The Red Folder

Archived from March 18, 2024

Key stories for the week, brought to you by the distinguished newsman Sasha Morel.

Reading for the sake of reading sucks. Telling yourself to read to win a round is nice but ineffective. This condensed news brief helps you understand current domestic and international issues, analyze the news, and gives you opportunities to read more.

Domestic Stories

3 key domestic stories for the week:

1) With Congress, A Home is Just a House Sasha Morel

Democrats in the United States Congress successfully defended against significant cuts proposed by Republicans to housing and social safety net programs, yet low-income individuals will still bear the impact of reductions outlined in recent legislation. Efforts to address the pressing issues of affordable housing availability for low-income families and the elimination of hazardous lead-paint contamination in aging structures faced funding setbacks within the latest government spending measure.

Congressional leaders are on the brink of revealing a new agreement, potentially encompassing funding for critical health, labor, and education initiatives. A looming deadline adds urgency, with lawmakers needing to pass these measures to avert a partial government shutdown.

The proposed bills will determine funding allocations for various social programs, such as support for teachers serving low-income students, initiatives to improve maternal health among economically disadvantaged women, vocational training for underprivileged youth, and HIV prevention efforts. Amid rising concerns from housing advocates regarding unmet needs for low-income families, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating housing costs, the enacted appropriations bills introduce funding cuts. Kevin Nowak, head of CHN Housing Partners, highlighted the staggering increase in affordable housing production costs since the pandemic began, particularly detrimental in impoverished areas like Cleveland.

Significant reductions, including a $250 million cut to the Housing and Urban Development Department's "HOME" program, pose challenges for state and local governments striving to provide affordable housing solutions. Sonya Acosta from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities notes that a large portion of eligible households in the U.S. do not receive rental assistance due to lengthy waitlists and limited government funding. In Cleveland, where poverty rates are high and racial disparities are evident, the impact of these cuts is expected to be severe, with fewer units being developed or rehabilitated compared to previous years. Overall, the government believes that over 5 million could lose the ability to be housed as cuts proceed.

While both political parties managed to collaborate on certain housing initiatives, such as federal housing vouchers, which aid millions of low-income families, the recent funding allocations still fall short of meeting the full scope of needs.

Representative Rosa DeLauro emphasized the protection of housing assistance for millions of low-income individuals and families, acknowledging compromises made during negotiations. Republicans secured cuts to various agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and FBI, although not as severe as initially proposed, aiming to reduce spending on what they deem as wasteful programs. Efforts to address lead-paint contamination in aging homes faced reductions, though less significant than initially targeted by House Republicans, indicating a delicate balance between budgetary constraints and maintaining critical services for vulnerable populations.

Read more here:

2) “Uncommitted” and a Democratic Dilemma: Joe Biden’s Policy on Israel and Gaza Anthony Babu

The Democratic Party was once the party which fought for slavery. Then, it morphed into the party which fights for civil rights. Now, it seems uncertain about its future.

When the October 7th Hamas attacks rocked Israel, President Biden responded with one message; “as long as the United States stands — and we will stand forever — we will not let you ever be alone.”

He elaborated, citing “more than 1,300 innocent Israelis killed” as the rightful justification for his decision to stand with Israel. However, in the months following, 30,000 Palestinian civilians died amidst Israel’s cascade against Gaza to destroy Hamas once and for all. The disastrous humanitarian situation, the agonizing pain of innocent civilians, and Netanyahu’s hypocritical continuation of settler policy have channeled anger and resentment against the Israeli government.

Nowhere has that been more apparent than in the Democratic Party, where half of the platform’s followers disapprove of Biden’s unconditional support for Israel. However, more concerningly for Biden, his Democratic skeptics have not remained silent.

In Michigan, Donald Trump carried 759,000 votes, while Joe Biden only managed 623,000 in the Democratic primary. Meanwhile, over 100,000 Democratic voters remained “uncommitted.” 13.2% of Democrats were uncommitted, while only 3% of Republicans shared the sentiment. Uncommitted voters claimed an even greater share in more liberal states like Minnesota and Hawaii.

These Democratic voters may not be truly uncommitted, but they are saying so to send a message to their president. Most of these voters are younger Muslim Americans who wish to use their voices to protect Palestinians in Gaza. Among their demands are humanitarian aid, a permanent ceasefire, and stronger protections for their civilians against what have been deemed by some to be war crimes.

While noble in nature, the “uncommitted” primary movement might threaten Biden’s chance for reelection. While the “Listen to Michigan” uncommitted movement was expected to gain only 10,000 uncommitted votes, it got over 100,000. For context, Trump won the state of Michigan in 2016 even though he got around 10,000 votes in the state’s Republican primary.

More importantly, Michigan is a state that Biden can’t afford to lose. He only won by 3% in 2020 in perhaps the most divided political state in the country. Now, the circumstances are more dire; a poll from March 14 finds that Trump is leading Biden by 5 points in the state. Additionally, Michigan is a leading bellwether state, meaning its primary outcome often indicates the result of the broader presidential election.

Accordingly, Biden has tried to weather the storm by adopting a tougher stance on Israel. In a hot mic moment, Biden said he and Netanyahu would have a “come to Jesus” meeting over humanitarian aid. Under Biden’s orders, the US has conducted eleven airdrops of aid into Gaza. However, while Biden’s straddling of the fence of Israeli-Palestinian conflicts might have worked while he was Vice President, now it appears he might be forced to tip over.

Read more here:

3) The 32 Hour Workweek: Does it Pass the Test? Alex Ramirez

Senator Bernie Sanders, with Democratic support, recently proposed the 32 Hour Workweek Act. This act–evident within its name–will cut the work week to 32 hours without a pay cut, and overtime beginning after the 32 hour threshold has been met.

However, let's take a look at the history of the work week as we all know. In 1940, the Fair Labor Standards Act passed and set the 40 hour workweek in place. It isn’t an irrational statement to say the economy in 1940 is far different than the economy we live in today. And this is exactly what Senate Democrats are saying; AI, automation, and technological advancements have propelled us to a point where only the CEOs and the C-suite benefits. What are the benefits to a 32 hour work week exactly? Well, supporters of this idea say, businesses would be incentivized to pay workers more for longer hours or just hire more people to spread out the workload.

Now that we’ve gone over the past of the 40 hour work week, the discussion of a 32 hour work week isn’t new. In fact, in 2023, Democratic Representative Mark Takano introduced this idea on the house floor. It garnered support from the Congressional Progressive Caucus (and the internet), but eventually it died on the floor.

In reality, what will this bill actually do if passed? There are many different perspectives and ideas. Senator Bill Cassidy says this would harm small businesses ,especially if they couldn’t keep production up– leading to layoffs in the end. Senator Bernie Sanders recently released a statement: “Today, American workers are over 400 percent more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages than they were decades ago. That has got to change.”

Senator Bernie Sanders cited a study showing shocking statistics that Americans are working for lower wages than they were 50 years ago–adjusting for inflation too.

Ultimately, the bill has some promise to it, but Senate Republicans will move to shoot this down if it even passes the House, which is already unlikely as is. Many Republicans have already voiced opposition to this bill and with the house divided as is, political gridlock will play its role as it does to most bills. But perhaps, there is change to be seen here.