Latest news with #CenterforAmericanProgress
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's Disastrous Budget Bill Is Even More Expensive Than We Thought
Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' would increase the total U.S. deficit by nearly $2.8 trillion over the next decade, according to a new analysis from the Congressional Budget Office. Previous estimates suggested that the massive spending bill would add $2.4 trillion to the national deficit over the next 10 years, but a 'dynamic' estimate published Tuesday takes into account how the legislation would affect the U.S. economy—and things got even more dire. The CBO projected that an increase in economic output would decrease the primary deficit by $85 billion over the 2025–2034 period, while also significantly boosting interest rates, which would push the federal debt to a whopping $441 billion. 'Incredible—CBO says the House-passed GOP bill pays for only 3.5% of itself,' Bobby Kogan, the senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, wrote on X Tuesday. Despite previous damning reports, MAGA Republicans backing the bill have continued to claim that the CBO is biased, rather than make any concessions, and have claimed that the CBO's evaluations of the legislation's cost don't take the revenue from Trump's sweeping global tariffs into effect. In a letter to Democratic lawmakers earlier this month, the CBO projected that Trump's tariffs, as they were in mid-May, could decrease the deficit by $2.8 trillion—but said any projection came with some uncertainty, as Trump's tariffs are ever-vacillating. The newest analysis suggests that the costs will only go up after taking the economy into account. The CBO estimated that over the next decade, the legislation would affect the economy by increasing gross domestic product by an average of 0.5 percent, increasing the interest rates on 10-year Treasury notes by 14 basis points, and increasing inflation 'by a small amount' through 2030, but not afterward.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tim Walz lets loose in rant-filled talk with liberal think tank
Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz has built a reputation for his off-the-cuff comments. The Democratic Minnesota governor made no exception during a Center for American Progress (CAP) event on Friday morning called, "What's Next: Conversations on the Path Forward." Walz said China might be the voice of "moral authority" following Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military leaders. "Now, who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority? Who holds the ability to do that? Because we are not seen as a neutral actor, and we maybe never were," Walz said of the U.S.' role in de-escalating tensions in the Middle East. Tim Walz Hopes It Rains On Trump's Military Parade: 'I'm Just Going To Confess' According to Walz, the U.S. once attempted "to be somewhat of the arbitrator" in those negotiations during the Iran Nuclear Deal, but he said Americans must face the reality that the "neutral actor" with the "moral authority" to lead negotiations in the Middle East "might be the Chinese." Read On The Fox News App Tim Walz Floats China As 'Neutral Actor' With 'Moral Authority' To Negotiate Middle East Peace Walz didn't elaborate on why China would be that world leader. The Minnesota Democrat also admitted he is hoping for rain during President Donald Trump's military parade. "I have never so hoped for rain in my life," Walz said. Trump is hosting a massive Flag Day military parade on Saturday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to gather in the nation's capital to witness the historic parade, which also coincides with the president's 79th birthday. "This is not Pyongyang on a Saturday," Walz said, referring to the capital of North Korea, which is a communist, totalitarian dictatorship. Walz has joined many Democrats, including those planning to protest on Saturday, in criticizing Trump's military parade by drawing comparisons to China and North Korea's military parades. Trump's military parade on Saturday comes amid escalated conflict in the Middle East, after Israel launched air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military leaders, and Iran responded by launching missiles toward Israeli territory. Walz was ridiculed earlier this year for celebrating Tesla's stock drop as protests raged on, rejecting Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). "On the iPhone, they've got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day — $225 and dropping," Walz said at the time. Walz on Friday said that speaking out against Musk and Tesla "worked" because it started to hurt the billionaire personally. The Democrat, who rose to the national stage as former Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate during her brief 2024 presidential campaign, criticized Trump along his usual attack lines on Friday. Walz said Trump is "incompetent at governing," and America is in a "dangerous time" under Trump's leadership, which he said is "marching towards authoritarianism" following the chaotic incident in which authorities forcibly removed Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., at a Department of Homeland Security press conference on Thursday. The former vice presidential candidate also said he was successful in labeling Trump "weird" during the 2024 presidential campaign. "I thought instead of making him a scary authoritarian wannabe who is incredibly dangerous, which I believe he is, I just thought, what a weird dude doing some of this stuff," Walz said. Walz added he "got a bunch of heat" for "inciting violence because I said we should bully the c--- out of Donald Trump." Earlier this year, the Minnesota governor said Harris chose him as her running mate, in part, because, "I could code talk to White guys watching football, fixing their truck" and "put them at ease," describing himself as the "permission structure" for White men from rural America to vote for Democrats. "I think I'll give you pretty good stuff, but I'll also give you 10% problematic," he added. Walz laughed off criticism over inconsistencies in his background on the 2024 campaign trail, describing himself as a "knucklehead."Original article source: Tim Walz lets loose in rant-filled talk with liberal think tank
New York Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Former Dem VP pick Tim Walz claims China may have world's ‘moral authority' after Israel attacks Iran
WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz astoundingly claimed Friday that one nation may have the 'moral authority' to de-escalate the conflict between Iran and Israel after the Jewish state carried out airstrikes on Tehran's nuclear facilities and eliminated key military leaders. 'It might be the Chinese,' Walz suggested to ex-Biden White House official Neera Tanden during an event at the Center for American Progress (CAP). 'And that goes against everything they say they're trying to do in terms of the balance of power.' Earlier, Walz had asked: 'Who is the voice in the world that can negotiate some type of agreement in this? Who holds the moral authority, who holds the ability to do that? Because we are not seen as a neutral actor and we maybe never were.' China's record of human rights abuses against its Uyghur Muslim population has been well-documented by government watchdogs, in congressional inquiries and through the work of other international aid and advocacy organizations. 3 Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made an astounding claim Friday about which nation has the 'moral authority' to de-escalate the conflict between Iran and Israel. CSPAN/X The US Intelligence Community has also drawn attention to coordination between Beijing, Moscow and Tehran to 'exacerbate divisions in US society for their own benefit.' During the 2024 campaign, Walz caught flak for fibs he told about his own visits to China, some of which occurred while he was an active US military service member. The governor was also believed to be a prime 'target' for Communist Party influence operations, a Department of Homeland Security whistleblower revealed last year in the weeks before Election Day. Walz, 61, worked as an English teacher and briefly dated a Communist Party official's daughter in China years before his first run for public office. 3 'It might be the Chinese,' Walz suggested to ex-Biden White House official Neera Tanden during an event at the Center for American Progress (CAP). AP He chose to marry his wife, Gwen, on the fifth anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre — which she claimed was done so he would 'have a date he'll always remember,' according to a report in the Guardian. Walz also spoke fondly of his experiences under China's economic system in 1991, telling the Alliance Times-Herald newspaper in his home state of Nebraska: 'It means that everyone is the same and everyone shares.' 'The doctor and the construction worker make the same. The Chinese government and the place they work for provide housing and 14 kg — or about 30 pounds — of rice per month. They get food and housing.' CAP hosted the failed VP candidate 'to offer ideas on how to respond to this moment,' as one of several 'leaders who can govern effectively and break through the noise to connect across political lines.' 3 CAP hosted the failed VP candidate 'to offer ideas on how to respond to this moment,' as one of several 'leaders who can govern effectively and break through the noise to connect across political lines.' AP 'Here we are with the, with the Middle East back on fire in a way that has now expanded,' Walz said of Israel's targeted strikes eliminating at least 20 senior Iranian military officials and six scientists connected to its nuclear program. 'Iran has to retaliate, in their mind, I'm sure,' he added — which the regime did by launching 150 missiles at the Jewish state. Walz noted that he was in Congress when former President Barack Obama's administration agreed the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, to relax economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits on their uranium enrichment. President Trump withdrew from that deal in 2018, but last month, UN investigators discovered that Iran had been in violation of the non-proliferation agreement regarding its nuclear program, leading to a formal censure in the international body by France, Germany and the UK.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Tim Walz hopes it rains on Trump's military parade: 'I'm just going to confess'
Former Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., is hoping for rain on Saturday during President Donald Trump's military parade. During a "What's Next: Conversations on the Path Forward" event hosted by the Center for American Progress (CAP), Walz told CEO Neera Tanden that he had never hoped for rain so much in his life. "I'm just going to confess to it," Walz said. "It might get me in trouble. Whatever. I have never so hoped for rain in my life." Trump is hosting a massive Flag Day military parade on Saturday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are expected to gather in the nation's capital to witness the historic parade, which also coincides with the president's 79th birthday. Tim Walz Floats China As 'Neutral Actor' With 'Moral Authority' To Negotiate Middle East Peace According to the FOX Forecast Center's Risk Of Weather Impact (Rowi) assessment, there is a medium risk of inclement weather in the nation's capital, with showers and thunderstorms expected throughout part of the evening. Read On The Fox News App And Walz is hoping for that perfect storm. Protesters Expected To Converge On Dc, Neighboring Cities Ahead Of Trump's Military Parade The Democrat, who rose to the national stage as Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate during her brief 2024 presidential campaign, criticized Trump along his usual attack lines on Friday. Walz said Trump is "incompetent at governing," and America is in a "dangerous time" under Trump's leadership, which the Minnesota governor said is "marching towards authoritarianism" following the chaotic incident in which authorities forcibly removed Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press conference Thursday. The Democrat confirmed on Friday that he will be speaking at a "No Kings" protest in St. Paul, Minn., this Saturday during Trump's military parade in Washington, D.C. "Somehow this got tied to billionaires in China funding this or whatever," Walz said Friday. "I'm like, these are like people in St. Paul that just do protests and stuff. That's what they do. They're feeling it, and they organized it. I think going and making that case, it is a good counter." Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., grilled Walz about attending the protest during a House Oversight Committee hearing with his fellow "sanctuary governors" on Capitol Hill Thursday. Luna said DHS discovered that China considered Walz a "prime target for influence operations." "You are working with, and going to be speaking at, an organization and rally that is not just funded by Christy Walton, the heiress of Walmart, but also has ties to the Chinese Progressive Association largely funding it, that actually brags on their website that they are pro-Maoist," Luna said. But Walz dismissed Luna's allegations, doubling down that Trump's military parade "just looks wrong, feels wrong." "I think I'm going to go be with a few thousand folks who kind of have the tradition that there is a separation there, that we don't need this. This is not Pyongyang on a Saturday," Walz said, before admitting he was hoping for rain. Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea, which is a communist, totalitarian dictatorship. Walz has joined many Democrats, including those planning to protest on Saturday, who have criticized Trump's military parade, drawing comparisons to China's and North Korea's military parades. Trump's military parade on Saturday comes amid escalated conflict in the Middle East, after Israel launched air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military leaders, and Iran responded by launching missiles toward Israeli territory. Walz was ridiculed earlier this year for celebrating Tesla's stock drop as protests raged on, rejecting Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). "On the iPhone, they've got that little stock app. I added Tesla to it to give me a little boost during the day — $225 and dropping," Walz said at the time. FOX Weather's Raymond Sanchez contributed to this article source: Tim Walz hopes it rains on Trump's military parade: 'I'm just going to confess'
Fast Company
11-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
The Georgia electric school bus factory shows the far-reaching consequences of Trump's federal funding cuts
As the administration of President Donald Trump dismantles reforms enacted under Joe Biden, workers and management at a Fort Valley, Georgia, school bus plant are thriving because of the same policies. On Trump's first day in office, he signed an executive order that would freeze future spending under two Biden-era laws: The Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which authorized funding of more than $2 trillion. Under Biden, those grants often went to companies that supported worker unions, according to the Center for American Progress. Several workers at Blue Bird Corp., a school bus manufacturer with 1,500 union employees at its plant in Fort Valley, said that support transformed their workplace. They pointed to better job conditions under a union contract and said that the company has thrived under a grant and contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to federal support for electric buses. Observers, including former acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, said that Trump's actions could mean an abrupt end to successful government programs that have already improved the lives of workers across the country and added to companies' bottom lines. 'We're making them school buses. They're making a lot of money.' At first glance, Blue Bird's story looks like it's solely about the power of unions to improve a workplace. Like many workers in the Deep South, workers at Blue Bird had tried to organize a union without success since the 1960s. In 2019, they began to gain traction. The majority-Black workforce was fed up with starting wages as low as $13 an hour, no official pay scale, and the resulting unpredictability—and rarity—of raises. The factory roof leaked, and some parts of the job, like working with hazardous pressure systems, felt unsafe, they said. What's more, the policy for time off was opaque: The company would 'give personal leave to who they want to, not when people might really need it,' said Dee Thomas, a 12-year veteran of Blue Bird who serves as USW Local 697's executive vice president. Blue Bird officials declined repeated requests by Capital & Main for comment. Workers began talking among themselves about a union. One member knew someone who was in the United Steelworkers union, and soon employees were talking to union organizers, meeting in parks, local churches and public libraries. In 2022, workers heard that Blue Bird—one of the country's only bus manufacturers with electric vehicle expertise — told investors they expected to bring in at least $1 billion in federal incentives encouraging public school districts to switch to electric school buses. They wanted a fair share of the proceeds they were helping the company make. 'We're making them school buses,' Thomas said. 'They're making a lot of money.' When the union campaign went public in early 2023, Blue Bird fought it, workers said. The United Steelworkers union filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that managers threatened to close the plant if workers voted for a union, surveilled employees as they talked with union organizers, and urged workers to vote against the union in mandatory employee meetings. (After the union election, the charges were withdrawn.) Guidelines under a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency helped the union organizing campaign, said Alex Perkins, a USW organizer and current staff representative for the Blue Bird union. The EPA's Clean School Bus Program, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, required union neutrality at companies, banning them from using government funding to support or oppose union organizing activity. Activists said they reminded Blue Bird executives that the federal money they'd bragged to investors about might not be granted to 'union busters.' In response, the company tempered its opposition, Perkins said. In early May 2023, Blue Bird workers voted 697 to 435 to authorize the United Steelworkers union to represent them. A boost from Biden The victory was only a first step: The union needed to negotiate a contract with the company before workers' jobs would actually improve. Some of Blue Bird's potential customers, as well as federal grants, gave preference to companies that committed to good faith contract negotiations with workers. Su, who was acting secretary of labor at the time, had made quick contract agreements a priority for the Department of Labor. Most employers, on the other hand, drag out initial contract talks, and most first contracts take more than 500 days—more than 16 months—to be ratified, according to a recent Bloomberg Law study. There is no penalty for employers who drag out negotiations or even fail to sign a contract. Nearly one-third of all unions that win an election do not have a contract within three years, with more than a quarter never getting a contract at all. Workers weren't sure how Blue Bird would respond to negotiations, so they resolved to show the company that treating workers well could help its bottom line. In August 2023, with contract negotiations at Blue Bird in process, Melinda Newhouse, assistant to the United Steelworkers' international president, called in to a Los Angeles Unified School District public school board meeting about its pending $80 million contract for 180 electric school buses. 'When public investment is made, it should be done in a way that takes into account more than just the bottom line,' Newhouse told the meeting, referring to Blue Bird's new union. The district, bound by law to accept the lowest 'responsible' bid, chose Blue Bird. The company's then-CEO, Phil Horlock, called it 'the largest single order ever of EV school buses.' The same summer, the Biden administration threw some weight behind union workplaces. When the Department of Energy issued its call for proposals for Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, it said that automotive applicants had to describe how their project would benefit their community with high-quality jobs and support for collective bargaining agreements. If Blue Bird wanted to expand production, a union could help it get grants to do so. As contract negotiations entered their 10th month, Su visited Blue Bird. A longtime labor activist before joining the government, Su had made it her mission to urge companies to adopt contracts within one year. 'Too often workers who choose a union face significant delays in getting a first contract,' Su told Capital & Main. 'And that delay is not accidental.' In Fort Valley, Su urged Blue Bird executives and workers alike to ratify a contract before the first anniversary of the successful union vote. 'To their credit, Blue Bird took it on,' Su said. Management checked in with her regularly about the progress of bargaining, which Su saw as 'a strong sign of their good faith' and collaboration, she added. Workers came to feel that Blue Bird was collaborating with them, too. 'We worked together,' the company and the union, said Perkins, who was also on the bargaining committee. In May 2024, just shy of the one-year deadline, Blue Bird and the union agreed to a three-year contract that went into effect the following July. The agreement raised the lowest-paid workers' wage to around $22 an hour, standardized the retirement plan, established a profit-sharing agreement and created a health and safety committee with trained staff. It also formalized the collaboration that had evolved between Blue Bird and workers over the course of negotiations and established regular meetings among worker representatives, management and the CEO to discuss concerns in the workplace and ideas for improvement. 'A union relationship is a partnership,' Horlock said at the official signing of the union agreement. '[Secretary Su] explained that to me, and I'm grateful we listened and we did it. We got it done.' The same month the union contract went into effect, Blue Bird got a Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant worth nearly $80 million to expand electric bus production—and with it, union jobs. In the company's grant application, Blue Bird highlighted its 'efforts to work jointly' with the United Steelworkers and touted its commitment to 'good faith negotiations' with the union. USW also sent a letter of support with the application outlining how the company and union would work together. Today, workers say the union has made their jobs better with raises, improved safety and lower turnover. Public records suggested that the unionization effort has continued to pay off for Blue Bird, too. During the first quarter of 2025, Blue Bird reported 'near record quarterly profits,' Horlock said in the company's February earnings call. Horlock attributed the company's performance to its investments to upgrade facilities, develop new products and 'continu[ing] to enhance the plant working environment for employees.' Horlock stepped down as CEO in February but remains on the board of directors. Blue Bird's experience under Biden-era policies provides a prime example of how companies can actually benefit from unions — once they stop fighting them, said Arthur Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. 'There are a lot of common interests between the union and the company,' he said. The union can benefit the company by giving management workers' insights, gained from firsthand experience on how to solve problems, he added. And, as with the Steelworkers, many unions have connections with elected officials who can shape policy to create additional jobs and more stable employment. 'It only helps the Steelworkers to have Blue Bird get more funding,' Wheaton said. All of that reflects the Biden administration's strategic and intentional support of unions, said Ian Elder, national director at Jobs to Move America, an advocacy organization that works to lift labor standards. The previous administration was 'enacting a form of industrial policy [with] an intention to cultivate industries that create good, sustainable careers' while 'addressing climate change, protecting the environment, and protecting communities from environmental harm,' Elder added. Funding freeze Today, Blue Bird and its workers enjoy a kind of success that's likely to become rare as the Trump administration ends the kinds of policies that made Blue Bird's collaboration possible. The contract at Blue Bird was 'a seed of the kind of change that is possible,' Su said. 'That is even more important than ever now, when we have an administration that speaks about being pro-worker, but does things that are horribly anti-worker.' Indeed, Trump's sweeping funding freeze hit the Clean School Bus Program — and its provisions rewarding good faith contract negotiations — leaving its remaining $2 million in funding unspent. The EPA has made no announcement of new funding, though existing awards are still being paid out. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has issued orders to begin eliminating new emissions standards that favor electric vehicles, consumer subsidies for buying them and federal funding to support their development. In a similar vein, the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grants that paid off for Blue Bird have been spent, with no additional funding — or a program to replace it — in sight. Su's replacement as secretary of labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, was initially lauded as a pro-worker Republican, but she has yet to promote policies in support of unions. Although Chavez-DeRemer has posed for multiple photo ops with workers, she has also recanted her support for the PRO Act, the pro-union bill backed by the Biden administration, and declared her support for right-to-work legislation that is widely understood to be anti-union. She also endorsed a Trump agenda that includes effectively canceling project labor agreements with unions for federal construction work; eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and removing union input from registered apprenticeship programs. The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy and Department of Labor did not return requests for comment. Meanwhile, the Blue Bird union's officers remain optimistic that their collaboration with the company will survive Trump's changes. There are nearly two years left on their current contract—enough time, they think, to prove to Blue Bird that companies and workers do better when they work together. 'The culture is changing at Blue Bird,' Thomas said, pointing to their ongoing advice to management and other contract wins. 'Management will be changing as well. . . . They are going to get it right.'
