The New New Deal? John Nichols, The Nation
- The New New Deal? The Nation, By John Nichols, Sept. 6, 2021. Bernie Sanders says the Democratic caucus’s budget will be “the most consequential piece of legislation for working people, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor” since the 1930s. What’s in it?
“When we took the majority in the Senate earlier this year, the American people entrusted us with a great responsibility: to make their lives better,” declared Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, when he launched the Democratic caucus’s $3.5 trillion budget plan. Republicans were aghast at the prospect. “This is one of the most radical proposals in our nation’s history,” griped Florida Senator Marco Rubio, even as the details of the plan were being developed. Senate Budget Committee chair Bernie Sanders says it will be “the most consequential piece of legislation for working people, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor since FDR and the New Deal of the 1930s.” The activists who have been working on the critical issues that Democrats say the legislation will address are excited, nervous, & determined to influence the budget-writing process & debates that will extend from it this fall. Here’s some of what they have to say about initiatives that are expected to be included in the plan. —John Nichols
PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” says Dawn Huckelbridge, the director of Paid Leave for All. “We are one of the few countries in the world that doesn’t have paid leave on the books, and this is the year when that can change.” Decades of organizing have framed the demands, and, she says, “the pandemic accelerated it all, put it under a magnifying glass. There’s always been a high level of support. The pandemic provided the sense of urgency.” Sanders says paid leave will be a major component of the budget. What’s needed? Huckelbridge is pushing for “12 weeks of leave time that’s available to all working people and is comprehensive”—with an inclusive description of families and sufficient wage replacement, so that taking time off is possible and available to all working Americans.
CLIMATE CORPS
“Imagine a world where millions of people, recent high school graduates and middle-aged alike, could work on projects protecting communities from sea-level rise, taking care of the elderly, distributing fresh produce in food deserts, restoring wetlands, and rebuilding after climate disasters, while getting paid a living wage,” says Nikayla Jefferson, an activist with the Sunrise Movement. “That’s the world we are marching for.” The Sunrise Movement is in favor of the roughly $132 billion, five-year plan to employ 1.5 million Americans that was proposed by Senator Ed Markey and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Like the New Deal’s Civilian Conservative Corps, the Climate Corps would provide employment for transformational work. It’s a vital step toward what the Sunrise Movement wants to see Congress do to save the planet.
THE CARE AGENDA
A decade ago, Ai-jen Poo, the executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, helped launch Caring Across Generations, a bold movement to address the nation’s crumbling care infrastructure. With strong union support, she and her allies got President Joe Biden to endorse a $400 billion plan to invest in caregiving, with a particular focus on expanding Medicaid and providing fair wages and benefits for caregivers—86 percent of whom are women, a majority of whom are women of color. Now she’s working to assure that the funding is included in Congress’s budget. “It’s a game changer,” she says. “Talk about a high-leverage way of raising wages for women and women of color. It’s so direct.”...
- Read More,
https://www.thenation.com/article/society/new-deal-congress-budget/
- President Franklin Roosevelt and other administration officials visit a CCC- Civilian Conservation Corps Camp during the New Deal.
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- Worker Rights- A New Deal, FDR's First 100 Days: Assault On The Depression. Roosevelt's administration tackled the 'Dirty Thirties' with regulation, innovation and labor legislation. The 1935 Wagner Act, NLRB, National Labor Relations Board supported organized labor, trade unions and worker rights to free speech and assembly. The Social Security Act, Francis Perkins, Labor Secretary and first female cabinet secretary, 'moral force' of the New Deal.
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