WHAT DEMOCRATS NEED TO DO
Democrats should be loudly and consistently opposing Trump, his nominees, and the congressional Republicans’ agenda. But they aren’t doing so. Furthermore, dramatic ACTION is needed. Democrats also need to put forth a powerful and coherent vision and agenda for America. They should establish a shadow cabinet to critique the Trump administration, promote a Democratic agenda, and explain how it would benefit everyday working Americans. They should promote policies that provide economic security for all and that require the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes.
(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)
Democrats should be loudly and consistently opposing Trump, his nominees, and the congressional Republicans’ agenda. But they aren’t doing so. Some of them supported passage of the continuing budget resolution, voted to confirm Trump nominees, and are poised to pass a bill leaving the cryptocurrency industry largely unregulated, among other things.
Speaking out against the actions and agenda of Trump and the Republicans is important but it’s not enough. Dramatic ACTION is needed. Senator Corey Booker’s (D-NJ) 25-hour filibuster was excellent – both in content and in the action itself. Senator Booker’s and Representative Hakim Jeffries’s (D-NY) 12-hour teach-in on the steps of the capitol was great – again both in content and action. The Fighting Oligarchy tour by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is powerful in content and as action.
Democrats need to be taking more dramatic actions and using outside-the-box strategies. Perhaps they should undertake:
A sit-in in the House or Senate chamber to bring legislative action to a halt.
A march by veterans from Congress and the public to the Pentagon demanding that Secretary of Defense Hegseth resign.
A protest blocking access to the White House demanding the return of Abrego Garcia and others who have been illegally deported and the release of Khalil and others who have been illegally detained.
There is a war going on for the attention of the public and the mainstream media, but Democrats are fighting a machine gun with a cap gun. (By the way, the mainstream media are NOT liberal. Can you imagine the headlines if President Biden or any other Democrat did the things that Trump and his administration are doing?)
To win the attention war and the support of the public, as well as to energize voters, the Democrats need to do more. In addition to opposing Trump, they need to put forth a powerful and coherent vision and agenda for America. They should establish a shadow cabinet that is holding a press conference every day critiquing the performance of Trump cabinet members AND stating what they would do differently and how the Democratic policies and actions would benefit everyday working Americans.
Here are some policies Democrats ought to be promoting and committing to enact when they are back in power:
America 250: The Money Agenda put forth for America’s 250th birthday by the group Patriotic Millionaires. It calls for four pieces of legislation:
o A Cost of Living Exemption (COLE) Act that would mean that no individual would pay federal income tax if their income was under the median cost of living for a single adult. Currently, this is about $42,000 and a single person with this income now pays about $2,500 in federal income tax. This tax cut would be paid for by increasing the income tax on those with over $1 million in income.
o A Cost of Living Act establishing a federal minimum wage of $21 per hour, which would be about $42,000 per year for full-time work. This would provide a living wage to a single individual working full-time.
o An Equal Tax Act that would have those with over $1 million in income pay the same tax rate on capital gains (i.e., profits from investments) as workers pay on ordinary, earned income, rather than the preferential, lower rate they now pay. In addition, it would eliminate the ability of the wealthy to pass on investments to heirs without anyone ever paying any tax on the gain in the value of the investments.
o The Anti-Oligarch Act that would tax the investment gains and wealth of the ultra-rich.
A clear, concise critique of how corrupt our system of capitalism has become and how it harms everyday working Americans. (See previous posts for some details here, here, here, here, and here.) They should promote and commit to enacting when they’re in power: [1]
o The Accountable Capitalism Act that would require any corporation with over $1 billion in revenue to 1) responsibly serve ALL stakeholders including employees, consumers, the public, and the environment; 2) have at least 40% of its Board of Directors be employees; and 3) get a vote of 75% of shareholders for any political spending over $10,000.
o The Stop Wall Street Looting Act that would end the vulture capitalism of private equity firms. It would 1) stop the use of huge amounts of debt to acquire control of corporations; 2) make private equity owners liable for losses at firms they control and stop their abuse of bankruptcy laws; 3) prohibit exorbitant payments to private equity owners that often push firms they control into bankruptcy; and 4) prohibit private equity firms from selling the property of hospitals to real estate investment trusts, which is a common technique used to enrich themselves and push hospitals into financial distress.
o Better management, accountability, and oversight of government contractors. Private, for-profit contractors are a growing portion of the federal budget, especially in defense and health. Multiple studies have found that government employees are more efficient than contractors, and they are more accountable and transparent. For-profit contractors are looking to maximize profit, so they charge the government as much as they can and deliver the cheapest (which generally means lowest quality) goods and services they can get away with. Therefore, strong management, oversight, and accountability measures are necessary to ensure taxpayers are getting good value for their money. (See this previous post for more details.)
o Stopping tax cheating by wealthy individuals and corporations. President Biden provided needed funding to the IRS to increase enforcement of our tax laws and make sure that wealthy individuals and corporations pay what they owe. Such IRS funding is estimated to bring in $2.50 in revenue from tax cheats for every $1 spent. Republicans in Congress immediately began working to remove the additional enforcement funding from the IRS and the Trump administration has accelerated this defunding of the IRS. In 2022, the IRS estimated that the over $600 billion in taxes owed was not paid with the wealthiest 1% of individuals responsible for over a quarter of this amount. [2]
These are policies Democrats should be promising for our economy and the economic well-being of all Americans. My next post will highlight some polices that Democrats should promise in the social services arena including health care reforms, drug price reductions, enhancements to Medicare, and ensuring long-term funding for Social Security.
If any of your members of Congress are Democrats, I urge you to contact them and ask them to step up their resistance and to promote these policies. You can find contact information for your US Representative at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and for your US Senators at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.
[1] Kuttner, R., 2/6/25, “Corrupted capitalism and dithering Democrats,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/politics/2025-02-06-corrupted-capitalism-dithering-democrats/)
[2] Dayen, D., 1/27/25, “We found the $2 trillion,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/economy/2025-01-27-we-found-the-2-trillion-elon-musk-doge/)