Zaid Jilani Posts

Economists are warning that the upcoming sequester could severely harm the economy as government agencies at the federal, state and local level will see sharp spending cuts. But there’s another area of the budget where almost as much money is spent — subsidies to Big Banks.

The defense industry is making a self-interested argument against the sequester, claiming that it would hurt military readiness (a false claim, as military experts recommend twice the level of defense cuts as are in the sequester).

Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson have released yet another austerity plan that lowers taxes on corporations while proposing Social Security and Medicare benefit cuts.

As part of his push to stop gun reforms, NRA president Wayne LaPierre wrote last week that looters “ran wild in South Brooklyn” after Hurricane Sandy and that people needed guns to defend themselves.

A Dallas-area senator carrying a bill that would abolish the state’s consumer advocate for insurance received nearly $112,000 from insurance political action committees in his 2012 campaign, a political watchdog group reported Friday.

President Obama has proposed a universal background check system that would close loopholes and require criminal background checks for all gun purchases.

If Republicans stop a wage hike at the federal level, they may be welcoming a barrage of minimum wage ballot initiatives that not only would allow states to forge ahead on their own, but also would increase progressive voter turnout.

In 2010, the federal government has enacted a two year freeze on cost of living adjustments for federal employees, an austerity measure championed by President Obama. Now, the Democrats have lifted that freeze and sought small increases for federal workers.

The Center for Economic and Policy Research’s John Dewitt looked at what the minimum wage would be if it simply rose with productivity since 1968, and found that it would be almost 3 times what it is now.

One Idaho Republican lawmaker is such a fan of Ayn Rand that he has introduced a bill to mandate every high school student reads one of her books.

Tuesday was the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The FMLA allows for employees to have 12 weeks of unpaid leave when they have children or have a serious illness.

Social Security is fully solvent until 2037 and is not in crisis. But one way to make sure there are no cutbacks in benefit cuts after that is to lift the payroll tax cap so wealthy Americans contribute more into the system. A new survey from the National Academy of Social Insurance finds that most Americans want to do just that.

Maryland Delegate Ron George (R-Arnold) and Senator John Astle (D-Annapolis) have just filed bills to give a tax cut to some of the state’s richest boat owners.

The school system is one of America’s last public treasures, but corporate interests represented by private schools, charter schools, and virtual schools are launching a new push to help privatize them.

Although Nelson claims he will not act as an official lobbyist, this is only because he is barred from registering as a lobbyist to lobby Congress for two years. Serving as the head of a major special interest organization that does have registered lobbyists will effectively grant him the same role.

Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office said we could raise $114 billion over ten years — twice as much as raising the Medicare age — by limiting corporate tax deferrals.

The National Rifle Association (NRA), the main gun lobby, has refused to consider any common sense gun reforms following several mass shootings. But the NRA wasn’t always so extreme.