The Full Belmonte, 3/9/2023
Biden to propose 25% billionaire tax
President Biden removes his necktie Monday to trade it with a firefighter during the International Association of Fire Fighters' legislative conference on Capitol Hill. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“President Biden today will propose a series of tax increases for wealthy Americans and large corporations, Bloomberg reported and Axios confirmed.
The budget, which he's releasing this afternoon in Philadelphia, includes a 25% minimum tax on the richest 0.01% of Americans.
The budget would close a loophole that allows some wealthy investors with ‘passthrough businesses’ to avoid paying tax on their investments, Axios' Sareen Habeshian and Hans Nichols report.
It also would increase the top tax rate for Americans making $400,000 a year to 39.6% from 37%, reversing a Trump-era tax bill.
The budget sets the corporate tax rate at 28% — still well below the 35% rate that prevailed prior to the 2017 tax law, a White House official said.” [Axios]
Memphis judge blocks release of 20 hours of video related to Tyre Nichols
“A Memphis judge ruled nearly 20 hours of additional footage and internal documents related to the city's investigation into the death of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols cannot be released until the lawyers for the five former Memphis police officers charged in his death have seen the new video. It's unclear what the additional video will show or when it will be released, but it may answer one looming question about the night Nichols was beaten: Why did police pull Nichols over to begin with?” Read more at USA Today
Body camera footage released last month showed multiple officers beating, pepper spraying and using a stun gun on Nichols after a traffic stop and sparked protests in Memphis and around the country. Nichols, an avid skateboarder and FedEx worker, died three days after the beating on Jan. 10.
AP
Norfolk Southern CEO to apologize to Senate for Ohio train derailment
“Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw will face a U.S. Senate panel Thursday as his company contends with increased scrutiny over a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last month. The hearing follows the National Transportation Safety Board's announcement of its investigation into Norfolk Southern's safety practices. In prepared remarks on Wednesday, Shaw expressed remorse over the East Palestine derailment that spilled toxic chemicals into the environment. While officials have said the air and village water system are now safe, residents remain worried about their community and have reported various health issues.” Read more at USA Today
Multiple cars of a Norfolk Southern train lie toppled after derailing at a train crossing with Ohio 41 in Clark County, Ohio, Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Bill Lackey/Springfield-News Sun via AP) Bill Lackey, AP
AG Merrick Garland issues scathing report into Louisville police practices
“Three years after Breonna Taylor was shot and and killed in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland released a blistering report Wednesday finding that the city and its police department have violated the constitutional rights of its citizens, particularly Black people. Garland also announced Louisville has agreed ‘in principle’ to forge a consent decree that will be enforced by a federal judge who will monitor the city’s progress in adopting reforms.” Read more at USA Today
Louisville Metro Police Department Interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, with (L-R) Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Associate Attorneys General Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke, speaks at a press conference on the Justice Departments findings of the civil rights investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Metro Government on March 8, 2023, in Louisville, Kentucky.
LUKE SHARRETT, AFP via Getty Images
There are 21,000 pieces of plastic in the ocean for each person on Earth.
“That’s more than 170 trillion pieces of plastic, according to a new study. The amount is doubling about every six years.
Why that’s important: It means the scale of the problem is larger than scientists thought and gives more urgency to U.N. talks on a global treaty.
In other environmental news: A proposed EPA rule on water pollution could lead to more coal plants shutting down.” [Washington Post]
Turnaround signs for democracy
Data: Freedom House (1: Not free. 36 to 70: Partly free. 70+: Free.) Map: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals
“Democracy declined around the world for the 17th consecutive year, Axios World author Dave Lawler writes from a new report by Freedom House.
But the pace of that decline has slowed and we could be approaching a "turning point," the report says.
Why it matters: The rise of authoritarianism and the erosion of democracy have been among the most notable global trends of the past decade.
The big picture: The scores of 35 countries declined; 34 improved.
That's the narrowest gap since the global democratic downturn began in 2005.
Zoom in: Finland, Norway and Sweden all received perfect scores. The least free countries and regions were North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, South Sudan, Syria and Tibet.
The report ranks China and Saudi Arabia among the ‘worst of the worst.’” [Axios]
How Healthy Is Global Democracy?
“In his State of the Union address one month ago, U.S. President Joe Biden hailed the resilience of global democracy. ‘In the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker,’ he declared. ‘Autocracies have grown weaker, not stronger.’
In reality, the picture is murkier. Global democracy has now declined for 17 straight years, according to a new report by Freedom House—although there are new signs that this ‘long freedom recession may be bottoming out, which would set the stage for a future recovery.’
To assess the state of the world, the organization scored 195 countries and 15 territories by 25 indicators, before tallying their final grade to measure whether they are “Free,” “Partly Free,” or “Not Free.” In 2022, 35 countries’ grades dropped while 34 countries improved—marking an overall decline in global freedoms.
But the narrow gap in the sizes of these groups—the smallest it’s been in 17 years—is also reason for optimism. In comparison to 2021, for example, 60 countries declined, vastly outnumbering the 25 countries that recorded improvements. In 2020, the situation was even bleaker: 73 countries declined while only 28 improved.
‘The pace of decline and the geographic spread of decline is noticeably slowing,’ said Yana Gorokhovskaia, one of the report’s coauthors. ‘This might be reason to kind of hope that we are approaching a turning point.’
From Cuba to Iran, protests and individual resistance have also played a key role in adding pressure on governments, even in the face of crackdowns and suppression. ‘The years have shown that popular challenges to authoritarian rule are a recurring theme in even the most repressive societies,’ the report said.
‘The demand for freedom is pretty persistent, and democratic progress is possible because there’s always that demand,’ said Gorokhovskaia. ‘It really means that the onus is on democracies and civil society to provide support for people who are struggling for freedom.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Georgia’s controversial ‘Russian law.’ The Georgian government scrapped a controversial law after violent protests erupted across the country in opposition to draft legislation that would force media and nongovernmental organizations to register as ‘foreign agents’ if more than one fifth of their funding comes from overseas sources. The law—which protesters have billed the ‘Russian law’—resembles legislation that Moscow has used to tighten control, stoking fears of a similar trajectory in Georgia.
‘The whole society united [in] really pushing back this law because we know what happened in Russia,’ Eka Gigauria, the executive director of Transparency International Georgia, told FP’s Amy Mackinnon. ‘There is war in Ukraine, but we also have war with Russian type of rule here.’” [Foreign Policy]
Ukraine
“At least 11 people were killed after Russia targeted critical infrastructure across Ukraine with more than 80 missile strikes today, officials said. Following the strikes, 15% of Kyiv went without electricity temporarily, according to an official in the region. As crews work to restore power, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian assault was ‘an attempt to intimidate Ukrainians again’ and to ‘terrorize civilians.’ Separately, Georgia's ruling party has withdrawn a controversial ‘foreign influence’ bill that sparked two nights of widespread protests in the capital Tbilisi. The bill had been compared to a draconian set of laws adopted in Russia and condemned by rights groups as a bid to curtail basic freedoms and crack down on dissent in the country.” [CNN]
“Zelensky invites McCarthy. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to come to Ukraine to see ‘how we work, what’s happening here, what war caused us, which people are fighting now, who are fighting now,” CNN reported. ‘And then after that, make your assumptions,’ Zelensky added.
As the Republican Party debates the future of U.S. aid to Ukraine, McCarthy—while expressing his support for Kyiv—has said that they won’t write a ‘free blank check’ for it. In response to Zelensky’s invitation, McCarthy doubled down on his statements, telling CNN: ‘I don’t have to go to Ukraine to understand where there’s a blank check or not.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Greece’s train crash disaster. Tens of thousands of people joined protests that roiled Greece on Wednesday, in a sweeping display of outrage over a train crash that killed 57 people last week. For many protesters, the tragedy highlighted the deteriorating condition of the country’s railway system and longstanding railway safety issues.” [Foreign Policy]
Chile’s airport shootout. Chilean security officials thwarted an attempted $32.5 million heist at an airport in Santiago, Chile, on Wednesday, authorities said. An estimated 10 robbers were involved, according to officials, and a shootout ensued. One security official and robber were killed.” [Foreign Policy]
“Hitting the buffers | What’s left of Chilean President Gabriel Boric’s progessive agenda has been thrown into doubt after the government’s landmark overhaul of the tax system was unexpectedly defeated in parliament yesterday. Coming six months after voters rejected a new constitution that looked to enshrine a series of social rights — and after just a year in office — questions are now being asked about Boric’s political acumen, and of his administration’s ability to push through any kind of meaningful reforms.” [Bloomberg]
Boric speaks during his inauguration ceremony in Santiago on March 11, 2022. Photographer: Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg
Jim BoeheimChris Carlson/Associated Press
“A titan: Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim said he would retire after 47 seasons coaching the Orange. He leaves with the second-most wins in N.C.A.A. history.” [New York Times]
“NDA challenge: Erica Herman, Tiger Woods’s former girlfriend, asked a court to release her from a nondisclosure agreement that she says Woods made her sign in 2017.” [New York Times]
“Staying a Yankee: The story of how Aaron Judge turned down more than $40 million extra from the San Diego Padres.” [New York Times]