WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, May 2nd, the Congressional Progressive Caucus released their annual alternative budget, The People’s Budget: A Roadmap for the Resistance, for Fiscal Year 2018. The People’s Budget outlines a progressive vision for America that puts economic and political power in the hands of working families – not billionaires and profitable corporations. The CPC’s budget invests in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure in a sustainable way, all while creating millions of new jobs. The People’s Budget prioritizes funding for education, health care, jobs, clean air, and water.
Since its release, the People’s Budget has received praise from economists, journalists, and advocates. Below is a list of some press hits and blog posts written about the budget. The People’s Budget is also supported by over 60 organizations.
Center for Economic and Policy Research by Dean Baker: The Congressional Progressive Caucus Budget: A Different Path Forward
The Congressional Progressive Caucus released its annual budget today (full plan here). If past patterns hold, it will likely be ignored by the media. Of course the budget is not about to be adopted by Congress and signed by the president, but as a path forward it certainly is no less realistic than the various budgets put forward in past years by now Speaker Paul Ryan. These budgets effectively called for the elimination of the whole federal government except the military, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Nonetheless, the Ryan budgets were taken serious in Washington policy circles and even earned him a "Fiscy" award from a coalition of Peter Peterson funded groups.
The budget outlines a progressive agenda for the next decade. Put simply it cuts what the Republicans want to expand (i.e. military spending) and increases what the Republicans want to cut, such as funding for universal pre-kindergarten, Social Security, and health care spending. There is much there and I encourage people to read the EPI summary to which I linked. I will pick two items that I want to highlight.
Huffington Post by Nancy Altman: Social Security Has No Place In Budget Discussions. The Congressional Progressive Caucus is to be applauded for seeing this when other politicians don’t. And the People’s Budget deserves our support.
Recognizing Social Security for the solution that it is while making clear that its funds are dedicated exclusively to the sole purpose of funding earned benefits (and the associated administrative costs) should not be a novel position. The Congressional Progressive Caucus is to be applauded for seeing this when other politicians don’t. The CPC deserves our gratitude. And the People’s Budget deserves our support.
The other budgets, which appear to commingle Social Security’s dedicated, segregated revenue with general taxes deserves our condemnation, explain why so many Americans believe that their Social Security contributions have been stolen by their government, diverted to some unauthorized purpose.
The Washington Post by James Downie: This new budget points the way forward for Democrats
On Tuesday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus — led by Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) — released its annual “People’s Budget” for 2018. The CPC has produced a budget for years, but with the party at a crossroads, this edition may be the most important ever. Democrats should recognize its ideas as an inspiration for the party going forward.
The People’s Budget starts by acknowledging a problem that most leaders acknowledge but few have addressed: the country’s crumbling infrastructure. It provides $2 trillion over 10 years to repair bridges and tunnels, revitalize mass transit, replace contaminated water systems, rebuild public schools and more. Furthermore, weak wage growth and other indicators demonstrate that the economy remains short of where it was before the Great Recession, and infrastructure investment can provide badly needed jobs that will help propel the economy to new heights. The Economic Policy Institute projects that the People’s Budget would add 2.4 million jobs and increase GDP by 2 percent in the near term.
Common Dreams by EPI: The Progressive Caucus Budget is the Road Map to a More Equal Economy
WASHINGTON - An EPI Policy Center analysis of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s The People’s Budget: A Roadmap for the Resistance, a budget alternative for fiscal year 2018, shows that the budget would raise incomes and put the United States on a path to a fairer, more equal economy. The fiscal boost provided by the People’s Budget would increase GDP by 2 percent and create 2.4 million jobs over the first two years of its implementation, as long as the Federal Reserve didn’t increase interest rates in response. It would bring us to 4 percent unemployment while boosting long-run productivity growth through public investment. The budget would increase near-term deficits to boost job creation, but reduce the deficit in 2019 and beyond.
McClatchy Bureau by Lesley Clark: Trump and the Democrats’ Sanders-Warren wing find common budget ground
Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., said he was still reviewing the measure, but was encouraged there was money to address the city of Flint’s water crisis. The group unveiled its own budget proposal Tuesday, calling for preschool for all and $2 trillion in infrastructure spending through 2027.
“I understand we were up against the White House and both chambers of Congress, by that measure we did a great job,” Ellison said. “But still, is this what we would have done? No.”
Roll Call by Andrew Breiner: Progressives’ ‘People's Budget’ Becomes ‘Roadmap for the Resistance
With the subtitle “A Roadmap for the Resistance,” the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ “People's Budget,” isn't shy about its purpose in the Trump Era.
As Rep. Barbara Lee summarized it: “In stark contrast to President Trump’s cruel poverty budget, our progressive proposal is a plan for resistance and a roadmap to a safer, healthier and more prosperous America for all.”
While Democrats and Republicans fighting to claim victory in the deal on the fiscal 2017 spending plan, progressive Democrats are dreaming bigger.
The Nation by Robert Borosage: This Budget Plan Is a Roadmap for the Resistance
It presents a compelling alternative to Donald Trump’s “skinny budget.” Unlike Trump’s fanciful promises, it offers a sensible path out of the hole that we are in. Its values and priorities reflect those of the majority of Americans. The Progressive Caucus frames its budget around the central challenge of our time: how to make this economy work for working people, and redress the savage inequality that is undermining our democracy. It offers a strategy to get there, and a budget framed to support that strategy.”
Not surprisingly, this makes it an outlier in the beltway debate.
The Week by Ryan Cooper: The Democrats are getting ready to govern again
The Congressional Progressive Caucus is not an organization that gets a lot of press attention. With the Democrats out of power, they've been ignored as powerless fringe figures, with a scant 75 members in the House and one in the Senate to their name.
Yet there are plenty of reasons to start paying closer attention to them — especially this week, as they've just released their yearly budget plan. There is a strong chance in the future that the CPC budget will be the basic policy framework for the Democratic Party, which has a solid chance to retake power within the next few years.
OurFuture.org by Isaiah J. Poole: Progressive Caucus Budget Turns Resistance Into Policy, Rebukes Trump
To people who argue that the resistance to President Trump amounts to protest without a plan, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has delivered a detailed and robust rebuke.
Its fiscal 2018 budget proposal, subtitled “A Roadmap for the Resistance,” is virtually a point-by-point rebuttal of Trump administration policies, and offers plans for completing the work of economic recovery that has been thwarted by Republican-imposed fiscal austerity that began with the Tea Party takeover of Congress in 2010.
Common Dreams by Deirdre Fulton: Opposing Trump’s “Moral Chaos,” People’s Budget Offers Roadmap for Resistance
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) on Tuesday unveiled its “People’s Budget,” offering a vision of economic equality and fairness that comes in sharp contrast to the Trump administration’s “slash-and-burn approach to governing based on ideological extremism.”
The People’s Budget: A Roadmap for the Resistance (pdf) includes a $2 trillion infrastructure investment; closes corporate tax loopholes; ensures families don’t pay more than 10 percent of their income for childcare; and supports progressive measures such as a minimum wage increase, clean energy expansion, and debt-free college. Bottom line, the caucus said Tuesday, the document “puts political and economic power back in the hands of the people.”
Daily Kos by Michael Kane: Stop Trump’s Budget Cuts! Pass the Peoples Budget to Save Our Homes!
There is an alternative to the Republican “Death Budget.” The “Peoples Budget” released by the Congressional Progressive Caucus on May 2, presents an alternative vision to invest in housing, jobs and $2 trillion for infrastructure; ensure clean air and water and renewable energy; increase, not cut, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; strengthen, not repeal, the Affordable Care Act; fund, not privatize, public education; end corporate tax loopholes, tax the 1%, and redirect wasteful Pentagon spending to meet domestic needs.
In stark contrast to Trump’s proposals for HUD, the Peoples Budget proposes to increase CDBG and HOME grants to cities and the National Housing Trust Fund to build much needed new housing. The Peoples Budget would provide $32 billion for the backlog of repairs in Public Housing; fully fund Public Housing operating budgets; and increase Section 8 Vouchers by 400,000. The Peoples Budget also would provide $12.8 billion for Rep. Waters bill to End Homelessness in America.
Rising Up With Sonali (94.1 KPFA) by Sonali Kolhatkar: People’s Budget Offers Progressive Vision for Govt Spending
As the Republican Party and Donald Trump reach a spending agreement to avert a government shutdown, we’ll turn today to Hunter Blair of the Economic Policy Institute to explore a progressive vision of government spending.
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The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the House Democratic Caucus, with over 70 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and promote civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, a $15 national minimum wage, fair trade, gun violence reform, debt-free college, and making the federal government a Model Employer.
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