On January 6, 2020, Gary Reber posts:
Democratic Candidates
Joe Biden (@schultzohio / @JoeBiden)
Joe Biden’s campaign Web site says, “The American middle class built this country. Yet today, CEOs and Wall Street are putting profits over workers, plain and simple. It’s wrong. There used to be a basic bargain in this country that when you work hard, you were able to share in the prosperity your work helped create. It’s time to restore the dignity of work and give workers back the power to earn what they’re worth.”
Biden’s campaign Web site lists five major policies on American workers: “It’s well past time that we increase the federal minimum wage to $15. We should stop companies from classifying low wage workers as managers in order to avoid paying them the overtime they’ve earned. We have to stop Republican attempts to strip away workers’ rights to form unions and collectively bargain. We also have to stand up against wage suppression through non-compete clauses. And, we need to put an end to unnecessary occupational licensing requirements.”
Michael Bloomberg (Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TeamMike2020/ / @Mike2020
Mike Bloomberg’s campaign Web site says, “As an entrepreneur, Mike created an information technology start-up that grew into a global business. As mayor, he diversified New York City’s economy and led its comeback after the 9/11 attacks. When the Great Recession struck in 2008, Mike had prepared the city, which recovered faster and stronger than the country overall. As President, Mike will work to strengthen the middle class, invest in education, create good-paying jobs in renewable energy and other industries with a bright future, and open the door of opportunity to every American.”
His website continues, “Mike employs nearly 20,000 people at Bloomberg LP. As mayor, Mike helped create nearly half a million new jobs in New York City. Mike created Small Business Solutions Centers that offered free services to some 10,000 small businesses in New York City. Mike increased the number of minority- and women-owned businesses that could do business with New York City government by 450 percent. Mike created career centers that revamped workforce training and dramatically increased the number of job placements.”
Cory Booker (Facebook https://www.facebook.com/corybooker / @CoryBooker)
Cory Booker’s campaign Web site says, “For too long, America’s economic agenda has centered on further enriching the already-rich, with massive windfalls for multinational companies, tax breaks for the wealthy, and trade deals that boost corporate profits at the expense of hard-working Americans. As President, Cory will pursue an ambitious agenda to build an economy where everyone has a stake in its success.”
The Web site lists Booker’s economic priorities, including “Put cash in the pockets of working Americans with the Rise Credit, a massive expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Make it easier for workers to join a union and strengthen the rights of workers. Raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and hold businesses and employers responsible for pay discrimination.”
Pete Buttigieg (info@peteforamerica.com)
Pete Buttigieg’s campaign Web site says, “Economic policies have to be focused on growing incomes for the 90 percent. Targeting the majority of Americans will lead to growth for the majority of Americans. That’s why Pete will assess how the economy is doing by income growth for the 90 percent–the vast majority of Americans who are not in the richest tenth. At the end of the day, this is about fairness. Workers should have an equal seat at the table. Corporations shouldn’t get to hide behind legal technicalities that let them mistreat and push workers down. If we work overtime hours, we should get overtime pay. We should also be able to bargain with a company to determine pay and work conditions. To make the 21st-century economy work for every worker, all of our nation’s workers should have the bargaining power they need to demand good jobs, fair pay, and safe workplaces. As the workforce changes with more women and people of color, we also have a moral and economic imperative to ensure historically excluded and undervalued groups finally enjoy the benefits of strong bargaining and labor protections. And we must ensure that equal pay for equal work becomes a business priority just as it is a priority for women across the country. Pete is laying out a set of policies to empower workers and raise wages, going above and beyond existing legislative proposals like the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Pete’s goals are to accelerate wage growth for the broad middle class and restore our society’s economic compact. He will get there with policies aimed at doubling unionization, restoring workers’ rights that have been eroded by decades of anti-worker policies by government and corporations alike, and expanding labor rights to workers who have been left out.”
Buttigieg’s campaign Web site also lists the following policies: “Guarantee gig economy workers their labor rights, including unionization. Institute gender pay transparency. Impose strong, multimillion-dollar penalties that scale with company size when a company interferes with union elections. Level the playing field in union elections by requiring ‘equal airtime on company time,’ so that workers hear from union organizers and not just employers. Enshrine the right to multi-employer bargaining. Expand federal protections to cover farm and domestic workers. Establish a consistent preference in federal government contracting for unionized employers that provide workers with fair pay and benefits. Raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and indexing to wage growth. End ‘right-to-work’ laws, which ban union security in collective bargaining. Deliver card-check rights. Guarantee workers access to paid sick leave and paid family leave, and the predictable hours and wages they deserve. Ensure that all workers can bargain with the companies that actually control the terms of their employment. Stop employers from permanently replacing workers who strike, enhancing workers’ rights to secondary boycotts. Take steps to prevent union election interference. Create safe, equitable, accessible, and fair workplaces for women and all people that are free of harassment and discrimination. Include domestic workers, who have been historically excluded from many employment laws, in common workplace rights and protections.”
Tulsi Gabbard (tulsi2020.com/contact)
Tulsi Gabbard’s campaign Web site says, “From the Great Depression through the turn of the 21st Century, Glass-Steagall helped keep our economy safe. Repealing it allowed too-big-to-fail banks to gamble with the savings and livelihoods of the American people, with devastating, irrevocable consequences. Hawaii, along with communities across the country, paid the price in 2008 with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Today, the banks that were ‘too big to fail’ in 2008 are even bigger and more powerful now. We must reinstate Glass-Steagall and create a financial system that works for every American — not just Wall Street bank.”
Amy Klobuchar (info@amyklobuchar.com / @AMYKLOBUCHAR)
Amy Klobuchar’s campaign Web site says, “Too many people aren’t sharing in our country’s economic prosperity. Shared prosperity is about ensuring all families have a fair shot in today’s economy, and Amy believes that this means investing in quality child care, overhauling our country’s housing policy, raising the minimum wage, providing paid family leave, supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs, as well as helping Americans save for retirement. We must beat back decades of systemic racism and inequality. Amy believes this begins with early-childcare and fixing our education system, addressing racism in health care such as disparities in maternal and infant mortality rates, ending housing discrimination so that everyone can afford to rent an apartment and own a home in a good neighborhood for their kids, and tackling disparities in wages and in retirement savings. Our laws and our policies have not kept pace with our changing economy and the digital revolution. Amy believes that this means we need to do more when it comes to taking on monopoly power and promoting competition, protecting consumers and their privacy in the digital age, and empowering workers with the tools they need to succeed in the evolving digital economy and preparing them for the jobs of tomorrow.”
Bernie Sanders (contact@feelthebern.org)
Bernie Sanders’ campaign Web site says, “While the Bill of Rights protects us from the tyranny of an oppressive government, many in the establishment would like the American people to submit to the tyranny of oligarchs, multinational corporations, Wall Street banks, and billionaires who now control almost every aspect of our daily lives. But as President Franklin Roosevelt said 75 years ago: ‘True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security.’”
His campaign Web site calls for a 21st Century Economic Bill of Rights with the following guarantees: “The right to a job that pays a living wage. The right to quality health care. The right to a complete education. The right to affordable housing. The right to a clean environment. The right to a secure retirement.” His campaign Web site also lists the following priorities on Real Wall Street Reform: “Break up too-big-to-fail banks. End the too-big-to-jail doctrine. Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act. Cap credit card interest rates. Allow every post office to offer basic and affordable banking services. Cap ATM fees. Audit the Federal Reserve and make it a more democratic institution so that it becomes responsive to the needs of ordinary Americans, not just the billionaires on Wall Street. Restrict rapid-fire financial speculation with a financial transactions tax. Reform credit rating agencies.”
In his Six-Point Plan to rein in Wall Street, Bernie advocated for laws to hold small business loan interest rates to the same rate offered by the Federal Reserve to foreign banks. Leveling the rates would allow small businesses to finance their own growth. It would also create an incentive for investors to invest in domestic small businesses. This would result in more growth in the domestic economy instead of making investments overseas with little incentive to reinvest that money back in the U.S.
…to establish and expand employee ownership centers, which provide training and technical support for programs promoting employee ownership. Bernie said in a statement : “When employees own their own companies,…
…working families. Bernie believes that in order to rebuild the American middle class, we must rebuild the American trade union movement as well as expand employee ownership and participation…
…agencies. Employee Ownership Bank Bernie introduced the U.S.Employee Ownership Bank Act of 2019. This bill would provide loan guarantees, direct loans, and technical assistance to employees to buy their…
…to rebuild the American middle class, we must rebuild the American trade union movement as well as expand employee ownership and participation in the industry through worker co-ops. In 2017,…
Tom Steyer (tomsteyer.com/contact/)
Tom Steyer’s campaign Web site says, “Under the Justice-Centered Climate Plan, there won’t just be more jobs — there will be better jobs. Tom’s plan will reward workers for the skills and training they acquire to tackle the challenges of this transition and will respect the dignity of working people. One job will be enough, and workers will receive family-sustaining wages and benefits, job stability, and security. As we build a climate-smart economy, the highest job growth will be in in traditionally densely unionized industries, such as the power sector, public works construction, and manufacturing, and we will invest in sectors like agriculture, forestry, efficient buildings and industry, where jobs cannot be outsourced and workers won’t have to compete with exploited workers overseas.”
Elizabeth Warren (elizabethwarren.com/contact-us)
Elizabeth Warren’s campaign Web site says, “After decades of largely flat wages and exploding household costs, millions of families can barely breathe. For generations, people of color have been shut out of their chance to build wealth. It’s time for big, structural changes to put economic power back in the hands of the American people.”
Her campaign Web site continues: “That means putting power back in the hands of workers and unions. It also means transforming large American companies by letting their workers elect at least 40 percent of the company’s board members to give them a powerful voice in decisions about wages and outsourcing. And it means a new era of strong antitrust enforcement so giant corporations can’t stifle competition, depress wages, and drive up the cost of everything from beef to Internet access. As the wealthiest nation in the history of the world, we can make investments that create economic opportunity, address rural neglect, and a legacy of racial discrimination –– if we stop handing out giant tax giveaways to rich people and giant corporations and start asking the people who have gained the most from our country to pay their fair share. That includes an Ultra-Millionaire Tax on America’s 75,000 richest families to produce trillions that can be used to build an economy that works for everyone, including universal childcare, student loan debt relief, and down payments on a Green New Deal and Medicare for All. And we can make a historic investment in housing that would bring down rents by 10 percent across America and create 1.5 million new jobs.”
Andrew Yang (info@yang2020.com / @andrewyang / Facebook: @andrewyang2020)
Andrew Yang’s campaign Web site says, “We need to make the markets serve us rather than the other way around. Profit-seeking companies are organized to maximize their bottom line at every turn which will naturally lead to extreme policies and outcomes. We need government leaders who are truly laser-focused on the public interest above all else and will lead companies to act accordingly.”
His Web site continues, “As President, I will implement the Freedom Dividend, providing Universal Basic Income of $1,000 per month to all American adults over the age of 18 so that we may all share in the prosperity we have contributed to and participate in the new economy. Change the way we measure the economy, from GDP and the stock market to a more inclusive set of measurements that ensures humans are thriving, not barely making it by. Rein in corporate excesses by appointing regulators who are paid a lot of money –– competitive with senior jobs in the private sector –– but then will be prohibited from going to private industry afterward. The government’s goal should be to drive individuals and organizations to find new ways to improve the standards of living of individuals and families on these dimensions.”
Republican Candidates
Donald Trump (donaldjtrump.com/contact/)
Donald Trump’s campaign Web site says that “President Trump put the American economy into high gear, which created jobs and increased wealth.”
The Web site says: “Under President Trump’s leadership, Congress passed historic tax cuts and relief for hard-working Americans. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew at or above 3 percent for two quarters in a row for the first time in three years. During his first year, nearly 3 million new jobs were created since January 2017 and the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, the first time below 4 percent in 18 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs more than 80 times under President Trump, including closing higher than 26,000 points for the first time in its history. Economic confidence rebounded to record highs under President Trump because his pro-growth policies have and continue to put American workers and businesses first.”
Joe Walsh (joewalsh.org/contact)
Joe Walsh’s campaign Web site does not include a statement outlining his position on the economy.
Bill Weld (weld2020.org/contact/)
Bill Weld said in a speech, “In the federal budget, the two most important tasks are to cut spending and to cut taxes –– and spending comes first. We need to ‘zero base’ the federal budget, basing each appropriation on outcomes actually achieved, not on last year’s appropriation plus 5 percent, which is what too many folks in Washington use as a starting point. Right after cutting spending comes cutting taxes. Federal taxes need serious adjustment downward. I favor repealing the federal death tax, for example, and cutting the capital gains tax rate to 10 percent. These taxes are not major revenue raisers, and they both have the perverse effect of penalizing people for a lifetime of hard work. Eliminating them will increase our aggregate national wealth, which should always be a key priority of the United States government. Domestically, our most immediate priority must be jobs and wages. What are we going to do about the fact that 25 percent of all the jobs in the United States today won’t exist in 15 years? This is not caused by the unseen hands of globalization or the Internet, but rather by the soon to be all-too-visible hands of robotics, drones, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and autonomous vehicles. The old jobs will be replaced by new and different jobs, but the problem is that today’s workers don’t yet possess the skill sets that the replacement jobs will require. This truly is a national emergency, and it’s going to require a nationwide response.”
Gary Reber Comments:
