Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries represents the eighth district of New York. He believes the Republican tax plan will protect millionaires and hurt middle-class Americans. The Congressman says that, despite an emphasis on reducing the federal deficit, the current plan will increase it by over a trillion dollars.
"This is really a smokescreen that has been put forth to pretend as if it's going to benefit everyday Americans," he says, "when the GOP tax proposal is really all about helping out millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations and showering them with a massive tax cut, exploding the deficit by about $1.5 trillion."
One of the key points of the GOP's policy is the elimination of state and local tax deductions for individual Americans, which could hit the constituents of high tax states like California and Jeffries' own New York. The White House argues that it's the states' decision to tax residents so much and that they shouldn't get a break because of it.
But Jeffries points out that the GOP's plan still allows corporations to deduct their state and local taxes. "The only reason it's being done, is because this is all about big business and wealthy Americans."
Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi declined an invitation by President Trump to meet with him at the White House and discuss tax reform. Congressman Jeffries believes that was a wise decision, because the President is not actually interested in reaching a bipartisan agreement.
Republicans also need to pass a short-term spending bill to fund the government, or it will shut down on December 8th. Congressman Jeffries says it would be unreasonable if Republicans try to blame a government shutdown on Democrats when the GOP holds both houses of Congress and the White House.
Wall Street saw another volatile day after the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged for now, with plans to raise rates in March at its next meeting in order to ease inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed has not made decisions on the size of rate increases, adding that the Fed is not trying to get inflation below two-percent. Ken Johnson, CFA and Investment Strategy Analyst explains why Powell thinks that high inflation is a significant threat to the labor market.
Anu Gaggar, global investment strategist for Commonwealth Financial Network, joined Cheddar News to discuss how global supply chains could be disrupted even further by an armed conflict in Ukraine.
Solid-state battery maker Factorial Energy recently raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis. Factorial says the funding will be used to accelerate commercial production and deployment of its solid-state battery technology, which the company says is safer, and offers up to 50% more driving range than current lithium-ion technology. Factorial also has joint development agreements (announced in late 2021) with Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, and Hyundai, three of the top 10 global automotive manufacturers, to commercialize its batteries. Factorial CEO Siyu Huang joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
A new report by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China warns that press freedom in the most populous country in the world is declining at an alarming speed. Cheddar News speaks with Steven Butler, Asia Program Coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, about the hardships journalists face in China.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C. 1st District) joined Cheddar to discuss her cannabis legalization bill, the States Reform Act, and the prospects for gaining bipartisan support for a bill that has garnered the endorsement of e-commerce giant Amazon. This legislation is supported by businesses large and small, Amazon obviously being the most recent and largest business to support it," Mace said. "They don't want to sell pot. But what it does do is it affects their working employment pool." She stated that 10 percent of eligible new hires for Amazon are affected by restrictive marijuana laws. The representative also explained that the bill leaves equity provisions up to the states rather than mandating them on a federal level.
After a number of tragic subway incidents, the MTA is facing increased pressure to install subway platform screens to help prevent injury or death. However, according to an earlier report from the MTA, installing these prevented measures isn't feasible. New York City Council Member Keith Powers, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Across the country, states are working to redraw their congressional lines in what is often known as gerrymandering. These news lines are expected to determine the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans within the next decade. Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, Michael Li, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The state of California is officially planning to close its death row in the next two years. That state's governor Democrat Gavin Newsom says the plan is now to move all condemned inmates to other prisons and turn it into, as he calls it, a positive healing environment. Former U. S. Assistant Attorney and Legal Analyst, David Katz, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Anthony Saccaro, Founder and President of Providence Financial, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on why he is excited that the market is beginning to rebound and believes February has the potential to be a good month after a turbulent January.
