Senator Sheldon Whitehouse: Tax Reform Is a "Historic Error"
As the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes its way to the White House, one Democrat lawmaker is pulling no punches with his criticism of Republicans who are calling the tax package historic.
Cheddar caught up with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) who calls the bill a “scam,” and a “historic error.” He says that the 80 percent of the benefits of the tax code package will go to the one percent in the long-haul.
“From what I see, it looks like it’s being done essentially as what people in politics call donor maintenance: keep the fellas who fund your party happy,” he said. “As an exercise in donor maintenance it is indeed historic, but in terms of flow through to the American public, and giving benefit to the normal family, I don’t see that happening.”
Republicans, however, argue that the bill is beneficial for the American people. The party says that Americans will have more jobs and the economy will see a boost. The tax plan currently cuts corporate taxes from 35 to 21 percent.
Some companies companies cheered on the news by announcing bonuses for their employees. AT&T announced that 200,000 of its employees will get $1,000 bonuses, and that it will increase its U.S. capital expenditure to $1 billion. AT&T was trending on Twitter shortly after, with users theorizing that the move was a political play to get the government to approve its contentious merger with Time Warner.
Still, Whitehouse encourages unhappy voters to let their voices be heard at the ballot box. He says that Democratic congress members on Capitol Hill will be doing everything they can to alleviate the pressure that the bill will cause in property taxes, SALT, and the student community.
“If you want things different, you got to vote in a different power structure here in Washington,” he said. “If you like what’s happening? If you like all of the self-dealing for the donor class, great. Keep voting Republican.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/senator-sheldon-whitehouse-d-ri-the-tax-reform-bill-is-a-historic-error).
House Democrats are scrambling to hold a vote as soon as Tuesday on President Joe Biden's economic agenda — both the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the $1.85 trillion social safety net and climate bill. With Biden still overseas, the bill stands in flux. Jennifer Haberkorn, congressional reporter at the Los Angeles Times, joined Cheddar's "Opening Bell" to discuss.
Lauren Brody, author of "The Fifth Trimester," joined Cheddar to talk about the ongoing fight for a national paid family leave policy after it was cut from the Democratic reconciliation bill negotiation reportedly due to objections from Senator Manchin. Brody discussed how parents are often forced to choose between work and caring for their family and newborns — or even taking time to deal with a traumatic loss. "Frankly, it's appalling to me that we live in a place that doesn't support people who have experienced the death of a baby and then had to go right back to work," she noted.
Even with pandemic lockdowns, greenhouse gas levels reached new highs in 2020, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This report comes just a week ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, otherwise known as Cop26. Shannon Osaka, climate policy and solutions reporter at Grist, joined Cheddar's Between Bells to discuss.
Paid family & medical leave is left out of President Joe Biden's Build Back Better domestic policy plan. Abby Vesoulis, reporter for TIME joins Cheddar News to breakdown what this means for Americans.
Carlo's flying solo today, talking COP26 and climate change, another racially charged trial gets underway, SCOTUS takes on abortion and a stunning rise in traffic deaths points to a bigger societal breakdown sparked by the pandemic.
World leaders will converge this weekend at the 2021 G20 Summit in Rome and the UN COP26 conference in Glasgow with the climate crisis on the agenda. Lord Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, joined Cheddar to discuss what people can expect to come out of the climate-focused conferences. Turner also noted that one of the biggest hurdles for the attending nations will be coming to a uniform decision on expanding on the Paris Climate Accord goals that have become insufficient to prevent global warming by 1.5 degrees celsius.
Emily Tisch Sussman, senior advisor at Paid Leave US, joined Cheddar's "Between Bells" to discuss paid leave being stripped from the latest budget bill and why it is crucial for parents to have paid time off. Sussman said the pandemic, in particular, highlighted the disparity between women, who left the work force in droves to care for family, and men who continue to work and be rehired as impacted sectors of the economy return.
The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq each ended Friday's session at a record high as stocks rallied into the green. Chris Vecchio, Senior Analyst at DailyFX, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says this was an 'October to remember' for Wall Street.
