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The Palestinian freshwater springs being seized by Israeli settlers – Reuters

Even the perennially pro-Israel Washington Post is now reporting the routine, coordinated ethnic cleansing and land theft by armed Israeli settlers in the West Bank backed up by Israel’s army:

IDF troops stood by as West Bank settlers besieged Palestinian homes – msn/WaPost

This has been going on for many years. Put yourself in the shoes of the unarmed Palestinians being harassed, threatened, and driven away from their homes and land. The deliberate strangulation of this group of people provides historians with a window into what happened in the Jim Crow south in the early 20th century and in Germany under Hitler in the 1930s.

IDF removes Palestinians from homes for op said aimed at clearing harassing settlers – Times of Israel

How Federal Tax Policy Can Address AI – ITEP

“Congress can use its taxing power in three broad ways to respond to AI. These categories capture the main options currently being discussed. Congress could use its taxing power to:

  • Ensure a fairer distribution of the fruits of labor, innovation, and investment
  • Address the specific harms (the negative externalities) of AI specifically
  • Acquire a public stake in the companies that are driving the AI revolution”

Ranking Member Scott Demands Answers from Labor Department on “Fake Job” Health Plans – US House Ed & Workforce Committee Democrats

“WASHINGTON – Today, House Committee on Education and Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling and Assistant Secretary Daniel Aronowitz demanding answers about reported settlement negotiations with companies selling junk health plans that use sham employment or partnership relationships to circumvent federal consumer protections and state oversight.

“The reported negotiations come amid growing concerns about so-called health plans tied to fictious jobs or downloading an app, which can evade many Affordable Care Act protections and state insurance oversight by misclassifying consumers as employees or business partners. According to Bloomberg, more than 100,000 U.S. households have purchased plans tied to purported employment relationships, with some consumers left facing significant medical bills due to barebones health plans that fail to offer adequate coverage. Patient and consumer groups have also sounded the alarm. In his letter, Ranking Member Scott urged the Department to ensure that any action it takes is consistent with federal law and does not leave consumers without meaningful protections or state oversight…”

Wonder how the Labor Department will respond (or not). The Administration seems very concerned about “fraud” when it comes to Medicaid and SNAP (food) benefits.  What about fraud that undermines consumer protections for health insurance and health coverage?   

2026 Childcare Cost Report: State Rankings, National Averages & Key Data – DaycareCalc

“The national average for full-time infant center care is $1,230/month in 2026. That’s $14,760 a year, before taxes, credits, or subsidies. Mississippi averages $650/month; Washington DC averages $2,400/month. Where you live determines more than anything else — the gap between the cheapest and most expensive states is $21,000/year…

“Key Findings:

  • DC families pay $28,800/year for infant care — more than tuition at many state universities.
  • Mississippi families pay $7,800/year for the same care type. The 3.7x gap between cheapest and most expensive is the largest it’s been in a decade.
  • Costs rose 4–6% in 2026, down from 10–15% annual increases in 2022–2024. The surge is slowing.
  • Moving from infant to preschool age saves $3,720/year on average nationally ($310/month). Age is the second-biggest cost driver after location.
  • 7 states have a subsidy waitlist for families who qualify. Applying on day one matters.”

related CCSE analysis:

White House’s promised childcare subsidies face a host of ‘devils in the details’

The strange case of China’s urban consumption: Why are the rich not consuming? – Branko Milanovic/Substack

Another factor in the urban-rural difference in consumption may have been the government’s restriction of personal movement during Covid. Beijing’s strict “stay at home” order was easier to enforce in cities than rural areas.

Recent papers from the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality:

Inheritance Taxation Around the Globe and Over Time: Revenue and Distributional Implications

The Great Unleveling: Long-Run Wealth Inequality in South Korea, 1970–2021

Wealth Inequality Trends Around the World: A First View Leveraging Multiple Data Sources

Mamdani’s Taking On Amazon. His Opponent? Chuck Schumer’s Daughter. – TAP

“…For nearly a decade, Amazon has deployed its DSP model around the country. Delivery workers must wear Amazon uniforms, drive vans with Amazon logos, use Amazon equipment, are assigned routes and package deliveries by Amazon, and work out of Amazon facilities—but they are not classified as Amazon employees. This deprives DSP workers of Amazon’s benefits and wage structures, and makes it harder to seek union rights. The National Labor Relations Board this year determined that Amazon was not a joint employer with DSPs, and could not be held accountable for any safety violations or union avoidance at those contractors.

“Critics have argued that Amazon’s package requirements force DSP workers to act recklessly, speed through deliveries, and even urinate in bottles to save time. Average pay for DSP drivers is almost half that of drivers for UPS. In New Jersey, the state attorney general recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company for subjecting DSP workers to dangerous and brutal conditions while suppressing their pay. The complaint says that Amazon is abusing monopsony power, as a dominant buyer of delivery worker labor…”

To remain a great power, the US needs to reverse the rapid rise of its national debt.:

Tracking the Bond Market and U.S. Fiscal Health – BPC

“The U.S. national debt is nearly $40 trillion, of which approximately $31 trillion is “marketable” debt issued by the Treasury Department through public auctions and then bought and sold on secondary markets. Economists are increasingly worried about the risks of a rapidly expanding debt supply, which can crowd out productive private investments, fuel inflation, and increase interest costs for the federal government…”

How should we tax the Great Wealth Transfer? – Brookings

“…We conclude that inheritance taxes can raise more revenue and be more progressive than the existing estate tax. Moreover, taxing inheritances and unrealized capital gains at death would close two of the largest loopholes in the income tax…”

Reforming Physician Training to Improve Access to Primary Care — Lessons from Sweden – Commonwealth Fund

“The federal government spends nearly $30 billion annually to finance residency training for physicians in the United States, largely through Medicare and Medicaid. Despite this substantial public investment, there is little effort made to ensure that the physician workforce produced aligns with population health needs.

“And it shows: Americans are finding it increasingly difficult to access primary care. Many communities, especially rural and underserved areas, face shortages of primary care physicians, long wait times, fragmented care, and a lack of meaningful relationships between individual patients and clinicians over time. These access challenges are due in part to persistent primary care physician shortages and imbalanced distribution, outcomes of an education and training system that prioritizes specialists over generalists and academic medicine over community training.

“…the United States lacks a national mechanism for coordinating physician workforce policy across Medicare, Medicaid, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, states, accrediting bodies, and health systems. Sweden’s recent reforms illustrate what more active national stewardship can look like: shared goals, workforce guidelines, regional implementation support, and ongoing monitoring…”

Question: What would be the impact on Medicare costs, physician supply and patient access, if Medicare paid specialists $40,000 a year less and primary care doctors $15,000 a year more?

How hospital monopolies are driving up the cost of your health care – msn/WaPost

“…For years, economists suspected that the run of mergers beginning in the late 1990s was a main driver of the rising costs of U.S. health care. From 2002 to 2020 alone, more than 1,000 hospital mergers unfolded in the United States…

“Yet while federal law allows regulators to step in and block mergers deemed to create monopolies, the FTC intervened in only about 1 percent of such cases from 2002 to 2020 to stop a hospital merger, according to a Yale University study. The FTC has since announced challenges to five other hospital mergers…”

Sunday, August 9, 2026

Mamdani on 2028: “We’re not running away from the Democratic Party, we’re going back to what the party used to be” – Real Clear Politics

Democrats need to face their real liability -Fareed Zakaria/WaPost

“The party needs to show moderate voters that it can be trusted on cultural issues.”

“…Democrats have spent years dreaming of a working-class restoration…Democrats routinely lead Republicans on issues like health care and, even now, the cost of living. Their liabilities are cultural and social issues — crime, immigration, the border and the “woke” agenda…

“One study tested Democratic shifts across 29 policy issues and found that the largest electoral gains tended to come from moving toward the middle on social and cultural questions. Another report found that working-class voters placed far more emphasis than liberal college graduates on securing the border, reducing crime and adding police. Liberal college graduates placed far more emphasis on resisting authoritarianism, protecting trans rights and abortion access, and fighting climate change…”

Takeaways on Why Democrats Have a Cultural Disconnect with the Working Class – Politico/Third Way Comeback Retreat

Government Ownership Stakes in Companies Becoming Routine Under Trump – Cato

“…What is remarkable is that federal corporate ownership is becoming routine under a Republican administration, while a Republican-controlled Congress is not just letting it happen but may even enshrine the practice in statute. Republicans warning that communists are taking over the Democratic Party might first ask why their own administration is so eager to have the government acquire pieces of private companies.”

Question: Is the US responding to the success of China’s state-directed capitalism?

Trump Says He Took Venezuela’s Oil. Here’s What Actually Happened. – Reason

One part of a larger issue:

AI Tax Debate Misses The Threat That’s Already Here – TPC

“…Whether the goal is to protect workers or improve the fiscal outlook, shoring up the taxation of capital income, where much of AI’s gains are likely to accrue, would likely be more effective than a new tax that singles out AI…

“What moves debt is less about whether and how to tax AI and more about how we tax capital. There are plenty of options for strengthening capital income taxation. They range from raising corporate and capital gains tax rates and ending step-up in basis to more far-reaching approaches, such as taxing wealth…”

How might the taxation of capital gains be improved? – TPC

This number helps explain why many Americans are down on the economy – CBS

“American workers’ share of the economic pie has fallen to its lowest level since at least 1947, when the federal government began tracking the data, according to an analysis by Federal Reserve economists…

“As of early 2026, American workers received 54.1% of national income, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. By comparison, that figure topped 65% almost 80 years ago, when the government began tracking the data following World War II. In early 2020, it stood at 57.7%, indicating that workers have continued to lose ground since the pandemic…”

Missouri voters reject income tax elimination—breaking with GOP tax trend – Newsweek

Moving from an income tax to sales tax would be highly regressive – shifting the tax burden from higher-income people to those with lower incomes.

related CCSE article:

Want ‘affordability?’ Start by retooling your state’s regressive tax system. – The Hill

“The White House’s top economic advisors recently advised states to consider repealing taxes on corporate and personal income and to make up for it by drastically raising their sales taxes. This is the last thing states should do if they want to make life more affordable for most people…”

Truth Social launches service selling faster access to Trump posts – NBC

“President Donald Trump regularly uses the platform to post official statements on economic policy and global affairs.”

“Trump’s unprecedented use of social media to reveal updates on global affairs and economic policy has contrasted sharply with prior presidents, who generally made such announcements through more formal avenues, such as through the White House press office and the official White House website.

“Many trading firms already plug into Trump’s posts through Bloomberg, Reuters or other services that scrape his posts and relay them in real time to their customers. But using this data feed on Truth Social could enable firms to access his posts seconds or even milliseconds faster than the general public. For a high-frequency trading firm, even milliseconds could make a huge difference. The president also stands to profit from the new service. Trump is a major stakeholder in TMTG, owning 114.75 million shares to represent 41% of the company, according to his 2025 financial disclosure...”

Question: If the governor of your state began distributing public information this way, how would voters react?

See Previous Posts

Featured

Thanks to The Hill for running our op-ed:

Trump’s 401(k) proposal could be a major step toward retirement security – Karl Polzer/Hill

“To succeed, Trump’s proposal must meet two fundamental requirements: funds to save and invest and accounts overseen by a fiduciary. The millions of workers with no money left over from their paychecks after covering the cost of living need more than just access to a retirement account — they also need money to put in that plan, week by week and month by month. This is why, without congressional action, most low-income workers will likely still be left out…”

Thanks to the Richmond Times-Dispatch for publishing this column:

New governor prioritizing ‘affordability’ should push reforming Va.’s regressive tax code – Karl Polzer

“…It will take some time for the new governor and Democrats running the state legislature to find effective ways to make life in Virginia more affordable. Reducing the tax burden on low-income families should be part of their agenda. Meanwhile, legislators should avoid adding taxes that hit the poor the hardest.”

States Can Push Back Against Reckless Federal Tax Policy. Here’s How. – Governing

Beware of Republicans bearing cash!

Substituting Cash for Health Insurance Can Drive Up Costs, Medical Bankruptcy – Karl Polzer/CCSE

Not! (for now)

Senate GOP health care plan fails on mostly party-line vote – Hill

As suspected, the two health care subsidy votes were performative art organized by Senate leaders setting a high bar (60/100 votes). Clock’s still ticking for millions of Americans needing health insurance they can afford.

Health Care–Related Savings Accounts, Health Care Expenditures, and Tax Expenditures – JAMA
“Conclusions and Relevance: Participation in FSAs is associated with higher health care expenditures and tax expenditures, while HSAs are not associated with reduced expenditures. Tax policy could be better targeted to enhance insurance coverage and health care accessibility.”

Why Substituting Cash for Insurance Can Drive Up Both Total Costs and Individual Medical + Financial Risk – Statement to US Senate Finance Committee

Submitted to Finance Committee Hearing: “The Rising Cost of Health Care: Considering Meaningful Solutions for All Americans”

“No matter how many adjustments the government might make, giving people money to leave the risk pool and bargain on their own with the players in health system undermines the basic concept of insurance – which is pooling risk and resources to make hard-to-predict future expenses more affordable.”

A ‘conservative/progressive’ path to negotiating Social Security solvency: Bend the cost curve, grow revenue, and protect low earners – Karl Polzer/IQInk

Updated Oct. 8, 2025

“This paper presents options – some favored by conservatives, others by progressives – as a framework for negotiating an equitable solution to Social Security’s financing shortfall.  Taken together, the changes could generate up to twice as much in savings and revenue as needed to balance Social Security’s books…

“Congress could strike a deal drawing about half the savings needed to fix Social Security through a gradual benefit reduction by changing the formula for determining initial benefit levels while protecting the lowest earners.  The rest of the gap could be filled through tax increases.  These financing options provide room for targeted benefit improvements to help the lowest income pay their bills and families raise children.”

Judge says Trump administration ‘used antisemitism as a smokescreen’ against Harvard – USA Today

Trump Administration’s Cuts to Harvard Funding Are Unconstitutional, Judge Rules – msn/WSJ

CCSE correspondence with Harvard President Garber

“Prediction: Harvard University will be teaching students from all over the world long after what remains of Trump and his brain trust rest in silence beneath the ground. BTW, White House staff could benefit from taking free public finance courses at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Harvard has a positive fund balance. The United State government, not so much.”

No peace, no prize. – Karl Polzer

“Republican members of the US Congress, which is financing Israel’s now escalating ethnic cleansing of Gaza, have nominated President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.  It is hard to fathom the depth and irony of their fawning depravity.  The Nobel prize is clearly a trophy that he covets. But shouldn’t a peace prize have something to do with reducing conflict and killing? The US president and Congress, including a majority of Democrats, are doing the opposite of making peace.  They are facilitating Israel’s daily, systematic killing, starvation, and displacement of entire populations of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank…”

Trump ‘1-2 punch’ shifts tax burden from top onto middle-and lower-income Americans – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“Economists and business analysts increasingly agree that Trump’s tariffs are raising prices. There is far less awareness that the historic spike in tariffs – coupled with the tax cuts just made permanent by Congress – comprise a major shift in the tax burden. Taken together, these two changes promise to make the US tax system more regressive. In our increasingly unequal country, taxpayers at the bottom of the economic pecking order are taking on proportionally more of the tax burden as the well-off shoulder less…”

New capitalism III: Capital – Branko Milanovic

“Why is capital so concentrated and why so few have it?”

“The new capitalism has even in the rich countries failed to produce what Margaret Thatcher, and Friedrich Hayek before her, called ‘property-owning society’. (For good measure, Thatcher added ‘democracy’ too.) Even when we include income from forced savings that becomes pension wealth, between one-half and almost 90 percent of the population in rich countries are financial-capital destitute. That percentage becomes more than 90, or even more than 95, in less developed countries…”

Related CCSE work:

Half of Americans have no retirement savings — here’s how Congress can look after them …. op-ed

How the U.S. Retirement Saving System Magnifies Inequality – Society of Actuaries

Growing inequality has shrunk Social Security’s revenue. Revitalizing its tax base could help restore solvency without cutting benefits.

New Capitalism in America: Richest capitalists and richest workers are increasingly the same people – Global Inequality

Branko Milanovic: The World Under Capitalism – Stone Center/Toronto Public Library

Prof. Milanovic discusses two types of capitalism – “liberal capitalism” in the US and “political capitalism” directed by the Chinese Communist Party. Both systems have produced relatively high levels of income inequality.

Comparing United States and China by Economy – Statistics Times

2025 Social Security groundhog day:

US needs $28 trillion more over 75 years to pay promised benefits

“A few months after the Trump Administration chain-sawed Social Security’s leadership and staff, four newly installed senior officials overseeing the program released the annual report on its declining financial condition.  This year’s actuarial forecast is a bit gloomier due in large part to a benefit expansion enacted by the previous Congress.  However, in the big picture, not much has changed.  Social Security’s looming insolvency remains…

“As I have pointed out to the Senate Budget Committee, the process of spending down Social Security reserves already is increasing overall federal spending and pushing up annual deficits. Drawing down reserves in the Social Security trust funds requires the Treasury to sell bonds (or find other sources of revenue) to raise cash to pay the program’s 74 million beneficiaries.

“On pp. 51-52, this year’s report estimates that Social Security will draw down $181 billion from the combined trust funds in 2025 with the amount rising to $405 billion in 2033. As a result, the federal government is gradually moving to finance part of the program’s benefits through newly issued debt substituting for now-insufficient payroll taxes...”

More on these issues can be found in these CCSE articles and testimony:

‘Trump kids accounts’ in budget bill would drive up inequality and raise the national debt – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“Helping young people learn how to save and build up money for college and adult life are worthy goals. But new ‘Trump kids accounts’ embedded in the massive Republican tax and spending bill before the US Senate not only duplicate existing programs.  They also would widen financial gaps between families in our already very unequal country.  In addition, tax subsidies for money invested in Trump accounts would go mostly to well-off families and push up the national debt…”

Failure to prosecute and jail law-breaking employers is wasting $$ billions in the fight against illegal immigration – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“The federal government has had authority since 1986 to criminally prosecute individuals and companies employing workers not legally in the United State, but it has rarely used that authority regardless of the administration in office. A one-year snapshot taken during Trump’s first term found that no company was criminally prosecuted for having workers not authorized to be in the country, a Syracuse University study shows…

“Changing the equation to incentivize employers to help enforce, rather than skirt, the nation’s immigration laws does not mean subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment.  No need to suspend billionaires and entrepreneurs in cages from a tower or use branding irons.  It does mean applying and stiffening laws against hiring illegals and tax avoidance.  Financial penalties, public shaming, and loss of contracts could be a start.  If that isn’t sufficient, start putting law-breaking employers in jail.  They are lining their pockets by stealing jobs from American workers, both native born and those immigrating legally.”

Thanks to the Virginian-Pilot for running our op-ed:

Many questions, few answers about exempting tips from taxes – Karl Polzer/Virginian-Pilot

“Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to exempt tipped income from state taxes — like President-elect Donald Trump’s on a national level — could help some low-wage workers.  However, it also poses risks for others and raises complex issues facing scrutiny as the state legislature begins its work…”

To provide access to all readers (the newspaper’s op-eds are gated), below is the original submission including links to sources:

Youngkin pitch to exempt tips from taxes could benefit some.  A better option is raising the $2.13 tipped minimum wage.

Statement to 11/20/24 US House Appropriations Committee hearing on Social Security:

A way to ensure Social Security can meet short- and long-term promises to American workers and their families: Bend the cost curve, grow revenue, and protect lower earners – CCSE

“As keeper of the federal government’s purse strings, the House Appropriations Committee plays a part in maintaining Social Security’s commitment to American workers, their families, and taxpayers.  First, Committee members can weigh in as Congress and the Treasury find hundreds of billions of dollars annually in cash outside the appropriations process to draw down Social Security reserves.  The Committee can also help ‘leave room’ in future budgets for revenue increases that might be necessary to keep Social Security solvent as it coordinates with House Ways & Means, Budget, and other Committees on tax and spending issues.”

A ‘conservative/progressive’ path to Social Security solvency: bend the benefit cost curve, grow revenue, and protect lower earners – CCSE

The next President and Congress will face daunting fiscal issues.  In the shadow of historic levels of national debt, lawmakers will be bargaining over trillions of dollars of taxes and spending as they deal with expiration of the Trump tax cuts.  On top of that loom major Social Security financing gaps.   Paying promised benefits will require the government to raise more than $2 trillion in cash over the next eight years and more than $24 trillion to achieve long-run solvency.

This paper presents policy options – some favored by conservatives, others by progressives – as a framework for negotiating a solution.  Taken together, the changes could generate more than twice as much in savings and revenue than needed to balance Social Security’s books. 

Four ‘low-budget’ ways Congress can help working-class families raise more children – Karl Polzer/ Washington Examiner op-ed

– Expand the child tax credit to help more working-class parents and grandparents raising kids.
– Provide Social Security credit for unpaid work raising young children.
– Update/improve SSI so more people with disabilities can work, save.
– If taxes must go up, hold the working poor harmless.

Click here for longer version including references and related articles.

It’s Social Security ‘groundhog day’ as trustees repeat annual forecast of declining finances

“…The trustees’ report, however, neglects to mention how Social Security already is impacting the overall federal budget.  As pointed out to the Senate Budget Committee, the mechanics of spending down Social Security’s reserves require the Treasury to draw funds from general revenue and issue new debt to the public.  As a result, Social Security is gradually and organically moving to paying for current benefits through debt substituting for now-insufficient payroll taxes that it traditionally relies on.”

Missing the obvious: life expectancy in the U.S. is closely related to income – Karl Polzer

“The underlying theory is simple:  More income and wealth allow people and governments to support more years of life.  Fewer resources put them at a disadvantage.  Some politicians who see the connection may be leery of talking about it.  Doing so would lead to awkward questions about improving working and living conditions for millions of Americans and dealing with growing economic inequality.

“The strong relationship between income and longevity is clear when comparing states… (E)ight of the nine states with the lowest median household income also are among the bottom nine in longevity.  Similar clustering occurs comparing the highest ranked states across the two categories. Seven of the nine states with the highest median household income also are among the top nine in life expectancy.   

“Realizing they are rowing in the same economic boat could prompt states to join forces on policy changes, particularly Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama, New Mexico, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee, and others ranking at or near the bottom…

“Presidential candidate and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley strongly proposes raising the program’s retirement age on the premise that increased life spans are undermining Social Security’s long-term solvency.  If long-held assumptions about longevity were challenged, and potential losses to low-income workers and low-income states caused by raising the eligibility age came to light, would she change her position?  Republican candidate Donald Trump, by the way, opposes cuts in Social Security as do most Democrats…”

Thanks to the Washington Examiner for running this op-ed:

Senate minimum wage bills make bipartisan compromise possible – Washington Examiner

For longer version with references, see:

Senate minimum wage bills make bipartisan compromise possible.  Now for the political energy to get it done. – Karl Polzer/CCSE

Previous work on this issue:

One way to make living easier in Virginia – letter to WaPost

Yes, raise the minimum wage, but don’t stop there – op-ed

Analysis: Considerations on Raising the U.S. Minimum Wage To Help Workers and Families While Minimizing Negative Impacts

The US should take a hard look at the Netanyahu government’s brutality before giving it more weapons – Karl Polzer/CCSE

“More Americans are rightly asking if Israel could neutralize Hamas without massive destruction and loss of civilian life.  Indiscriminate air attacks by the Netanyahu regime already have killed and injured tens of thousands of Gazans with no end to the violence in sight.  To put this in perspective, imagine how Washington, D.C., would look if a foreign government with the power to fence in the District of Columbia dropped a comparable number of bombs here while shutting off access to water and food and destroying most of the capital area’s housing and medical system.  UN officials say conditions in Gaza are catastrophic.”

Thanks to the Washington Post for publishing our letter to the editor:

One way to make living easier in Virginia – Karl Polzer/letter to WaPost

“Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) told reporters he is ‘concerned about the cost of living in Virginia and we’re continuing to evaluate how best to address that,’ as reported in the Nov. 26 Metro article ‘Budget battle looms in Virginia. Facing a tighter fiscal environment and Democratic control of the legislature, Mr. Youngkin and fellow Republicans could help working families without denting the budget by making an expected Democratic push for a higher minimum wage a bipartisan affair.

“The GOP has been trying to attract more minority and working-class voters. However, party leaders have stopped short of addressing core economic issues, such as supporting higher wages and better benefits, and mainly stress cultural issues…”

Background Information on these issues provided to Virginia legislators

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