2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumBernie Sanders Wins 3 Policy Victories, Media Shrugs
Tom Cahill | April 8, 2016
While the media hyped a false narrative about Bernie Sanders competence and policies, three of Sanders policy proposals were implemented this week.
Whats sad is that as the biggest leak in world history came to light, exposing 140 different politicians from 50 countries engaged in egregious tax dodging, corporate-owned media outlets chose instead to take their lead for the weeks news from a greasy tabloids error-laden editorial board meeting with Bernie Sanders. The main narrative that came out of that interview was that the Vermont senator didnt know how his own policies worked, with the Washington Post gleefully climbing on board.
However, the Huffington Posts Ryan Grim accurately pointed out that the interview transcript revealed both Sanders expertise and the New York Daily News editorial boards sheer ignorance of both financial policy and civics. The New York Times and many other publications also balked at the sudden media attack on Sanders accurate answers.
While this all played out, Sanders watched as two governors, a federal agency head, and a president implemented some of his unrealistic policy proposals.
1. New York and California pass a $15/hour minimum wage
Bernie Sanders has called for a living wage of $15/hour to be the new national minimum wage, introducing legislation in July 2015 and joining the Fight for $15 during their events. Before taxes, this would amount to $31,200 a year for a full-time worker. Its not exactly enough to live like a king, but enough for a person to be able to pay their bills and not live in abject poverty.
Even though detractors have been saying that doubling the minimum wage isnt possible, and to aim lower, governors of two of the most populous states (New York and California) have joined other major cities in signing $15/hour minimum wage bills into law.
While Hillary Clinton tried to take credit for the New York law by being present at the signing ceremony, shes only championed raising the minimum wage to $12/hour. And Sanders calls for $15/hour appear to be on their way to reality in other states as well, as 25 cities in Oregon are now on their way to having a $15/hour minimum wage, with Boston and Massachusetts considering the possibility.
2. President Obama cracks down on corporate tax dodgers
As the release of the Panama Papers were causing international political scrambling and the resignation of Icelands prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, outrage over global elites hiding their wealth in offshore tax havens reached a boiling point. Shortly after Gunnlaugssons resignation, President Obama announced sweeping new rules by the U.S. Department of the Treasury aimed at stopping inversions a popular corporate tax dodge.
Inversion is a process wherein an American corporation buys a foreign competitor, then re-registers themselves in that competitors home country to avoid paying U.S. tax rates.
While its great that Obama took action, the idea for executive action to stop inversions was originally proposed by Bernie Sanders last year. In March 2015 Sen. Sanders wrote a letter to the White House, asking President Obama to take executive action in order to close six of the most commonly-abused corporate tax loopholes, in light of Congress deadlock. The third item on that list was inversions.
Sanders explained that even though it would technically take an act of Congress to close the inversion loophole, Obama could get around Congress by using the power of the Executive Branch:
The Administration has the authority to block the tax avoidance strategies that become available to corporations after they invert, which are the main motivation for most inversions. The Administration rightly acted in September of 2014 to block one such tax avoidance strategy known as hopscotch loans but has not yet acted on another, known as earnings stripping.'
The provision targeted by Obamas executive action? You guessed it earnings stripping. And as an added bonus, Obamas action has already scuttled a planned merger between Pfizer and Ireland-based Allergan, preventing the loss of $35 billion in tax revenue.
3. Drug Enforcement Agency may reconsider marijuana policy
Last November, Sen. Sanders introduced a bill to take marijuana off the U.S. governments list of Schedule I drugs. By definition, Schedule I drugs are defined as the most dangerous of drugs, with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Sanders made a point to mention the injustice of criminalizing marijuana during the first Democratic debate in Las Vegas.
We have a criminal justice system that lets CEOs on Wall Street walk away, and yet we are imprisoning or giving jail sentences to young people who are smoking marijuana, Sanders said.
Now it looks as if the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) may be taking that idea seriously. This week the DEA announced that it would decide on taking marijuana off the list of Schedule I drugs by the end of June. This would put the DEA in alignment with the U.S. Surgeon General, who recently stated marijuana can be helpful for treating certain ailments.
The DEA rejected petitions in 2001 and 2006 to reclassify marijuana. As such, many pundits believe the decision will be to reclassify marijuana to either Schedule II or III, which would open up new lines of medical research on the effects of marijuana.
Given these three bits of underreported news, its easy to see why this week was one of Bernie Sanders best, as these advancements debunk some of the establishment medias main talking points: Sanders policy proposals are realistic, not pie-in-the-sky; they are detailed, not vague; and when implemented, they are effective.
http://usuncut.com/politics/bernie-wins-policy-victories/
Norrin Radd
(4,959 posts)Response to pdsimdars (Original post)
silvershadow This message was self-deleted by its author.
highprincipleswork
(3,111 posts)I mean Bernie's POV is proving amazingly accurate right now. Also re the Panama Papers
Perhaps the Papers and the Minimum Wage got enough press coverage, BUT still more examples of Bernie being on the right side of the issues, and seeing things in advance so that he can exercise the kind of good judgement we undoubtedly want in a President.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)Sanders had nothing to do with these.
They were ideas whose time had come, which is exactly what Sanders is: one person with views shared by almost all his Democratic colleagues in both state and federal legislatures.
Btw, according to a major poll, 72% of REPUBLICANS believe corporations have too much power.
So Bernie really is one of a crowd; his problem, and that of his true believer contingent of followers, is that he and they imagine their "crusade" is theirs alone.
pdsimdars
(6,007 posts)Exactly the opposite of what Bernie has been saying all along. He says it's NOT about him.
I think people should listen a bit more to the voices outside their heads.
Jitter65
(3,089 posts)Obama has no role whatsoever nor do the state and local officials who worked so hard to pass their legislation. The $15 minimum wage was nobody else's idea except Bernie's. Yet Vermont didn't pass it.
uponit7771
(90,348 posts)DanTex
(20,709 posts)state governments of CA and NY?
pdsimdars
(6,007 posts)Or as the Hillary supporters refer to it. . . . overt sexism.