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.
Stock trading app Robinhood already has been offering cryptocurrency investments but seems further excited about the asset class following President Biden's recent announcement of an executive order. Dan Gallagher, the chief legal and corporate affairs officer for Robinhood, joined Cheddar News to talk about the White House's tentative vision for digital currency. "I think this executive order firmly states that, yes, crypto is here to stay, which it talks about the important competitive issues around crypto and how the United States needs to be a leader, a global leader, in innovation and technology regarding crypto," he said. Gallagher also discussed having clarity around meme stocks going forward but worried about overregulation slowing down innovation.
As Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the latest inflation report showed the consumer price index rose 7.9 percent — a 40-year high. Heather Boushey, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, joined Cheddar News to discuss what American consumers might be in store for as prices keep rising. "Forecasters at this point believe that the American economy will be resilient," she said. "They’re still predicting that the unemployment rate will continue to be lower at the end of the year than it is today, and we are still seeing folks believe that over time prices will come back down." Boushey did note that it would be dependent on how long the current situation lasts.
Simon Shuster, TIME's Moscow correspondent joins Cheddar to discuss how Ukraine could become part of the EU and what it would mean for politics in Europe.
President Biden has banned imports of Russian oil to the U.S. in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The president warned of higher prices at the gas pump, leading some analysts to think it could propel the transition to clean, renewable energy. Michael Jones, chairman and CEO of investment solutions company Caravel Concepts, discussed how the ban is hitting green energy stocks as gas prices continue to surge. "I think the 10-year prospects for renewables just got a whole lot better because ultimately this is going to force a transition into renewables," he said.
Amid ongoing tensions in the Russia-Ukraine region, many American travelers are nervous about traveling to Europe.
It comes at a time when international travel was set to make a comeback, but uncertainty surrounding the conflict may delay the overall recovery. Francesca Page, Travel Expert, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is coming for the global food supply. Ongoing tensions in the region are threatening the supply of various agricultural products including wheat, barley and corn. Vladik Rikhter, CEO & Cofounder of Zenput joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss how this could impact food prices overseas.
Chris Natividad, CIO of EquBot, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on what ultimately dragged the Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq lower on Tuesday and discusses how investors are reacting to rising oil prices and February CPI data coming out later this week.
Adam Johnson, Portfolio Manager at Adviser Investments, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he explains why he believes we saw markets jump during Wednesday's session, and adds that investors have already priced in 'every possible kind of bad news we could have.'
Jennifer Klein, the White House Gender Policy Council's co-chair and executive director, spoke to Cheddar News about the economic impact of the pandemic showing the need for a group like the Gender Policy Council, and the need to address issues that have affected women the most,
