The reconciliation package is a generational opportunity to address climate, the treatment of working families, and tax fairness
There is a massive lobbying campaign against it funded by virtually every major American corporation
The argument here, which I don’t think is well understood, is that America should remain the only developed country without any paid family leave because corporations don’t want to pay a penny more in taxes on corporate profits
As is so often the case, the coverage is oriented around the horse race. How will this impact 2022?
The reality is that this could have a real impact on people’s lives. It’s not a game.
This abstraction of the debate by the media serves the interests of corporations and the wealthy. The provisions they are opposing are wildly popular. If you focus about the substance, they lose.
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1. So, in January, when @ATT PROMISED to cut off donations to Republicans who voted to overturn the election, it was covered by virtually every major media outlet.
3. To me, if you are going to cover the corporate press release announcing a promise but not follow up when the corporation BREAKS the promise, that's not journalism. That's PR.
I doubt that's what these outlets want to do. But that's the reality of what they are doing.
@ATT 2. After 1/6, @ATT said it would suspend contributions to the 147 GOP objectors: "Employees on our Federal PAC Board convened a call today and decided to suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes this week."
3. In March, we reported that @ATT donated 5K to the House Conservatives Fund, which mostly supports GOP objectors
@ATT told popular.info that it was "assured" that none of the money would support GOP objectors
@Sen_JoeManchin 2. A popular.info review of the Senate Lobbying Database found that six former Manchin staffers are currently listed on 15 lobbying contracts with fossil fuel and energy companies
Collectively, these contracts are worth $2.4 million per year
2. @UPS, which suspended all donations after 1/6, had donated to a handful of GOP objectors earlier this year.
But, in August, it really kicked things into high gear.
UPS donated $78,500 to 30 Republican objectors
3. After 1/6, @Pfizer said: "[W]e have made the decision that for the next six months, Pfizer PAC will not contribute to any of the 147 Members of Congress who voted against certifying the Electoral College after the violence that we all witnessed"
3. Right now, extremely rich people can accumulate billions in wealth gains throughout their lifetime through capital gains from stocks and other assets
But they can avoid paying taxes by passing those assets onto their heirs