Priorities USA: News

Priorities USA Conducts Poll on Education Issues Facing Americans

Priorities USA — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 20:21:08 -0400

Global Strategy Group recently conducted a public opinion survey August 14-16, 2012 among 1,000 adults across ten states to measure attitudes surrounding the issue of education. Key findings from that survey are outlined below.

Education ranks high on the policy agenda and is considered as important an issue as addressing the federal budget deficit. Three-quarters (73%) of respondents believe education is an important issue for the federal government to address – on par with issues like the federal budget deficit (73%), health care (74%), and taxes (72%) and ahead of issues like national security (66%) and the environment (47%). The only issue significantly more important to respondents is jobs and the economy (90%).

Two out of three respondents (67%) do not think that the federal government is focusing enough on education. Of nine issues tested, education topped the list of issues that respondents believe are not getting enough attention. Education ranks well above issues like the deficit (53% say not enough focus), health care (39%) and taxes (39%).
This is especially true among women (70%) and younger adults (78%), ages 18-49, with seven out of ten believing that more of a focus should be on education.

On a list of 14 ideas tested to improve public school education in America, the top-testing items focused on linking education to the economy with job training and investments in math & science. The two best test-testing ideas are that America should:
“Focus education on real-world job training to prepare students for the jobs on tomorrow” (77% say this is an important goal).
“Expand math and science education for students to ensure America stays competitive in the global economy” (75% say this is an important goal).

Given support for the expansion on math and science education, it is no surprise that Americans are overwhelmingly supportive of the “federal government making significant investments aimed at improving public school achievement in math and science.” Nearly four out of five respondents (79%) support the federal government making such an investment. Importantly, 70% remain supportive of such an investment even after they are read an opposition argument saying that we cannot afford to be making such investments at the federal level due to the budget deficit.

Reagan was for taxing millionaires, says new Dem ad | CNN, 12/8/11

mstech — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:15:41 -0500

(CNN) - An independent group backing President Barack Obama's reelection campaign will hit airwaves Thursday with an ad reminding voters of former Pres. Ronald Reagan's stance on taxes.

The 30-second spot, from the Democratic group Priorities USA, uses a mock newscast to showcase the former Republican president advocating for higher taxes on millionaires.

Reagan is shown saying, "We're going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. They sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing, while a bus driver was paying 10% of his salary – and that's crazy. Do you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver?"

An announcer follows up, asking, "Ronald Reagan supported millionaires paying their fair share. Don't you?"

Priorities USA says the ad will run on broadcast TV in Iowa, which kicks off the presidential caucus and primary calendar, and on national cable.

Reagan supported millionaires paying their fair share

mstech — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:53:40 -0500

VIDEO: NEW PRIORITIES USA AD: Featuring President Ronald Wilson Reagan Asking Wealthy to Pay Their Fair Share

Priorities USA today launched an ad calling on Republicans in Congress to reform a tax system that favors millionaires and billionaires over the middle class. The ad features a ‘Special Guest’—President Ronald Reagan—who makes a compelling case for a tax system in which middle class Americans are treated fairly and the wealthy pay their fair share.

“Today's Congressional Republicans insist on bringing our nation to the brink by forcing a tax policy that puts an unfair burden on middle class families when they can least afford it,” said Bill Burton, Senior Strategist, Priorities USA. “Republicans should listen to President Reagan and, as he said, ‘close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share.'

Ensuring that millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share, while giving middle-class Americans a tax cut should not be a Republican or a Democratic issue. But the sad truth is the tax policy proposed by Congressional Republicans is out of step with the middle class and out of step with President Reagan."

The 30-second ad will run Iowa, on national cable and online. YouTube link to ad: http://youtu.be/3YYP3pqrGcQ.

Priorities USA is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to mobilizing Americans to preserve, protect and promote the middle class, and to ensure opportunity and freedom for the next generation.

BACKGROUND

In 1986 speech on tax policy, President Reagan explained how tax loopholes allow the wealthy to pay lower taxes than the middle class. Ronald Reagan said, “We’re going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that have allowed some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share. In theory, some of those loopholes were understandable, but in practice they sometimes made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing while a bus driver was paying 10% of his salary, and that’s crazy. […] Do you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver?” [The American Presidency Project, 12/6/11; Video]

Congressional Research Service: Many American millionaires pay federal income taxes at a lower rate than moderate income Americans. According to the Washington Post, “The report, by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, found that when all federal taxes are taken into account — including those on wages, investment income and corporate profits — some households earning more than $1 million a year paid as little as 24 percent of their income to the Internal Revenue Service in 2006. That’s substantially less than the share paid by many families making less than $100,000 a year that faced a top effective tax rate exceeding 26.5 percent, the report said.” [Washington Post, 10/12/11]

Extension of the payroll tax cut failed due to Republican opposition to a millionaire’s tax. [Politico, 12/1/11; Los Angeles Times, 12/1/11]

Payroll tax cut is worth $1000 on average to the middle class. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Because the current payroll tax holiday expires at the end of the year, it has a potent political force. If Congress fails to extend the cut, virtually all workers will see a tax increase come Jan. 1 that would average $1,000. That not only could be politically unpopular, but might create a drag on the economy.” [Los Angeles Times, 9/9/11]

The Republican budget passed by the House of Representatives would raise taxes for the middle class. According to the Center for American Progress, “For one thing, the basic math makes a middle-class tax hike unavoidable. The rate cut at the top, of course, benefits only those in the top brackets (the richest 2 percent of Americans), but to pay for this, Rep. Ryan says he will “broaden the tax base.” Broadening the tax base means removing some tax expenditures that currently benefit both the middle class and the rich—though remember that the rich are getting a huge rate cut. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/11]

The Republican budget pass by the House of Representatives has numerous tax cuts targeted at the wealthy. [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/6/11; Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 4/8/11; Alan Blinder Op-Ed in Wall Street Journal, 4/19/11]

Billionaires With 1% Tax Rates | CNN, 12/7/11

mstech — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:22:30 -0500

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- In case you haven't heard, President Obama wants the wealthiest to pay more in taxes.

Noting the rise in income inequality in recent years and the need to reform the U.S. tax system, the president on Tuesday said that some of the wealthiest in America pay far less in federal taxes as a percentage of their income than many lower down the income scale.

"A quarter of all millionaires now pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households. Some billionaires have a tax rate as low as 1%," Obama said in a speech in Kansas.

Here are some of the facts behind the claim: In 2006 roughly 25% of those with adjusted gross incomes over $1 million paid a smaller portion of their income in federal taxes -- income, payroll and corporate -- than 10% of those with AGIs below $100,000, according to a recent study from the Congressional Research Service.

Support Our Students, Save Pell Grants

PrioritiesUSA — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 17:59:00 -0500

Pell Grants are a critical investment in America’s future. They put higher education within reach for many lower and middle-income families who might not have been otherwise able to afford college.

VIDEO: First Priorities USA Ad: Oppose the Republican Plan to Cut Higher Education

PrioritiesUSA — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:57:00 -0500

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Priorities USA today launched its first ad urging defeat of the Republican plan that would make the largest cuts to Pell Grants in history. Instead, Washington should take common-sense steps to make college more affordable, like the recent Obama Administration proposal to allow graduates to consolidate student loans at lower interest rates.

“The Republican plan would dramatically cut student grants and put college out of reach for many Americans in order to provide even more tax cuts for big corporations and the wealthy,” said Bill Burton, Senior Strategist for Priorities USA. “Instead of cutting higher education, Washington should be taking immediate action to make college more affordable for middle class families.”

Pell Grants provide a critical pathway to college for millions of students who might not otherwise be able to afford higher education. Proposed Republican cuts would make 1.7 million students ineligible for Pell Grants forcing to them to take on further debt or even forego college altogether. Further information about the importance of Pell Grants is available at www.prioritiesusa.org.

Priorities USA is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to mobilizing Americans to preserve, protect and promote the middle class, and to ensure opportunity and freedom for thenext generation.

Background:

Chronicle of HigherEducation: “If enacted, the reductions would be the largest cut in student-aid funds in the history of the Pell Grant program.” According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Pell Grants cuts proposed by the Republican Congress would be the largest cut in student-aid funds in the history of the program. [Chronicle of Higher Education, 2/13/11]

Republicans Proposed Largest Cut to Student Grants in History. According to Mark Kantrowitz, the founder of leading college aid site fastweb.com, “The Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives released a proposal on Friday that would cut the maximum Pell Grant to $4,015… While the goal is to roll back government spending to 2008 levels, the legislative proposal hurts Pell Grant funding more severely than other budget items. The recent increases in the maximum Pell Grant compensated for four years of no or negligible increases during the Bush administration. The maximum Pell Grant was essentially flat from 2002-03 to2006-07. The proposed cut in the maximum Pell Grant will be the largest cut in student aid funding in the history of the Pell Grant program.” [Kantrowitz in Huffington Post, 2/13/11]

Republican Plan Would Mean 1.7 Million Students No Longer Qualify for Pell Grants. According to Kantrowitz, “This proposal will cause more than a million students to lose eligibility for the Pell Grant. Every $100 change in the maximum Pell Grant currently corresponds to about 200,000 recipients. The proposed cut in the maximum Pell Grant would mean that 1.7 million low-income students would no longer qualify for the Pell Grant, almost a fifth of current recipients. The remaining recipients would have their Pell Grants cut severely.” [Kantrowitz in Huffington Post, 2/13/11]

Center for AmericanProgress: Republican Plan Would Be Largest Cuts in History. According to the Center for American Progress, “If implemented, this would be the largest reduction in Pell Grants in history,more than eight times higher than the previous record, which was a $100 reduction in the maximum award in 1994.” [Center for American Progress, 4/5/11]

Administration Plan will Allow Some Borrowers to Consolidate Loans at a Lower Interest Rate. According to the Washington Post, “nearly 6 million borrowers who have more than one federal student loan will be allowed to consolidate their debt, in some cases reducing their interest rates by up to half a percentage point, White House officials said.” [Washington Post, 10/26/11]

Administration PlanAllows Borrowers to Refinance Loans at a Lower Interest Rate. “The centerpiece of the Obama plan would allow the estimated 5.8 million people who hold both direct government student loans and government-backed private loans to consolidate their debts into one government loan. The switch would help borrowers because the U.S. would essentially be refinancing the private loan at the lower government rate.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/26/11]

Putting Millionaires Before Jobs | New York Times, 11/3/11

PrioritiesUSA — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:55:00 -0400

There’s nothing partisan about a road or a bridge or an airport; Democrats and Republicans have voted to spend billions on them for decades and long supported rebuilding plans in their own states.

An Analysis of the Obama Jobs Plan | Moody's. 9/9/11

PrioritiesUSA — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:55:00 -0400

President Obama’s much-anticipated jobs plan is a laudable effort to support the struggling economy.

The Republican jobs plan: stop environmental regulations | Washington Post, 8/29/11

PrioritiesUSA — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:55:00 -0400

In the 2010 midterm elections Republicans ran on a platform of repeal and replace — cancel President Obama’s signature health-care law, and replace it with a GOP plan.

Pew: 71% of Americans say “This country should do whatever it takes to protect the environment.” | Climate Progress, 5/9/11

PrioritiesUSA — Mon, 09 May 2011 17:55:00 -0400

A new Pew Poll “Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology” finds strong support for the environment and clean energy.

Why Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan is so flawed | Washington Post, 4/11/11

PrioritiesUSA — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:55:00 -0400

Just over a year ago, I wrote a column praising Rep. Paul Ryan’s Roadmap. I called its ambition “welcome, and all too rare.” I said its dismissal of the status quo was “a point in its favor.”

Reform, don’t cut, Pell Grants | Duke Chronicle, 3/24/11

PrioritiesUSA — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:00:00 -0400

If Republicans in Congress have their way, it may become even more difficult for America’s neediest to attend college.

U.S. lags in clean-energy investment, study finds | Chicago Tribune, 3/24/2010

PrioritiesUSA — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:00:00 -0400

China overtook the United States for the first time last year in the race to invest in wind, solar and other sources of so-called clean energy, according to a new report that raises questions of American competitiveness in a booming global market.