This is a terrible idea. The estate tax is one of the most important measures we have to battle raging wealth inequality. We should expand it by raising the rate and applying it to more of the estate's value -- not continue taking a machete to it as Republicans have done. 1/
Unless you stand to inherit over $11 million, you won't need to pay the estate tax. When @SenJohnThune and @senatemajldr and their Republican accomplices support legislation to repeal it, the people they'll benefit are people inheriting more than $11. Million. Dollars. 2/
We should LOWER the threshold of estate's value subject to it. (It was $1M in 2002.) And we should RAISE the rate (it was 50% that year, it's now 40%). This would go further to cut into the corrosive concentration of wealth that fuels inequality and make our tax code fairer. 3/
Ok, I've had some time to digest last night's ACA ruling. First thing to know: ACA is still the law of the land, and even the Trump admin says so. Open Enrollment runs until midnight.
What does "ACA still law" mean in practical terms? Same thing it always has: Medicaid expansion, protections for pre-ex, $ help with premiums and good coverage thru marketplaces, limits on insurance co profits (M👏🏼L👏🏼R👏🏼), 26y.o.s, and SO MUCH more. 130M+ Americans benefit. 2/
So what's next? Case will be appealed to 5th Circuit by CA+other states defending ACA. What happens there? Some legal scholars think this case is absurd and TX et al will lose, and then the Supreme Court won't take it up. But... there's no guarantee.
Whoa! House Republicans dropped a secret tax bill overnight because they just #cantstopwontstop trying to blow up the deficit with tax cuts for their friends and the already-rich. There's a lot going on here but let's talk about some of it. 1/
First: what are Repubs really up to here? Remember, in their rush to jam the #GOPTaxScam through Congress they made a few big messes. Some were accidents and some were actual slights. But now industry lobbyists want them fixed and Rs want to make it happen. 2/
So they're making these "fixes" part of a bigger tax package, that includes other provisions they think sound agreeable on the surface -- but of course, there's more to the story, and they're mostly geared toward the rich too. 3/
If Dems supporting the #BankLobbyistAct are looking for an off ramp to change their mind, they have all they need to jump ship between the managers amdt (new text) and the CBO score. Here are a few new provisions added last night. 1/
Big Q: is Sec. 310 anything more than a gift to Equifax? We WANT alt. data considered in credit scores but 1 of the only alternative models is Equifax's Vantage Score. There's NO accountability for breach affecting 148 million ppl in this bill. Equifax doesn't need a new gift. 2/
Also added: section creating new loopholes for risky commercial real estate loans, a key driver of community bank failures ~2008. Supporters say this will make credit more available, but commercial lending is already taking off w/o it. No need for this. ourfinancialsecurity.org/wp-content/upl… 3/
Here are some of the “community banks” escaping regulation under a bill the Senate is voting on in less than 2 weeks. Just your run-of-the-mill, mom-and-pop banks down the street from you:
-Deutsche Bank
-Santander
-Barclays 1/
Here are some of the "community banks" that would get new legal footing to challenge federal oversight. You've probably heard of them because, gee wilikers, they're known for being real friends of our communities:
-Wells Fargo
-Goldman Sachs 2/
Sadly, just a decade since the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Senate is plowing ahead with a bill that would de-regulate 25 of the 38 biggest financial institutions -- in the name of helping "community banks." politico.com/story/2018/02/… 3/
Trump's infrastructure plan is out (released on same day as his proposed budget later this AM).
First thing to know: it is NOT a "$1 trillion infrastructure plan." It is $200 billion in federal spending OFFSET by cuts to other programs, including infrastructure programs! 1/
Reading through now and will tweet some reactions, and will probably get interrupted by budget release (happy Monday).
2/
To underscore previous point, key word here is "stimulate." Trump expects $200 billion in federal spending (offset by program cuts) to generate the other $850 billion. That's an absurd assumption and there's nothing to back it up. 3/