It's hard to understand why, with so many Americans still unemployed and looking for jobs, why additional work requirements and/or job training would be imposed on those receiving food stamps (SNAP) and/or welfare (TANF) to qualify for these benefits.
Recently former Labor Secretary Robert Reich went on MSNBC's All in with Chris Hayes to comment on Jeb Bush's plan to have people work longer hours and increase their productivity. Hopefully, if Senator Bernie Sanders is elected, he'll recruit Robert Reich to be our Labor Secretary once again.
As usual, Congress will soon start bickering again over the budget, with all Republicans wanting more tax cuts for the rich and large corporations, and a lot less government spending. Whereas most Democrats will want to close tax loopholes, raise workers' wages, strengthen Social Security and Medicare, and invest in infrastructure. But with a Republican Congress and a Democrat in the White House, the scenario will likely be another gargantuan political battle.
If one were to only listen to the economists at conservative Koch-funded think tanks, one might think that rampant "waste, fraud and abuse" in our entitlement programs is driving the U.S. into bankruptcy. And the mainstream media contributes to this fallacy.
Venture capitalist Nick Hanauer was the first outside investor in Amazon.com (which went online in 1995) — and one reason why Amazon is currently located in Hanauer's hometown of Seattle, Washington.
The media has been reporting that it's the Democrats who have been split on the issues of trade (TPP, TPA and TAA). But it appears the Republicans have also been just as split on these issues.
According to the website Liberty News, the following is a list 2016 GOP presidential candidates and their views on what they have affectionately nicknamed ObamaTrade:
Earlier the Huffington Post had reported that after a clean fast-track bill is passed and sent to the Senate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) will then attach TAA to another bill, the African Growth and Opportunity Act — a separate trade bill involving African countries.
After the U.S. House of Representatives voted last Friday to kill "fast-track" to give Obama authorization to pass a major and secretive trade agreement, presidential contender Hillary Clinton may yet have another opportunity to give the American people her open and honest opinion on the TPP trade agreement.
Elizabeth Warren and Rosa DeLauro recently co-authored an article posted at the Boston Globe (titled Who is writing the TPP?) which says, "Hillary Clinton has said that the United States should be advocating a level and fair playing field, not special favors for big business, in our trade deals. We agree with this blunt assessment."
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