February, 22 2017, 09:00am EDT
NNU Nurses Say "Ellison for DNC Chair" As Voting Takes Place Saturday in Atlanta
This week, registered nurses with National Nurses United (NNU) will converge in Atlanta to support Keith Ellison for chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), as over 400 members of the DNC gather for a final vote to select their new leader.
"U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison has been a tremendous ally to nurses across the nation. Together with Keith we can build on the incredible energy of the Bernie campaign and transform the Democratic Party in anticipation of the 2018 midterm elections," said Jean Ross, RN, Co-President National Nurses United.
This week, registered nurses with National Nurses United (NNU) will converge in Atlanta to support Keith Ellison for chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), as over 400 members of the DNC gather for a final vote to select their new leader.
"U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison has been a tremendous ally to nurses across the nation. Together with Keith we can build on the incredible energy of the Bernie campaign and transform the Democratic Party in anticipation of the 2018 midterm elections," said Jean Ross, RN, Co-President National Nurses United.
What: NNU Nurses Support Keith Ellison for DNC Chair
When: Thursday, February 23 through Saturday, February 25
Where: Westin Peachtree Plaza, 210 Peachtree St., Atlanta GA 30303
It is absolutely essential, NNU nurses say, that the DNC be led by a progressive that Sen. Bernie Sanders has described as someone "who understands the dire need to listen to working families, not the political establishment or the billionaire class."
Ellison is the author of the NNU-sponsored bill for a robust Robin Hood Tax on Wall Street speculation and a co-sponsor of the bill to win nurse-to-patient ratios at the federal level. He is the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and played an important role on the Democratic Party Platform Committee in the run-up to the Democratic Convention.
There he successfully fought for the inclusion of a number of progressive positions including: an improved and expanded Medicare for all, the robust Robin Hood tax on Wall Street to fund human needs, expansion of Social Security, a ban on fracking and moving our economy to 100% clean energy by 2050.
"Selecting Keith Ellison to chair the DNC is exactly the direction the Democratic Party needs to go to rebuild and strengthen its ties with working class Americans, young people, communities of color, and the full diversity of the 99 percent of Americans who should be the base of the Democratic Party," said NNU Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro, who is also a vice president of the AFL-CIO.
"With allies of the far right and corporate interests now in control of all the branches of the federal government and a majority of state governments, it could not be more clear that the Democratic Party needs a new path that represents a fundamental break with reliance on Wall Street donors and the corporate class," said DeMoro.
"With his stellar record in Congress, which includes an uncompromised commitment to working people, and challenging corporate interests, Keith would be an outstanding leader who can lead the shift the Democratic Party needs," DeMoro said.
National Nurses United is the largest union of registered nurses in the country, with over 150,000 members nationwide.
National Nurses United, with close to 185,000 members in every state, is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses in US history.
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Why Can't We Fund Universal Public Goods? Blame the Tax-Dodging Billionaire Nepo Babies
"In 2024, these billionaire families used their enormous wealth to make record-breaking political contributions to secure a GOP trifecta," reads a new report.
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At least 90 billionaires have passed away over the last decade, leaving their beneficiaries $455 billion in collective wealth.
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Without loopholes included the stepped up basis tax cut, the current estate tax on billionaires and centimillionaires would yield enough revenue to fund universal childcare, preschool, and paid family leave for U.S. workers, with hundreds of billions of dollars left over, according to ATF's report.
The wealthy heirs profiled in the report and their families are some of the Republican Party's top donors—contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to candidates including Trump in the hopes of securing even more tax cuts.
Mellon, for example, is Trump's "biggest supporter, giving $140 million to a pro-Trump PAC in 2024 alone," reads the report.
A previous analysis by ATF found that as of late October, just 150 billionaire families had spent $1.9 billion on the 2024 elections.
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"The vast wealth inherited by centuries-old billionaire families is staggering. While these heirs and their billions go undertaxed, enormous sums are squandered on lavish mansions, private jets, and vanity projects instead of funding crucial public investments," said ATF executive director David Kass. "In 2024, these billionaire families used their enormous wealth to make record-breaking political contributions to secure a GOP trifecta. Now, Trump and his allies in Congress are doing their donors' bidding by rigging the system in their favor and pushing a $4 trillion giveaway to wealthy elites and giant corporations—all while advocating for cuts to vital programs that working and middle-class Americans depend on."
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The small tax on enormous wealth would generate "a whopping $3 trillion over 10 years," said ATF.
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Under the bill, the estate tax exemption would be lowered to $7 million per couple and the current 40% flat rate would be replaced with a sliding scale that would charge higher rates as a family's wealth grows.
"None of these tax reforms would impoverish the ultra wealthy, nor even inconvenience them in any meaningful way–but they would reduce the concentration of wealth that is so corrosive to society," reads the report. "At the same time, they would raise trillions of dollars that could be used to reduce inequality and improve the lives of families that can only dream of the kind of security and opportunity enjoyed by the nation’s richest clans."
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The Wall Street Journalreported Thursday that members of Trump's transition team and the new Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency have asked nominees under consideration to head the FDIC and OCC if the bank watchdogs could be eliminated and have their functions absorbed by the Treasury Department, which is set to be run by a billionaire hedge fund manager and crypto enthusiast.
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The Trump team's internal and fluid discussions about the fate of the key bank regulators broadly aligns with Project 2025's proposal to "merge the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Reserve's non-monetary supervisory and regulatory functions."
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Observers warned that gutting the FDIC and OCC could catalyze another economic meltdown.
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Other countries including France, Russia, and Saudi Arabia have criticized Israel's invasion, while the United States defended the move.
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