Evidence of Design

In this episode we cover the latest on raising the minimum wage and establishing universal basic income.

Minimum wage: The Senate recently voted 58-42 to not overrule the Senate Parliamentarian's opinion that the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 could not be included as part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, on grounds that it did not meet requirements for the reconciliation procedure being used to pass the aforementioned. It's incredibly disappointing--to say the least--that zero Senate Republicans support raising the wages of 32 million Americans. It's also disappointing that all Democrats are not wielding government power to make material benefits to people's lives, power Republicans would surely use to punish most others. The federal minimum wage is not a living wage. If we are to create the conditions for a capitalist society, human beings deserve a living wage.

Universal basic income: A recent study of a universal basic income program in Stockton, California reveals how recipients of UBI experienced increased employment and productivity; reduced stress, depression, and anxiety; increased ability to pay off debt; and the spending of money on necessities, not frivolous items or illegal items. UBI should be considered as a serious and pertinent policy for meeting human needs, boosting economic activity, and contributing to social cohesion.

Thanks for joining us.

In this episode we discuss proposals to raise taxes on ultra-millionaires and billionaires in NYS. COVID-19 has both created and exacerbated economic crises for millions of New Yorkers, and New York faces a $15 billion budget shortfall this year, with tens of billions of dollars expected in shortfalls for years to come if things do not change.

To combat these issues, a growing group of NYS Legislators is proposing bills to raise taxes on the wealthiest. The Invest in Our New York Act combines many of these bills, including: (1) establishing more of a progressive income tax structure by raising the tax rates on those making around $300,000 a year or above, (2) increasing the capital gains tax to tax capital gains similarly to income, (3) increasing the "heir's tax" to ensure the exorbitant intergenerational wealth of the state's wealthiest is subject to fair taxation, (4) establishing a billionaire's tax specifically aimed at fairly taxing New York's 120 billionaires collectively worth over $600 billion, (5) increasing the corporate tax to the level seen before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and (6) establishing a tax on financial transactions in the financial markets, similar to what's seen in other financial centers like London and Hong Kong. If passed, these efforts would raise over $50 billion for New York State, helping fund social services for ALL New Yorkers.

Thanks for joining us.

In this episode we talk about the Fight for $15. Wages in general, and the minimum wage in particular, have decreased in purchasing power in the U.S. over the past 50 years. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, which is around $15,000 per year for someone who works full-time in a minimum wage job. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the current minimum wage is 29% lower than what it was in 1968, when adjusted for inflation. When adjusted for productivity growth, the minimum wage should be around $24 an hour today.

Although 29 states have a minimum wage above the federal rate of $7.25 an hour, the vast majority of states do not have a $15 minimum wage, and we argue no state has a minimum wage that is a living wage.

Democrats propose raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour through the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, as part of their proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package. After this show aired, we learned that the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could not include their minimum wage provision as part of the stimulus package, making the minimum wage increase nearly impossible to pass without any Republican support. Still, the fight does and should continue.

We also cover the University of Rochester announcing that it will guarantee a $15 minimum wage for all of its positions by the end of 2022, and we cover the winter weather and power outages in Texas which is a perfect storm (pun intended!) of climate change, privatization, de-regulation, lack of belief in and funding for a strong government, and a culture of individualism.

Thanks for joining us.

In this episode we revisit the top political stories of the past year in Rochester, NY. Local news can be harder to follow than national news, and it's been a dizzying year of events.

From Democrats winning, for the first time in decades, the County Executive in 2019, to the Republicans attempting to pass the CABLE Act and passing a later-repealed "police annoyance law." From Democratic party infighting over their Elections Commissioner, to the murder of Daniel Prude, to infighting over this year's budget, all the way to this week's latest news: the RPD handcuffing and pepper spraying a 9-year old girl.

Thanks for joining us.

In this episode we discuss Lyft and Gamestop.

Ride-sharing company Lyft recently instituted a new policy for its drivers called "priority mode." If drivers opt-in to priority mode, Lyft's algorithms, which match drivers with customers wanting a ride, will give drivers priority over non-priority mode drivers, meaning priority mode drivers will be more likely to be given more work so they can, in theory, make more money. The catch? Priority mode drivers' hourly pay rate will be reduced by 10%.

This effectively means more work for less pay for many of the most vulnerable workers in our increasingly gig economy. That is entirely antithetical to the "logic" of the free market, where increased productivity and increased labor should equate to more pay, not less. People shouldn't be expected to do more work for less pay.

We also discuss Gamestop's meteoric stock rise thanks to r/WallStreetBets and how this is a great example showing the perverse, non-productive, and manipulative qualities of our financialized economy.

Thanks for joining us.

In this episode we discuss the best photo of 2021...Bernie Sanders sitting bundled up during Biden's inauguration. We never thought there'd be a better photo than the dude stealing the Speaker's Podium during the June 6th incursion into the capital, but this just might do it.

We also discuss the first acts of the Biden presidency, including signing 17 executive orders on his first day in office. Among these orders are a cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, a stoppage of border wall construction, an abolition of the 1776 commission, a 100 day mask challenge, a recommittment to the WHO and the Paris Climate Accords, and more, a nationwide extension of the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, an extension on the pause of federal student loan interest accrual and payments, and more.

Good stuff, but Democrats should continue to push as hard and as fast as they can for a material politics than benefits America's working and poor classes and to strengthen or reform some institutions in the interests of Democratic sustainability.

Thanks for joining us.

In this episode we discuss Trump's ban on Twitter and Facebook. We believe the ban isn't a perfect solution, but it's long overdue.

We also discuss Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package, pledging more unemployment assistance and stimulus checks and funding state and local governments.

Thanks for joining us.

Wednesday, January 6th, 2021 was a red letter day in American history. We woke up to surprising news of Democrats winning both run-off Senate seats in Georgia, tipping the balance of power in the Senate. We went to bed to even more surprising news of pro-Trump supporters invading the U.S. capital over factually, empirically, objectively false information.

We'll offer our takes on both momentous events.

Firstly, we hope that Democrats use their majority in government throughout the first two years of Biden's administration to try to pass as progressive legislation as possible, the kind that will benefit all Americans. This includes (1) drastically increasing taxes on the wealthiest to fund social programs like health care as a human right, (2) taking a strong stance on climate change by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels by incentivizing the creation of jobs and training programs in the renewable energy sector, and (3) refining American democracy by doing such things as mandating presidents to have to release their tax returns, revitalization the Voting Rights Act, and increasing transparency in and limiting the opportunities for corporate/private campaign contributions.

Secondly, we hope that people recognize that while the pro-Trump supporters who stormed the capitol certainly exhibited poor behavior for a deplorable cause, the true coup that day was the one carried out by the nearly 10 Republican Senators and 139 Republican House of Representatives members who did not vote to certify the free and fair 2020 U.S. general election results. The true, long lasting stain on American democracy isn't just Trump or his manipulated supporters, but the morally and intellectually bankrupt policies and practices of the Republican party that got us to where we are today.

Thanks for joining us.

In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, systemic racism, unjust policing, and Governor Cuomo's Executive Order 203, cities around New York State are pulling together teams to examine how policing can change.

In Rochester, the Police Accountability Board is helping spearhead this change process. As part of a larger working group, they released a draft plan as to how policing should change in Rochester.

You can see the draft plan--and share your own ideas for change--here: https://www.cityofrochester.gov/pab/answers/.

In this episode we some of the proposed changes. Thanks for joining us.

Dr. Kevin Meuwissen, associate professor and coordinator of the social studies education program at the University of Rochester's Warner School of Education joins us for a conversation on civic engagement. How do youth come to understand politics? Are all forms of political engagement good, or can political engagement also be destructive? What is being politically engaged good for, anyway?

In the pantheon of the English language, the phrase “civic engagement” doesn’t win awards for being exciting. Despite literally being about “engagement,” there aren't many things less, well, engaging. What’s invoked are cold marble statues of long-dead Greek men. Idols to the founders of civics to which Western Civilization is happy to pay homage in words more than deeds.

But perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not beholden to an object itself. Maybe what rescues “civic engagement” from this pessimistic purgatory is not a corporate rebranding or linguistic wordsmithing, but a re-realization that civic engagement means more than tax bills, voter IDs, and “Don’t tread on me” flags.

Civic engagement is also about participating in the defining of society and what it means to live in said society. It’s about building the complex web of connections and articulations of power that come to manifest as our reality. Sound complex? To boil it down to its rudest element, both your actions and inaction have power, and in complex alchemical ways all of our actions and inaction come to define our society.

We’re here to talk about civic engagement, dust off those old, cold statues and, most importantly, build some new ones along the way.