ALERT What to expect in the first days of the Biden Democracy

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Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

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Goldman: Here's What Life Under Democrat Control Will Look Like

TUESDAY, JAN 12, 2021 - 15:25
Following the runoff elections in Georgia, Democrats now have 50 seats in the Senate and therefore will set the US political agenda in both chambers. This changes the policy outlook substantially, as it means that President-elect Biden can pass fiscal legislation without Republican support as long as Democrats remain unified. Nevertheless, the incoming administration will face political constraints in such closely divided House and Senate, and practical constraints imposed by congressional procedures.

Below we list some of the most frequently questions Goldman clients have about what life will look like under Democrat control for at least the next two years.

How will President-elect Biden and congressional Democrats govern?

Goldman expects a bipartisan approach, at least at the outset. The most important question regarding the policy outlook over the next year will be how President Biden—along with House Speaker Pelosi and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Schumer—balance the political and practical benefits of bipartisan support with the policy benefits of passing legislation even over Republican opposition. Recent events in Washington might increase Democratic interest in finding bipartisan support while also increasing Republican willingness to support aspects of the Biden Administration’s agenda, at least in the near term.

One of the first decisions the Biden Administration will need to make is whether to pass some of its major priorities through the budget reconciliation process, which requires only 51 votes in the Senate, or to go through regular order, which requires the support of 60 senators. Congressional Democrats might attempt their first priority—fiscal relief legislation—with bipartisan support.

Why wouldn’t Democrats use the budget reconciliation process to do as much as possible from the start?

While the reconciliation process has one major advantage—it allows the majority party to pass legislation without support from the minority—it has several disadvantages.

First, with a 50-50 split in the Senate and a very narrow margin in the House, Democratic leaders would need virtually unanimous support from Democrats in both chambers to pass any legislation. As shown in chart below, the policy positions of the most centrist Senate Democrats are farther from some other Democrats than they are from some Republicans. This is likely to constrain what Democrats might accomplish via reconciliation.



Second, there are limits to what a reconciliation bill may include. The Senate’s “Byrd Rule” prohibits reconciliation bills from including provisions that do not change spending or revenues, or policies whose budgetary effects are “merely incidental” to the non-budgetary components. The rule also prohibits a net increase in the deficit after the period covered by the budget resolution (normally 10 years) and changes to Social Security. This essentially prohibits use of the process to make regulatory changes and makes it difficult to establish new programs, as the “authorization” for a program does not in itself change spending or revenues. Congress has never before used the reconciliation process to appropriate funds, although it is not explicitly prohibited in the Budget Act. As discussed later, this could complicate certain aspects of COVID-relief legislation as well as parts of the Biden infrastructure proposal.

Third, the reconciliation process involves multiple steps. To use it, the House and Senate must first approve a budget resolution that instructs the relevant committees to change revenues, spending, or the deficit by a particular amount. This adds at least a few weeks to the time it takes Congress to pass the legislation. It also means that congressional Democrats would need to agree on the cost of (or savings produced by) the legislation before knowing the policies involved.

In light of these issues, Goldman believes there is a good chance that Democratic leaders will initially attempt to pass fiscal relief legislation through regular order in the Senate, though they may fall back on the reconciliation process if they cannot find sufficient bipartisan support.

What does this mean for the size of fiscal stimulus?

As noted last week, Goldman now expects another package of near-term fiscal relief measures worth around $750bn (3.4% of GDP). There is a fairly good chance of sufficient bipartisan support for a package that addresses four main areas. First, GS expects around $200bn in state and local fiscal aid. Second, there could be a further extension of expanded unemployment benefits past the March 14 expiration, likely involving a gradual phase down through year-end of the current $300/week extra benefit, possibly tied to the unemployment rate. Third, additional funding for testing and vaccine distribution. Fourth, Congress will likely approve another round of payments to individuals of $1400/person (for a total of $2000/person when counting the $600/person payments Congress approved in late 2020). Spending in other areas is also likely, potentially including further support for small business. Goldman's summary expectations for additional fiscal measures are shown in Exhibit 2.



If adequate Republican support does not materialize, Goldman expects Democrats to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a COVID-relief bill. In that scenario, certain aspects of their prior proposals might need to change. For example, Democrats previously proposed to provide fiscal aid by appropriating lump sums to state governments, but reconciliation bills are not used to appropriate funds. A potential workaround would be to increase matching payments to states in the Medicaid program, which reconciliation rules would clearly allow but which might slow the flow of dollars to the states. Similar issues might exist for spending on vaccine distribution or testing, though it is doubtful many senators would challenge spending in those areas.

In either scenario, the overall size of the package will be limited by the marginal senator supporting it. Goldman assumes that the senator casting the 50th vote—likely a Democrat—would support a higher-priced bill than the senator casting the 60th vote, who would almost certainly be a Republican. Use of the reconciliation process might therefore allow Democrats to pass a somewhat larger fiscal relief package. That said, the recent skepticism from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) regarding additional stimulus payments, which at least a few Republican senators have supported, suggests that the difference might not be that great. Overall, the bank expects a package of around $750bn (3.4% of GDP), though the risks to this figure skew toward a larger package.

When will Congress pass the next round of fiscal measures?

Congress will enact fiscal relief legislation between mid-February and mid-March. In light of the constraints that COVID-relief legislation is likely to face, the next round of fiscal measures is unlikely to pass until mid-February at the earliest. If Democratic leaders take a bipartisan approach, the bill is likely to pass whenever they are confident it will win at least 60 votes in the Senate.

If they use the reconciliation process instead, it could take longer to pass, as it would involve two steps. The first step would be the formulation and passage of the fiscal year 2021 budget resolution, which would need to include a “reconciliation instruction” to the relevant committees, including how much the bill should increase the deficit. At this stage, there would be no binding policy decisions, though one would expect that the White House and/or congressional Democrats would separately release a proposal detailing the policies assumed. This process would likely take until at least mid-February. In a second step, Congress would then need to pass the actual “reconciliation” legislation. This would likely take at least a few more weeks from the time Congress agrees to the budget resolution.


When would fiscal stimulus reach the economy?

An additional round of payments could reach individuals in 1-2 weeks after enactment, but other aspects might take longer. The Treasury might make another round of stimulus payments one to two weeks after President-elect Biden signs the legislation. On January 4, the Treasury paid out around half of the stimulus payments authorized under the most recent legislation, which Congress passed on Dec. 21 and which became law on Dec. 28. Other parts of the bill would likely take longer to have an effect on spending. Goldman expects Congress to extend expanded unemployment benefits, which expire March 14, but the roughly $150bn estimated cost would be spread over the remainder of 2021.

The timing for payment of state fiscal aid would depend on the form it takes. If Congress appropriates funds the way it has in prior COVID-relief legislation, the Treasury would make large lump-sum payments within a few weeks. Conversely, if the legislation passes via reconciliation, it is possible the payments could take a different form—increased Medicaid payments to states, for example—which could spread those transfers over several quarters.



Will personal taxes rise?

Upper-income tax rates probably will increase to finance other personal tax reductions. Unlike COVID-relief legislation, which some Republicans might support, there will be little Republican support for tax increases, which makes it very likely that Democrats use the reconciliation process to raise taxes. The Byrd rule prohibits changes to Social Security taxes via reconciliation, so President-elect Biden’s proposal to apply the 12.4% Social Security payroll tax to income over $400,000 is unlikely to pass this way. However, there are no procedural obstacles to raising other taxes via reconciliation.

Congress will likely reverse some of the individual income tax changes that Congress passed in 2017, but a net increase in personal taxes is not expected. Specifically, Goldman believes the top marginal rate to go back to 39.6% from 37% and limitations on itemized deductions to return. However, since the changes the 2017 tax law made in both of those areas expire after 2025, this would only raise around $160bn over ten years, according to estimates from the Tax Policy Center. President-elect Biden also proposed, as the Obama Administration had, to limit the tax benefit from itemized deductions to their value at a 28% tax rate. TPC estimates this would raise around $225bn over ten years. More importantly, it would generate a permanent increase in revenues that could be used to offset other permanent spending increases or tax cuts.

A partial restoration of the deduction of state and local income and property taxes looks likely. The 2017 tax law limited this deduction to $10,000, and returning to the prior policy is a top priority for congressional Democratic leaders even though it was not formally part of the Biden campaign tax proposal. However, restoring this deduction is expensive and regressive, which is likely to lead some progressive Democrats to oppose the change. A few Democratic senators whose states have low or no income taxes might also balk at raising personal taxes to restore that deduction.


Part 1 of 2

 

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Part 2 of 2

Will capital gains taxes increase?

Capital gains taxes are unlikely to rise as much as President-elect Biden proposed. During the presidential election campaign, President-elect Biden proposed to tax long-term capital gains and qualified dividends at the rate on ordinary income (39.6% under his proposal) for individuals with incomes over $1 million. This looks unlikely, as at least a few Democratic members of the House and Senate are likely to object. It is harder to rule out any tax increase on capital gains and dividends, however. If Congress does raise the rate on capital gains and dividends, a rate around 28%—the same rate President Reagan and a divided Congress agreed to in the Tax Reform Act of 1986—seems to us to be about the highest it might go.

Will corporate taxes rise?
Goldman expects the corporate tax rate to increase to no more than 25%. President-elect Biden proposed to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, increase the effective tax rate on international intangible income, and to impose a global minimum tax on corporations, among other changes. There will likely not be sufficient support among congressional Democrats to implement all of these proposals but there will be enough support among centrist Democrats to raise the corporate tax rate to around 25% and to incrementally increase taxation of international corporate income earned by US-based companies. Each percentage point increase in the corporate income tax rate would generate around $100bn in additional revenue over the next 10 years, so an increase to 25% would generate around $400bn over that period; other corporate tax changes might raise this total somewhat further. Corporate taxes are set to rise after 2021 in any case, when restrictions on interest deductibility and expensing of R&D become more restrictive; full expensing of equipment investment also begins to phase out after 2022. It is unlikely that Congress will extend any of those policies without raising the corporate rate, so a tax increase in corporate taxes seems likely one way or the other.

Will tax increases be retroactive?
No, Goldman expects tax increases to take effect in 2022, and does not believe taxes will be increased retroactively to the beginning of 2021. Congress is also not expected to pass tax legislation until mid-year.

Making a tax increase retroactive at that point would make them more controversial at a time when thin House and Senate majorities will make it difficult to raise taxes at all. In light of the ongoing recovery and little concern among policymakers regarding deficits, the political cost of a retroactive tax increase would probably outweigh the benefits.

What would new tax revenue be spent on?

Congress is likely to spend all the new revenue, and possibly more, on infrastructure and social benefit programs. During the presidential campaign, the President-elect proposed more than $5 trillion over 10 years in new spending, with much of it front-loaded into the first few years. The proposals covered infrastructure and climate policies, domestic manufacturing and R&D, health care benefits, education, and child care, among other things (see the appendix for details). It is not yet clear which of these policies will take priority, but infrastructure and climate-oriented policies appear to be high on the list. A limited appetite in Congress for tax increases could constrain how much of this agenda President-elect Biden can enact.

Will Republicans support an infrastructure program?

Infrastructure looks like the most likely aspect of the Biden agenda to win Republican support, and is also one of the areas where some bipartisan support might be necessary. In light of the constraints the reconciliation process imposes, some aspects of President-elect Biden’s infrastructure proposal—particularly direct government spending on traditional heavy infrastructure areas like highways, transit, airport, water, and sewer projects—are more likely to be addressed through regular order, requiring 60 votes. Republicans are likely to support an increase in spending but are likely to be a constraint on the overall increase in spending in these areas. Goldman expects that Congress will address at least some of these policies when it reauthorizes the surface transportation program, which expires Sep. 30, 2021.

By contrast, congressional Democrats might use tax policy to address other infrastructure and climate-related issues. Doing so would allow them to pass these initiatives through the reconciliation process, circumventing any Republican opposition. The challenge in doing so is that tax incentives are primarily effective in stimulating activity organized by the private sector, while much of the Biden plan, at least during the campaign, appears focused on public-sector activity. While some tax incentives help public-sector investment—tax benefits for municipal bonds lower borrowing costs—the benefits are more limited, particularly when interest rates are already low. Nevertheless, tax incentives could be particularly useful in lowering the cost of building out a 5G network, increasing the number of electric vehicle charging stations, upgrading rail networks, expanding solar and wind generation capacity, and increasing efficiency in commercial and residential property.

What about health care?

Although infrastructure is in the spotlight, health benefits will be a focus of legislative efforts this year. President-elect Biden proposed to broaden eligibility for the health insurance premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and to make them more generous. He also proposed to lower Medicare eligibility to age 60. Versions of all of these proposals have a good chance of enactment through the reconciliation process, but financing them could be difficult in light of the limited appetite for tax increases and the competing claims on the revenues they would produce.

Biden also proposes to restrict prescription drug pricing through various means and to make available a Medicare-like “public option” through the marketplaces that the ACA established. While aspects of these policies might become law, they will likely face greater opposition and greater obstacles, as some aspects of those proposals might not be eligible for inclusion in budget reconciliation legislation, but are unlikely to attract much Republican support.

How much of a risk is the debt limit this year?

Goldman expects raising the debt limit to be a fairly minor issue this year. The two-year suspension of the debt limit expires July 31. Once reinstated, Congress will have several weeks to raise it or, more likely, pass a new suspension. Along with taxes and some spending, the debt limit is eligible for inclusion in reconciliation legislation. If congressional Democrats opt to pass COVID-relief legislation using that process, they could extend the debt limit suspension and resolve the issue long before the current suspension expires. If not, the debt limit is more likely to be reinstated, leaving congressional Democrats to pass an increase in August or September.

What does Democratic control of the Senate mean for regulation?

It is unlikely to lead to substantially different legislative outcomes than would have occurred under Republican control, but it will influence regulation indirectly. Regulatory, legal, and other non-budgetary changes cannot generally pass via the reconciliation process, so any regulatory-focused legislation would still need bipartisan support. However, Democratic control of the Senate will allow President-elect Biden to nominate officials who favor more stringent regulation than Republicans support. However, this will depend on the issue and there are some issues, like environmental regulation, where the position of the marginal Democratic vote in the Senate might not be very different from the position of the marginal Republican.

Democrats could also overturn regulations that the Trump Administration implemented since August 2020 with a simple majority in the Senate, under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

 

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hopium

 

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Before Becoming Boston's Mayor, Biden's Labor Pick Was Embroiled in Union Extortion Scandal

President-elect Joe Biden's pick for labor secretary was once caught on a wiretap admitting that he threatened a development company for refusing to use union workers.

freebeacon.com

Before Becoming Boston’s Mayor, Biden’s Labor Pick Was Embroiled in Union Extortion Scandal
Marty Walsh's subordinates convicted of conspiracy, accepting bribes

• 
  Boston mayor Marty Walsh (D.) / Getty Images

Collin Anderson - JANUARY 12, 2021 2:20 PM

President-elect Joe Biden's pick for labor secretary was once caught on a wiretap admitting that he threatened a development company for refusing to use union workers.

Biden chose Boston mayor Marty Walsh (D.) to lead the Department of Labor, praising the longtime union ally as a "good friend" and "stand up guy" in a Friday announcement. As head of Boston's Building and Construction Trades Council, however, Walsh was ensnared in a federal probe alleging strong-arm tactics by union leaders.

Federal agents captured Walsh on tape candidly discussing strong-arm tactics with a fellow local labor leader in October 2012. The Boston Democrat recalled threatening development company AvalonBay with "permitting problems" on an upcoming project should it fail to hire union laborers, according to a 2016 Boston Globe report. A second Boston developer, Michael Rauseo, accused Walsh of employing similar tactics during a meeting held just months later. Rauseo told the Globe that, in December 2012, Walsh "demanded" that he rescind contracts issued to non-union contractors for an upcoming apartment project.
Walsh boasts deep ties to Biden: The president-elect spoke at Walsh's 2017 mayoral inauguration, and the pair have been photographed together in Boston on multiple occasions. Walsh also defended Biden following accusations of inappropriately touching women, calling Biden a "very emotional person" who "respects women."

Walsh's personal relationship with Biden—as well as his "traditional union background"—could boost his chances of advancing union-friendly policies in the Biden administration, Workplace Policy Institute cochair Michael Lotito told the Washington Free Beacon.

"Joe Biden has said that he wants to be the most pro-union president in history, so it's not surprising that he picked Walsh as his labor secretary in order to help make his dream come true," Lotito said. "One of the things [Walsh] can do is recommend to Mr. Biden different executive orders, especially those that involve government contractors … and since it appears that Biden and Walsh have a long-standing personal relationship, Walsh might be in a position to influence Biden."

Neither Biden's presidential transition team nor Walsh responded to requests for comment.

While Walsh maintained that he did "nothing wrong" throughout the federal probe and was not indicted, two members of his administration, intergovernmental-affairs director Timothy Sullivan and tourism director Kenneth Brissette, were convicted of extortion-related conspiracy in August 2019. Roughly five years prior, the pair told a music festival production company that it needed to hire local union members in order to receive permits for an upcoming event. The company feared it would be "financially ruined" if it "did not accede to these City officials' demands" and agreed to hire the union members, according to a 2019 Justice Department press release.

Sullivan and Brisette's convictions were overturned in February 2020, when a federal judge ruled that the two officials did not receive a "personal payoff" as a result of their conduct. But another Walsh city hall official, development and planning agency employee John Lynch, pleaded guilty to accepting a $50,000 bribe in September 2019. Walsh distanced himself from the scandals, saying "you can't monitor every single person's actions."

Walsh served as a Massachusetts state lawmaker from 1997 to 2013, during which time he enjoyed a cozy relationship with local unions. He was named head of union umbrella group Boston Building Trades in 2011, resigning two years later to run for mayor. He has received more than $500,000 from labor groups throughout his political career, state campaign-finance disclosures show.

Walsh's labor-secretary bid was endorsed by a number of top unions, including the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka celebrated Walsh's nomination, touting the Boston Democrat's status as a "longtime union member" who will "have the ear of the White House" as he works to implement union-backed legislation.

 

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Chamber of Commerce to Work with Joe Biden on Expanding Immigration

Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue says they "will work cooperatively" with President-elect Joe Biden to expand legal immigration.

www.breitbart.com

Chamber of Commerce to Work with Joe Biden on Expanding Legal Immigration as 18M Americans Jobless
335

Mario Tama/Getty Images
JOHN BINDER12 Jan 202194

Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue says the business group “will work cooperatively” with President-Elect Joe Biden to expand legal immigration levels to the United States in order to fill American jobs with foreign workers as 18 million Americans remain jobless.

At an annual event this week, Donohue outlined the group’s plans to work hand-in-hand with incoming Biden administration officials to expand legal immigration levels beyond their already historic rates, where more than 1.2 million green cards are allotted every year and 1.4 million foreign visa workers are admitted to take American jobs annually.

Donohue claimed that despite 18 million jobless Americans and another 6.2 million Americans who are underemployed — all of whom want full-time work — the U.S. still has “significant labor shortages” and prided himself on suing President Trump in order to continue importing foreign workers during a mass unemployment crisis. He said:

We also have to confront the reality that we have people without jobs and massive amounts of jobs without people. Even if we successfully employed every American willing and able to work, we would still face significant labor shortages—in construction, agriculture, health care, retail, manufacturing, and tech.

Donohue continued:

We fought vigorously and successfully against actions by the Trump administration to severely limit legal immigration, and we will work cooperatively with the Biden administration to reform our immigration system to meet the needs of our modern economy. [Emphasis added]
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise … allowing the world’s most talented and industrious people to contribute to our economy drives growth, which in turn creates more jobs for Americans. This urgent priority should draw bipartisan support. [Emphasis added]

Building consensus on immigration reform, workforce development, and infrastructure investment this year will help accelerate the widespread recovery and deliver economic relief to the businesses and workers whose resilience has been put to the test. [Emphasis added]

That “consensus on immigration reform” is likely not only to include more legal immigration but also some form of an amnesty for illegal aliens living in the U.S. — both longtime priorities of corporate interests who see their profit margins grow when the cost of labor is crushed.

One particular study by the Center for Immigration Studies’ Steven Camarota revealed that for every one percent increase in the immigrant portion of an American workers’ occupation, Americans’ weekly wages are cut by perhaps 0.5 percent. This means the average native-born American worker today has his weekly wages reduced by potentially 8.75 percent, since more than 17 percent of the workforce is foreign-born.

As Breitbart News has reported, Biden has said he will “immediately” send an amnesty for illegal aliens to the U.S. Senate after taking office.

 

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Watch out Wall Street, Gary Gensler tapped to head SEC

Gary Gensler appears to have won the race to be the next sheriff of Wall Street after elbowing out a centrist rival. According to multiple insiders, President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team has …

nypost.com

Watch out Wall Street, Gary Gensler tapped to head SEC
By Thornton McEnery

Bloomberg via Getty Images

Gary Gensler appears to have won the race to be the next sheriff of Wall Street after elbowing out a centrist rival.

According to multiple insiders, President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team has chosen Gensler — a former Goldman Sachs executive-turned-Obama administration financial regulator — as its nominee to chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sources attributed the decision to the Democrats’ surprise win of the Senate during last week’s runoff elections in Georgia, allowing Biden to favor the more progressive candidate.

Only two weeks ago, people close to the Biden transition team had penciled in centrist Robert Jackson Jr. — an NYU law professor and SEC commissioner under Trump — as the SEC frontrunner because he was seen as more likely to win confirmation by a GOP-controlled Senate.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Gary Gensler testifies at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill July 30, 2013.REUTERS

“If Gensler hadn’t gotten the SEC, progressives would have been shut out,” explained a person familiar with the transition’s thinking. “Jackson argued that he’s also a progressive, but I don’t know many progressives who would agree.”

“Bob Jackson knows his stuff, but Biden promised to reign in Wall Street,” added a Beltway player.

“[Elizabeth] Warren and Bernie [Sanders] will be happy with Gensler, and he gives Biden cover from AOC and her crew. This pick might actually even annoy Wall Street.”

Gensler, 63, is a former partner at Goldman Sachs who joined the Clinton administration as a senior advisor to his former Goldman boss, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. During the George W. Bush presidency, Gensler stuck around DC as a senior Senate staffer and a key architect of the Sarbanes-Oxley regulation.

Barack Obama put Gensler in charge of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2009 where he became infamous among his former Wall Street colleagues for overhauling the regulation of derivatives that created the 2008 financial crisis. Gensler also used the CFTC to uncover and prosecute the massive Libor rate-rigging scandal. Biden team reportedly to get direct access to Operation Warp Speed meetings

“Gary Gensler started off as another ‘Government Sachs’ guy, but he has shirked that tag harder than anyone in history,” the Beltway insider recounted.

“He’s not Wall Street’s top choice,” added a regulatory lawyer. “At the CFTC, he was considered an active and well-regarded regulator.”

For the last few years, Gensler has been a professor at MIT. Biden tapped him to run the part of his transition team that selects nominees for agencies like the CFTC and SEC.

“Gensler took that job when it looked like the GOP had the Senate,” said the Capitol Hill insider with knowledge of the transition. “He wanted SEC for himself but there was no way he’d get the votes. After Georgia, the math has changed, and he knew it.”

Like Gensler, the 43-year-old Jackson is a Wall Street and Treasury alum, having worked at Bear Stearns and on the Obama administration’s Treasury team that crafted the Dodd-Frank legislation.

Jackson is a famous policy wonk in DC circles. After being unanimously approved to become an SEC commissioner by the Senate Banking Committee in January 2017, Jackson took on major policy initiatives at the agency on everything from opposing mandatory arbitration in discrimination lawsuit to how the SEC regulates new exchanges.

Neither Gensler nor Jackson responded to a request for comment.

 

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The Bailout Binge Begins | ZeroHedge Gold nexus

The Bailout Binge Begins

THURSDAY, JAN 14, 2021 - 8:44
Authored by John Rubino via DollarCollapse.com,

Incoming president Joe Biden just proposed that $10,000 of student debt be forgiven for each borrower.
This sounds generous but is actually just the opening bid in a negotiation that will end in a very different, much more expensive place – and that will be repeated for many, many other groups of borrowers. Here’s how this first round will go:

The vast community of ex-college students who still owe big bucks on their much-less-valuable-than-expected college degrees will scoff at Biden’s miserly offer.


Articles will appear in the corporate press with headlines like “Bob Smith owes $275,000 on his history degree. $10,000 won’t save him. Not even close.”

The new government – correctly recognizing that deeply-indebted college-educated baristas are a core voting bloc – will immediately come back with a bigger number. This too will be roundly rejected as not fixing the entire problem.

It will only be when the bailout number cracks the $1 trillion mark that the complaining will subside.


The Treasury will then write the checks, the Fed will finance the required borrowing, and the circus caravan will move on to the next needy group. Which will almost certainly be state and local governments, whose criminally mismanaged pension funds will make the student loan bail-out look like chump change.

And so it will go, through corporations that borrowed record amounts to buy back their own stock and are now broke, frackers who financed themselves with junk bonds but can’t generate enough cash flow to pay the interest, colleges that spent their endowments on shiny new stadiums, and foreign entities that borrowed too many dollars and might inconvenience big US banks by defaulting. Eventually, Washington will get around to the actual legitimate victims of government policy like restaurants and landlords, but by then the world will have stopped noticing and/or processing big numbers of any kind.

Somewhere along the way, questions will be raised about the impact of adding another ten or so trillion dollars to what looks suspiciously like a banana republic balance sheet. But with everyone’s eye firmly on their own upcoming bailout, the naysayers will be de-platformed for scaring fragile Robinhood daytraders.

Oh, and of course the vast bulk of the bailout funds will eventually find its way to the bank accounts and offshore vaults of the 1%. But that’s just obvious.
(gold message edited)

 

[marsh]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

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Here's What Joe Biden May Announce Tonight, According To Goldman

THURSDAY, JAN 14, 2021 - 12:15

President-elect Biden is scheduled to speak at 7:15pm tonight to outline his “vaccination and economic rescue legislative package”. As we noted late last night, there are a number of media reports regarding the potential size and details of that package, which vary considerably, even though the market's attention was drawn to the largest one for obvious reasons. Fox example, the Washington Post reported the package could cost “more than $1 trillion”; Reuters said it “could exceed $1.5 trillion”; CNN reports it could be “roughly $2 trillion”, and Bloomberg reported that “Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pressed President-elect Joe Biden to propose more than $1.3 trillion”. Talk about multiple trial balloons.

However, as Goldman's chief political economist Alec Phillips writes in his preview of Biden's speech tonight, whatever the president-elect proposes, Congress will determine the outcome and it is likely to differ in several respects. How much it differs will depend on the views of centrist Democrats in the House and Senate whose support will be needed, as well as whether Biden intends to rely on Republican support in addition to Democratic votes.

Several reports suggest that Biden will seek bipartisan support for his package and hopes to pass it with at least 60 votes in the Senate, rather than moving it through the “reconciliation” process with only a simple majority. This is not surprising, but as Phillips notes, "it is hard to square a bipartisan approach with some of the large figures noted above, which we would not expect many Republicans to support." Indeed, it is not clear that all Democrats would support a near-term relief bill costing $2 trillion.

That said, as the Goldman strategist warns, "seeking bipartisan support for the proposal is not the same as actually passing it with bipartisan support." After seeking Republican support, congressional Democrats could move on to a second strategy relying on entirely (or almost entirely) Democratic votes, if necessary.

These two tracks could even move in parallel, with congressional Democratic leaders attempting to win bipartisan support at the same time that the House and Senate Budget Committees prepare budget resolutions that include “reconciliation” instructions that would allow stimulus legislation to pass with only 51 votes in the Senate.

Goldman's current assumption is that Congress will enact a near-term COVID-relief package costing $750bn, although risks are clearly skewing toward a (much) higher cost. As shown in the table below, the largest gaps between the October 2020 Democratic proposal and what Congress passed in December are state and local fiscal aid, education grants, stimulus payments and an expansion of the child tax credit, and unemployment insurance. These are generally the areas where the next round of fiscal measures will focus.

 

[marsh]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

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Biden Stimulus Plan Leaks: Here's What's In It

THURSDAY, JAN 14, 2021 - 15:30
Update: Bloomberg has released further details of Biden's $1.9 trillion plan which includes "a wave of new spending, including more direct payments to households, an expansion of jobless benefits, more money for state and local governments and an expansion of vaccinations and virus-testing programs." The proposal also calls for a $15 federal minimum wage and more eviction protections.

Here are the main highlights:
Stimulus Checks

• The plan includes a central promise of Democrats: boosting direct payments to individuals to $2,000 for most Americans, on top of the $600 that Congress approved in December.
• The plan would also allow residents who are married to undocumented residents to receive stimulus payments -- who were barred in prior rounds.

Vaccinations, Testing

• Biden’s plan includes $20 billion to create a national vaccine distribution program that would offer free shots to all U.S. residents regardless of immigration status.
• The plan calls for creating community vaccination centers and deploying mobile units in hard-to-reach areas. Biden is also calling for $50 billion to ramp up testing efforts, including purchasing rapid-result tests, expanding lab capacity and helping local jurisdictions implement testing regimens.

State Aid

• Biden is pushing for $350 billion in funding assistance for state, local and territorial governments plus $20 billion for public transit systems.
• Democrats for months have pushed for more money to help state and local governments that have faced higher costs and lower tax revenue during the pandemic. States and cities warn they’ll be forced to make deep cuts to public health, safety and education programs without more funding, because they can’t borrow money in the way the federal government can.
• Many Republicans have chafed at more money for local governments, however, saying it amounts to a bailout for mismanaged government budgets.

Unemployment Insurance

• Biden’s plan would extend and expand unemployment benefits that are scheduled to run out in mid-March. The proposal increases a weekly federal benefit to $400 from $300 and extends it through the end of September.
• It also extends benefits for self-employed individuals and gig workers, and those who have exhausted their regular jobless benefits.

Minimum Wage

• Biden is calling to more than double the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour from $7.25, a proposal that could alienate Republicans. In addition, he seeks to end the tipped minimum wage used widely by restaurants and the hospitality industry. At $2.13 an hour, it gives lower minimums to employees that get tips.

Paid Leave

• The Biden plan would create a requirement for employers, regardless of size, to offer paid sick leave during the pandemic to workers -- a change that the transition team says will extend the benefit to 106 million workers. Parents and family members caring for sick relatives or out-of-school children could receive more than 14 weeks of paid sick and family leave.
• The plan would provide benefits of up to $1,400 per week and tax credits for employers with fewer than 500 employees to reimburse them for the cost of the leave.

Tax Credits, Childcare

• Biden would expand tax credits for low- and middle- income families and make them refundable for 2021. He is proposing to expand the child tax credit to $3,000 from $2,000 for each child 17 and younger. Children under age six would be eligible for $3,600.
• Biden is also requesting $25 billion for a stabilization fund to help open child-care centers and $15 billion in grants to support essential workers in meeting childcare costs.

Schools

• The plan is also calling for $170 billion to help schools to open -- something Biden has said would allow many parents, especially women, to rejoin the labor force after they dropped out to care for children learning at home.
• About $130 billion would go to K-12 schools to help them hire additional staff to reduce class size, modify spaces and purchase resources to help meet students’ academic and mental health needs. The plan would also direct $35 billion to colleges and universities and create a $5 billion fund for governors to direct help to schools most hard-hit by the virus.

Rental Assistance

• The proposal would extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium through September. It would also provide $30 billion to help low-income households who have lost jobs pay rent and utility bills. The plan would also provide $5 billion to states and localities to offer emergency housing for families facing homelessness.

Small Businesses

• Biden is proposing to leverage $35 billion in government funds into $175 billion in low-interest loans to finance small businesses. He is also calling for $15 billion in grants for such employers. He is proposing to use laid-off restaurant workers to partner with federal nutrition programs to get those employees working again.

While the plan may not receive Republicans support, Democrats are firmly on board, with Pelosi and Schumer both saying that the proposal is the "right approach."


* * *
It may not be quite $2 trillion as CNN leaked last night, quoting "one lawmaker" in close contact with the Biden team who said it was "taking a shoot for the moon" approach with the package", but it's close.

With less than 4 hours to go until Biden's 715pm ET speech in Delaware, in which he is expected to unveil his fiscal program, the NYT reports that Biden's spending package "to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its effects on the economy, with an initial focus on large-scale expansions of the nation’s vaccination program and virus testing capacity" will be $1.9 trillion.

The first package, which "will cover the pandemic, the economy, health care, education, climate change and other domestic priorities" according to Brian Deese, the incoming director of the National Economic Council who spoke at the Reuters Next conference on Wednesday, will include money to complete $2,000 direct payments to individuals, and aid to small businesses and local and state governments.

One thing that markets may not like is that contrary to previous expectations that the "stimmy" check will be $2,000, Biden will instead propose additional $1,400 stimulus checks, "topping up the $600 checks that Congress approved in December." This means roughly one-third less purchasing power to buy out of the money call on stocks trading at all time highs.

The NYT also notes that the first piece of legislation will include an extension of supplemental federal unemployment benefits, which are set to expire in March for many workers, and more help for renters.

Plans for the first package also include a significant increase in spending on vaccine deployment, testing and contact tracing, Mr. Deese said, and Mr. Biden will seek enough money to allow most schools to open, in an effort to increase labor force participation

“We need to get the schools open,” Mr. Deese said, “so that parents, and particularly women, who are being disproportionately hurt in this economy, can get back to work.”

Stocks dropped to session lows on news that instead of an $2,000 additional stimmy, the Biden plan will "only" include another $1,400, adding to the previously released $600 from the December $900BN stimulus plan.

Meanwhile, the fact that Biden is indeed going through with an almost $2 trillion stimulus - contrary to that such an amount could be overly aggressive and be met with resistance even among centrist Democrats - has sent 10Y yields to session highs.

 

[marsh]

Why Joe Biden Is Preparing $1,400 Stimulus Checks Despite Promising $2,000

President-elect Joe Biden plans to announce a $1,400 personal stimulus check for individuals despite voters expecting a $2,000 check.

www.breitbart.com

Why Joe Biden Is Preparing $1,400 Stimulus Checks Despite Promising $2,000
288

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty
CHARLIE SPIERING14 Jan 2021544

President-elect Joe Biden plans to announce a $1,400 personal stimulus check for individuals on Thursday despite voters expecting a $2,000 check as promised.

Reuters reports Biden will announce a massive $1.5 trillion spending program which will include $1,400 stimulus checks.

That might surprise Americans who expected a $2,000 check promised by Biden and Democrats on the campaign trail for the Senate runoff election in Georgia.

Defenders of the president-elect argue his $2,000 promise included the $600 checks, making the new checks $1,400.

But Biden joined Congressional Democrat leaders in late December and early January repeatedly calling for $2,000 stimulus checks even after the $600 checks were sent out.

Hey Congress, we fixed it for you! How Congress Can Give Americans $2K Relief Checks and Cut Omnibus Pork to Pay for It
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 26, 2020

President Donald Trump first proposed the idea of $2,000 stimulus checks on December 22 while expressing his frustration with Republicans for paring down the checks to $600.

The president ultimately signed the legislation including the $600 checks on December 27, but that did not stop the Biden team from promising $2,000 checks, in the following days.

“That’s literally true. If you send Jon and the Reverend to Washington, those $2000 checks will go out the door … That money that will go out the door immediately,” Biden told voters at a campaign rally in Georgia on January 4.

On Sunday, Biden again called for $2,000 stimulus checks on Twitter.

“$600 is simply not enough when you have to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table,” he wrote on Twitter. “We need $2,000 stimulus checks.”

$600 is simply not enough when you have to choose between paying rent or putting food on the table.
We need $2,000 stimulus checks.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 11, 2021

The Biden team never clarified whether the $2000 promise included the $600 already authorized under the law Trump signed, as many Democrat supporters expected the money to be in addition to the earlier stimulus.

Thus, the new round of stimulus money that Biden will announce Thursday will be $1,400; smaller than many Americans expected.

 

[marsh]

Biden DOJ Appointee Open to Court Packing: 'Nothing is Off the Table'

One of president-elect Joe Biden’s top DOJ nominees previously expressed openness to packing the United States Supreme Court.

www.breitbart.com

Top Biden DOJ Appointee Open to Court Packing: ‘Nothing Is Off the Table’

19

AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File
HARIS ALIC14 Jan 202134

One of president-elect Joe Biden’s top Department of Justice (DOJ) nominees previously expressed openness to packing the United States Supreme Court.

After the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last year, Vanita Gupta claimed that the Trump administrations’s push to fill the seat could force Democrats to break old precedents for the sake of “democracy.”

“Nothing is off the table,” Gupta told the Associated Press, specifically noting the recent embrace among progressives of packing the Supreme Court. “The legitimacy of the court and our democracy is at stake.”

Gupta, whom Biden plans to nominate to the position of associate attorney general, made the argument to the Associated Press in her position as the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. The group, which was founded in the 1950s to push for civil rights, has expanded in the half-century since to be one of the nation’s largest special-interest groups backing liberal causes.

At the time of Gupta’s comments President Donald Trump and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were moving forward with filling the vacancy caused by Ginsburg’s passing. The prospect of a cemented six-to-three conservative majority on the Supreme Court pushed Democrats into obstructing the confirmation proceedings.

Senate Democrats, in particular, hoped to delay the confirmation of Trump’s nominee, then-Judge Amy Coney Barrett, until January 2021 when a new administration would take office. That strategy, however, failed after the Senate Republicans opted to stand united behind Trump.

Throughout the entire process, progressives and congressional Democrats claimed that if Trump were to succeed in filling Ginsburg’s seat, then court packing would be a viable option. The proposal, which failed the last time it was tried by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the late-1930s, would expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court.

Many on the left, including House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY), endorsed court packing, claiming the GOP’s nomination of Barrett lacked “legitimacy” and was “undemocratic.”

Gupta, as her comments in the Associated Press indicate, appeared to agree that at least court packing should be considered to prevent a conservative majority on the nation’s highest court. At the time of Gupta’s remarks, her organization was also attempting to build a broad coalition to defeat Barrett.

The group not only mobilized 150 progressive organizations to lobby on behalf of Barrett’s defeat, but it also led rallies and protests in front of the Supreme Court opposing confirmation.

While Gupta was expressing openness to packing the Supreme Court and her organization was working to oppose confirmation, Biden was refusing to discuss the topic in-depth. Although the president-elect came out against Republican’s filling Ginsburg’s seat, Biden ignored questions about court-packing right up until Election Day.

“You’ll know my opinion on court-packing when the election is over,” Biden told reporters during a campaign swing through Arizona in mid-October.

Despite the promise, the president-elect has not declared a clear position on the issue. Biden has, however, promised to appoint a bipartisan commission to study judicial reforms.

The president-elect’s transition team did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

 

[marsh]

Biden names Obama-era UN ambassador Samantha Power to lead USAID

President-elect Joe Biden announced that former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power will be his nominee for administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a position that now will be added to the National Security Council.

www.foxnews.com

Biden names Obama-era UN ambassador Samantha Power to lead USAID

She ratified the Paris climate agreement on behalf of the US
By Ronn Blitzer | Fox News

Who is Samantha Power?
Who is Samantha Power, former President Obama’s Ambassador to the United Nations?

President-elect Joe Biden announced that former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power will be his nominee for administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a position that now will be added to the National Security Council.

Power served as ambassador during the Obama administration. In that role, she ratified the Paris climate agreement on behalf of the U.S., advocated for refugee assistance and worked for international efforts to stop an Ebola epidemic.

"Samantha Power is a world-renowned voice of conscience and moral clarity — challenging and rallying the international community to stand up for the dignity and humanity of all people," Biden said in a statement. "I know firsthand the unparalleled knowledge and tireless commitment to principled American engagement she brings to the table, and her expertise and perspective will be essential as our country reasserts its role as a leader on the world stage. As USAID Administrator, Ambassador Power will be a powerful force for lifting up the vulnerable, ushering in a new era of human progress and development, and advancing American interests globally."

Although USAID is an independent agency, it essentially functions alongside the State Department and, though it's not a Cabinet position, the administrator appointee is confirmed by the Senate.

As USAID administrator, Power is expected to work with international partners in combatting the coronavirus. She has been critical of President Trump’s handling of the pandemic, penning a Foreign Affairs article in which she deemed Trump "incompetent."

"The Trump administration’s response to the most urgent problem in the world today -- the coronavirus pandemic -- has been worse than that of any other nation," Power wrote.

"Yet the mishandling of the pandemic is just the latest in a string of lapses in basic competence that have called into question U.S. capabilities among both long-standing allies and countries whose partnership Washington may seek in the years to come," she added.

This would be Power’s second stint on the National Security Council (NSC). She was a member under President Obama from 2009 to 2013 before serving as UN ambassador from 2013 to 2017. She was on the NSC as special assistant to the president and senior director for multilateral affairs and human rights, advising the administration on issues including LGBT rights, human trafficking, corruption, UN reform and promoting democracy around the world.

"One of the most pressing challenges facing our nation is restoring and strengthening America's global leadership as a champion of democracy, human rights, and the dignity of all people," Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said in a statement. "Few Americans are better equipped to help lead that work than Ambassador Samantha Power."

Power is currently a professor of the practice of global leadership and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, where she had been the founding executive director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. She is also a professor of practice in human rights at Harvard Law School.

{COMMENT: USAID is a primary source of funding for Soros' operations overseas and in S. America.]

 

[Seasidedaisy]

How much money does Obama have invested in student loans?
See if they are paid in full Obama makes a boatload

I think.

 

[The Snack Artist]

Dog-gone it these d women are fugly.

 

[philkar]

God help us

 

[marsh]

More Democrats Say They'll Vote 'No' on Waiver for Biden's SecDef Pick Lloyd Austin

Lawmakers heard from two experts who warned that granting another waiver to a recently retired general.

www.military.com

More Democrats Say They'll Vote 'No' on Waiver for Biden's SecDef Pick Lloyd Austin

Retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the Biden administration’s choice to be secretary of defense, listens during an event at The Queen theater in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
12 Jan 2021

Military.com | By Gina Harkins
Lawmakers heard from two experts Tuesday who warned that granting another waiver to a recently retired general to serve as defense secretary weakens American norms.

Several Democratic senators say they will vote against granting a waiver for Lloyd Austin. President-elect Joe Biden has said he'll nominate the retired Army general officer, who fought in Iraq and oversaw all military missions in the Middle East, to lead the Pentagon.

Austin retired in 2016. By law, anyone serving as defense secretary must have been out of uniform for at least seven years unless they have a waiver from Congress.

Several senators, including Biden's former colleagues in Congress, say the move won't get their vote after a waiver was granted to Jim Mattis, a retired Marine general who served as President Donald Trump's defense secretary, in 2017.

"The reason for the principle of civilian control is not only to protect our democracy against military interference, it is to protect the military against excessive interference -- political partisan interference --that may jeopardize the professionalism and effectiveness of our military," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat and Marine Corps veteran.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and former National Guard officer, said she doesn't believe the seven-year rule is long enough.

"The military is a much smaller community than it may seem to people who haven't served," she said. "Especially as service members make their way up the ranks and that pyramid gets steeper and steeper."

A newly retired general is likely to have personal relationships with most of the military's highest-ranking leaders, Duckworth added, which "puts them in a difficult situation."

Duckworth first stated in December that she planned to oppose a waiver for Austin.

Lindsay Cohn, a professor at the Naval War College who studies civilian-military relations, said giving Austin a waiver so soon after Mattis received one sets "a dangerous precedent." When members of Congress considered a waiver for Mattis, she noted, it was said to be a once-in-a-generation exception.

"I think that this chamber has a very difficult decision in front of it to decide whether the reasons that the president-elect has given, and the reasons that you all can think of yourself, justify printing another waiver," Cohn told senators.

Biden has defended his decision to select Austin to be his future defense secretary nominee.

"I believe in the importance of civilian control of the military," he said last month. "So does the secretary-designee Austin. He'll be bolstered by a strong and empowered civilian sector and senior [officials] working [Defense Department] policies and to ensure that our defense policies are accountable to the American people."

Cohn and Kathleen McInnis, an international security specialist with the Congressional Research Service, laid out potential fallout if military officers more routinely move into the defense secretary role, which they say is inherently political.

The seven-year "cooling-off period" required before a military member can serve as defense secretary helps reduce their reliance on uniformed networks, Cohn said.

McInnis noted that Mattis faced criticism from some for relying more on military colleagues for information and advice than he did Defense Department civilians. DoD civilians have, in recent years, had their voices "relatively muted," she added.

"They are there to do the day-to-day work of civilian oversight of the military," McInnis said. "They work with their counterparts overseas to understand political and military dynamics that might impact national security. They go to war zones and help military commanders really understand the secretary's intent. They are where the rubber meets the road of civilian-military relations."

Several members of Congress have expressed support for Austin's selection as the future defense secretary nominee and indicated they will support a waiver approval. It is noteworthy, though, that members of Biden's party are taking a stance against it.

As Blumenthal put it, "It is a matter of principle."

"I have immense respect and admiration for General Austin," he said. "... It's not personal."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also said she plans to vote against a waiver for Austin, though she added that if Congress grants one, she'll consider his nomination independently on its merits.

If confirmed, Austin would be the first Black defense secretary. Lawmakers on Tuesday noted the importance of having a defense secretary who represents those in the ranks, something Cohn echoed in her testimony.

"The importance of the fact that he would be a Black man in a very visible position of authority, trust and responsibility, should not be underestimated," she wrote. "As scholars like Meg Guliford have noted, the national security world has thus far done a poor job of fostering the advancement of people of color to leadership positions, and of making it a world that is inviting to young people of color."

Austin will appear before the House Armed Services Committee on Jan. 21 to discuss civilian control of the military, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said last week.

 

[marsh]

Samantha Power, Who Unmasked Michael Flynn, Nominated by Biden to Top Post

President-Elect Biden has again named an Obama-era Progressive to a key post in his incoming administration, this time tapping former

nationalfile.com

Samantha Power, Who Unmasked Michael Flynn, Nominated by Biden to Top Post

Biden continues to fill key spots in his administration with Obama-era cronies who steadfastly cling to a one-world, Marxist-Progressive agenda

by FRANK SALVATO
January 14, 2021



President-Elect Biden has again named an Obama-era Progressive to a key post in his incoming administration, this time tapping former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power as his nominee for head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a position now included in the National Security Council.

While Power’s media accepted biography is one of accomplishment in the area of human rights, she was instrumental in the Obama administrations use of military force in the Middle East and was one of principle people responsible for the unmasking of Gen. Michael Flynn.

Power testified before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2017 that she never sought to unmask records that contained information about former White House National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

But now declassified documents from the National Security Agency (NSA), reveal that her name appeared on at least seven separate requests to unmask Flynn’s name between November 30, 2016, and January 11, 2017.

Former #ObamaAdministration official #SamanthaPower—who, according to records, asked to unmask retired Lt. #GeneralFlynn, despite her saying under oath that she did not—was nominated by President-Elect Joe Biden as administrator of #USAID. Biden Picks Former UN Envoy Power to Lead Humanitarian Aid Agency

— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) January 13, 2021

In responding to a question as to whether she ever “leaked Mr. Flynn’s name in any way,” posed to her by Committee Chairman Adam Schiff’s (D-CA), Power responded, “I have no recollection of making a request related to General Flynn…I have never leaked classified information,” Power said. “I have never leaked names that have come back to me in this highly compartmented process. I have, in fact, never leaked, even unclassified information.”

But according to NSA documents declassified last May, Power made seven separate requests to unmask Flynn’s name over a six-week period between the end of November 2016 and January 11, 2017.

No amount of failure and malfeasance under @BarackObama seems to disqualify anyone from working for @JoeBiden. Samantha Power failed to stop the Syrian genocide, voted to allow the UN Security Council to declare Israel's presence in Jerusalem illegal, and unmasked Trump officials https://t.co/c5paulpRi9

— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) January 13, 2021

Power is an ardent proponent of using US military might to advance Leftist agendas across the world. She, along with then-National Security Adviser Susan Rice, convinced a reluctant President Obama to destroy the ground forces of Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, arguing there would be no peace with any remnants of Gadhafi’s forces active.

But Power’s push for the use of military intervention led to a protracted war that thrust that regions of the world into armed chaos and the rise of ISIS. It also set the stage for the siege at the US embassy compound in Benghazi.

Joe Biden has just announced that his pick to head USAID (which is a CIA cutout that creates regime change) is Samantha Power – AKA the woman who pushed for the US to bomb Libya into a failed state that now has open-air slave markets. She calls that "humanitarian intervention."

— Lee Camp [Redacted] (@LeeCamp) January 14, 2021

USAID’s primary objectives are to craft policies that culminate into civilian aid and assist in the process of “foreign development.” The USAID post Power is nominated for serves a major role in crafting US foreign policy.

Power is, at present, a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School, along with her husband, Cass Sunstein, the author of the Progressive ideological title, Nudge.

Sunstein served as administrator of the White House Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs during the Obama administration. Rumblings have him returning to government in the Biden administration.

 

[marsh]

Biden's $1.9 trillion COVID plan includes another $1,400 for eligible Americans

Biden is calling for increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

justthenews.com

Biden's $1.9 trillion plan includes another $1,400 for eligible Americans

Biden is calling for increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour.
Image

Joe Biden in January 2021
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

By Alex Nitzberg
Updated: January 14, 2021 - 8:04pm

President-elect Joe Biden has revealed a nearly $2 trillion "American Rescue Plan" with multiple components including more money that would go to Americans following the recent $600 relief payments many Americans received.

One facet of the plan includes another $1,400 in direct payments for eligible Americans. Biden is also calling for increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

View: https://youtu.be/Xra1LbTrPLo
27:10 min

 

[marsh]

Biden taps veteran diplomat Bill Burns as CIA director

Burns served at the State Department for more than three decades before retiring in 2014

justthenews.com

Biden taps veteran diplomat Bill Burns as CIA director

Burns served at the State Department for more than three decades before retiring in 2014
Image

William Burns
(Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

By Sophie Mann
Updated: January 11, 2021 - 9:32am

Incoming President Joe Biden announced Monday that he has selected veteran diplomat Williams Burns to run the CIA.

Burns had a 33-year career at the State Department – serving in Republican and Democratic administrations – prior to retiring in 2014.

The 64-year-old Burns also formerly served as an ambassador to Russia and Jordan. He became the deputy secretary of state before his retirement.

"Bill Burns is an exemplary diplomat with decades of experience on the world stage keeping our people and our country safe and secure," Biden said Monday in a statement. "He shares my profound belief that intelligence must be apolitical and that the dedicated intelligence professionals serving our nation deserve our gratitude and respect."

Burns is said to have also been a contender for Biden's secretary of state, for which Anthony Blinken has been nominated.

Burns has served as a close adviser to former Secretaries of State including William Christopher, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.

Should he be confirmed, Burns will replace Trump administration CIA Director Gina Haspel.

 

[marsh]

Front Page Featured | MRCTV

cnsnews.com

Biden: Next Week He’ll Give Transgenders ‘Access to Sports...and Locker Rooms in Accordance With Their Gender Identity’
By CNSNews.com Staff | January 14, 2021 | 12:16pm EST

(CNSNews.com) - President-elect Joe Biden is promising that on “his first day in office” he will issue an order requiring all schools that receive federal funding to let transgenders play on the sports teams and use the bathrooms and locker rooms that accord with their “gender identity.”

Biden will take office next Wednesday, January 20.

On his campaign website Biden promised to: “Ensure young LGBTQ+ people are supported and protected in our schools and college campuses by: Guaranteeing transgender students have access to facilities based on their gender identity.”

“On his first day in office," says Biden’s website, “Biden will reinstate the Obama-Biden guidance revoked by the Trump-Pence Administration, which will restore transgender students’ access to sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms in accordance with their gender identity. He will direct his Department of Education to vigorously enforce and investigate violations of transgender students’ civil rights.”

Biden’s campaign website links to the “Obama-Biden guidance” this passage references. It was issued by the Obama Justice Department and Department of Education on May 13, 2016.

It says in part: “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) and its implementing regulations prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs and activities operated by recipients of Federal financial assistance.1 This prohibition encompasses discrimination based on a student’s gender identity, including discrimination based on a student’s transgender status.”

“Gender identity refers to an individual’s internal sense of gender,” says this Obama-Biden order. “A person’s gender identity may be different from or the same as the person’s sex assigned at birth.”

“Transgender describes those individuals whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth,” says the order. “A transgender male is someone who identifies as male but was assigned the sex of female at birth; a transgender female is someone who identifies as female but was assigned the sex of male at birth.”

“The Departments [of Justice and Education] treat a student’s gender identity as the student’s sex for purposes of Title IX and its implementing regulations. This means that a school must not treat a transgender student differently from the way it treats other students of the same gender identity.”

The Obama-Biden order goes on the specifically state that schools must give transgender students access to the sports teams and restrooms and locker rooms that accord with their “gender identity” not their actual biological sex.

“A school may provide separate facilities on the basis of sex, butmust allow transgender students access to such facilities consistent with their gender identity,” says the order. “A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so. A school may, however, make individual-user options available to all students who voluntarily seek additional privacy.”

“Title IX regulations permit a school to operate or sponsor sex-segregated athletics teams when selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or when the activity involved is a contact sport,” says the order. “A school may not, however, adopt or adhere to requirements that rely on overly broad generalizations or stereotypes about the differences between transgender students and other students of the same sex (i.e., the same gender identity) or others’ discomfort with transgender students.”

The order notes that transgender students do not need to undergo any sort of medical “treatment” before schools must treat them according to their gender identity.

It cites a court case that said: “An agency may not condition access to facilities—or to other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment—on the completion of certain medical steps that the agency itself has unilaterally determined will somehow prove the bona fides of the individual’s gender identity.”

“Under Title IX,” the Obama-Biden order says, “there is no medical diagnosis or treatment requirement that students must meet as a prerequisite to being treated consistent with their gender identity.”

 

[marsh]

Jason Smith: Joe Biden's Budget Will Expose His Plan to 'Significantly Raise Taxes'

Jason Smith sent a letter to Ted Kaufman, noting Biden's first budget will expose the 46th president's plans to raise taxes.

www.breitbart.com

Rep. Jason Smith: Joe Biden’s Budget Will Expose His Plan to ‘Significantly Raise Taxes on Working-Class Americans’
5,406

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
SEAN MORAN14 Jan 20212,425

Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO), the House Budget Committee ranking member, sent a letter to Joe Biden transition chair Ted Kaufman, noting Biden’s first budget will expose the 46th president’s plans to raise taxes on working-class Americans.

In his letter to Kaufman, Smith noted the statutory deadline for the incoming administration to submit the fiscal year 2022 budget is February 1.

What are his plans? How will he fund them? What is the price tag? Does he intend to meet this deadline of transparency? If not, how long should we plan to wait? pic.twitter.com/JE6YAsy7w5
— Rep. Jason Smith (@RepJasonSmith) January 14, 2021

Recent media reports have suggested the Trump White House has “refused to direct staff and resources to help with the incoming Biden administration’s spending plans.” However, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought has fought back against these accusations.

“Our system of government has one President and one Administration at a time,” Vought noted in a December letter to Kaufman.

Smith noted in his letter to Kaufman that the OMB has “fully complied with the laws in advising” the Biden Transition Team (BTT), including:

• Providing all pertinent, factual information on ongoing programs as requested by the BTT, in addition to taking over 45 meetings with BTT staff.
• Fully apportioning the requested $9.9 million for transition activities by the General Services Administration (GSA) within hours of the GSA providing ascertainment on November 23, 2020.
• Briefing BTT on funding streams concerning Operation Warp Speed and other COVID [Chinese coronavirus] relief efforts.

Further, Smith noted Biden’s planned proposal will be the “first true chance for the American people to see how the Biden Administration plans to pay for campaign promises and its plan to significantly raise taxes on working-class Americans to fund its agenda.”

As the highest-ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, Smith has called out Democrats’ removal of a budgetary restraint on government spending, known as the pay-as-you-go provision, or PAYGO. This would enable Democrats to spend further on climate change proposals such as the Green New Deal.

“On only day two of the 117th Congress, House Democrats are already attempting to strip Americans of the transparency they deserve in order to push through an expensive progressive wish-list,” Smith said.

“This exemption was designed as a mechanism to ram through socialist policies like the Green New Deal and other ideas aimed at hurting American workers, families, and farmers,” he added.

 

[marsh]

Biden Labor Secretary Pick Funneled $1.2 Million Into Girlfriend's Consulting Firm

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Joe Biden's pick for Labor Secretary, funneled nearly $1.2 million into a consulting firm that employs his longtime girlfriend.

freebeacon.com

Biden Labor Secretary Pick Funneled $1.2 Million Into Girlfriend’s Consulting Firm

• 
  Getty Images

Joe Schoffstall - JANUARY 14, 2021 7:10 PM

Boston mayor Marty Walsh (D.), President-elect Joe Biden's pick for labor secretary, funneled nearly $1.2 million into a consulting firm that employs his longtime girlfriend.

Walsh's mayoral campaign pushed the payments to LB Strategies, where his live-in girlfriend, Lorrie Higgins, works as a fundraising consultant. The firm received the cash through a contract that allows it to compensate its employees with the money.

From 2013 to March 2019, Walsh's campaign sent a total of $888,750 to the firm, the Boston Globe reported. A review of state campaign finance records shows that since the time of the Globe's 2019 report and December 2020, LB Strategies received an additional $280,100 for fundraising consulting work, bringing its total windfall to more than $1.16 million.

The timing of the contract and Higgins's hiring drew accusations of nepotism, which could spark concerns about Walsh having decision-making power over business issues as head of the Labor Department. While legal, the payments raised eyebrows over LB Strategies' small size and Walsh's girlfriend being one of only three individuals working at the firm at the time.

In fact, Higgins was brought on board shortly after Walsh's campaign began dishing out cash for the firm's services. Higgins joined the group in March 2014, just two months after Walsh's campaign agreed to $5,000 monthly payments. The agreement allowed the firm to pay newly hired staff. Newer records show that the payments have since ballooned to $14,650 per month.

It is unclear how many individuals LB Strategies employs today. The firm has a scarce online presence and no website. Massachusetts corporation records show that Laurie Bosio carries multiple positions with the firm, including acting as the group's president, treasurer, secretary, and director. Higgins and Bosio are two of only four people to list LB Strategies as their employer on LinkedIn.

Walsh's campaign did not respond to an inquiry. LB Strategies could not be reached for comment.

Biden announced Walsh as his labor secretary pick last Friday. "I look forward to working with you to deliver good jobs with dignity, security, with prosperity and purpose to all American families," Walsh said.

Walsh, a former top union leader, gathered together more than $100,000 for Biden's campaign and affiliated committees. Fox News reports that at least eight individuals who bundled six figures' worth of donations for Biden will be appointed or nominated to senior White House roles.

Biden recently pulled a page on his website that showed campaign bundlers who collected at least $100,000 to fuel his presidential efforts, including Walsh. The list has since been restored after its deletion sparked criticism from groups such as America Rising.

The Biden transition team did not respond to a request for comment.

 

[marsh]

Biden Vows to Destroy Small Businesses with $15 Per Hour Federal Minimum Wage (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila

Joe Biden on Thursday vowed to destroy what’s left of small businesses with a $15 per hour federal minimum wage.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Biden Vows to Destroy Small Businesses with $15 Per Hour Federal Minimum Wage (VIDEO)

By Cristina Laila
Published January 14, 2021 at 8:25pm

Joe Biden on Thursday vowed to destroy what’s left of small businesses with a $15 per hour federal minimum wage.

Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan which included a $15 per hour minimum wage, $30 billion in rental assistance and a ban on evictions and foreclosures until the end of September 2021.

Democrats and RINOs destroyed small businesses with unconstitutional Covid lockdown orders.

Biden promised to help only all non-white owned businesses to reopen and rebuild — whites need not apply.

Now he’s seeking to destroy jobs and put more stress on small businesses that made it through Covid lockdowns.

“There should be a national minimum wage of $15 an hour. No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line,” said Biden.

Minimum wage hikes will lead to robot replacement and less hours for employees.

WATCH:

President-elect Biden: “There should be a national minimum wage of $15 an hour. No one working 40 hours a week should live below the poverty line.” Biden announces vaccination plan, economic rescue package in evening address pic.twitter.com/QmWbFm9EjL
— ABC News (@ABC) January 15, 2021

Seattle gradually raised its minimum wage to $15 per hour and it was a total disaster for small businesses and consumers.

A Subway franchise owner in Seattle told FacesOf15.com that the $15 per hour wage hike hit her business hard:

“After Seattle implemented a $15 minimum wage, my business went from having seven employees to three. We used to have the ability to hire and train younger and entry-level employees, but now we don’t have the margins to hire inexperienced workers anymore. Now, we’re faced with the very real prospect of closing. The lesson from Seattle is that Congress can’t mandate its way to wage growth and prosperity, because those mandates hit small businesses hard.”

 

[marsh]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Here's How Much Your Income Will Change Under The Biden Tax Plan

FRIDAY, JAN 15, 2021 - 13:47
While the market has so far focused exclusively on the temporary economic sugar high that the Biden fiscal stimulus will unleash on the US economy, which however may be far below Biden's bogey of $1.9 trillion with Goldman now expecting just $1.1 trillion being enacted due to republican opposition, traders are starting to focus on the cost side of the "cost-benefit" analysis.

And, as Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid writes, while "for now it’s all about the size of the stimulus juices flowing into the economy" the pips will likely be squeezed later in the year as the Democrats craft broader infrastructure and tax legislation.
That's why today’s Chart of the Day from Reid shows the distributional impact of Biden’s pre-election tax plan, according to the Tax Policy Center.

At the moment, economists see a joint infrastructure and tax reform bill being passed in late 2021; at that point revenue rises will potentially offset half of the extra spending, although maybe only raising a quarter of the revenue estimated by the tax plan that today’s chart was based on. This is based on the political realities of a split senate and the then looming mid-terms.

In short: the chart shows whose income group will benefit, and which will end up with the tax bill, after Biden's record stimulus is enacted.

 

[Thunderdragon]

Let me guess. All of the state aid goes to blue states. Red get $0. Who can stop it? No one probably

 

[Thunderdragon]

Giving some states $$$ and others $0 was probably considered illegal. Now. they don’t care.

 

[20Gauge]

Let me guess. All of the state aid goes to blue states. Red get $0. Who can stop it? No one probably

No it will be 150% to blue states and -50% to red states.

 

[Jubilee on Earth]

No it will be 150% to blue states and -50% to red states.

And incentivize more Democrat babies with higher EIC. Awesome.

 

[marsh]

Zerohedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

25 Organizations Say Victoria Nuland Should Be Rejected

THURSDAY, JAN 14, 2021 - 21:20
Organization’s statement originally published at 25 Organizations: Victoria Nuland's Nomination Should Be Rejected - World Beyond War . . .

Victoria Nuland, former foreign policy adviser to vice president Dick Cheney, should not be nominated for undersecretary of state [for political affairs], and if nominated should be rejected by the Senate.


Nuland played a key role in facilitating a coup in Ukraine that created a civil war costing 10,000 lives and displacing over a million people. She played a key role in arming Ukraine as well. She advocates radically increased military spending, NATO expansion, hostility toward Russia, and efforts to overthrow the Russian government.

The United States invested $5 billion in shaping Ukrainian politics, including overthrowing a democratically elected president who had refused to join NATO. Then-Assistant Secretary of State Nuland is on video talking about the U.S. investment and on audiotape planning to install Ukraine’s next leader, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who was subsequently installed.

The Maidan protests, at which Nuland handed out cookies to protesters, were violently escalated by neo-Nazis and by snipers who opened fire on police. When Poland, Germany, and France negotiated a deal for the Maidan demands and an early election, neo-Nazis instead attacked the government and took over. The U.S. State Department immediately recognized the coup government, and Arseniy Yatsenyuk was installed as Prime Minister.

Nuland has worked with the openly pro-Nazi Svoboda Party in Ukraine. She was long a leading proponent of arming Ukraine. She was also an advocate for removing from office the prosecutor general of Ukraine, whom then-Vice President Joe Biden pushed the president to remove.

Nuland wrote this past year that “The challenge for the United States in 2021 will be to lead the democracies of the world in crafting a more effective approach to Russia - one that builds on their strengths and puts stress on Putin where he is vulnerable, including among his own citizens.”

She added:

“…Moscow should also see that Washington and its allies are taking concrete steps to shore up their security and raise the cost of Russian confrontation and militarization. That includes maintaining robust defense budgets, continuing to modernize U.S. and allied nuclear weapons systems, and deploying new conventional missiles and missile defenses, . . . establish permanent bases along NATO’s eastern border, and increase the pace and visibility of joint training exercises.”

The United States walked out of the ABM Treaty and later the INF Treaty, began putting missiles into Romania and Poland, expanded NATO to Russia’s border, facilitated a coup in Ukraine, began arming Ukraine, and started holding massive war rehearsal exercises in Eastern Europe. But to read Victoria Nuland’s account, Russia is simply an irrationally evil and aggressive force that must be countered by yet more military spending, bases, and hostility. Some U.S. military officials say this demonizing of Russia is all about weapons profits and bureaucratic power, no more fact-based than the Steele Dossier that was given to the FBI by Victoria Nuland.

SIGNED BY:
Alaska Peace Center
Center for Encounter and Active Non-Violence
CODEPINK
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Greater Brunswick PeaceWorks
Jemez Peacemakers
Knowdrones.com
Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Nukewatch
Peace Action Maine
PEACEWORKERS
Physicians for Social Responsibility – Kansas City
Progressive Democrats of America
Peace Fresno
Peace, Justice, Sustainability NOW!
The Resistance Center for Peace and Justice
RootsAction.org
Veterans For Peace Chapter 001
Veterans For Peace Chapter 63
Veterans For Peace Chapter 113
Veterans For Peace Chapter 115
Veterans For Peace Chapter 132
Wage Peace
World BEYOND War

 

[marsh]

Biden picks Whitmer for DNC vice chair

The transition team for president-elect Joe Biden made the announcement on Thursday, Jan. 14.

www.mlive.com

Biden picks Whitmer for DNC vice chair
Updated Jan 14, 2021; Posted Jan 14, 2021

Governor Gretchen Whitmer wears a mask with the word "vote" displayed on the front during a roundtable discussion on healthcare on Wednesday Oct. 7, 2020 in Kalamazoo. Nicole Hester/Mlive.comNicole Hester/Mlive.com


By Emily Lawler | elawler@mlive.com

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is nominated as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, according to a press release from President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team.

The team announced a number of nominations for incoming DNC officers, led by Chair Jaime Harrison, formerly the leader of the South Carolina Democratic Party and a current DNC officer.

Whitmer, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela Jr. of Texas are nominated to serve as vice chairs, while Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is nominated to serve as vice chair of civic engagement and voter protection. Jason Rae is nominated as secretary, Virginia McGregor as treasurer and Chris Korge as national finance chair.

Previous vice chairs have maintained other full-time positions and focused on particular areas of strategy for the DNC.

“This group of individuals represent the very best of the Democratic Party,” said President-elect Joe Biden in a press release.

“Their stories and long histories of activism and work reflects our party’s values and the diversity that make us so strong. As our country faces multiple crises from systemic racism to the COVID-19 pandemic, working families in America need and deserve real leadership. We need to elect Democrats across our country and up and down the ballot. To do that is going to take tireless leadership, committed to strengthening Democratic infrastructure across our states. These leaders are battle-tested and ready for this immense task. I know they will get the job done.”

The DNC will vote for its officers on Jan. 21. The term runs from 2021-2025.

Whitmer has risen in national popularity over the past year, speaking at the Democratic National Convention over the summer and delivering the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address.

She has picked up national roles along the way, serving as co-chair for Biden’s presidential campaign and later being named to the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

 

[marsh]

Chamber of Commerce to Work with Joe Biden on Expanding Immigration

Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue says they "will work cooperatively" with President-elect Joe Biden to expand legal immigration.

www.breitbart.com

Chamber of Commerce to Work with Joe Biden on Expanding Legal Immigration as 18M Americans Jobless

6,414

Mario Tama/Getty Images
JOHN BINDER12 Jan 20211,453

Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue says the business group “will work cooperatively” with President-Elect Joe Biden to expand legal immigration levels to the United States in order to fill American jobs with foreign workers as 18 million Americans remain jobless.

At an annual event this week, Donohue outlined the group’s plans to work hand-in-hand with incoming Biden administration officials to expand legal immigration levels beyond their already historic rates, where more than 1.2 million green cards are allotted every year and 1.4 million foreign visa workers are admitted to take American jobs annually.

Donohue claimed that despite 18 million jobless Americans and another 6.2 million Americans who are underemployed — all of whom want full-time work — the U.S. still has “significant labor shortages” and prided himself on suing President Trump in order to continue importing foreign workers during a mass unemployment crisis. He said:

We also have to confront the reality that we have people without jobs and massive amounts of jobs without people. Even if we successfully employed every American willing and able to work, we would still face significant labor shortages—in construction, agriculture, health care, retail, manufacturing, and tech.

Donohue continued:

We fought vigorously and successfully against actions by the Trump administration to severely limit legal immigration, and we will work cooperatively with the Biden administration to reform our immigration system to meet the needs of our modern economy. [Emphasis added]

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise … allowing the world’s most talented and industrious people to contribute to our economy drives growth, which in turn creates more jobs for Americans. This urgent priority should draw bipartisan support. [Emphasis added]

Building consensus on immigration reform, workforce development, and infrastructure investment this year will help accelerate the widespread recovery and deliver economic relief to the businesses and workers whose resilience has been put to the test. [Emphasis added]

That “consensus on immigration reform” is likely not only to include more legal immigration but also some form of an amnesty for illegal aliens living in the U.S. — both longtime priorities of corporate interests who see their profit margins grow when the cost of labor is crushed.

One particular study by the Center for Immigration Studies’ Steven Camarota revealed that for every one percent increase in the immigrant portion of an American workers’ occupation, Americans’ weekly wages are cut by perhaps 0.5 percent. This means the average native-born American worker today has his weekly wages reduced by potentially 8.75 percent, since more than 17 percent of the workforce is foreign-born.

As Breitbart News has reported, Biden has said he will “immediately” send an amnesty for illegal aliens to the U.S. Senate after taking office.

 

[marsh]

Joe Biden Angry at Republicans: 'For God's Sake Wear a Mask'

President-elect Joe Biden scolded Republican members of Congress who did not wear masks during the riots on Capitol Hill last week.

www.breitbart.com

Joe Biden Angry at Republicans: ‘For God’s Sake Wear a Mask’
41

Win McNamee/Getty Images
CHARLIE SPIERING15 Jan 2021247

President-elect Joe Biden scolded Republican members of Congress on Friday who did not wear masks during the riots on Capitol Hill last week, as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

“What the hell’s the matter with them?” Biden asked. “It’s time to grow up.”
The president-elect spoke about the incident during a speech on how he planned to speed up the vaccination of Americans for coronavirus.

Biden said he found it “shocking” after a video emerged of Republicans refusing to wear masks during the Capitol Hill lockdown, even when Democrat members of Congress offered them one.

“I know it’s become a partisan issue, but what a stupid, stupid thing for it to happen,” he said. “This is a patriotic act.”

View: https://youtu.be/0aPbcbikNvw
.35 min

“For God’s sake, wear a mask,” he continued. “If not yourself but for your loved ones, for your country. These are really matters of life and death.”

Biden blamed the Republicans for infecting four members of Congress who tested positive for the coronavirus after the Capitol Hill riots.

“The result, at least four members of Congress to date, including a cancer survivor, now have Covid-19 who were in those rooms,” he said.

Biden previewed that after he was inaugurated, he would sign an executive order requiring mask-wearing on all federal property, including plane and train travel.

“One of our 100-day challenges is to mask up everyone,” Biden said. “The day we are inaugurated, I’m going to ask you to mask up for the next 100 days. This is not a political issue.”

 

[marsh]

Update: Massive Migrant Caravan Heads to US From Honduras in Anticipation of Biden Admin (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila

Another migrant caravan has formed in Honduras in anticipation of a Biden Administration.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Mexico Strengthens Border with Guatemala as ANOTHER Migrant Caravan Heads to US From Honduras in Anticipation of Biden Admin (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
Published January 15, 2021 at 6:05pm

Another migrant caravan has formed in Honduras in anticipation of a Biden Administration.

According to Center for Immigration Studies, the new caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Friday and is hoping to reach ‘paradise’ (United States) by January 20th.

Yet another migrant caravan is forming in Honduras, the latest driven by hope that an incoming Joe Biden presidency will open gates closed by the outgoing Trump administration.

According to fresh media reports, this caravan hopes to leave San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on January 15, which in the unlikely event it can get past Guatemala and Mexican pandemic-related border closures, seems timed to reach the U.S. southern border by Biden’s January 20 inauguration. Reuters reports that the caravan is being organized on social media, including one Facebook group that boasts more than 5,500 members who exchange tips and advice on how to reach “paradise” in their journeys north.

Mexico is strengthening its border with Guatemala after a previous caravan of Cubans stormed the international bridge between Juarez and El Paso at the end of December chanting “Biden! Biden!“

WATCH:

Mexico is strengthening its border with Guatemala as a migrant caravan heads to the United States from Honduras. pic.twitter.com/vRExbXj5vd
— The Hill (@thehill) January 15, 2021

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1350144467920179203

View: https://twitter.com/i/status/1350144467920179203
.45 min

 

[marsh]

Who Benefits the Most From Joe Biden's Plan?

Joe Biden released a massive spending plan to "rescue America." It seems that Americans are not the biggest beneficiaries, as China shares their excitement about the bill.

thelibertyloft.com

Who Benefits the Most From Joe Biden’s Plan?
Here's a hint, it isn't Americans.

by Jared Dyson
January 15, 2021



Los Angeles, CA — On Thursday, Joe Biden unveiled his coronavirus plan that has been dubbed the “American Rescue Plan.” It calls for nearly $2 trillion in spending which includes sending more money to Americans and huge amounts on various big government initiatives.

The plan would put billions of dollars back into the hands of Americans, but also billions back into local government support and various socialist programs.

Another part of the plan would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

We knew the proposal was coming and will no doubt be quickly passed by Congress, as Joe Biden has asked for them to do. The Left is excited about the plan, which is the first of two promised, while the Right is skeptical. Who is most excited may surprise you.

In an article on Friday, the South China Morning Post said that China appears to be thrilled at the aspect of the new bill passing. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said that they were closely monitoring the situation as it would most likely increase demand for Chinese products.

The PBOC said it was closely monitoring liquidity as China has been the beneficiary of an influx of cash since the beginning of the pandemic. China’s bond yield rates are much higher than most and they are concerned that money could potentially flow out of the country in specific circumstances. The PBOC is focusing on a mission to keep that money in the Chinese market.

The article goes on to say that Chinese exports rose significantly in December and that after the bill passes they would expect that to rise even more. So while Biden has dubbed the plan the American Rescue Plan, it looks like it’s much more likely to be a Chinese stimulus package.

It does little to encourage the growth of the US economy, as calls for increased minimum wage will result in higher prices for US consumer goods. As prices rise, many consumers will opt for cheaper products to help aid in coping with the additional expense. This benefits the Chinese greatly.

Such a move will also continue to negatively affect the US trade deficit, as higher prices will slow the purchase of US goods abroad. This will lead to other nations becoming more dependent on alternative sources for items. Many will seek these from China.

China looks to benefit the most from the American Rescue Plan. Was Biden’s plan to help Americans, or help his Chinese friends?

 

[BUBBAHOTEPT]

OMG I am speechless...

 

[marsh]

Update: Massive Migrant Caravan Heads to US From Honduras in Anticipation of Biden Admin (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila

Another migrant caravan has formed in Honduras in anticipation of a Biden Administration.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Update: Massive Migrant Caravan Heads to US From Honduras in Anticipation of Biden Admin (VIDEO)
By Cristina Laila
Published January 15, 2021 at 6:05pm

Another migrant caravan has formed in Honduras in anticipation of a Biden Administration.

According to Center for Immigration Studies, the new caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Friday and is hoping to reach ‘paradise’ (United States) by January 20th.

Yet another migrant caravan is forming in Honduras, the latest driven by hope that an incoming Joe Biden presidency will open gates closed by the outgoing Trump administration.

According to fresh media reports, this caravan hopes to leave San Pedro Sula, Honduras, on January 15, which in the unlikely event it can get past Guatemala and Mexican pandemic-related border closures, seems timed to reach the U.S. southern border by Biden’s January 20 inauguration. Reuters reports that the caravan is being organized on social media, including one Facebook group that boasts more than 5,500 members who exchange tips and advice on how to reach “paradise” in their journeys north.

Footage of the massive caravan heading to the US advancing toward Guatemala from Honduras was released on Friday:

EARLIER: A new migrant caravan headed for the United States advances towards Guatemala from Naco, Honduras. pic.twitter.com/NdCXTotJpw
— The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2021

Mexico is strengthening its border with Guatemala after a previous caravan of Cubans stormed the international bridge between Juarez and El Paso at the end of December chanting “Biden! Biden!“

WATCH:

Mexico is strengthening its border with Guatemala as a migrant caravan heads to the United States from Honduras. pic.twitter.com/vRExbXj5vd
— The Hill (@thehill) January 15, 2021

 

[marsh]

Biden to Offer Pathway to Citizenship for 11-20 Million Illegal Aliens in First Few Days in Office | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila

Goodbye Republican party.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Biden to Offer Pathway to Citizenship for 11-20 Million Illegal Aliens in First Few Days in Office

By Cristina Laila
Published January 16, 2021 at 2:39pm

Goodbye Republican party.

Joe Biden plans to introduce legislation to Congress that would provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal aliens currently living in the US.
The Democrats stole the executive branch and legislative branch with a massive voter fraud operation and they will use their power to permanently entrench their party.

Every single Republican better fight this legislation with everything they have.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

During his first days in office, President-elect Joe Biden plans to send legislation to congress that would provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants who are in the country without legal status.

Biden’s legislation does not include money to support detention and deportation. Previous immigration bills passed under both Democratic and Republican administrations linked an expansion of immigration with stepped-up enforcement and security measures.

The bill would provide a shorter pathway to citizenship for people with Temporary Protected Status, for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients and likely also for certain frontline essential workers, vast numbers of whom are immigrants.

Biden’s proposal would be the most sweeping and comprehensive immigration package since President Reagan’s in 1986 Immigrants would become eligible for legal permanent residence after 5 years and wait 3 more years for U.S. citizenship.

Read the full report from the Los Angeles Times here.

Breaking: During his first days in office, President-elect Joe Biden plans to send legislation to congress that would provide a pathway to citizenship for 11 million immigrants who are in the country without legal status. Biden plans early legislation to offer legal status to 11 million immigrants without it

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) January 16, 2021

Update: The number of illegal aliens in the US is over 20 million individuals.

 

[marsh]

Massive Migrant Caravan From Honduras Busts Through Guatemala Border en Route to US (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cristina Laila

Another migrant caravan has formed in Honduras in anticipation of a Biden Administration.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Massive Migrant Caravan From Honduras Busts Through Guatemala Border en Route to US (VIDEO)

By Cristina Laila
Published January 16, 2021 at 5:20pm

Another migrant caravan has formed in Honduras in anticipation of a Biden Administration.

According to Center for Immigration Studies, the new caravan left San Pedro Sula, Honduras on Friday and is hoping to reach ‘paradise’ (United States) by January 20th.

Footage of the massive caravan heading to the US advancing toward Guatemala from Honduras was released on Friday evening:

EARLIER: A new migrant caravan headed for the United States advances towards Guatemala from Naco, Honduras. pic.twitter.com/NdCXTotJpw
— The Hill (@thehill) January 16, 2021

The Honduran migrants busted through the Guatemala border on Saturday.
Migrants overwhelmed the border security and trampled each other as they ran through the checkpoint.

WATCH:

@GuilleCastilloR reclama espacio como vice, pero cuando le toca hacerse valer como el responsable de la autoridad migratoria, guarda el silencio de los inútiles.
Ataca la institucionalidad de la presidencia, pero es incapaz de asumir postura y tomar decisiones cuando corresponde pic.twitter.com/UblFBu0lZB
— Ricardo Mendez Ruiz (@RMendezRuiz) January 16, 2021

Mexico is reportedly preparing for the new migrant caravan by beefing up security at its border with Guatemala.

Mexico is strengthening its border with Guatemala as a migrant caravan heads to the United States from Honduras. pic.twitter.com/vRExbXj5vd
— The Hill (@thehill) January 15, 2021

 

[marsh]

Forced from Obama Admin for Praising Mao, Anita Dunn to Return to White House

President-elect Joe Biden will tap Anita Dunn, an Obama-administration alumna who praised Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s political philosophy, for senior White House adviser, Axios reported Friday.

freebeacon.com

Forced from Obama Admin for Praising Mao, Anita Dunn to Return to White House

• 
• Anita Dunn / YouTube Screenshot

Alex Nester - JANUARY 15, 2021 3:30 PM
President-elect Joe Biden will tap Anita Dunn, an Obama-administration alumna who praised Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong’s political philosophy, for senior White House adviser, Axios reported Friday.

Dunn’s last stint in the White House ended after just seven months, when she resigned after former Fox News anchor Glenn Beck aired a clip of the then-communications director saying Mao was one of her "favorite political philosophers."

Dunn worked as senior adviser for the Biden campaign from 2019 until last spring when she took over its operations following a disastrous Iowa caucus showing. She then became co-chair of Biden’s transition team after his victory in November.

Dunn served as former president Barack Obama’s communications director from April to November 2009, when she resigned following controversy surrounding her comments on Mao’s determination to conquer China and establish a communist regime.

"The third lesson and tip actually come [sic] from two of my favorite political philosophers: Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa," Dunn said during a June 2009 commencement address at St. Andrew’s Episcopal High School in Washington, D.C. "[They're] not often coupled with each other, but the two people that I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point, which is, you're going to make choices…. You’re going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before."

Mao’s communist takeover of China led to the deaths of an estimated 45 million people.

Beck first aired a clip from Dunn’s speech in October 2009. Dunn defended her comments on CNN, saying that her praise for Mao was "intended as irony." She resigned from the White House just one month later.

Dunn caught flak more recently for providing pro bono "damage control" advice to disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, who was arrested and charged in 2018 on two counts of rape after dozens of women came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against him.

Between her time in the Obama White House and joining team Biden, Dunn worked as managing director for SKDKnickerbocker, a strategist group with ties to pro-abortion organizations such as Emily’s List, NARAL, and Planned Parenthood.

 

[marsh]

Biden nominates veteran diplomats for top State posts

Democratic President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday nominated U.S. foreign policy veteran Wendy Sherman, a key negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, to be the No. 2 official at the State Department.

www.reuters.com

Biden nominates veteran diplomats for top State posts
By Reuters Staff

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday nominated U.S. foreign policy veteran Wendy Sherman, a key negotiator of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, to be the No. 2 official at the State Department.

Biden also nominated Victoria Nuland, a retired career foreign service officer who was the top U.S. diplomat for Europe, NATO ambassador and State Department spokeswoman, to be Under Secretary for Political Affairs, effectively the third-ranking U.S. diplomat.

Sherman, who has a masters degree in social work, was the State Department counselor from 1997 to 2001, a period when she was also policy coordinator on North Korea. From 1993 to 1996 she served as assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs.

Because of her association with the Iran deal, which was fiercely opposed by Republicans and some Democrats, Sherman had been expected to face some trouble winning Senate confirmation. However, her path will be easier after Biden’s fellow Democrats won two run-off elections on Jan. 5 that gave them control of the Senate.

Republican President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the international nuclear pact and has been imposing new sanctions on Iran.

Sherman is currently a professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a senior counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group, a strategy and commercial diplomacy firm.

Nuland, a former assistant secretary of state for European affairs, served as deputy national security adviser to then-Vice President Dick Cheney from 2003 to 2005 and as chief of staff to the deputy secretary of state from 1993 to 1996.

Biden also nominated one of his long-time foreign policy advisers, Brian McKeon, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. He nominated Bonnie Jenkins to be Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.

And he nominated Uzra Zeya to be Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on Tuesday for Antony Blinken, Biden’s nominee to be Secretary of State.
If confirmed, the nominees announced on Saturday would serve under Blinken.

Philip Gordon, another veteran of the Obama and Clinton administrations, was named Deputy National Security Advisor to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Reuters reported earlier this month that the nominations of Sherman and Nuland were expected, confirming a Politico report.