American Dream Week August 7, 2017August 6, 2017 In case you missed it, the White House dubbed last week “American Dream Week.” That (not a quartet of rebukes) was its intended theme. I herewith hand the microphone over to the Democratic National Committee, of which I am no longer treasurer, but in whose success I remain deeply invested, as should we all. (And by whose recent hiring of Raffi Krikorian to be Chief Technology Officer — obviously, a key role in today’s election world — I am encouraged. He was one of the geniuses at Twitter and Uber. When I saw the press release, I pinged Megan Smith, formerly Chief Technology Officer of the United States. “Hey, do you know him? How are you with this choice?” Megan, who’s been privately and constructively critical of the DNC in the past, replied: “He is beyond extraordinary. We are so lucky.” This buoys my spirits, and I hope yours. Technology underpins everything.) Anyhow, here’s how the DNC communications shop that you pay for summed up the week: During ‘American Dream’ Week, Trump Threatens The American Dream Trump has spent “American Dream” week taking steps that would threaten the American dream for families across the country. Trump threatened the healthcare of millions, he pushed for tax cuts that would benefit millionaires, billionaires and corporations, at the expense of working families, he endorsed a bill to cut legal immigration that could hurt the economy, and he turned back the clock on civil rights. And to top it off, yesterday Trump’s top policy advisor attacked the Statue of Liberty, the very symbol of the American dream. Trump endorsed legislation that would make dramatic cuts to legal immigration and reduce avenues for family members to unite with U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents – even raising fears that it would hurt the U.S. economy. Washington Post: “President Trump endorsed a steep cut in legal immigration on Wednesday. Economists say that’s a ‘grave mistake.’ A Washington Post survey of 18 economists in July found that 89 percent believe it’s a terrible idea for Trump to curb immigration to the United States. Experts overwhelmingly predict it would slow growth — the exact opposite of what Trump wants to do with ‘MAGAnomics.’” Politico: “The Cotton-Perdue legislation would also mark a broader shift away from the current immigration system, which favors those with family currently in the U.S., toward a merit-based approach. It would, for example, increase the number of green cards — which allow for permanent residency in the U.S. — that are granted on the basis of merit to foreigners in a series of categories including outstanding professors and researchers, those holding advanced degrees, and those with extraordinary ability in a particular field.” Kevin Appleby, Senior Director For The Center For Migration Studies: “‘This is just a fundamental restructuring of our immigration system which has huge implications for the future,’ said Kevin Appleby, the senior director of international migration policy for the Center for Migration Studies. ‘This is part of a broader strategy by this administration to rid the country of low-skilled immigrants they don’t favor in favor of immigrants in their image.’” Trump threatened to stop making cost sharing reduction payments, which could hurt millions of Americans. CNN Money: “If Trump makes good on his threat to stop paying the subsidies, he would likely precipitate Obamacare’s implosion. Insurers would probably flee the exchanges in 2018, if not before. That could leave millions of Americans without any options for subsidized coverage in the individual market.” CNN Money: “Insurers, meanwhile, are taking steps to protect themselves. They would have to raise premiums by about 19% on average to compensate for the loss of the payments, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates. Many are asking for hefty hikes for 2018.” Trump began his public push for a tax plan that would overwhelmingly benefit corporations and the top one percent at the expense of working families. Associated Press: “The Trump administration started its public push Monday to overhaul taxes but, just as with health care, the White House lacks a detailed plan to promote to voters. What it has, instead, is an aggressive deadline.” Vox: “Every iteration of Trump’s tax plan, from his first campaign outline to the lightly detailed blueprint his White House team released this spring, has been scored by independent analysts as a huge tax cut for the very rich.” CNN Money: “About 20% of taxpayers could pay higher taxes under the Trump administration’s tax reform plans, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the Tax Policy Center… Specifically, a large number of middle class and upper-middle class tax payers would see a tax hike due to the loss of deductions and the elimination of both personal and dependent exemptions.” CNN Money: “The group also estimates that the overwhelming majority of the tax savings would flow through to the richest tax payers. Nearly 80% of the savings would go to those earning $150,000 or more, with half the overall savings going to just those taxpayers in the top 1% of income, those earning more than $732,000 a year.” The Trump administration prepared to target university admissions programs that provided opportunities to disadvantage minorities. New York Times: “The Trump administration is preparing to redirect resources of the Justice Department’s civil rights division toward investigating and suing universities over affirmative action admissions policies deemed to discriminate against white applicants, according to a document obtained by The New York Times.” New York Times: “Supporters and critics of the project said it was clearly targeting admissions programs that can give members of generally disadvantaged groups, like black and Latino students, an edge over other applicants with comparable or higher test scores.” Have a great week. Did you know that today is the literal mid-point of summer? Feels later than that, I know.