DeLauro requested a report on the effects of the Republican Tax Plan from the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee in Congress. The six-page report focuses on changes made in tax policy that the Democrats claim would encourage companies to move factories and jobs overseas, where corporate profits are taxed at lower rates. The report claims about 199,200 Connecticut residents — including 75,200 in manufacturing jobs — are at risk of seeing their jobs moved overseas due to the tax changes, based on Department of Labor data on industries that have a track record of moving production to foreign countries. Another 22,700 jobs at risk are in the insurance industry, which has moved operations overseas 66 times in the last five years.
The Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee are out with a report today arguing that federal support for rebuilding the Puerto Rican electric grid is crucial to getting the island’s economy humming again. Failing to ensure reliable electricity will further harm the ability to attract businesses to Puerto Rico and could fuel ongoing population emigration. Given the high cost of fossil fuels on the island, accelerating the transition to renewable energies could also help promote economic growth, the report adds. “We must focus on supporting local efforts to rebuild the power grid and other important infrastructure so it is resilient against future disasters and helps jump-start economic recovery on the island,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, ranking member on the committee, said in a statement.
Quite a lot, suggest Senators Chuck Schumer and Martin Heinrich. This week they introduced a bill that would direct the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which produces estimates of gross domestic product, to produce estimates telling us who benefits from growth — for example, how much is going to the middle class. This is a really good idea.
Aug 28 2018
Politicus USA - Senate Democrats Introduce Bill That Pops Trump’s Economic Propaganda Bubble
As Sen. Heinrich said, “Instead of focusing on one economic indicator closely watched by investors, we should be examining data that captures why many families are still struggling to make ends meet. Only looking at headline GDP growth numbers to assess the state of our economy simply does not paint the whole picture, and leaves out the reality that many Americans have not seen their wages rise for years. Our priority should be ensuring that every New Mexican – and every American – can succeed in today’s economy. This legislation would provide Congress with the information to take real steps needed to finally address income inequality and the economic needs of all Americans.”
Aug 28 2018
Vox - Senate Democrats want the government to say if GDP growth is helping the middle class
But those gaps don’t show up in official measurements like the GDP, which measures growth in the overall economy. Now Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Martin Heinrich are trying to change that. On Tuesday they are introducing a new bill that seeks to shed light on how economic growth in the United States is shaking out for individual Americans.
The idea, they say, is to shed light on where economic prosperity is showing up across different income groups — and, potentially, where it’s not. The bill, the Measuring Real Income Growth Act of 2018, would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which releases quarterly GDP numbers, to also report how growth is distributed along the income scale. The bureau would have to put together distributional measures of economic growth to be released with quarterly and annual GDP reports starting in 2020, laying out how growth shows up across each decile of earners and the top 1 percent.
The idea, they say, is to shed light on where economic prosperity is showing up across different income groups — and, potentially, where it’s not. The bill, the Measuring Real Income Growth Act of 2018, would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which releases quarterly GDP numbers, to also report how growth is distributed along the income scale. The bureau would have to put together distributional measures of economic growth to be released with quarterly and annual GDP reports starting in 2020, laying out how growth shows up across each decile of earners and the top 1 percent.
"People always ask, ‘Are we better off than we were two years ago?’ And the answer is yes."… "When I talk to people, they say they are not feeling the economic prosperity," said Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee. “Americans are not seeing the wage growth that they were promised from the tax cuts."
Aug 03 2018
Newsweek - Trump’s Tax Plan is Failing to Give American Workers the Wage Growth he Promised
Friday’s jobs report showed unemployment at 3.9 percent, an 18-year low. But even with historic lows, workers' pay has only increased by 2.7 percent since last year. With inflation hovering around 2 percent, that’s an adjusted 0.7 percent growth in earnings. A wage earner would have to bring in more than $570,000 to see that promised $4,000 increase in pay. Instead, the average worker is seeing a weekly pay raise of just $16.42. “This jobs report provides the latest evidence that the Republican tax law has done little to raise real wages in this country,” said Senator Martin Heinrich, ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, in a statement.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro held a press conference Thursday to release a report outlining the effects of the Republican Tax Law. The report was prepared by the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee. She used the report to highlight how the law is impacting Connecticut's working families and seniors. It details how the $2 trillion in tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and corporations come at the expense of Republican budget cuts to programs including Medicare, Medicaid, social security and the Affordable Care Act.
Jul 18 2018
Roll Call - Democratic Staff of Most Powerful Senate Committees Have the Least Racial Diversity
At the other end of the Democrats’ panel diversity rankings, Indian Affairs took the top spot for the second straight year. The staff is entirely nonwhite.The second-most diverse Democratic staff is found on the Joint Economic Committee, which is half white. The Senate Aging Committee comes in third.
Jul 14 2018
ABC News - Paul Ryan says economy is booming, but warns that new tariffs 'are not the solution'
Beyond tariffs, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said Republicans had ruined the economy for working-class Americans. “The Trump Administration and the GOP Congress have one major legislative accomplishment: gutting Medicare and Social Security to slash taxes for CEOs and the wealthy," Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., a member of the Joint Economic Committee, told ABC News in a written statement. "Because of their policies, wages are stagnant and health care costs are soaring.