Nancy Pelosi stands a better-than-average chance of becoming the next Speaker of the House. she's on record as proposing the following agenda for her first 100 hours and thereafter (my italics added). ambitious and arguably politically unrealistic, but the issues are relevant:
Quote:
- Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation." (politically dubious, but a worthwhile goal)
- Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (a no-brainer)
Time remaining until 100 hours:
- Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step. (a feel-good gesture of dubious economic value)
- Cut the interest rate on student loans in half. (no problem - direct benefits to the middle class)
- Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients. (another no-brainer)
- Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds -- "I hope with a veto-proof majority," she added in an Associated Press interview Thursday. (an obvious winner)
-All the days after that: "Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority. To do that, she said, Bush-era tax cuts would have to be rolled back for those above "a certain level." She mentioned annual incomes of $250,000 or $300,000 a year and higher, and said tax rates for those individuals might revert to those of the Clinton era. (no problem - nobody should get a tax cut when there is a war to pay for)
|
these proposals contrast starkly with the Bush administration rubber stamps and wingnut giveaways we've seen recently like defense of marriage, bans of online gambling, bans of flag-burning, erosion of habeas corpus rights, fake border walls, etc etc from the GOP-controlled Congress. keeping in mind that the GOP has had six years as a majority party and could have passed pretty much anything they wanted, their record is pretty thin.