24 million reasons to protect immigrant whistle-blowers

In a U.S. economy where tens of millions are struggling, guest workers on H-2B visas are trapped at the bottom. These so-called “low skilled” temporary workers occupy fields from hospitality to construction to landscaping to food processing — alongside 24 million U.S. workers in the same sectors. And the job quality of those 24 million depends on whether guest workers can blow the whistle on abuse. To understand why, take Ana Diaz. Ana came to the United States from Mexico last year as an H-2B guest worker. Ana peeled crawfish for a Wal-Mart supplier in Louisiana who subjected her and her fellow guest workers to shifts of up to 24 hours with no overtime pay. Supervisors locked them into the plant to prevent breaks, and threatened to beat them with a shovel to make them work faster. When workers complained, the boss responded with threats of violence against them and their families.

Ana’s story is far from unique. The National Guestworker Alliance has worked with thousands of guest workers facing severe employer abuse, from wage theft to forced labor. When workers try to blow the whistle, employers retaliate to scare them into silence.

Big business is seeking access to as many cheap, exploitable guest workers as possible through immigration reform. The current Senate immigration bill is set to give them just that. The bill would hugely expand the H-2B program over the next four years, from 66,000 workers to 264,000, without providing key protections for H-2B whistle-blowers.

Why does this matter for U.S. workers? Because the conditions of workers at the bottom of the U.S. economy — guest workers like Ana — help determine the job quality of the more than 24 million U.S. workers who work alongside them in the same sectors. When employers can get away with exploiting guest workers, it forces U.S. workers into a race to the bottom, driving down wages and conditions for all.

Americans already know this. In a national poll this March, 75 percent agreed that “if employers are allowed to get away with mistreating immigrant workers, it ends up lowering wages and hurting conditions for American workers as well.” In the same poll, 89 percent agreed that “immigration reform should protect the rights of both U.S. born and immigrant workers, because all workers deserve dignity and freedom from exploitation.” Eighty percent agreed that “immigrant workers who blow the whistle on abusive employers are helping defend workplace standards and should have the opportunity to stay in the U.S. to work towards citizenship.”

Tens of millions of U.S. workers already feel the floor falling. Their wages, conditions, and job security are eroding every day. If the workers at the bottom don’t have basic whistle-blower protections, the bottom will continue to fall. At the end of this process, all work in America would look like guest work: low-wage, unstable and deeply exploitative.

But when guest workers can stand up against employer abuse, they help lift the floor for all workers. Wages and conditions are more secure. Ana and her fellow guest workers showed real bravery last June, defying threats of violence, deportation and blacklisting to go public about the abuse they endured. By becoming whistle-blowers, they helped both to protect other guest workers from abuse, and to secure the job quality of millions of U.S. workers.

Whistle-blowers like Ana are standing up to help protect American workers. Shouldn’t American workers stand up to protect them?

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has introduced an amendment to the Senate immigration bill that would do just that. It would provide key protections to let H-2B whistle-blowers stand up against employer abuse without fear of retaliation. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) responded with a clear show of bipartisan support for the amendment, but it has yet to be added to the bill.

It is critical that the Senate immigration bill include these protections — for the future of all America’s workers.

Soni is executive director of the National Guestworker Alliance.

View Comments

View the original article here

Cory Booker raised about $2 million in first quarter

Newark Mayor Cory Booker's (D) Senate campaign raised about $2 million in the first quarter of 2013, the campaign announced Monday.

The campaign said it raised $1.9 million from 2,300 contributors in the first three months of 2013. Sixty-five percent of the contributions were of $200 or less, the campaign said.

Booker's campaign said it ended the quarter with $1.6 million cash on hand.

"The support we’re seeing from people across New Jersey and around the country reflects the work Mayor Booker has done to make Newark a better place to live," Booker finance director Lauren Dikis said in a statement.

Booker is running for retiring Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) Senate seat.

In March Booker's campaign brought on Kevin Griffis, who previously worked on President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, as a senior communications advisor.

View Comments

View the original article here

Report: Ending Same Day Wisconsin Voter Registration Would Cost $14.5 Million

When Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) announced he would no longer support his own plan to do away with same day voter registration in Wisconsin, he struck a blow to voter suppression and may have saved millions of taxpayer dollars in the process.

A new report from the Government Accountability Board suggests that ending the state’s same day voter registration program, which allows eligible voters to register to vote at the polling station on election day, would cost several state agencies a combined $14.5 million:

The staff of the GAB, which oversees the state’s elections, studied the idea and in a preliminary report in December estimated its costs for the first two years after a change would increase by $5.2 million.

The estimate increased dramatically Monday for two reasons.

Since December, four affected state departments — transportation, workforce development, health services and children and families — have submitted their own cost estimates totaling between $9.9 million and $10.5 million, said GAB spokesman Reid Magney.

After the GAB’s initial report in December, when the projected cost of ending ending same day registration was a third of the latest estimates, Gov. Walker told reporters that he would stop his pursuit to end the program, citing the cost. But other Republican legislators in the state may still opt to pursue a bill to strip away same day registration, and Walker has not signaled that he would veto a potential bill. Nationwide, Republicans have waged war on voter rights in the last several years, supporting discriminatory voter ID laws while simultaneously seeking to end early voting and same day registration with little regard for the costs, both financial and otherwise.

View the original article here

Novartis Scraps $78 Million Pay for Outgoing Chairman

Novartis said it would scrap a 72 million Swiss franc ($77.98 million) pay package for outgoing chairman Daniel Vasella, bowing to mounting anger in Switzerland before an investor meeting on Friday.

The move represents a victory for the drugmaker's Swiss shareholders such as Geneva-based Ethos Fund, which had campaigned against paying Vasella 12 million francs over six years to prevent him from working for competitors.

"We continue to believe in the value of a non-compete, however, we believe the decision to cancel the agreement and all related compensation addresses the concerns of shareholders and other stakeholders," Novartis vice chairman Ulrich Lehner said in a statement on Tuesday.

(More on CNBC.com: Novartis CEO: Our Innovation Will Be Rewarded)

Vasella, long a lightning rod for criticism of executive pay in Switzerland, said in the statement he understood that Swiss people found the compensation too high. Vasella earned 13.1 million francs for 2012, down slightly from 13.5 million francs the prior year.

Vasella's golden parachute attracted a raft of criticism from top-ranking Swiss politicians and members of the country's pro-business lobby, against the backdrop of a March 3 referendum to give shareholders a veto over excessive manager pay.

Polls published on Sunday showed almost two thirds of Swiss voters favored the initiative.

View the original article here

GOP Senator Would Take Away Health Coverage From 30 Million Americans To Avoid Military Cuts

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Sunday the government should protect the Defense Department from automatic spending cuts by slashing $1.2 trillion from the Affordable Care Act.

During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Graham suggested that the sequester’s across-the-board cuts to federal spending, including about a roughly 7.5 percent reduction in military spending, would be “destroying the military.” But rather than agree to President Obama’s proposed alternatives to the sequester, the South Carolina Republican said we should save money by eliminating health care for the 30 million people covered by the Affordable Care Act:

CHRIS WALLACE: Let me just ask you one more question about the sequestration before we let you go, Senator. You know if we go into the sequester, the president is going to hammer Republicans, the White House already put out a list of all the things, terrible things that will happen if a sequester kicks in, 70,000 children losing Head Start. 2100 fewer food inspectors and small business will lose $900 million in loan guarantees and you know, Senator, the president will say your party is forcing this to protect tax cuts for the wealthy.

GRAHAM: Well, all i can say is the commander-in-chief thought — came up with the idea of sequestration, destroying the military and putting a lot of good programs at risk. It is my belief — take Obamacare and put it on the table. You can make $86,000 a year in income and still get a government subsidy under Obamacare. Obamacare is destroying health care in this country and people are leaving the private sector, because their companies cannot afford to offer Obamacare and if you want to look at ways to find $1.2 trillion in savings over the next decade, look at Obamacare, don’t destroy the military and cut blindly across the board. There are many ways to do it but the president is the commander-in-chief and on his watch we’ll begin to unravel the finest military in the history of the world, at a time when we need it most. The Iranians are watching us, we are allowing people to be destroyed in Syria, and i’m disappointed in our commander-in-chief.

The draconian cuts to vital programs Graham and other Republicans are demanding, including providing health insurance for the millions of Americans who otherwise would not have it, will hurt the economy and hurt real people.

But Graham’s “solution” also misses a key reality: Obamacare actually reduced the deficit. His proposal to put its elimination on the table would mean increasing the budget deficit by an estimated $109 billion over the same 10-year period, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

View the original article here

Michigan Governor Supports Extending Medicaid Coverage To Nearly Half A Million Low-Income Residents

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R)

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) is set to announce his support for Obamacare’s optional expansion of the Medicaid program at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. The announcement, which comes a day before the governor will address his budget priorities for the upcoming legislative session, will make Snyder the sixth Republican leader to agree to the health law’s Medicaid expansion.

Implementing this aspect of President Obama’s health reform law will be particularly impactful in Michigan, where an estimated 470,000 uninsured residents will gain health coverage. The health policy groups that provided Snyder’s office with research about expanding Medicaid — including the fact that the state could save up to $1 billion over the next decade by accepting the federal funding to increase their Medicaid rolls — are welcoming the governor’s decision:

Snyder’s support for Medicaid expansion “really is a big deal,” said Marianne Udow-Phillips, director of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Healthcare Research & Transformation, which provided research to the governor’s office. CHRT concluded Michigan would save more than $1 billion in the next ten years as the federal government picks up the cost for health care for those who currently are not covered by insurance.

Moreover, most primary care doctors reported to CHRT that they are able to accept new patients who now would have insurance, she said.

“What’s really powerful about this is that the governor did come at this from a very objective, analytical approach,” she said. “He looked at the facts, he pulled research from our center and … lots of people,” Udow-Phillips said. “I don’t want to say we’re surprised, but we’re very pleased that the facts did speak for themselves.”

The state’s Medicaid expansion will still have to be approved by Michigan’s legislature, where conservative opponents of Obamacare could present a roadblock. State-level resistance to health care reform has considerably slowed the implementation of the Affordable Care Act — but, as Snyder joins the growing list of Republican leaders who are conceding that implementing Obamacare makes sense for their constituents, the tide may be about to turn.

View the original article here

How States Lose $600 Million On A Worthless Corporate Tax Break

There’s no shortage of corporate tax giveaways at both the federal and state levels. Lawmakers of all stripes love to use the tax code to subsidize companies, either directly or indirectly.

But in some instances, federal tax breaks for corporations undermine state budgets. As the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities detailed today, one particular tax break will cost states $600 million next year:

The federal government created this tax break, known as the “domestic production deduction,” in 2004. Since most states base their own tax codes on the federal tax code, the tax break was carried over into many states without specific legislative scrutiny or a vote. Now it is costing not only the federal government but also 25 states a large amount of money. By 2014, it will cost these states over $600 million per year.

The deduction — enacted as Section 199 of the federal Internal Revenue Code — allows companies to claim a tax deduction based on profits from “qualified production activities,” a sweeping category that goes well beyond manufacturing to include such diverse activities as food production, filmmaking, and utilities — a substantial share of states’ corporate income tax base.

These deductions are largely worthless, and many states have tossed them overboard. But 25 states still leave it intact:

As CBPP noted, “Firms can claim the domestic production deduction for profits from all qualifying domestic activities — meaning activities that occur anywhere within the United States. As a result, a multi-state firm can claim the deduction in a conforming state for production activities in any state, not just the state where the firm is filing.” They also benefit large firms at the expense of small.

State efforts to encourage corporate growth and job creation through the tax code usually encourage a race to the bottom, as corporations play states off each other in order to secure the most preferential treatment, and then feel no hesitation about up and leaving later. Of course, paying corporations to create jobs is only one of the bone-headed ways states try to generate economic activity.

View the original article here

Statement by the President Announcing $155 Million in Additional Humanitarian Assistance for the Syrian People

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

This morning, President Obama released a video announcing $155 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the Syrian people.  Click here to view the video of the President’s statement with Arabic subtitles.

Statement by the President

For nearly two years, the Assad regime has waged a brutal war against the Syrian people—murdering innocent men, women and children, in their homes, in bread lines, and at universities. 

In the face of this barbarism, the United States has joined with nations around the world in calling for an end to the Assad regime and a transition that leads to a peaceful, inclusive and democratic Syria, where the rights of all Syrians are protected.  We’ve worked to isolate Assad and his regime; impose sanctions that starve the regime of funds; recognize the Syrian Opposition Coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people; call for accountability for perpetrators of atrocities; and provide humanitarian relief to Syrians in need.

The relief we send doesn’t say “Made in America,” but make no mistake—our aid reflects the commitment of the American people.  American aid means food and clean water for millions of Syrians. American aid means medicine and treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients in Damascus, Dar’a and Homs.  It means immunizations for one million Syrian children.  American aid means winter supplies for more than half a million people in Aleppo, Homs and Dayr az Zawr.  And we’re working with allies and partners so that this aid reaches those in need.

Today, we’re taking another step.  I’ve approved an additional $155 million in humanitarian aid for people in Syria and refugees fleeing the violence.  Here, I want to speak directly to the people of Syria. This new aid will mean more warm clothing for children and medicine for the elderly; flour and wheat for your families and blankets, boots and stoves for those huddled in damaged buildings.  It will mean health care for victims of sexual violence and field hospitals for the wounded.   Even as we work to end the violence against you, this aid will help address some of the immediate needs you face each day.

This new commitment will bring America’s total humanitarian aid to Syria to $365 million—making us the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.  Today, I also call on the international community to do more to help these Syrians in need, and to contribute to the latest UN humanitarian appeal.

We’re under no illusions.  The days ahead will continue to be very difficult.  But what’s clear is that the regime continues to weaken and lose control of territory.  The opposition continues to grow stronger.  More Syrians are standing up for their dignity.  The Assad regime will come to an end.  The Syrian people will have their chance to forge their own future.  And they will continue to find a partner in the United States of America. 

Read the President's message in Arabic (pdf). You can also watch a video of the President's message with Arabic subtitles.

On Thursday, January 31 at 1:00 p.m. ET, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz will join the latest "Fireside Hangout" for a conversation about immigration reform.

President Obama speak from Las Vegas about creating a fair and effective immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

President Obama announced today that he has approved a new round of humanitarian assistance, an additional $155 million to provide for the urgent and pressing needs of civilians in Syria and refugees forced to flee the violence of the Assad regime. This brings America’s contribution to date to $365 million, making the United States the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people.

view all related blog posts

View the original article here

How Yahoo Used Tax Havens To Cut Its Taxes By $42.8 Million

Tech companies are some of the most notorious tax dodgers, as their business is easily shifted from place to place and their revenues easily hidden in tax havens. Case in point, Yahoo has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into low-tax countries, saving it tens of millions of dollars in taxes, as Bloomberg News reported:

Yahoo has taken advantage of the law to quietly funnel hundreds of millions of dollars in global profits to island subsidiaries, cutting its worldwide tax bill. [...]

Yahoo’s offshore operations cut its taxes by $42.8 million in 2011, U.S. securities filings show. Last February, the company reported a dispute with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service regarding its overseas arrangements. It didn’t disclose the amount at stake.

Kimberly Clausing, an economics professor at Reed College, estimates that “Profit shifting into tax havens by corporations costs the U.S. $90 billion a year.” That cost then gets shifted onto other businesses and individuals in the form of higher taxes or decreased government services.

Across the globe, corporate tax rates have plummeted in recent years, which one major bank admits “lend[s] and argument to those calling for hikes“:

The Wall Street Journal reported today that much of the money that U.S. corporations claim is offshore, and thus exempt from taxation, is actually right here in America. As the Wall Street Journal put it, this fact “undermines a central argument made by companies seeking tax relief to bring home money they have earned abroad.”

View the original article here

School choice: 49 million students still without options

By Robert Enlow, president and CEO, Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice - 01/23/13 11:00 AM ET

Heidi and Frank Green used to worry about their daughters while they were at school. The Clarksville, Indiana couple was concerned about bullying, cursing, large class sizes, a revolving teaching staff, and a general lack of attention for students.

Thankfully, the Greens say their lives have changed for the better as daughters Gillian and Emma are now eager to attend school. Today they are getting quality instruction at their new Catholic school thanks to a voucher program adopted in Indiana two years ago.

“School choice should be everywhere,” said Mrs. Green. “Parents should be able to decide what’s best for their kids.

Gillian and Emma are among the 255,000 students nationwide who attend a private school of their family’s choice using vouchers or tax-credit scholarships. Another 2.3 million students utilize public charter schools as their preferred option.

But there are still almost 49 million public school students throughout the country who do not have such freedom. They must attend their neighborhood public school regardless of its safety, quality, class sizes, teaching staff, or other issues outside their parents’ control. But such restriction doesn’t have to be the case.

Sunday marks the beginning of the third annual National School Choice Week, which runs through Feb. 2. There will be 3,000 events across 50 states including rallies and forums where parents will ask lawmakers for more choices for their kids.

National School Choice Week highlights the private, charter, online and home school education options available to families and those stuck with a school assigned to them by their address. Parents can choose public or private colleges for their children using many federal and state aid programs. They should be able to do the same with K-12 schools.

After major school choice victories last fall in which Washington voters agreed to allow charter schools to open in the state and Georgia voters agreed to an easier path to create more charters, a host of other states will consider additional school choice measures in 2013. Among the highlights:

•    Tennessee’s governor will include a school voucher program in his legislative package.
•    The Texas legislature will consider a program in which taxpayers would receive tax credits for donations they make to nonprofits that provide private school scholarships for low-income students.
•    Mississippi’s governor proposed a private school choice program for students in underperforming public schools.
•    North Carolina’s lawmakers will review proposals for opportunity scholarships and quite possibly education savings accounts, a new type of private school choice available only in Arizona.
•    Alaska lawmakers will vote on a school voucher plan for all students statewide regardless of their family income.
•    Indiana’s new governor has proposed expanding its voucher program to increase scholarship amounts and student eligibility.
•    Maine lawmakers will hear a proposal from their governor to give children school vouchers.

Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman, the father of the school choice concept, believed that offering parents education options other than their neighborhood school would not only be good for children but would improve education. Studies show school choice is helping children in their new schools and those who don’t participate – something vitally important when so many children don’t get a quality education.

The Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University found that high school dropouts are more dependent on government assistance such as food stamps, housing assistance, and Medicaid. They are also more likely to be in jail or prison, another cost to federal, state, and local taxpayers. And unemployment rates are highest among dropouts, according to the study.

If our society is to address its burgeoning debt problem and give young people a chance to become successful, offering parents an opportunity to access high-quality schools is a path to prosperity for themselves, their children, and society.

In several states, policymakers are ensuring more students have access to the schools, public or private, that work best for them. National School Choice Week is the time to shine a spotlight on those leaders and anyone else working to make sure every family is free to choose in education.

Enlow is president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice, the legacy foundation of Nobel laureate Milton Friedman and his wife Rose.

View Comments

View the original article here

Idaho gets $2.9 million in drug company settlement

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho will be collecting $2.9 million as part of the latest settlement with two national pharmaceutical companies.

Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced Thursday an agreement reached with Pfizer Inc. and Pharmacia Corp.

The agreement stems from a 2007 lawsuit filed by Idaho and other states over allegations the companies were inflating the average wholesale prices of drugs. Idaho and other states alleged the flawed pricing system was causing Medicaid programs to overpay for drugs like Zyrtec and Celebrex.

The settlement is intended to reimburse taxpayers for the excessive prices Idaho Medicaid paid for prescription medicines.

So far, Wasden and his office have recovered more than $25 million in similar settlements with 36 drug makers. Lawsuits are still pending against two other companies.

View the original article here

National Women's Health Week by the Numbers: 20.4 Million

Tuesday is the second day of National Women’s Health Week, and an opportunity for all women to prioritize their health well-being by scheduling annual screening and exams.

President Obama’s health reform law requires that new health insurance plans cover preventive services such as mammograms, pap smears, and well-woman visits with no co-pay or deductible. Because of this provision in the Affordable Care Act, more than 20.4 million women with private health insurance have received preventive health services at no additional cost.

For more information:

View the original article here

By the Numbers: 2 Million

Nearly 2 million companies that make new hires or increase wages would receive a tax credit under the small business hiring income tax credit President Obama is calling on Congress to pass.

The tax credit, the third item on President Obama’s job-creating To-Do List for Congress, would encourage more than $200 billion in new hiring and pay raises by providing a 10 percent income tax credit on wages added in 2012. The credit would be available to all companies, but would be capped at $500,000 per business to specifically spur small business hiring. And, companies that claim the credit would be able to do so on a quarterly basis, which means businesses would see tax relief sooner rather than later after making new hires.

By providing targeted tax relief to the businesses that are expanding and making investments in their workforce, the Small Business Hiring Credit will grow the economy, create jobs, and strengthen the recovery. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office recently found that this type of targeted credit is the single most effective business tax option for boosting hiring and spurring economic growth.

Learn More:

View the original article here

From Hope to Hopelessness: Obama’s Economy Has 88 Million “Not In Labor Force”

It was less than a year ago that Barack Obama’s senior adviser, David Plouffe said:

After 2½ years in office, President Obama now “owns” the economy as an issue, according to top adviser David Plouffe, who added he was confident that voters understand that recovering from a devastating recession Mr. Obama inherited takes time.

“Of course he does,” Mr. Plouffe told NBC’s “Today” show host Matt Lauer when asked point-blank if Mr. Obama owns the economy.

“But the American people understand that we — it took us a long time to get to this mess,” Mr. Plouffe said. “It’s going to take us some time to come out. We are making progress.”

Well, after Friday’s jobs numbers came out (the economy added 120,000 jobs) Labor Secretary Hilda Solis promptly proclaimed: “That’s a noteworthy achievement.”

In fact, for the man who campaigned on the message of “hope” in 2008, the 120,000 jobs added is much fewer (about half) than expected and the edging down of the unemployment to 8.2% is not from job creation but from hopelessness.

There are now 88 million American who are “Not In Labor Force,” according to Department of Labor statistics, which the St. Louis Federal Reserve put into this pretty chart:

Obviously, others are seeing past Obama’s cheerleaders.

The Wall Street Journal stated:

But mostly, the picture was disappointing at a time when all eyes are on the U.S. to help keep global growth humming. The jobless rate, which is obtained from a separate survey of households, edged down to 8.2% from 8.3%, its lowest point in three years. However, that decline was due less to new hiring than people abandoning their job searches.

“I’m nervous,” said Jared Bernstein, former chief economist* for Vice President Joe Biden.

* Although Bernstein, according to his bio, is not really a trained-economist (he just played one in Washington), he is right to be nervous.

And, so should the Obama Administration.

The hard truth for Barack Obama is:

People have given up.

They have gone from ‘Hope’ to Hopelessness.

_________________

“Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth.”
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com

On Twitter.

View the original article here