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PORTLAND, Maine When Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez arrive at the State Theatre tonight, David Bright would be there. Bright, an organic farmer who helped Sanders win the states Democratic caucuses, was one of Maines four voters in the electoral college. Hed used that role to cast a protest vote for Sanders, relenting and casting a futile vote for Hillary Clinton only after state law forced him to.

His opinion of the Democratic Partys establishment had not improved much since then.

The DNC has dropped the ball on one congressional campaign after another, Bright said in an interview before driving from his farm to Portland. The only way Perez would be safe to come to Maine is to have Bernie by his side. Otherwise, progressives in this state would tear him apart.

Portland, the bluest dot in a state that has trended Republican in recent years, is the launchpad for a week-long Sanders/Perez campaign tour. The team-up came last month, but last week, when Democrats lost a closer-than-expected House race in Kansas, the reasons for doing it became clearer. While energy on the left has risen since November, the partys base can still tumble into debates about who to blame for its defeats, with the left doing most of the talking.

The Perez-Sanders tour will not go through any state holding a congressional election soon, though it will boost Heath Mello, the Democrat running for mayor of Omaha. In a Monday morning interview on NPR, Perez praised Mello and said that Democrats had contributed to the Kansas race in ways that perhaps had gone unseen.

We invested in the following ways: When people were out there knocking on doors, they were using the DNCs voter file, he said. We were monitoring the election very closely with the state party. We did robo-calls at their request. Pointing to the 20-point swing toward Democrats, Perez said that if we replicate that success everywhere, we will flip the House in 2018.

James Thompson, the Kansas Democrat who lost last week, wrote on Twitter that disappointed progressives should focus on upcoming races instead of casting blame. Colin Curtis, Thompsons campaign manager, said that some people just want to be angry, and while the Democratic Party support had been pro forma, it hadnt been a surprise.

Do I wish they would have come in earlier? Sure, Curtis said. But at the end of the day we didnt plan on them doing it.

Progressives were not just critical of the partys spending they were critical of its messaging. Brett Vars, a 23-year-old who works at a grocery store outside Maines largest city, showed up to the State Theatre seven hours before Sanders was set to speak. He liked Perezs record as labor secretary, but was disappointed with how he talked about the Democratic Party, with lines about leading with our values that did not get into policy. In 2016, hed voted for the Green Partys Jill Stein for president, and was hopeful about Democrats, but also interested in Maines new ranked-choice voting law, which could benefit a left-wing third party.

It would be interesting to see what the Green Party could do if it got some power, Vars said.

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Perez-Sanders tour kicks off in Maine amid progressive skepticism - Bangor Daily News

Tens of thousands of Americans are expected to turn out for Tax Day marches Saturday to protest Donald Trumps refusal to release his tax returns. And while theres little hope their pressure will prompt the president to reconsider his controversial decision to keep those financial records private, organizers and leading Democrats also aim to use the rallies as an opening salvo in the national tax reform debate thats expected to dominate much of the spring and summer.

RELATED:Americans Still Want to See Trump's Tax Returns

Tax policieslack a certain sexiness as a cause, one of the marchs national organizers, Maura Quint, concedes. But she and others on the executive committee are hoping that the progressive anger over Trump and his lack of transparency can help launch the discussion about tax fairness and economic justice, issues that are implicit in the debate over how to structurethe U.S. tax code. Were hoping this can kind of push those things to the forefront of discussion, says Quint, and make it clear as well, to all politicians not just Trump, that this is something that the American people do care about.

The idea for the march sprung, like much of the #Resistance organizing thats happened since Trumps election, out of social media. A day after the January 21 Womens Marches, which drew millions of protesters in a multinational show of fury against Trumps inauguration, two private citizens in different parts of the country tweeted calls for another protest. Trump claims no one cares about his taxes. The next mass protest should be on Tax Day to prove him wrong, tweeted Frank Lesser, a comedy writer who formerly worked for Comedy Centrals Colbert Report. That was echoed by Vermont Law School Professor Jennifer Taub, who urged a nationwide #showusyourtaxes protest on April 15. Their messages quickly went viral.

Quint, who helps nonprofit groups plan events and writes comedy on the side, remembers retweeting Lessers tweet, along with some stupid joke. Then, after seeing the enormous response the idea was generating online, she reached out to Lesser, who she knows through comedy circles, to offer to help plan it. People started Facebook page events for different cities, on their own, Quint says. Organizers began reaching to the various tax march planners around the country to suggest we should all do this together; well be much more powerful that way, she recounts. As of now, there are tax marches planned in 180 cities and counting.

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, for the Good Friday holiday and Easter weekend, April 13, 2017. Trump critics around the country are protesting his refusal to release his tax returns Saturday. Yuri Gripas/REUTERS

The planners are realistic about the chances the president, after refusing to release his tax returns throughout the 2016 campaign, will suddenly have a change of heart now. It was yet another precedent Trump bucked during his unorthodox run to the White Housethough theres no law requiring it, all major party candidates over the past several decades have voluntarily released their returns. Where the protests can have more of an impact is directing the anger many feel about the president hiding his tax returns towardthe policy debate that will affect all of theirs. It wasnt that long ago, after all, that a movement calling itself the Tea Party launched on Tax Day, 2009, around the issue of taxes and government spending.

Republicans on Capitol Hill and in the White House have made clear tax reform is a top priority for 2017. Hours after House Republicans canceled a vote on their health care proposal, Trump told reporters at the White House that, We will probably start going very, very strongly for the big tax cuts and tax reform, that will be next. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin even promised the government would pass a new tax law by August, although most GOP leaders now admit theres no way theyll meet that timeline.

In fact, they are still toiling over what basic elements to include in their proposal, with various factions within the party battling over exactly how to cut corporate and personal income taxes and how to make up the loss in government revenue that will result. House Republicans, led by Speaker Paul Ryan, unveiled a tax reform blueprint last year that would slash corporate and personal tax rates. House Republicans proposed paying for those cuts via deep cuts in Medicaid funding and by instituting a new tax on imported goods, known as a border adjustment tax. The former, however, was reliant on Republicans passing their Obamacare repeal bill, which is currently stalled. And Republicans are deeply divided on the border adjustment tax proposal.

The White House, meanwhile, has been noncommittal about that and many other provisions, even as Trump administration officials insist they will be the ones to determine the ultimate shape of the bill. I think its not clear what the White House strategy is on this, as you know theyre capable of floating trial balloons every 24 hours and then deflating them, says Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, the leading Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees tax policy. Wyden attended a meeting with the president on trade and taxes in March, alongside Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, his Republican counterpart on the Finance Committee, and Congressmen Kevin Brady and Richard Neal, the Houses leaders on tax policy. He insists there are are opportunities for bipartisan agreement on tax reformAmericans of all political philosophies understand how broken the system is, he says.

But Democrats are sure to loathe most of what Republicans are considering on taxes, given that their proposals would disproportionately benefit the wealthy, according to analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The challenge for progressive critics is helping the public understand whats at stake, amidst all the arcane tax code talk. Wyden recounts how, at a recent town hall he hosted in Oregon, some people asked him about the tax changes Republicans had proposed in their repeal of Obamacare, and what the impact would be. I said, well, take a look at your paycheck, which shows deductions for the Medicare tax. Under the now-defunct GOP bill, the only people who would get a cut in their Medicare tax were couples making over $250,000 a year, he pointed out. Wydens listeners, he says, were beside themselves. Trump, himself, is also a powerful symbol of the way the wealthy are able to game the current tax codethe limited records that have been made public suggest he could have used several loopholes to dramatically reduce his own taxes.

Its those kinds of tax fairness issues that progressives are now hoping to rally people around as the reform debate heats up. One of the speakers in Washington, D.C. will be a fast food worker and Fight for $15 campaigner named Priscilla Evans, who, in prepared remarks, plans to talk about how the fast-food industry underpays its employees, forcing them to rely on taxpayer-funded public assistance. The labor union-backed Fight for $15, which is campaigning to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour around the country, is just one of roughly 70 progressive groups that have signed up as national co-sponsors of the march. Wyden and several Democrats in Congress are also scheduled to speak at the D.C. rally, which kicks off at the Capitol before marchers make their way down past the White House to the Lincoln Memorial.

Wyden says he plans to point to Trump to make the case the current system is broken. Youd like to think the president would say, hey, Id like to be part of the solution rather than contribute to the problem, which is what he is doing by breaking with 40 years of history and possibly taking advantage of some of the worst and most offensive abuses in the system.

Read the rest here:
With Marches, Progressives Enter the Tax Reform Debate - Newsweek

As Americans face Tuesdays deadline to pay their taxes, the Trump administration is hinting that tax reform is up soon on its agenda, with the president predicting it will be an easier political lift than the botched GOP attempt to replace Obamacare.

He may be optimistic, because a key aspect of the tax overhaul would likely hurt some of the blue-collar voters who helped Trump win the presidency. Its known as a border adjustment tax.

The provision, which is used in many other nations, wouldnt tax goods that are exported but would tax imported products at about 20 percent. Its goal is to encourage companies to make their products in the United States, keeping jobs here. It would also raise up to $1 trillion in revenue over 10 years, an inflow that will be needed as most of the GOP tax plans being floated in Washington propose cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to at most 20 percent.

But critics, including big-box retailers like Costco and Walmart that would have to pay the tax because they import most of their products, predict the average American family would pay $1,700 more a year to cover the resulting increase in the price of clothes, phones and other items on their shelves.

That would make life even tougher for Kailey Norris, a single mother who makes a little less than the nations median annual household income of $55,775. Covering that spike would wipe out the $1,000 Norris is trying to save every year.

Kailey Norris carries daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, into her preschool.

Kailey Norris carries daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, into her preschool.

I think things are pretty tight already. I would feel that, said Norris, a case manager at a San Francisco nonprofit who lives in Oakland with her 3-year-old daughter. Im paying for her school, and trying to pay for dance class, saving for her birthdays. And now Im looking at summer camps, and theyre really expensive.

I get what Trumps trying to do, Norris said. And it might not mean much to someone who makes a lot of money. But it would mean something to me.

People with a lot more money than Norris are concerned about its cost.

A new nationwide TV ad funded by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers organization rails against it: America voted for change, economic growth and to stop wasteful spending. But now, some members of Congress want a new, trillion-dollar ... consumer tax that could drive up your costs and hurt our economy. ... Tell Congress thats not the change were asking for.

Said Brent Gardner, chief government affairs officer for Americans for Prosperity, This is a tax aimed squarely at the Trump voter, and I hope this is one the administration will reject.

But Alan Auerbach, professor of economics and law at UC Berkeley who is known as the father of the border adjustment tax, dismissed the $1,700 increase as silly and outside the range of economic projections of what the tax might do. It also doesnt account for any tax cuts Americans may see under Trump or a stronger dollar as a result of the border tax change.

It would encourage companies to make their products in America, said Auerbach, who thinks it would also convince some Silicon Valley companies, such as Google and Apple, to stop basing operations in countries like Ireland, which have much lower corporate tax burdens.

If it sounds odd to hear somebody from Berkeley on the same political side as border tax supporter and Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, it is illustrative of how the tax has scrambled the usual partisan formations.

On one side are organizations backed by the free-trade-loving Kochs, standing shoulder to shoulder with progressive Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, and retailers like Walmart.

On the other side backing the tax are major manufacturers like Boeing, linking arms with Ryan, Rep. Wayne Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and Trump strategist Steve Bannon.

Leaning toward the border adjustment tax, but not quite fully committed to it, is Trump. Though it would seem to fit squarely into his America First ethos, he doesnt like calling it a border adjustment tax. To him, thats bad branding, as he explained on the Fox Business Network this week.

Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, The Chronicle

(l-r) Kailey Norris goofs around with her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, as she puts her in the car to go home from her pre-school in the Haight in in San Francisco, California, on Friday, April 14, 2017.

(l-r) Kailey Norris goofs around with her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, as she puts her in the car to go home from her pre-school in the Haight in in San Francisco, California, on Friday, April 14, 2017.

(r-l) Kailey Norris picks her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, from her pre-school in the Haight in San Francisco, California, on Friday, April 14, 2017.

(r-l) Kailey Norris picks her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, from her pre-school in the Haight in San Francisco, California, on Friday, April 14, 2017.

Khyla Robinson, 3, goofs around in her carseat as she gets driven by her mother Kailey Norris (not pictured) to her pre-school in Oakland, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Khyla Robinson, 3, goofs around in her carseat as she gets driven by her mother Kailey Norris (not pictured) to her pre-school in Oakland, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris stops to pet a dog named Taz (center) with owner John Keegan (left) as she walks from her car to her office in the Haight district of San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris stops to pet a dog named Taz (center) with owner John Keegan (left) as she walks from her car to her office in the Haight district of San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris walks from her car to her office in the Haight district of San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris walks from her car to her office in the Haight district of San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris walks from her car to her office in the Haight district of San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris walks from her car to her office in the Haight district of San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris sings with her daughter Khyla Robinson (not pictured) as she drives her to pre-school in Oakland, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris sings with her daughter Khyla Robinson (not pictured) as she drives her to pre-school in Oakland, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris (left) straps her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, (right) into her car seat as they make their way to pre-school in Oakland, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Kailey Norris (left) straps her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, (right) into her car seat as they make their way to pre-school in Oakland, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Below, Kailey Norris says goodbye to her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, at preschool in the Haight- Ashbury. Khyla hid in a cubby and didn't want her mom to leave.

Below, Kailey Norris says goodbye to her daughter Khyla Robinson, 3, at preschool in the Haight- Ashbury. Khyla hid in a cubby and didn't want her mom to leave.

Khyla Robinson, 3, goofs around in carseat as she gets driven by her mother Kailey Norris (not pictured) to her pre-school in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

Khyla Robinson, 3, goofs around in carseat as she gets driven by her mother Kailey Norris (not pictured) to her pre-school in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 13, 2017.

How a tax plan unites progressives, the Koch brothers and Walmart

I dont like the word adjustment, because our country gets taken advantage of, to use a nice term, by every other country in the world, Trump said. So when I hear border adjustment, adjustment means we lose. We lose. So I dont like the term border adjustment.

But when you say a reciprocal tax and Im not saying thats what Im doing but there has to be a certain reciprocal nature to it. But when you say reciprocal tax, nobody can get angry, Trump said. Which says more about semantics than tax policy.

In California, analysts say the tax would have a mixed effect on some of the states iconic industries. Even though the states agriculture sector is a net exporter, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau said the group is neutral on the tax.

Thats because while California farmers export around $25 billion worth of products annually, many also import equipment from overseas, said Dan Sumner, a professor of agriculture and economics who directs the University of California Agricultural Issues Center.

Sumner said farmers would be hurt if the tax triggers a trade war with some of Californias best export markets, like Mexico or the European Union.

Even though the United States has a loony corporate tax structure, we have to do this in a smart way, Sumner said. We dont want to create a system that takes away our big export destinations.

The tech industry is divided, too. As Hewlett-Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman told CNBC earlier this year: Everything that is in our products comes from overseas. That supply chain has taken 30 years to set up. So when all those components come in and are taxed, its not going to be good. This does not create jobs. It actually lowers the number of jobs for many, many companies.

But the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy and trade organization that represents 400 top tech companies, hasnt taken a position, and wont until it sees a more fleshed-out version of Trumps tax plan.

The border adjustment tax would significantly change how the innovation economy operates, as it has the potential of choosing winners and losers among some of the largest contributors to our economy, said Carl Guardino, the groups president.

Khanna, who represents parts of Silicon Valley and went on trade missions when he worked at the Commerce Department, worried about a trade war threatening global economic stability.

We shouldnt be the ones throwing bombs at a financial global stability that we stand to benefit the most from as a country, Khanna said. We would pay more as consumers. More for our laptops. More for clothes. Its really a tax on the middle class.

Politically, Khanna didnt understand why Trump would support it.

Its going to hurt many of the folks who voted for him, Khanna said, And thats why its very, very surprising that hes pushing this.

If prices for imported toys and clothes would rise, Norris doesnt know whether she would buy from local stores. Shed like to, but theyre usually a lot more expensive.

My concern is that people who can afford it are still going to pay whatever the new price is, she said. But thats not going to work for the rest of us who are on a budget.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli

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How a tax plan unites progressives, the Koch brothers and Walmart - San Francisco Chronicle

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Posted: Apr 16, 2017 12:01 AM

I did not intend to write about this story, but when I saw a picture of the teenager in question, I had to. He is 15-years-old, clearly a biological male. Look at his picture for yourself, mustache and all. As Joy Pullman notes on The Federalist, he has not taken drugs nor undergone surgery to mimic femininity. Yet he was allowed to compete against other girls in a recent sporting event, and to no ones surprise, he won quite handily, at that. Is this what is meant by equality?

In recent weeks, weve read about a female high-school wrestler who identifies as male and who has been taking testosterone to prepare to transition to male. Unsurprisingly, she defeated the other girls, all of whom are not taking testosterone.

We also read about a male weightlifter who now identifies as female. Unsurprisingly, he defeated the women he competed against, setting a new record along the way.

Other examples could be supplied as well, since this is becoming more and more common.

How is this fair? How can progressives and liberals and leftists and LGBT activists and their allies think this is right? And do the feminists of the world really want to engage in head-to-head athletic competition with their male peers?

If this was done in the world of professional sports, there would not be a single woman winning, let alone playing, at the elite, highest levels.

Not one female basketball player would earn a berth in the NBA. Not one female athlete would make it to the Olympics in swimming or rowing or weightlifting or skiing or running or jumping or hurdling or boxing. Not one.

Men would dominate in every event, and women would be relegated to cheerleading.

Thats why we have mens sports and womens sports, mens world records and womens world records. And that why we celebrate the accomplishments of female athletes as females rather than comparing them to males.

There is nothing sexist about this. There is nothing hateful about this. There is nothing condescending about this. This is a matter of fairness, equality, and common sense.

At least it should be. Today, common sense is in danger of extinction, and concepts like fairness and equality are turned upside down.

The 15-year-old in question goes by the name of Andraya Yearwood, and as the Hartford Courant reported, Andrayas first event with female peers was a cause for celebration: With family, friends and teammates cheering her on at her first high school track meet, Andraya won the girls 100- and 200-meter dashes, and helped her 4x100-meter relay team take second place.

What did this look like in person? One picture says it all, as Andraya leaves the other girls behind, girls who trained so hard for these events, only to be beaten by a boy. And I mean beaten decisively.

But Andrayas mother had a response to anyone would protest the event: I know they'll say it is unfair and not right, but my counter to that is: Why not? She is competing and practicing and giving her all and performing and excelling based on her skills. Let that be enough. Let her do that, and be proud of that.

What kind of logic is that? Because this 15-year-old biological male is competing and practicing and giving his all, that makes it fair and right for him to compete with his female peers? No matter what these other girls do, no matter how hard they try, no matter how much they push themselves, they will not be able to keep up with an equally devoted male peer. How is this fair and right to them?

Andrayas father is also supportive, saying that his son is competing just where he should be competing, also explaining that you are born into a particular body but you grow into being a particular person.

But athletic events are conducted in the body, regardless of how the person inside that body identifies. Yet when people ask Mr. Yearwood, Why is your daughter running with the girls? his response is, Because shes my daughter, much like the reason your daughter is running with girls.

With all respect to the Yearwood family, and with understanding that for them this was a matter of life and death for their child, what Mr. Yearwood is saying is patently false. His child is not running with the other girls the same way the other daughters are running, just like his child does not have to deal with monthly periods or female hormonal changes, since Andraya is not like the other girls.

But, you ask, what about Andraya? What if Andraya has gender dysphoria? What if identifying as female will save her life?

That is between Andraya and his family and the Lord. But Andrayas personal struggles cannot be imposed on everyone else, meaning, as a biological male, he has no business competing with other girls, or, for that matter, sharing their locker rooms and shower stalls. That is not the meaning of equality.

Even according to activist ideology, gender is a social construct but sex is biological. And when it comes to male and female athletic competition, we divide based on biological sex.

In the end, this is just one more example of why I believe LGBT activism will ultimately defeat itself.

You cannot wage a winning war against gender distinctions any more than you can redefine marriage while preserving its integrity. As expressed by Joy Pullmann, Its a pretty sure bet Americans did not expect tolerance for two consenting adults doing whatever behind closed doors to become a spearhead for forcing naked boys to shower next to naked girls and make girls second-class players on their own fields.

Exactly.

And so, I appeal to progressivists, leftists, feminists, and LGBT allies and their allies, along with all those who cherish fairness, equality, and justice. Look carefully at the trajectory of your activism, and ask yourself: Is this really the kind of world that you want?

12 Arrested as Rallies in Berkeley Turn Violent

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A Question for Leftists and Progressives: Is This What You Mean by 'Equality'? - Townhall

AlterNet

Fear Grows as Armed Trump Supporters Escalate Threats Against Progressives AlterNet Fear Grows as Armed Trump Supporters Escalate Threats Against Progressives. "There are a bunch of people on the Internet who are waiting for someone to tell them it's okay to start shooting at you." By Rick Perlstein / The Washington Spectator. April ... and more »

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Fear Grows as Armed Trump Supporters Escalate Threats Against Progressives - AlterNet