Rep. Keith Ellison wants U.S. prosperity to include all Americans

As the Federal Reserve Bank cites a revitalized economy as a reason to raise interest rates, many everyday Americans have yet to share in the benefits of a recovering U.S. economy. Wealth inequality in America is still a serious problem which has continued to grow worst despite a booming stock market and rapidly rising real estate valuations. The U.S. falls well behind most other industrialized nations in income equality and even fares worst than some third-world countries, such as Kenya. Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) understands this dynamic and has proposed legislation aimed at addressing this issue.

Wall Street on the rise, Main Street not so much

President Trump is quick to tout the rising stock market as evidence of his success, despite having been unable to pass any major legislation to address the American economy. However, it hardly matters whether Trump has anything to do with stock market prices, since most everyday Americans do not have a significant amount of their wealth in the stock market. In fact only a little more than half of Americans, a record low, currently own any stocks at all, according to a recent Gallup poll. Therefore, with stagnant wages that fail to keep up with the cost of living, the vast majority of the financial gains of the recent economic recovery skipped over the middle-class and impoverished communities.

U.S. prosperity should be for all Americans, not just the wealthy

Congressman Ellison has vowed to address wealth inequality in America and has taken action by introducing the Inclusive Prosperity Act of 2017 (H.R. 1144) in the House. If it becomes law, the bill would impose a tax on transfer of ownership of certain securities, including stocks, bonds and other derivative financial instruments. It would also provide a tax credit for those earning $50,000 or less annually which would fully cover the new securities excise tax. The collected taxes would allow for the funding of infrastructure and community investments which would help middle-class and impoverished communities receive more of the gains from a recovering American economy.

The bill currently has 23 Democratic co-sponsors in Congress. As of now, no Republicans have supported the proposed legislation. Those who believe that all Americans should enjoy the benefits of an improved U.S. economy should take the time to contact their representatives in Congress and urge them to support H.R. 1144.

Struggle against wealth inequality includes fight for reproductive rights

Wealth inequality is an important concern for those on the left of the American political spectrum. It is also no secret that wealth inequality is currently at record levels in the U.S. However, tackling wealth inequality cannot be done in a vacuum, since this issue intersects with various other social issues in America. For instance, many on the left may not realize how much the battle over reproductive rights in the U.S. can significantly affect the distribution of wealth across the country.

Lack of access to abortion has financial consequences for women

Having a child when not ready financially can be a serious problem for many women. This can keep a woman from being able to advance in her career or obtain the necessary education or training in order to move up along the economic and social ladder. Therefore, policies implemented by lawmakers which make it more difficult for women to access abortion can have significantly negative financial effects on women with unintended pregnancies. As a result, these women and their families are less able to accumulate wealth and therefore are significantly disadvantaged economically.

Anti-choice policies hurt impoverished communities most

Unfortunately, these policies restricting choice are most detrimental to impoverished communities. Women from impoverished communities are five times more likely than affluent women to have an unintended birth, according to The Brookings Institute. The effort to make the anti-choice Hyde Amendment permanent is one of the latest of these GOP anti-choice policies which would result in increased wealth inequality.

GOP aims to make anti-choice policy permanent

The Hyde Amendment, originally passed in 1976, bans the federal government from using taxpayer dollars on abortion services. However, the 2016 Democratic National Committee platform explicitly called for the repeal of the Hyde amendment which has prompted Republicans to take action. The GOP has already passed in the House the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act (H.R. 7) which would essentially make the Hyde Amendment permanent if it is passed in the Senate.

Democrats move to stop GOP

Fortunately, progressives, liberals and Democrats have responded to this most recent GOP attack on women's rights by putting forth a bill of their own which would put a stop to this latest anti-choice effort by Republicans. The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2017 (H.R. 771) would block the GOP's anti-choice bill by permanently repealing the ban on federal funding for abortion.

Who supports the EACH Woman Act?

The EACH Woman Act, along with its sponsor Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), is co-sponsored by 122 Democrats and no Republicans. Some of the co-sponsoring Democrats include Keith Ellison, Mark Takano, Ted Lieu and Pramila Jayapal. As of now, progressive Tulsi Gabbard has not signed onto the bill.

If you want to do something about wealth inequality and fight for a woman's right to choose, then please contact your representatives in Congress and ask them to vote for the EACH Woman Act of 2017. Also, call your Senators and demand that they vote against the GOP's anti-choice bill H.R. 7.

American justice is for sale, bill in Congress aims to fix this

For-profit prisons are turning America into a modern day slave state. The industry's lobbying activities have continuously aimed to unjustly lock up more impoverished and middle-class Americans along with undocumented immigrants in order to garner more profit for themselves. The incarceration rates for the United States is five to ten times that of other developed democratic nations, according to Jacobin. At the same time it costs American taxpayers nearly $2 billion annually to house around 400,000 undocumented immigrants detained by the government, reported The Nation. Progressive Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is looking to address this serious problem in a new bill which could signal the beginning of the end of the prison-immigration industrial complex in America.

Banning for profit prisons

Grijalva recently introduced the Justice Is Not For Sale Act of 2017 (H.R. 3227) which would ban the federal, state and local governments in the United States from contracting with for-profit private prison companies, therefore cutting off the private prison industry lobby's power over American politicians. The current contracts with privately-run prison companies would be phased out over the course of three years.

Parole and immigration reform

The bill also has provisions which give judges more flexibility in sentencing as well as helps reformed inmates more easily obtain parole in order to help them become productive and contributing citizens of society. Additionally, the proposed law would also give undocumented immigrants parole rights which would enable them to return to their families and continue contributing to the U.S. economy while working through the legal system to help them better integrate into American society.

Bill has support from some Democrats, no Republicans

The bill has been co-sponsored by 15 congressional Democrats. Among those include Keith Ellison, Tulsi Gabbard, Mark Takano and Barbara Lee. As of now, no Republicans have been brave enough to begin “draining the swamp” when it comes to reigning in the lobbying influence of the private prison industry. The bill has no co-sponsors from the GOP.

If you believe that American politicians should not be beholden to the prison industrial complex and believe in humane immigration reform then please contact your local congressional representatives and tell them to support the Justice Is Not For Sale Act of 2017.

Want single-payer? End Citizen's United

In the aftermath of the recent Republican attempt to destroy the American healthcare system and take away health insurance from millions of people, many may be wondering what would possess the GOP to attempt to ram through the Obamacare repeal bill which was extremely unpopular among voters on both the left and the right. It is the same reason that centrist Democrats balk at supporting a single-payer healthcare system. That reason is money.

Koch Industries money controls GOP

One would think it would not be good politics for the GOP to attempt to enact legislation that a majority of the public on both sides of the political spectrum strongly reject. However, political campaigns are becoming increasingly more expensive to mount, which means politicians need large amounts of donations to compete. One of the largest donors to the Republican Party, Koch Industries, an international corporation owned by Charles and David Koch, had donated $1.8 million to 176 Republican congressional candidates in 2016. Leading up to the Obamacare repeal vote the Koch brothers had warned Republicans if they were not able to pass major legislation to move the conservative agenda forward, they, along with other GOP mega-donors would stop donating to GOP politicians, according to Salon.

This is why Republican Senator Mitch McConnell had brought the Obamacare repeal bill to a vote despite not knowing if he had enough votes to pass the legislation. He had to at least give the appearance that he was doing everything he could to pass the Republican “healthcare” bill which was also essential for GOP tax cuts for the wealthy to be implemented via the budget reconciliation process.

Democrats and 'Big Pharma'

On the other hand, corporate donors also exercise extensive influence over Democrats and their decisions regarding healthcare policy. This was apparent in Democratic Senator Cory Booker's refusal to back progressive Senator Bernie Sander's bill to allow Americans to purchase prescription drugs from Canada where medications are generally less expensive. He did this despite 72 percent of Americans supporting the idea of importing prescription drugs from Canada, according to The Intercept.

It is no accident that Booker is notorious for being heavily funded by the pharmaceutical industry, garnering more donations from Big Pharma than any other Democratic senator. Over the last six years Booker has received $267,338 from the drug industry.

Influence from the pharmaceutical industry even played a role in the forming of Obamacare. After receiving millions of dollars in donations from the drug industry Barack Obama decided to back off his push for a single-payer healthcare system, according to International Business Times.

End Citizen's United

The legal mechanism which allows for corporations to essentially pay off American politicians on both sides of the aisle is the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Citizen's United vs. Federal Election Commission. This decision by the highest court in the country empowered corporations to donate unlimited amounts of money to political campaigns in order to pressure politicians to enact policies friendly to corporate interests regardless of what is best for the American people. Therefore, it is imperative for progressives, Democrats and anybody else who wants to see an American healthcare system that works for everybody to back candidates who want to reform the corrupt U.S. campaign finance system. 

 

Some of the politicians out there right now advocating for campaign finance reform and for ending Citizen's United are Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders as well as Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard who has recently pledged to stop taking corporate donations. Even centrist Senator Booker had to decide to “pause” his accepting of Big Pharma donations due to political pressure from constituents, a testament to how much everyday people can change politics if they are informed and involved. There are also various organizations, such as Our Revolution, working to achieve campaign finance reform in the U.S.