The North Carolina Senate Republicans have given their initial approval of a budget proposal on Wednesday that outlines a plan that differs on priorities, tax details and a host of policy prescriptions from the opposing House measure, despite spending the same amount. The Senate plan has been criticised by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and includes lacklustre pay raises for teachers and rank-and-file state employees, while the bill would lower individual income taxes and introduce new excise taxes on ride-sharing services, with proceeds going towards road maintenance.
Senate Republican walkouts are jeopardising a new budget in the US state of Oregon, even after a revenue forecast showed unexpectedly high tax payments. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that the surplus gives lawmakers approximately $2bn more to spend over the next two years than expected. However, there is presently a boycott by Senate Republicans in support of their opposition to Democrat proposals, including one provison on abortion and gender-affirming care. Senate President Rob Wagner has said the bill is not negotiable. If the budget is not agreed by the end of June, more than a third of the Senate will be prevented from seeking reelection.
Oregon’s latest state revenue forecast far exceeded expectations, giving lawmakers more money for a two-year budget that’s due in June, but a walkout by Senate Republicans has jeopardised the process, and they show no signs of planning to return to their chamber. A walkout in early May saw the Senate short of a quorum, which requires at least two-thirds of members to be present, with Republican Minority Leader Sen. Tim Knopp complaining about Democrats’ bills, including abortion and gender-affirming care. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that lawmakers have about $2bn more to spend over the next two years than expected.
US Vice President Joe Biden has cancelled a scheduled trip to Australia following his attendance at the G7 summit in Japan. Biden has been required to return to Washington to deal with the debt-ceiling stand-off in Congress, an impediment caused by Republican opposition to aid Obama’s manoeuvrability within fiscal responsibility. This marks the latest casualty in the US’s frustrating attempts to refocus foreign policy towards Asia; Obama experienced a similar setback when his bid to turn US attention away from the Middle East towards the East was disrupted by the surge of ISIS and the civil war in Syria. It is believed that the breakdown in US foreign policy could lead to China becoming a dominant force in the Asia-Pacific region, and highlights the difficulty faced by President Biden in his ongoing attempts to build a counterweight to China’s economic dominance.
Stricter work requirements for people on US social safety net programmes have become a sticking point in negotiations over raising the US debt ceiling. Kevin McCarthy, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that tougher work requirements for recipients of the programmes were a “red line”. However, President Joe Biden’s apparent openness to some reforms to the social safety net, which dismayed progressive Democrats, has led to a complex situation that could potentially lead to a revolt from the left of Biden’s party.
The New Hampshire House of Representatives will vote on a bill to create a “Parents’ Bill of Rights” that would require school officials, when asked by parents, to disclose whether their child is using a different name or gender to their biological sex. The proposal highlights a growing national debate surrounding transgender students and parental rights. Republican supporters argue the bill empowers a partnership between parents and teachers to most effectively help vulnerable children navigate situations that may involve life-altering decisions. Opponents argue the bill exposes students to the risk of abuse at home and does not allow adolescents the time needed for thoughtfulness and care. Similar bills have been passed in Republican-led legislatures around the US.
Philadelphia’s likely next mayor could offer model for how Democrats talk about crime
The Toronto Star
23-05-18 04:07
Cherelle Parker, who won Philadelphia's mayoral primary this week, called for increased police numbers and search policies as part of a tough law enforcement approach to counter a rise in the city's crime rate. These measures are viewed as being at odds with Philadelphia's progressive standing, and Parker's win highlights the difficulties that Democrats face in deciding how to approach violent crime. Parker claimed that investing in police and addressing wider societal problems was not “either/or", and that along with her backing for increased police numbers, there must be resources for fixing street lighting and investing in programs for at-risk youth.
Cherelle Parker, who is likely to become the next mayor of Philadelphia, wants to increase the number of police on the street and supports local law enforcement being able to stop and search individuals they have reasonable cause to suspect. While this may seem out of step with Philadelphia being a liberal city, Parker ran on a platform of strengthening law enforcement and won a comfortable victory in last week's mayoral primary. Many cities run by Democrats have seen an increase in crime during the pandemic. Democratic politicians in these cities have been divided over how to handle the increase, with some calling for fewer police and others calling for more. However, Parker argues that it isn't either/or: increased funding can be provided to both police systems and broader societal problems. Biden has been walking a tightrope on this issue. While he has acknowledged the need for policing reform, he has also said that police need better training and resources. Earlier this year, Democrats joined Republicans to reject D.C. measures aimed at improving police accountability.
Anti-abortion campaigners and pro-life religious groups are moving to the forefront of the battle over abortion, hoping that the new wave of laws in Republican states will trump state laws. Activists who sway legal opinions warn that any effort to retreat from national abortion restrictions would be a serious mistake, and Kellyanne Conway believes a 15-week limit on abortion is an effective way to put Democrats on defense on the issue. Two-thirds of Americans say they oppose the decision to eliminate the constitutional right to an abortion, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll, and despite abortion restrictions becoming more prevalent, the pro-choice lobby is seen as powerful and a key issue for many voters in the Democratic party. Trump, as a candidate, has not yet given his opinion on where he will draw the line on federal legislation concerning abortion since the Supreme Court ruling overturning the right to an abortion.
US President Joe Biden cancelled his planned visit to Australia for the Quad alliance, which comprises the US, India, Japan and Australia, due to a domestic crisis and ongoing negotiations on the national debt. Biden's decision has been viewed as a snub by some Australians, underlining the fragility of the countries' perceived strong relationship. Some citizens called for an end to the reliance on the US, which is a vital ally. The Quad Alliance was formed to combat China's power and expansion. The US is currently embroiled in intense political negotiations, and Biden felt it necessary to address the issue in-person rather than participating in the meeting via video conference.
The debate around scrapping or amending access to negative gearing tax benefits in Australia has continued as citizens highlight the lever’s potential to deliver fairer access to property ownership and greater equity to buyers. Scrapping the system would enable potential homebuyers to compete with others further up the property ladder, who have more collateral to borrow against. Though some factions of the public argue that scrapping negative gearing is not enough to tackle the housing problem, many believe it places the country on a more equitable footing.
Meanwhile, parents are left with no choice but to send their children to private religious schools because of the decline in the country’s public education system. There is a direct relationship between public school neglect in the past decade by successive Australian ministers and increases in admissions to private schools. Parents are finding it hard to opt for public schools because of the business model for administration and the lack of adequate resources.
The communications director for US Representative George Santos, Naysa Woomer, has resigned and accused him of ignoring advice from his team, after being overheard slamming her boss as "not a good person". She worked for a number of Republican politicians, including GOP Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker, before joining Santos's team. Santos narrowly survived an attempted vote to expel him from Congress by the Democrats, in the same week he was indicted on 13 counts, including fraud and money laundering, which he denies.
On the podcast The Bottom Line, Steve Clemons interviews Jason Miller, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, and Faiz Shakir, former campaign manager for Bernie Sanders, on their respective candidates' chances in the upcoming US presidential election. Miller argues that Trump's anti-establishment message will resonate with millions of voters across the political spectrum, while Shakir contends that Trump's candidacy will only serve to increase support for presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
A mishmash of regulations across US states is causing difficulties for businesses. Different state governments have differing views on everything from the production of lifts to running a bank, and have legislated to ban abortions, encourage diversity on company boards or outlaw race discrimination in pursuit of diversity. A US state government's decision to regulate one area of business can have widespread impact given that American firms operate in a country which has a coast-to-coast marketplace that is too important for it to take for granted. “If the trend of state supermajorities persists after the 2024 elections, things could get worse," warns The Economist's opinion column, Schumpeter. Companies' third headache, when it comes to navigating different legislations, is to do with greenery as states introduce contradictory regulations about oil, gas and coal investments. The challenge is compounded by the fact that doing business in the EU may require sustainability reporting, which some in the US find unpalatable.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which is held in giant subterranean caverns, is at its lowest level for 40 years after half was removed last year in an attempt to stabilise oil markets following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The SPR can hold 714 million barrels, but currently just 357 million are held. The Biden administration has announced plans to buy an additional three million barrels for delivery in August, however, it faces criticism from Republican lawmakers, who claim the administration is driving up oil prices by holding back new drilling.
Republican-controlled states across the US have introduced more than 500 bills affecting LGBTQ+ people, of which 48 have passed, in the first five months of this year alone. The majority target transgender people, with the bills touching every aspect of the community’s public life. Many of the measures aim to prevent transgender girls from participating in female sports, require trans people to use the bathroom that matches their gender assigned at birth, or restrict trans people from changing their gender on their identity documents. LGBTQ+ rights activists are pushing back, with protests in Texas leading state lawmakers to send back a bill seeking to ban gender-affirming care. Meanwhile, many Republicans in the five states to have passed bills arguing that it is a mistake to let gender-affirming care occur. They distrust the medical consensus endorsing gender-affirming care, branding it dangerous and experimental.
A Reuters data analysis found that House Republicans' proposal for trillion-dollar spending cuts would disproportionately affect Republican-leaning states like Louisiana, which relies heavily on federal dollars and aid. One of its Republican representatives, Clay Higgins, has called for spending cuts in his capacity as a member of the Freedom Caucus, but in the face of natural disasters, social challenges, and infrastructural flaws that require government funding, many of his constituents advocate for more government spending on healthcare, assistance programs, affordable housing, child care, and roads, bridges and ports infrastructure improvements. Louisiana, one of the country's poorest states, benefited the most from federal dollars and stands to face serious consequences in case of budget cuts. While Higgins won the last election easily, he must strike a balance between advocating for his state and practicing his proposed small-government, hard-right agenda.
Biden-McCarthy: The untested relationship at the center of debt ceiling talks
CNN
23-05-18 16:00
US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have agreed that the US cannot default on its debt and that a compromise must be reached to avoid this situation. However, the two remain far apart on how to achieve this deal. The largely untested nature of their relationship underscores a key liability as the two men are generationally unmatched, ideologically opposed, and personally not close. Unlike Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, with whom Biden has shared decades of Senate negotiations, Biden and McCarthy have no shared personal history.
McCarthy and top aides made repeated entreaties to Biden and his staff to engage on the debt ceiling for over three months. Meanwhile, the White House insisted that McCarthy laid out his own budget blueprint. McCarthy didn’t just lay out his plan – he passed it through a narrowly divided GOP conference. When he did it, the speaker – and his conference – felt emboldened to get more out of the White House in their negotiations. The release of the plan as a challenge sparked personal tension between Biden and McCarthy, making negotiations even more tenuous.
To reach a deal, Biden and McCarthy have dispatched a smaller circle of widely trusted advisers to hash out the details of increasing the country’s borrowing limit. The smaller group comprises of Steve Ricchetti, Shalanda Young, Legislative Affairs Director Louisa Terrell, and McCarthy’s close ally, Republican Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana.
The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management has completed an environmental review for the SunZia transmission project, which can connect up to 4.5 GW of renewable energy across the southeastern US. The BLM considers the completion of the study a milestone in the Biden administration's efforts to hasten the buildout of electric transmission infrastructure across the country, paving the way for the development of renewable energy projects as part of the US's broader goal to decarbonise the power sector by 2035. The SunZia project consists of two planned 500-kV transmission lines that stretch across 520 miles of federal, state and private land.
Readers of the New York Times have responded to its articles through letters to the editor. Connie Wu of San Francisco wrote that the use of the English name Connie derived from the influence of Connie Chung, an American journalist for whom many Asian women have been named; Anne Toohey of Chapel Hill described the surprised look on the face of Connie Chung when she learned how many women had been named
after her; Professor Laycock of Charlottesville argued against using the debt limit as a political tool; and David S. Elkind of Greenwich, Connecticut, criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ attempts to limit free speech.
Analysts have expressed surprise at the recent 2% bounce in the US dollar, given that greenback was widely expected to continue its decline. The general consensus was that cooler inflation and potential interest rate slowdowns would make for a lower US currency. Analysts have put the bump down to increased safe-haven demand revolving around worries about US debt ceiling negotiations, the vulnerability of US banks and uncertainty over the global economy's outlook. Traders currently expect the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates significantly later this year due to a falling economy, something which Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at analysts RBC Capital Markets, doubts will happen, stating there is "a chance that US interest rates could grind higher." The net short bets of hedge funds and other speculators against the dollar amounts to $14.56bn, the largest position since mid-2021, which Chester Ntonifor, FX strategist at BCA Research, suggested rendered a potential rebound.
