The Progressive Wing

As we've been saying, DOT has all the authority it needs to crack down on the incompetence and corruption of the airlines; it just lacks the political will. Jen Howard has demonstrated that will at other federal agencies.https://t.co/QWlfg0NSpx
— David Dayen (@ddayen) January 18, 2023

Earlier this week @doctorow had a great thread on this. 2/https://t.co/ru1MfuFSny
— Revolving Door Project (@revolvingdoorDC) January 18, 2023

As our @jeffhauser put it, “When you don’t actually enforce the law, you lose credibility as a regulator.” 4/https://t.co/wpmxTAXBfV
— Revolving Door Project (@revolvingdoorDC) January 18, 2023

One thing @doctorow is right on the money about is how Elaine Chao, Buttigieg’s predecessor, left a mess for Pete to clean up.
Chao was a champion of deregulation who actively abused her post to help corporations exploit people and enrich her own family. 6/
— Revolving Door Project (@revolvingdoorDC) January 18, 2023

And even after a historic meltdown, Southwest didn't show contrition. Rather than take ownership of the failures, the airline just gave out a bunch of frequent flyer points and went about business as usual. 9/https://t.co/A9k9YYFOg7
— Revolving Door Project (@revolvingdoorDC) January 18, 2023

Petey has his eye on a higher office so he wont PO the airline donors

How low does a Republican have to go to finally be called out by their fellow Republicans?
This is infuriating and despicable. https://t.co/xKSp8yQTxS
— VoteVets (@votevets) January 18, 2023

They elected Cult-45 so nothing surprises me anymore when it comes down to the GQP

.@katieporteroc gets a standing ovation from 300+ Bay Area crowd at the launch of her Senate campaign as she finishes her remarks.
“I will fight for every Californian just as hard as I do for the families in my backyard. Count. On. It.” pic.twitter.com/JGoT1k2EhR
— Nathan Click (@Click_CA) January 18, 2023

If Katie wins this race, and let’s face it: she will be a longshot with some very powerful interests opposing her, that will be a monstrous achievement for the progressive grassroots aka us. 🙂

Many restaurant workers have to pay $15 to take a mandatory food safety class. The fees for that class are being used by the National Restaurant Association to lobby Congress to maintain subminimum wages for the same workers. Restaurant workers deserve a living wage. Period. pic.twitter.com/SY9wZpCaNC
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) January 18, 2023

Yep, looks like Ro wants to run.

For U.S. Senate?

Yes.

He’s throwing his hat in the ring with Katie? Well, we will see what side of the craporate-centrist DNC and the Progressive side, Ro stands on. Sure wish it was the case where I live.💩

Aint Supposed to Die A Natural Death

I thought he kinda dodged the question on DemocracyNow! a couple days ago.

Read more about my End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act ⬇️ https://t.co/fTspiq1X44
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) January 18, 2023

There’s some talk about JB Pritzker running for POTUS in 2024 or 2028. My guess is that it will be 2028 unless Biden decides not to run. Pritzker is a decent governor, but folks have to remember, he is a private equity firm partner, which includes hedge funds. We’ll see if he fights it or comments on it in the next year or so.

Demos better come up with someone younger and mentally sharper than Byedone. You can bet the GOPukes will.

Illinois could lose billions in motor fuel taxes as electric vehicle sales grow, report warns

The primary issue is motor fuel taxes, which will see a significant drop as more electric vehicles get on the road and fewer people fill cars with gas.
Because motor fuel taxes make up the backbone of state funding for road and bridge projects, the institute, which has ties to labor, warned that new revenue sources would have to be identified to ensure the state’s 10-year capital improvements plan remains on track.
“There’s absolutely a benefit to having EVs, but it will ultimately have a strong impact on transportation funding,” said Mary Tyler, the report’s author.
The motor fuel tax is the state’s leading source of transportation funding and makes up 52 percent of Illinois’ transportation revenue and 82 percent of its contributions to the federal highway trust fund.
The report’s main recommendation is implementing a vehicle miles traveled, or VMT, fee that would replace the existing motor fuel tax with a fee determined by the number of miles a car travels.
The idea has been floated in the past, including by J.B. Pritzker in an interview during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
States such as Oregon “have done tests recently for a VMT tax because we have more and more electric cars on the road, more and more hybrids, and because gas mileage is rising,” candidate Pritzker told the Daily Herald. “It’s only fair if you’re on a road and traveling on that road that you should pay your fair share.”
Pritzker as governor has not made a serious push for a VMT.
It’s an issue the institute says will become more pressing as the state moves toward its goal of putting 1 million electric vehicles on the road by the end of the decade — a goal written into law in the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act in 2021.
Even before this promise was made, Illinois was seeing a yearly increase in electric vehicles on the road. From 2017 to 2021, registrations rose from 8,255 to 36,482. The most recent data shows that, as of December, there are 57,311 registrations.
According to Tyler, Illinois would have to add 119,000 electric vehicles every year in order to meet its goal of 1 million by 2030. If that happens, the state would lose $765 million in sales and motor fuel taxes when accounting for added EV fees. Counting federal revenue, that figure would be $1.1 billion.
Electric vehicles aside, Tyler said fuel-efficient vehicles pose another threat to the state’s transportation revenue. Roughly 10 percent of registered vehicles in Illinois are electric, and the rest of the 11 million are becoming more fuel-efficient.

I’m posting this as no one in the feds (most especially the DOT Sec’y who appears to be out of his depth with his appointment) has talked about replacing this revenue stream.

Well, Buttagag is a jerk anyway. The big issue is the power/EV grid. It is not nationwide yet, not by a longshot. Plus, given the climate crisis, how do you deal with the serious threat of electrical outages and/or shorts to that grid caused by storms, hackers, and other threats we don’t know about yet?

They’ll just raise tolls and other DOT fee’s to make up for it.

Fed could hike rates by 25 or 50 basis points on Feb. 1, Daly has told the WSJ.
Which do you think it'll be?
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) January 18, 2023

Ridiculous. The WEF has already declared that the US is bullish on growth.

The FED wants a recession real bad, which means the rich have repositioned thier investments for maximum recession profitability.

Anti-science ⁦@GovRonDeSantis⁩ wants to permanently end oversight of quacks and crackpot physicians.
What he lacks is the integrity to say his policy will kill needlessly thousands of older Floridians who contract Covid and other treatable diseases. pic.twitter.com/z5gFsz32mX
— David Cay Johnston (@DavidCayJ) January 18, 2023

https://twitter.com/colinkalmbacher/status/1615732825352998917?s=20&t=lV28jXp-onVsf4DhMWuY8A

Anytime showboatin’ Gov. Gargoyle and the Tallahassee Goons do/say anything about Covid, we do the opposite down here. It’s an automatic reflex to years of corrupt stupidity.

jcitybone

But according to Hochul, LaSalle is just like MLK!

https://twitter.com/colinkalmbacher/status/1615743548208603138?s=20&t=P35JcaOAZfjdF1AtfgepLQ

What kind of dirt do LaSalle and his FRight cronies have on Hochul? Or is she really that stupid?

I’m speechless.

MLK would say this is betrayal. What I wonder is if LaSalle is really itching to see if SCOTUS would do with this, especially Thomas and Alito.

Benny

@jcitybone

“The nomination is lost.” @bradhoylman https://t.co/cuk21rs9wa
— Michael Kink (@mkink) January 18, 2023

We shouldn’t just raise the debt ceiling — we should abolish it. It serves absolutely no purpose.
The only thing the debt ceiling actually does is give corrupt Congress members a “trigger global financial crisis” button.
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) January 18, 2023

Thing I really appreciate about Robert Reich is that unlike his former employers, the Clintons, he got more progressive in his public policy stances, whereas they became more elitist. When the Clintons were in power, I was happy to just have some Dems in the WH after a 12 year drought. But what they learned was more corruption (Whitewater is illustrative of it, but I think Ken Starr was way out of line too), unfortunately.

Benny

BREAKING:
Matt Gaetz plans to run for Governor of Florida when DeSantis announces his candidacy for President, according to a key staffer in Gaetz' Congressional office.
The staffer also disclosed unethical/illegal activities inside the disgraced congressman's office.
More..
— Rebekah Jones (@GeoRebekah) January 18, 2023

I’d like to see some actual reporting on this.

So far, zilch down here. Believe me, the word would be spreading through the grapevines I know.

A banner is held reading "Trees Give Life, Police Take It." Dozens of Atlanta residents gathered this evening to mourn and hold space for the protester who was killed by police this morning.
Learn more here: https://t.co/qre2y0SMp7 pic.twitter.com/jdOmYqLTYk
— UNICORN RIOT 🦄 mastodon.social/@UnicornRiot 👈 (@UR_Ninja) January 19, 2023

I’ll try to find the reporting.

Massive strike across all of France today as workers and students walk out to defend pensions and oppose the neoliberal drive for a future where people “work more for less.” pic.twitter.com/oGCzbd3rcG
— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) January 19, 2023

Biden looking at announcing re-election bid in period after he delivers the Feb. 7 State of the Union address, ⁦@IsaacDovere⁩ reports https://t.co/PNuWqIdOYT
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 19, 2023