BOSTON – Boston kicked off this weekend with protests of U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan's budget resolution.

It calls for $5.5 trillion in tax cuts and is expected to reach the House floor by early October.

Among those speaking out in opposition to the Ryan plan is Michael Kane, executive director of the Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants.

Kane took part in an action on Friday at the Bank of America building to highlight how the cuts will benefit large corporations like Bank of America that Kane says have avoided paying U.S. taxes by parking billions in profits offshore.

"Speaker Ryan and Mitch McConnell are about to rush through tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations that will blow a hole in the federal budget for years to come,” he states. “And it would force cuts to Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid."

Cutting taxes remains the GOP's top priority, although Republican lawmakers have yet to agree on whether to offset the cuts by cutting spending or closing tax loopholes – or both.

Kane is concerned that the health care debate has diverted people's attention. With "repeal and replace" now unlikely, he hopes more voters will focus on the impact of the GOP tax cut plan.

Kane says he also took part in a rally at JFK Plaza calling on Democrats to support a plan known as The People's Budget. It rejects tax cuts, and strengthens Social Security, housing assistance and education.

Kane says the protests are pointing out that the current Ryan plan follows the same logic as tax cuts made by the George W. Bush administration.

"A third of the entire U.S. deficit – $20 trillion now – a third of that is directly due to the Bush tax cuts to the rich,” he states. “It did not increase revenue, it reduced revenue. The last time they pulled this stunt, the American people suffered."

Kane says those policies also resulted in an enormous transfer of wealth to the top one-tenth of 1 percent of Americans. He predicts the Ryan plan would result in 40 to 50 percent cuts in many government programs over the next 10 years.





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A new coalition of businesses and nonprofits in West Virginia is ready to create at least 3,000 new green industry jobs. They say they just need the funding to do so.

Brandon Dennison, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Coalfield Development, is leading the coalition called Appalachian Climate Technology (ACT Now). Dennison said the coalition is a finalist in the Biden Administration's Build Back Better Regional Challenge, and if selected will be awarded $100 million to jump-start the region's economy in expanding the solar industry, sustainably reclaiming former mine lands, retrofitting buildings to be more energy efficient, and attracting green manufacturers to the area.

"There's a unique opening in time right now, where we can really take a leap forward for this region, and that would have tremendously positive outcomes for our country," Dennison asserted. "And if you think about it from a climate-change perspective, really positive outcomes for our planet. "

Dennison added they will find out if they've been selected in the next few months.

Numerous studies have pointed to renewable energy such as wind and solar as a way to create good-paying jobs for Appalachian communities left behind. One report released by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found the Mountain State has the potential to create thousands of jobs in solar energy, wind energy, battery storage and energy efficiency.

Dennison noted many West Virginians are not counting on coal as a means to support their families or supply the next generation with a livelihood.

"In many ways, we've sort of gone through the stages of grief with the coal industry, and come to an acceptance that coal is never going to be what it was," Dennison observed. "We might not be happy about that, but if we are going to survive, we're going to have to adapt."

Federal data show U.S. coal production has decreased by more than 24% since 2019.

Since then, the average number of employees at U.S. coal mines decreased by more than 10,000 employees. Supporters of the coal industry argued fossil fuels are essential to keeping Americans' power supply affordable.

Pennsylvania's budget deadline is looming on Thursday. Gov. Tom Wolf is calling for a minimum-wage increase that would get the state to $15 an hour by 2028.

A new brief gives a profile of the workers who would benefit.

The analysis from Keystone Research Center found an estimated 1.46 million Pennsylvania workers would see higher wages through the increase.

Keystone Research Center Senior Research Analyst Claire Kovach said the workers who would most benefit are the ones who were deemed essential during the pandemic, such as those in health care, retail, social services and more.

She said the state minimum wage has been stagnant for far too long.

"One of the minimum wage jobs that I worked 12 years ago is still advertised at $7.25 per hour today," said Kovach. "So the minimum wage worker who stands where I stood a dozen years ago, they're getting paid a wage with around 25% less buying power than I was back then."

The increase to $15 by 2028 would amount to a $3,800 raise for the average-year round worker, Kovach said.

If passed, the gradual increase would start with a boost to $12 an hour in July. Opponents to a minimum wage increase are concerned about the costs to businesses.

The brief also finds that across the proposed minimum wage increase from July 2022 to July 2028, an estimated $30 billion would be put back into the state economy.

Kovach added that with inflation climbing and more Pennsylvanians experiencing financial insecurity, an increased minimum wage could be a lifeline for families.

"There's an interesting thing that happens when you give low-wage workers a raise," said Kovach. "They don't store this money in off-shore accounts. This money is spent directly back into the economy and actually generates more economic movement and more economic benefits for communities than some other economic stimulus items."

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Living Wage calculator shows that today, a single adult in Pennsylvania needs to earn nearly $17 per hour to support themselves - while a single adult with one child needs nearly $33 per hour to support their family.

There are fewer than five months to go until the November General Election, in which Pennsylvania voters will select a new governor and U.S. Senator.

A new poll commissioned by AARP Pennsylvania showed how residents over 50 are feeling about the candidates and the issues. In the 2018 midterm elections, Pennsylvanians age 50 years and older made up 61% of all voters in the state.

The AARP poll includes views about this year's political races, including the contest for governor, with Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Sen, Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin. Shapiro leads Mastriano by three points.

Bob Ward, partner and pollster at Fabrizio Ward, said for voters over 50, it is an even closer race.

"There's a one-point lead for Shapiro over Mastriano," Ward reported. "And so, 50-plus voters, due to their size but also sort of the competitive nature of where the election is in the governor's race, will be impactful. Candidates need to pay attention to what's important to these voters."

In the Senate race, Democratic Lieutenant Gov. John Fetterman has a six percentage-point lead over Republican TV personality Mehmet Oz. And 77% of those polled believe the state is "moving in the wrong direction."

Some 30% of Pennsylvania voters polled said the economy is working well for them. However, one of their biggest concerns, which may influence their votes in November, is rising prices. For Republicans polled, it is their highest priority, while Democrats cite gun safety as their top issue.

Matt Hogan, partner and pollster at Impact Research, said the results also show inflation is still a cross-party worry.

"When we test it on its own and ask them to rate the importance, we certainly see it's a dominant issue with Democrats as well, it just doesn't rise to quite the top when we ask them to pick which is the most important," Hogan explained. "We definitely see a surge in guns [as an important issue] following Uvalde."

Other issues emerging as important to voters include immigration for Republicans, and abortion access and honesty in government for Democrats. The survey, which reached nearly 1,400 likely Pennsylvania voters, was conducted this month via landline, cellphone and text message.