Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) has been very vocal about what she thinks needs to be done to battle the economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis.
The senator told Cheddar Monday that postal banking will be able to serve more people during the pandemic, specifically low-income families, who may be unbanked.
"It was instrumental in getting us out of the Depression because post offices were able to sell bonds and it made a difference because it allowed more low-income people to have bank accounts," Gillibrand said.
The senator envisions the U.S. Postal Service re-introduce postal banking through its 30,000 locations in a return to a program that served those impacted the most during the Great Depression, a plan to save both the USPS and economically disadvantaged detailed in an op-ed for The New York Times.
On Friday, President Trump had threatened to withhold aid from the USPS if it doesn't dramatically increase its shipping prices for online retailers. Sen. Gillibrand alleged that his choice to block aid was "fundamentally" related to his resistance to mail-in voting for the November election.
"He is absolutely fighting this because he thinks he will win only if less people are able to vote, which is obviously very cynical and not what we expect from a president," she said.
Previously, a fellow Democrat, New York Governor Cuomo, had criticized Gillibrand and Sen. Charles Schumer, also of New York, for failing to provide enough aid to struggling states like their own, but Gillibrand said they have started negotiating the COVID 4 package that will be geared toward state and local governments.
"Our goal is to allow more cities and states access to federal bailout money," she said. "Hopefully, in this next bill, which will begin in the House and Speaker Pelosi can author it, we will be able to send more money to get the states out of these terrible holes that they can't possibly get out of on their own."
The senator also has an idea for a "health force" job-training program that would put unemployed people to work in the fight against COVID-19 and allow more communities to get tested.
"We would allow for one million workers to be trained in the next two months to do this contact tracing along with testing," Gillibrand said. "We could actually be in the communities testing everyone. If we did that, that's how we can reopen society and schools in the fall."
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse joined Cheddar to discuss the latest push to get rid of Daylight Savings Time. A practice where several say can cause havoc on one's sleeping schedule and cause disruptions to our economy.
The past decade or so has been a has seen massive change-- usually good-- for the LGBTQ+ community. Same-sex marriage has seen broader acceptance, and there's been increased conversation about the reality of gender identity. Now, folks who don't identify as male or female can travel while staying true to their more authentic self.
The Biden administration has issued the first passport with a gender-neutral designation "X." the passport was issued to Dana Zzyym, an intersex activist from Colorado, after a long legal battle with the state department in which Zzyym argued they shouldn't be required to lie about their identity on their passport. Advocates for such changes have applauded the move, saying it will allow people who don't identify as male or female to travel the globe in a more safe and visible way.
Paul Castillo, counsel at Lambda Legal and Zzyym's attorney in this case, joins None of the Above to discuss.
The Biden Administration has announced its latest plans to support veterans who had been exposed to toxic chemicals from burn pits. According to several veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, a number of them were exposed to hour-long periods of burn pits. As a result, many of them say they have suffered from severe life-long side effects. Co-founder at Burn Pits 360 Le Roy Torres, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Ballots have been sent to workers at three different Starbucks locations in Buffalo, NY to decide whether they will unionize for the first time ever. Wilma Liebman, former Chair of the National Labor Relations Board and Michelle Eisen from the Starbucks Workers United Organization, which is behind this vote, joined Cheddar to discuss.
The parent company of North Face, Vans and Supreme, VF Corp, released its fourth annual "Made for Change" sustainability and responsibility report. It details the company's ongoing efforts to tackle social and climate related issues. This comes as climate experts continue to warn about the dangers of fast fashion and its impact on global CO2 emissions. Sean Cady, Vice President of Global Sustainability, Responsibility and Trade at VF Corporation, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
A jam-packed Freitag pod with Carlo and Baker: new Covid hotspots, Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Belarus making trouble for Europe, red-hot housing market, and how to manage a PR crisis the right way.
Damian Mason, a farm owner, Agricultural Economist and Author of 'Food Fear,' joined Cheddar to discuss the rising prices of food as we approach the holiday season.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, turned heads on Tuesday when it announced it will block some ad-targeting, specifically those of a political and religious nature.
This is one of the most direct moves the company has made in order to minimize ad-targeting by advertisers on its platforms. Hastie Afkhami, Head of Digital at S-3 Group, joins Cheddar News to discuss the impact of this move.
