SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Protestors with People's Action rally against President Donald Trump's budget and agenda at Lafayette Park outside the White House in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 2017. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)
In Major Victory for Progressives, Democratic Leadership Abandons Tax Rule That Would Have Made Bold Agenda Impossible
"The removal of this harmful provision will help progressives pass college for all, Medicare for All, and other bold proposals that will deliver meaningful relief for working families," declared the Congressional Progressive Caucus
Dec 10, 2018
In a major victory for the growing Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and everyone who supports popular solutions like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and tuition-free public college, the House Democratic leadership on Tuesday ditched plans to impose a widely denounced right-wing tax rule that would have made a bold agenda impossible to fund.
"We are pleased to announce that the rules package for the 116th Congress will not include the 3/5 supermajority tax provision promoted by House Republicans in recent years," the CPC wrote on Twitter. "The removal of this harmful provision will help progressives pass college for all, Medicare for All, and other bold proposals that will deliver meaningful relief for working families."
Pushed primarily by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and incoming Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the proposed rule would have required a three-fifths supermajority vote to raise individual income taxes on the bottom 80 percent of Americans.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities."
-- Social Security WorksWhile cloaked in progressive-sounding language, New York Magazine's Eric Levitz argued last month, when it was first floated, that the rule was based on right-wing tropes about taxation and a "betrayal" of the voters who gave the Democrats control of the House.
Echoing this critique, progressive advocacy groups roundly denounced the proposal as a "staggeringly bad," "disastrous," and "absurd" idea that would have effectively given House Republicans veto power over Democratic legislation.
In addition to widespread grassroots opposition, the rule was also publicly condemned by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--the only two House Democrats who publicly opposed the rule.
Given how harmful the measure would have been to their central policy aims, progressives greeted news that the proposal has been scrapped with applause--and a sigh of relief.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities," Social Security Works wrote on Twitter.
Now that the supermajority tax rule has been scrapped from the incoming House majority's rules package, progressives immediately began to set their sights on defeating "pay-go," another deeply regressive proposal pushed by the Democratic leadership that would require all new spending to be offset by budget cuts or tax increases.
"The pay-go thing is an absurd idea," argued Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the CPC, in an interview earlier this year.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
congressional progressive caucusdemocratic partygreen new dealhealthcarejustice democratsmedicare for allnancy pelosiraul grijalvasingle-payertaxation
In a major victory for the growing Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and everyone who supports popular solutions like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and tuition-free public college, the House Democratic leadership on Tuesday ditched plans to impose a widely denounced right-wing tax rule that would have made a bold agenda impossible to fund.
"We are pleased to announce that the rules package for the 116th Congress will not include the 3/5 supermajority tax provision promoted by House Republicans in recent years," the CPC wrote on Twitter. "The removal of this harmful provision will help progressives pass college for all, Medicare for All, and other bold proposals that will deliver meaningful relief for working families."
Pushed primarily by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and incoming Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the proposed rule would have required a three-fifths supermajority vote to raise individual income taxes on the bottom 80 percent of Americans.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities."
-- Social Security WorksWhile cloaked in progressive-sounding language, New York Magazine's Eric Levitz argued last month, when it was first floated, that the rule was based on right-wing tropes about taxation and a "betrayal" of the voters who gave the Democrats control of the House.
Echoing this critique, progressive advocacy groups roundly denounced the proposal as a "staggeringly bad," "disastrous," and "absurd" idea that would have effectively given House Republicans veto power over Democratic legislation.
In addition to widespread grassroots opposition, the rule was also publicly condemned by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--the only two House Democrats who publicly opposed the rule.
Given how harmful the measure would have been to their central policy aims, progressives greeted news that the proposal has been scrapped with applause--and a sigh of relief.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities," Social Security Works wrote on Twitter.
Now that the supermajority tax rule has been scrapped from the incoming House majority's rules package, progressives immediately began to set their sights on defeating "pay-go," another deeply regressive proposal pushed by the Democratic leadership that would require all new spending to be offset by budget cuts or tax increases.
"The pay-go thing is an absurd idea," argued Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the CPC, in an interview earlier this year.
In a major victory for the growing Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and everyone who supports popular solutions like Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, and tuition-free public college, the House Democratic leadership on Tuesday ditched plans to impose a widely denounced right-wing tax rule that would have made a bold agenda impossible to fund.
"We are pleased to announce that the rules package for the 116th Congress will not include the 3/5 supermajority tax provision promoted by House Republicans in recent years," the CPC wrote on Twitter. "The removal of this harmful provision will help progressives pass college for all, Medicare for All, and other bold proposals that will deliver meaningful relief for working families."
Pushed primarily by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and incoming Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), the proposed rule would have required a three-fifths supermajority vote to raise individual income taxes on the bottom 80 percent of Americans.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities."
-- Social Security WorksWhile cloaked in progressive-sounding language, New York Magazine's Eric Levitz argued last month, when it was first floated, that the rule was based on right-wing tropes about taxation and a "betrayal" of the voters who gave the Democrats control of the House.
Echoing this critique, progressive advocacy groups roundly denounced the proposal as a "staggeringly bad," "disastrous," and "absurd" idea that would have effectively given House Republicans veto power over Democratic legislation.
In addition to widespread grassroots opposition, the rule was also publicly condemned by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)--the only two House Democrats who publicly opposed the rule.
Given how harmful the measure would have been to their central policy aims, progressives greeted news that the proposal has been scrapped with applause--and a sigh of relief.
"This is great news for Medicare for All and other progressive priorities," Social Security Works wrote on Twitter.
Now that the supermajority tax rule has been scrapped from the incoming House majority's rules package, progressives immediately began to set their sights on defeating "pay-go," another deeply regressive proposal pushed by the Democratic leadership that would require all new spending to be offset by budget cuts or tax increases.
"The pay-go thing is an absurd idea," argued Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chair of the CPC, in an interview earlier this year.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy