do most developed nations. It does not guarantee reliable access to health care, as does virtually every other developed nation. The cost of a college education in the United States is among the highest in the developed world. And beyond the threadbare nature of the American safety net, the government has pulled back from investment in infrastructure, education and basic scientific research, the building blocks of future prosperity. It is not surprising many Americans have lost confidence in the government as a vehicle for achieving the things that we cannot achieve alone.

Of course, that basically happened because corporations have purchased our so-called representatives for the past thirty years so that they could make everything a profit centre. Both sides of the aisle get the blame. Until corporate (and religious) money is out of government, it will continue.

 

[SDRick]

...and to add insult to injury there are millions of people waiting to get into this country legally (and illegally) from all over the world.

 

[mspohr]

Of course, that basically happened because corporations have purchased our so-called representatives for the past thirty years so that they could make everything a profit centre. Both sides of the aisle get the blame. Until corporate (and religious) money is out of government, it will continue.

Yes, the core problem is the corruption of our government by money.

 

[mspohr]

Even the Philadelphia Enquirer sees the problem and is recommending GND actions!

Surprisingly, for a mainstream daily newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer ended its March 22 editorial on the coronavirus by calling for system change, writing, “This crisis has laid bare some hard truths: that we’ve built a society that has removed protections for workers, supported the creation and growth of the gig economy, kept wages low and has continued to shrink basic supports for essential needs.”

The editorial went on to call the COVID-19 epidemic “a public health emergency that has exposed the weaknesses inherent in the system as a whole,” and say “It’s clear the system will have to be rebuilt. We only hope that can begin in the near future.”

US Opinion is Shifting in Favor of the Nordic model — Can Activists Keep Up? - Resilience

And more...
COVID-19 Has Changed Everything - Resilience

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic poses a serious challenge not only to our health and economic well-being, but also to our society’s basic structures of social cohesion and even our democracy. But the pandemic alone is not what is bringing our society to its knees. A longstanding anti-human, anti-science, anti-democratic, individualistic, racist and xenophobic narrative is clashing with the reality of a pandemic that can only be overcome by humanity, science, equity, collective effort, and trust in the democratic institutions that are coordinating and delivering health services and economic relief.

 

[mspohr]

Pandemic Response Requires Post-Growth Economic Thinking - Resilience

Green New Deal (GND)

GND proposals circulating in the U.S. prior to the pandemic aimed to provide 100 percent renewable energy in 10 to 20 years while supporting job retraining and aiding communities impacted by climate change. Some proposals also included a carbon tax (often with a fee-and-dividend structure that would rebate funds to low-income people so they could afford more costly energy services), incentives for green investment, public banks, measures to re-regulate the financial system, and the first steps toward a global Marshall Plan.

While GND advocates seldom publicly acknowledge that economic growth is both ephemeral and antithetical to a livable environment, their proposals are nevertheless largely consistent with policy advice post-growth thinkers.

Also, MMT, UBI, Public Banks, GNH, Sharing economy, Localism

 

[rays427]

Amid Coronavirus, America Needs a More Just Society Opinion | The America We Need

The United States does not guarantee the availability of affordable housing to its citizens, as do most developed nations. It does not guarantee reliable access to health care, as does virtually every other developed nation. The cost of a college education in the United States is among the highest in the developed world. And beyond the threadbare nature of the American safety net, the government has pulled back from investment in infrastructure, education and basic scientific research, the building blocks of future prosperity. It is not surprising many Americans have lost confidence in the government as a vehicle for achieving the things that we cannot achieve alone.

Which countries guarantee affordable housing? I was surprised that the US has less homeless folks per capita than most other countries. Here is the data: List of countries by homeless population - Wikipedia

I also find it interesting that Russia has a very low level of homeless. I lived in Russia for a couple of years (96-98) and our Western style apartment was US $12,000 per month. Average salary is less than $10,000. So I guess it depends on what you consider affordable housing. It was quite common for several families to share one small apartment so I assume this is the reason their homelessness is low.

 

[mspohr]

America's billionaires are giving to charity – but much of it is self-serving rubbish

America's billionaires are giving to charity – but much of it is self-serving rubbish | Robert Reich

The worst fear of the billionaire class is that the government’s response to the pandemic will lead to a permanently larger social safety net.

“Once the virus is conquered – and it will be – the biggest risk will be the political campaign to expand government control over far more of American economic life,” warns Murdoch’s Journal.

After all, the Great Depression of the 1930s spawned social security and the minimum wage, as well as a widespread conviction that government should guarantee a minimum standard of living. The second world war yielded the GI Bill and then the National Defense Education Act, enshrining the government’s role as a financier of higher education.

Indeed. Hawley’s logic would as easily justify national paid sick leave and universal basic income, permanently.

If the pandemic has revealed anything, it’s that America’s current social safety net and healthcare system does not protect the majority of Americans in a national emergency. We are the outlier among the world’s advanced nations in subjecting our citizens to perpetual insecurity.

We are also the outlier in possessing a billionaire class that, in controlling much of our politics, has kept such proposals off the public agenda.

 

[mspohr]

Carbon emissions from fossil fuels could fall by 2.5bn tonnes in 2020

Carbon emissions from fossil fuels could fall by 2.5bn tonnes in 2020

However, Birol said if governments didn’t take the right measures to include support for clean energy in new economic stimulus packages “then this decline could be easily wiped out in the rebound of the economy”, once Covid-19 is brought under control.

He said: “These figures are important and impressive. But they don’t make me happy. For me it’s more important about what happens next year, and the year after that.”

 

[rays427]

America's billionaires are giving to charity – but much of it is self-serving rubbish

America's billionaires are giving to charity – but much of it is self-serving rubbish | Robert Reich

The worst fear of the billionaire class is that the government’s response to the pandemic will lead to a permanently larger social safety net.

“Once the virus is conquered – and it will be – the biggest risk will be the political campaign to expand government control over far more of American economic life,” warns Murdoch’s Journal.

After all, the Great Depression of the 1930s spawned social security and the minimum wage, as well as a widespread conviction that government should guarantee a minimum standard of living. The second world war yielded the GI Bill and then the National Defense Education Act, enshrining the government’s role as a financier of higher education.

Indeed. Hawley’s logic would as easily justify national paid sick leave and universal basic income, permanently.

If the pandemic has revealed anything, it’s that America’s current social safety net and healthcare system does not protect the majority of Americans in a national emergency. We are the outlier among the world’s advanced nations in subjecting our citizens to perpetual insecurity.

We are also the outlier in possessing a billionaire class that, in controlling much of our politics, has kept such proposals off the public agenda.

If billionaires control our politics why isn't it the same in Nordic countries where some of them have more billionaires per capita than the US.

 

[JRP3]

If billionaires control our politics why isn't it the same in Nordic countries where some of them have more billionaires per capita than the US.

Maybe because they have different systems of government?

 

[mspohr]

Maybe because they have different systems of government?

The US is government by the rich and for the rich. Other countries do a better job of keeping the rich under control.

 

[Uncle Paul]

Russia is a Communist country, yet the billionairs and criminal elements still run most of that country as well. Perhaps it is not the type of government that is in charge, but the goodness of that government.

Changing one less than perfect government for another less than perfect government is perhaps not progressive.

 

[mspohr]

Should we spend billions on clean energy? It worked during the last crisis

A decade later, as the country enters a pandemic-driven economic downturn that could rival or exceed the Great Recession, the Recovery Act provides a template for how lawmakers might drive further growth in clean energy — particularly nascent industries such as energy storage or electric vehicles.

In crafting the Obama-era stimulus, "we looked at initiatives that could in the short term put people back to work, but simultaneously would build for the long term, particularly in the context of energy, improving health and communities,” said Carol Browner, who served as Obama's top energy and climate advisor and today is board chair of the League of Conservation Voters.

 

[mspohr]

Russia is a Communist country, yet the billionairs and criminal elements still run most of that country as well. Perhaps it is not the type of government that is in charge, but the goodness of that government.

Changing one less than perfect government for another less than perfect government is perhaps not progressive.

History has shown that just about any form of government can be corrupted by the rich so I think it's the underlying social contract that guides good government.
OTOH, how about anarchy!
Anarchy - Wikipedia

Anarchy is the state of a society being freely constituted without authorities or a governing body. It may also refer to a society or group of people that totally rejects a set hierarchy.[1]

The word anarchy was first used in 1539, meaning "an absence of government".[2] Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopted the term in his 1840 treatise What Is Property? to refer to anarchism, a new political philosophy which advocates stateless societies based on voluntary associations.

In practical terms, anarchy can refer to the curtailment or abolition of traditional forms of government and institutions. It can also designate a nation or any inhabited place that has no system of government or central rule. Anarchy is primarily advocated by individual anarchists who propose replacing government with voluntary institutions.

 

[mspohr]

Covid-19 made 'unthinkable' reforms a reality in the US – now make them stick

The pandemic made 'unthinkable' reforms a reality – now to make them permanent | Francis Tseng and Daria Vaisman

The crisis has produced emergency responses such as guaranteeing housing, reversing excessive incarceration and reducing drug prices that read like a progressive agenda

These changes were put in place to slow viral transmission and stabilize the economy, not to benefit social welfare. But what’s interesting is how much overlap there is between them. Sector by sector, the pandemic has unintentionally sparked changes pushed by reformers for decades. What couldn’t be done in years has now happened in a matter of weeks. Policy changes that before Covid were dismissed as unreasonable are now seen not only as reasonable but as necessary.

, those controlled by city and state governments – criminal justice, housing, transportation, utilities – have had many