This week, the Democrats are holding their convention, nominating Vice President Kamala Harris to take on former president Donald Trump in November. In countless ways, the two are a study in contrasts — and not least when it comes to tax policy.
This week, tax expert Amy Hanauer reviews Harris’s plans to raise the top corporate tax rate and close loopholes to help fund investments in the care economy — that is, child care, elder care, health care, and so on. And she contrasts them with Trump’s record of slashing taxes on corporations and the rich, sapping revenue that might have gone to help people of more modest means.
“There is strong public support for better care and for fairer taxes,” Amy writes, challenging “both the Harris and Trump campaigns to commit to a fairer tax system — and to use the money it would raise to invest in the child care, elder care, and health care our families need.”
Also this week, Aspen Coriz-Romero and Anila Lopez Marks report on Congress’s shocking failure to renew the funding that compensates victims of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, who are scattered across a wide swath of the country where nuclear weapons and materials were mined, developed, tested, and stored. “We’ve lived near impacted communities our entire lives,” they write, and call on the U.S. government not to abandon “the unseen victims of the U.S. nuclear arms race.”
Finally, Sonali Kolhatkar says health care deserves pride of place as an election issue this year. And as students arrive back at school, Ian Wright talks about the impact that laws banning so-called “Critical Race Theory” are having on classrooms across the country.
New This Week…
America’s Nuclear ‘Downwinders’ Deserve Justice | Aspen Coriz-Romero and Anila Lopez Marks
Countless Americans were poisoned by the nuclear arms race — and their federal compensation just expired. That’s an outrage.
If We Want Better Care, We Need a Better Tax Code | Amy Hanauer
If the wealthiest paid their fair share, we could easily fund better child care, elder care, and health care for the rest of us.
Health Care for All Should Be an Election Issue | Sonali Kolhatkar
You shouldn’t have to qualify for the Olympics to qualify for free quality health care.
Teaching About Race Is Good, Actually. States Need to Stop Banning It. | Ian Wright
Neither white students nor students of color benefit from laws that censor history, critical thinking, and open dialogue in the classroom.
Cartoon: Inseparable | Khalil Bendib
Ukraine’s counter-invasion of Russia weaves an ever more interlocking conflict between the two countries.
In Case You Missed It…
The Olympic Refugee Team Was an Inspiration — And a Tragedy | Phyllis Bennis
If the U.S. can do its part to help these athletes return home safely, that would beat any medal.
The U.S. Needs a “Robin Hood Tax” | Susan Harley
A tiny Wall Street sales tax could fund huge improvements for the rest of us.
Some Back to School Fashion Advice: Buy Less | Niharika Sen
The global fashion industry is a massive polluter and notorious for poverty wages. So let’s be conscious about our choices.
Mass Deportations Would Be a Nightmare | Alliyah Lusuegro
The popular GOP slogan would tear millions of families apart, including mine. It would also be a moral, logistical, and economic disaster.
