Progressives unveil plan to address affordability crisis

CHICAGO (CN) — A coalition of lawmakers and activists outlined how taxing the ultra-rich is foundational to addressing the U.S. affordability crisis in a Wednesday press conference.

May Day Strong, a network of organizations and unions that helped organize last year's May Day protests, held a Zoom press conference Wednesday afternoon where it presented a 13-page blueprint for proposing and passing state legislation to address American's affordability crisis. The organization said its members have filed over 100 pieces of legislation in their respective statehouses to address the crisis.

The press conference featured lawmakers, union leaders and community advocates from Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia, New York, California and Texas. They presented their "Real Affordability Agenda," which juxtaposed President Donald Trump's characterization of the American economy in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

"Their policies created the high prices. Our policies are rapidly ending them. We are doing really well. Those prices are plummeting downward. The price of eggs is down 60%," Trump said. "The cost of chicken, butter, fruit, hotels, automobiles, rent is lower today than when I took office by a lot. And even beef, which was very high, is starting to come down significantly. Just hold on a little while. We’ll get that down. And soon you will see numbers that few people would think were possible to achieve just a short time ago."

The group of progressive activists and policy leaders highlighted a different view of the American economy. In particular, they focused on the growing disparity between the top 1% of earners and the other 99%.

"Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich recently showed that if average workers' hourly wage had grown over the past 50 years by the rate at which CEO pay increased, the average worker today would make $481 an hour," Max Page, president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said. "In fact, the hourly wage rate in the United States is around $35. This is just one window into the stunning concentration at the very top."

During his State of the Union address, Trump also repeatedly touted the success of his Big Beautiful Bill, which implemented $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, and his increase on foreign tariffs, which the Supreme Court ultimately ruled against last week.

"He said his big ugly bill helps the average person, but we all know it's the biggest transfer of wealth from the bottom earners to the top in U.S. history," Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers' Union, said. "He claims our prices are going down when most of us are having a harder time making ends meet and paying bills and buying groceries. He says that that health care will be affordable under this administration, when costs are skyrocketing and access is in decline."

Page and Potter noted that the press conference wasn't just about countering Trump's characterization of the economy, but more about laying out a different vision for the future of American working people.

"The key areas in the real affordability agenda include affordable housing, corporate rent gouging, real estate wealth concentration, and private equity landlords are the primary drivers of the housing crisis, and we have to demand targeted regulatory financing reforms," Page said.

That vision includes a tax strategy centered around three pillars: taxing extreme wealth, ensuring large corporations pay their share and taxing predatory practices.

"Revenue must come in a way that reflects the modern economy," Illinois state Senator Graciela Guzman said. "Revenue that asks those at the very top who have benefited the most to finally contribute their fair share."

"Illinois is not alone in this right. Across the country, states are rejecting austerity. They're regulating corporate abuse; they're strengthening labor protections. They're choosing people over profit. This report brings all of these rights together and arms us as advocates with the tools that we need to win," said Guzman, a Democrat representing the northwest side of Chicago.

"So let's be clear of the stakes: We're staring down underfunded tools and upside down tax code and renewed federal efforts that hand massive giveaways to the wealthy while cutting our essential services," she continued. "Literally, your health care, your food stamps and other essential services that you need. That pressure doesn't just go anywhere. It lands on states, and it demands leadership."

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