02/08/23 02/08/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! pres. biden: instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some republicans want medicare and social security to sunset. i am not saying it is the majority. anybody who doubts it, contact my office. i will give you a copy of the proposal.

amy: president biden delivers his state of the union before congress and receives a hostile reaction from republican lawmakers. we will look at what biden said about taxing the rich, the climate crisis, china, ukraine, militarizing the border, and the police killing of tyre nichols. pres. biden: police officers -- police departments violate the public trust, they must be held accountable. amy: we will host a roundtable discussion with rashad robinson of color of change, economist dean baker, former bernie sanders advisor matt duss, and newly elected democratic congressmember delia ramirez of illinois who gave the working family party's response to state of the union. >> what i want to say to is an and fellow democrats, we have two jobs. we must stand up to extremism of the maga republicans and show

people what democrats will deliver if they put us back in control. amy: all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. rescue operations continued in turkey and syria, three days after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake jolted the two countries in the region's most powerful quake in over eight decades. it was followed by another. harrowing scenes have emerged from the affected areas as bodies are pulled from the wreckage and the death toll surpasses 11,000. in turkey's border province of hatay, devastated residents say help took too long to arrive as they take stock of the disaster. >> we went to the city center and the situation is worse than here. it is worse. it thomas like a ghost city. we went bacalmost 50 years in

time. our lives are ruined. our lives are lost. we lost our children, our parents. at least three people die from each home. amy: some miraculous survivals are also being reported. in syria, a baby born in the rubble was pulled to safety by her uncle and made it to a neby hospital. her mother did not survive. displaced survivors around aleppo say they face freezing conditions amid shortages of heating oil but some are too scared to remain indoors for fear of more tremors. there have been over 100 aftershocks. >> to be honest, this is harder than war. in war, a strike, and it passes. we are terrified but it is all in god's hands. amy: rescue efforts in syria have been complicated by damage and displaceme from 12 years of war and harsh sanctions. the syrian arab red crescent called on e european union tuesday to lift its sations to

facilitate humanitarian aid reaching those who need it in government-controlled areas. the u.s. also maintains sanctions on the government of bashar al-assad. president joe biden delivered his second state of the union tuesday night, his first to a divided congress after republicans took the house in the midterms. biden touted his infrastructure legislation, backed an assault weapons ban, the codification of abortion rights, and taxing the ultra-rich and corporations. he also addressed racism and police violence, calling on congress to support police reform. republicans repeatedly heckled biden throughout his address. one of the more raucous moments came when biden accused republicans of pushing to cut medicare and social security. pres. biden: some republicans what medicare and social security to sunset. i am not saying it is a majority. let me give you -- anybody who doubts it, contact my office. i will give you a copy.

i will give you a copy of the proposal. >> liar! pres. biden: that means congress -- amy: the lawmaker yelling "liar!" at president biden is far-right republican marjorie taylor greene. members of the congressional black caucus another democrats war pins with the number 1870 on them, the year when a black man named henry truman was shot dead by a white philadelphia police officer. it is the first known instance of a police officer killing a free black person in the uted states. after headlines, we'll spend the hour on the state of the union address. among the notable guests at the state of the union address were tyre nichols' parents, who accompanied first lady jill bide this comes as seven more memphis police officers are under investigation following the deadly beating of 29-year-old black father last month. city attorney jennifer sink said tuesday the officers, who have not been identified will be

charged by the end of the week. meanwhile, the city of memphis has asked the justice department to conduct a review of its police, which would include an assessment of special units and its policies on use of fce. in the wake of tyre nichols' killing, memphis disbanded the scorpionolice unit that the five ex-officers who beat nichols belonged to. they he all been charged with second-degree murder. new document revl tuesdayne of the officers tooknd shared a photo onichols as he sat propped against a police car, nearly unconscious, covered in blood, and handcuffed. the officer sent the photo to at least five people, including an acquaintance outside the police department. after the beating, the officers also shouted profanities at nichols and were seen laughing and bragging with each other. a federal lawsuit filed tuesday accuses the same five officers of assaulting another young

black man just three days before their encounter with nichols. 22-year-old monterrious harris says the officers punched, stomped, and dragged him across concrete as they arrested him on january 4. in missouri, leonard "raheem" taylor was executed tuesday by lethal injection after governor mike parson refused to grant him clemency or a stay despite calls from the innocence project, the naacp, and others. 58-year-old taylor has always maintained his innocence, asserting he was nearly 2000 miles away at the time of the quadruple murder of his then-girlfriend and her children in 2004. the innocence project also raised concerns about the competence of the lawyer who represented him at trial. in a final statement, taylor wrote -- "muslims don't die. we live eternally in the hearts of our family and friends." taylor is the third prisoner to be executed in missouri since november and the fifth person to be executed in the united states this year. in the occupied west bank, israeli soldiers have killed

another palestinian teenager in the city of nablus. 17-year-old hamza al-ashkar was fatally shot in the face as israeli forces conducted raids and dozens of arrests across the west bank tuesday. this is al-ashkar's grandmother. >> my sweetheart, he is still 17 years old. he wanted to work because his father is not financially stable. god bless him. he wanted to work but he didn't. he died. my sweetart. he died. may he rest in peace. amy: ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy is in britain on a rare trip abroad where he is meeting with prime minister rishi sunak and king charles. zelenskyy will also address the u.k. parliament. britain, which announced new sanctions against russia today, has provided military equipment and training to ukrainin its efforts to counter russia's invasion. zelenskyy's visit comes as russia seems poised to launch a major offensive in the east and as the war approaches its one year mark.

meanwhile, president biden is expected to travel to poland for the february 24 anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine. in peru, at least 15 people are dead and several injured after heavy rains triggered massive mudslides and floods in the southern region of arequipa. >> the landslide ce out of nowhere and we got desperate. we desperately left with our children. amy: authorities said the death toll could rise in the coming days. doctors, nurses, and army helicopters transporting food, water, and other aid have been deployed to the area as search and rescue efforts continue. two more greenpeace activists have joined a group of four climate defenders who have been on board a massive shell vessel in t english channel since last wk toemand shelstop drling for oil and start ying reparations f its role inhe climate catasophe. shell, which last week reported

a record-shattering $40 billion in 2022 profits, has threatened greenpeace with legal action that could rest in two yrs in jail for e peacef otesters. meanwhile, bp, which also recently announced record annual profits, said tuesday it would increase oil and gas drilling, reversing a previous pledge to cut down fossil fuel production by 40% below 2019 levels. bp now expects to reduce its output by just 25%. calls for a windfall tax have been growing as the major oil and gas companies report tens of billions of dollars in profits amid a surge in oil prices last year spurred by the russian invasion of ukraine. a sweeping new study by conservation research group natureserve finds 40% of animals and 34% of plants in the u.s. are at risk of extinction and 41% of ecosystems are facing collapse.

researchers say passing legislation to protect land and biodiversity is key and list some of the greatest threats to wildlife as habitat degradation and land conversion, invasive species, damming and polluting of rivers, and climate change. this is sean o'brien, president of natureserve. >> nature is also incredibly complex, and we don't always know what sort of the keystone species is, sometimes people call them. so when you have a habitat and species start going extinct or becoming smaller in number, eventually, that can cause the collapse of that habitat type. amy: here in new york city, one of the exonerated central park 5 announced he is running for city council seat in harlem. he was one of five black and latino teenagers wrongfully convicted of the 1989 beating and rape of a white woman. he spent seven years in prison.

he said he will overhaul york city's criminal justice system, end messing cursor in, and help ring about police reform. he challenges kristin richardson jordan who has called for free public transportation prison abolition, and cuts to the nypd budget. she has also fought for affordable housing and against gentrification in harlem. and us choice regulators have approved the use of -- and australia's regulators have approved the use of mdma and psilocybin, better known as magic mushrooms and ecstasy, to medically treat depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. the therapeutic goods administration said it found "sufficient evidence for potential benefits in certain patients." psychiatrists would be able to prescribe the substances only after a thorough diagnosis, and their use would be restricted to clinical trials for now. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!,

democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president joe biden delivered his second state of the union tuesday night before a divided congress. biden touted his infrastructure legislation, backed an assault weapons ban, the codification of abortion rights. republicans repeatedly heckled biden. at one point, archery taylor greene shouted "liar" as biden criticized proposals by some republicans to cut social security and medicare. we spend the hour airing experts -- excerpts and getting response. we begin with president biden's comments about the police killing of tyre nichols in memphis, tennessee. he spoke exactly a month after nichols was brutally beaten by officers generally seven. he died three days later in the hospital, five of the officers have been fired and charged with murder. on tuesday night, tyre nichols parents sat with first lady dr. jill biden and it house gallery during the state of the union.

this is president biden. pres. biden: public safety depends on public trust. but too often that trust is violated. joining us tonight are the parents of tyre nichols. welcome. [applause] pres. biden: after bearing terry last week -- burying tyre last week, there are no words to describe the heartbreak and grief of losing a child. imagine if you lost that child at the hands of the law. imagine having to worry whether your son or daughter will come home from walking down the street or playing in the park or just driving their car. most of us have never had that the talk that brown and black parents have had to have with their children. beau, hunter, ashton.

i've never had to have the call with them. i've never told them if a police officer pulls you over, turn on your interior lights. don't reach for your license. keep your hands on the steering wheel. imagine having to worry like that every single time your kid got in a car. here's what tyre's mom shared with me when i spoke to her, when i asked her how she finds the courage to carry on and speak out. with faith in god, she said her son "was a beautiful soul and something good will come from this." i know most cops and their families are good, decent, honorable people, the vast majority. [applause] pres. biden: and they risk their lives every time they put that shield on. but what happened to tyre in memphis happens too often. we have to do better.

give law enforcement the real training they need. hold them to higher standards. how them succeed in keeping us safe. we also need more first responders and other professionals to address growing mental health and substance abuse challenges. more resources to reduce violent crime and gun crime. more community intervention programs. more investments in housing, education, and job training. [applause] pres. biden: all this can help prevent violence in the first place. and when police officers or police departments violate the public's trust, they must be held accountable. [applause] with the support of families of victims, civil rights groups, and law enforcement, i signed an executive order for all federal officers banning chokeholds,

restricting no-knock warrants, and other key elements of the george floyd act. let's commit ourselves to make the words of tyler's mom true, something good must come from this. something good. amy: that was president by delivering his state of the union tuesday night. members of the congressional black caucus another democrats or pins with the date 1870 on them. that was the year a black man named henry truman was shot dead by a white adelphia police officer, the first known instance of a police officer killing a free black person in the united states. we are joined by our first guest, rashad robinson, president of color of change. your response to the state of the union and particularly focus on this issue. interestingly, president biden did not refer to the george floyd police reform bill, which

many are talking about, including its sponsors like senator cory booker. it seems it is taken off the table at this point. >> i think that is really important, amy. the reason why he did not talk about the george floyd policing act is because while there was a room full of republicans that actually stood up for tyre nichols' family, they are unwilling to do anything structural to hold police accountable. and the republican representatives don't sit alone. there supported by a whole network of enablers. corporations who seem outraged when these police killings happen, yet continue to support not just these representatives, but support police foundations that are sort of right now in the process of building sites like cop city in atlanta, which will displace tons of black

folks in that community will also creating another sort of home for sort of training and unaccountable training and violent training of police officers. i think it was incredibly important that the president sort of spoke to the emotional, sort of situation we are in, but we have to go the extra mile in helping the public understand why change has not happened, who is standing in the way of change. because we constantly lose at the back room -- in the back rooms because we don't have the right people lined up at the front door. not just the front door of congress, but the front door of all the people that enable congress to be stagnant, to gaslight us, and to prevent the sort of opportunities for real structure reform and accountability. at the end of the day, executive orders are important but they are so limited. they don't impact what ashley happens in local communities. they don't have the level of power that legislation will

have. i think it was important he talked about a vision for public safety, which sort of in many ways connected and aligned was something that color change has put out on our website. our vision for public safety which really does talk about what do we do outside of policing? how do we invest in communities to not just hold police accountable but to unlock the full potential of communities? and that does include a type of investment in mental health and education and violence prevention -- all of the things that make communities safe and will lift us up. i think we have to continue to recognize that over the next two years, we're not going to get the type of policing reform we need at the federal level but we have to begin telling a powerful story about why and who is holding us back. and focus our energies strategically at those forces. amy: what is being said now is

because it is a divided house and senate but the last two years were both run by republicans -- run by democrats. but i want to go back to president biden speaking last night. pres. biden: there is one reason we have been able to do all these things, our democracy itself. it is the most fundamental thing of all. democracy, everything is possible. without it, nothing is. for the last few years our democracy has been threatened, attacked, and put at risk. put to the test here, in this very room, on january 6. and then, just a few months ago, an unhinged big lie, an assailant unleashed political violence in the home of the then-speaker of this house of representatives. using the very same language that the insurrectionists used as they stalked these halls chanted on january 6. here tonight in this chamber is the man who bears the scars of

that brutal attack but is as tough and strong and as resilient as they get. my friend, paul pelosi. [applause] pres. biden: such a heinous act never should have happened. we must all speak out. there is no place for political violence in america. we have to protect the right to vote, not suppress that fundamental right. honor the results of our elections, not subvert the will of the people. we have to uphold the rule of the law and restore trust in our institutions of democracy. and we must give hate and extremism in any form no safe harbor. [applause] amy: that is president biden referring to extremism and then man who attacked couple of seed, the former house speaker nancy pelosi's husband. rashad robinson, we are speaking

just before this week, jim jordan, the house judiciary had, is going to have a hearing that is called the select subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government, which is really going after agencies that are going after what is being called the greatest threat inside the united states to national security, and that is right-wing domestic extremism. can you talk about this? >> yeah. this is the result of all the ways in which social media platforms happen able to amplify , profit off of, encourage, and sorted in so anyways create a whole business model around inciting these types of ideas. and as a result, immobilizing factions of our society around lies.

yes, we must stop out hate. we must deal with violence. but how do we do it? we have to hold big tech accountable. it was good to hear president biden talking about tech accountability because i think that is incredibly important. i think where we need to sort get our hands around the problems is what are the set of legislations that need to be passed? and how do we combat sort of all the ways in which the big platforms are standing in the way of that? jim jordan would not be able to sort of have this visibility and engagement around what he is doing if he wasn't supported by a whole ecosystem of platforms, which are incentivize to amplify these lies, to encourage these lies, to radicalize people around this information which leads people to take all sorts of actions that we have sought on january 6, that we saw with paul pelosi, that we see in communities -- we saw in buffalo, texas, we have seen

time and time again. so until we deal with these self regulated platforms which are essentially unregulated platforms, we will continue to be here. our cars are not saved because the benevolence of the car industry. the federal government has to face accountability. amy: let's go to president biden. pres. biden: we must hold social media companies accountable for experimenting they are running on our children for profit. and it's time to pass bipartisan legislation to stop big tech from collecting personal data on kids and teenagers online, ban targeted advertising to children, and impose stricter limits on the personal data the companies collect on all of us. amy: you been dealing with these tech companies for a long time now. >> the problem that we are facing with how the platforms attack, engage, focus on our

young people is an incredibly important issue to focus on but it is just one piece of the larger problem and one piece of the outside power. we have to make sure that when we deal with the sort of legislation and policy that will hopefully raise the floor on what is acceptable from these platforms, we will not just focus on young people but we will focus on all of the ways in which communities have been targeted, attacked, and exploited by these platforms. when we have gone toe to toe with these platforms, time and time again we have learned that even when they commit to changes, they end up not being incentivized 5, 6 months later because there are no rules and there are no regulations so that growth and profit will always outweigh safety, integrity, and security. we have released something called a black tech agenda which is a six part platform that

outlines a whole set of policies that specifically deal with all the ways in which these platforms target and attack people that have already -- always been targeted and attacked, dealing with the information buyer, the abuse of big tech is not a hard thing if we focus on the communities that have been traditionally targeted and attacked. if we focus on those folks that have been targeted and attacked and build the policies that will help them, we will sort of raise the floor for everyone in the process. that is why racial justice is going to be so incredibly important. because once again, we are facing outside forces on the others and we're facing many forces on the others. and congress will continue to remain stagnant and do nothing unless they are forced to do it and unless they feel like there's consequences and there are rewards. i think it was important to president continue to talk about it. he has put more people in positions of power in his

administration that care about this, some of the smartest people. he should be committed for that. now we have to do the work to get legislation across the line. we are running out of time. amy: rashad robinson, thank you for being with us president of , color of change. while president by did refer to the george floyd and pleasing act, he just referred to it in terms of executive orders he took -- that took elements of it. will we come back, we will continue our rent table discussion -- our roundtable discussion. tell your ramirez get the working family party's response to the state of the union address. we will be back in 30 seconds. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "would i lie to you?" by eurythmics. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. yes, this is democracy now! let's turn now to the issue of foreign policy as we continue to look at president biden state of the unit. while most of the speech focused on domestic policy, he also spoke about china. >> before i came to office, the story was about how the people's republic of china was increasing its power and america's failing in the world.

not anymore. we made clear and i made it occurs -- personal conversations with president xi that we seek competition, not conflict, but i will make no apologies that we are investing to make america stronger. investing in american innovation that will define the future that china is determined to be dominating. investing in our alliances and working with our allies to protect our advanced technologies so they're not used against us. modernizing our military to safeguard stability and deter aggression. today, we're in the strongest position in decades to compete with china or anyone else in the world. [applause] pres. biden: i am committed to work with china where it can advance american interests and benefit the world. but make no mistake about it, as we made clear last week, if china's threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. and we did. [applause]

and let's be clear, winning the competition should unite all of us. we face serious challenges across the world. but in the past two years, democracies have become stronger, not weaker. autocracies have grown weaker, not stronger. amy: from our we are joined by matt duss, visiting scholar at the carnegie endowment for international peace. former foreign policy adviser to senator bernie sanders. his recent co-authored piece in "the new republic" is headlined "a better biden doctrine." your response to the state of the union, and more important, the foreign policy? >> what is notable from the speech, the foreign policy section, was how little the president talked about foreign policy last night. it sounded a number of progressive left things with regard to corporate power and protecting social security, medicare, creating jobs, investing in infrastructure,

going after big pharma. but the foreign policy section was very, very thin. he talked about china and russia and ukraine, he talked about climate change and a few broader themes about supporting democracy around the world, but the tiny amount of speaking about foreign policy he did last night i think is reflective of the administration's broader approach to foreign policy, which is they want to spend as little time talking an argument about foreign policy as necessary. i think that makes some political sense. there are other things on the minds of american people. but there are really important issues around the world we need to deal with and need to debate. and the president needs to engage in these issues more than we saw last night i think. amy: he talked about competition, not confrontation, with china. in fact, you have this now more

u.s. military bases in the philippines, kind of encircling of china. can you talk about what should be china's policy and what it is right now with blinken canceling his visit to beijing? some said at times like this of increased tension, that is exactly when a summit should be held >> in my view and i said this think the decision to cancel the secretary of state's trip was a mistake, fed into the overreaction around the spy balloon -- which the president did not mention last night. he did not mention the balloon despite washington having spent the previous few days freaking out about it. i think the administration's response to the balloon was correct, measured and firm but not overreacting. but as i said, i think the decision to cancel the trip was the wrong one. as you noted, these are precisely the moments when we should be talking -- when the

u.s. and china should be talking. the president said, competition with china is something that should unify us. this is concerning because, yes, there are elements of china's policy that are a challenge to the u.s., are of great concern both internally and externally, no question. but i think this idea of trying to create political unity around competition or confrontation with china or any external threat has a very bad history. we only need to look at the past 20 years of u.s. global war on terror to see efforts to build political consensus around external threats have enormously devastating consequences not only for our policy but for our politics. on that i would know something the president did not talk about which is the global war on terror which is ongoing despite the president's plane at the united nations in 2021 that after the withdrawal from afghanistan that u.s. is no

longer at war. that is untrue. there are still thousands of u.s. troops deployed in countries around the world under the authorization that was. passed immediately. in the wake of the september 11 attacks we have troops increasingly engage in africa, kenya, niger, and other countries. for the president not to acknowledge that is simply too i think play a role in hyping these conflicts in this war on terror from the american people. that is not appropriate. we need to acknowledge this war is still ongoing. amy: i want to go to part of president biden' estate of the union where he talked about ukraine. >> putin's invasion has been a test for the ages. just for america, just for the world. when we stand for the most basic principles, we stand for sovereignty, we stand for the right of people to live in

tourney or will we stand for the defense of democracy? for such a defense matters to us because it keeps the peace and prevents open season for would-be aggressors to threaten our security and prosperity. one year later, we know the answer. yes, we would. and we did. we did. amy: president bynum will be in them: on february 24, unclear if he will go to ukraine or if zelenskyy would join him in poland, right next door to ukraine. zelenskyy today is in his second international trip, in the u.k. and will be addressing the parliament, calling for more weapons. matt duss, your assessment o u.s. policy when it comes to ukraine? >> i think the president's version tracks with the facts. the administration, as my colleague and i wrote in the

piece you referenced, the weather president has helped manage ships in response to russia's invasion of last february, i think it has been impressive. i think it shows a way of practicing u.s. leadership that forges consensus and immobilizes that consensus. the war is devastating. it is ongoing. we would like to see the war end as soon as possible, but i think being realistic about when that is possible is part of the challenge we face right now. putin is given no evidence he is interested in a workable resolution of this conflict. i think he and ukrainians both seem to believe they can continue to achieve their goals through military means. for the time being, i think the administration's theory of the case is sound, which is they will continue to support ukraine's defense, to create the best possible moment or best possible environment for

negotiations when that becomes possible. amy: do you see parallels to the lead up of the invasion -- the invasion of ukraine by russia? you had the u.s. with nato pushing nato to be larger, and then with china, are you seeing a parallel situation where they are increasing u.s. military bases? biden is doing this and pushing china. >> again, i think those are all fair points. we need understand china's perspective and we also need to understand the perspective of china's neighbors. meaning of whomre post partners and allies of the u.s. and are very concerned. democratic countries who have their own concerns. -- concerns with china's policies most of these are independent actors within their own right. we need to not just treat this as a u.s.-china situation in the same way we should not treat the

ukraine war is just a u.s.-russian situation. that said, i think the president sounded the right notes on china, regard to seeking a cooperation where we can characterizing this relationship solely as conflict. although i do grant some of the steps the u.s. has been taking -- again, stephen and i reference this in our peace -- is putting the u.s. on a really troubling track that we could very likely lead to future conflicts. amy: we want to thank you for joining us, matt duss, visiting scholar at the carnegie endowment for international peace. former foreign policy adviser to senator bernie sanders. we will link to your new piece you wrote "a better biden doctrine." when we come back, we will be joined by economist dean baker and new congressmember delia ramirez who gave the working families response to the state of the union. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: "we are all bourgeois now" by mccarthy. not the house speaker. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. week of active president biden -- we go back to president by state of the union where he calls for conference of immigration reform. pres. biden: that's come together on immigration, make it a bipartisan issue once again. we now have a record number of personnel working to secure the border, arresting 8000 human smugglers, seizing over 23,000 pounds of fentanyl in just the last several months. we have launched a new border plan last month, unlawful migration from cuba, haiti, nicaragua, and venezuela has come down 97%. but america's border problems won't be fixed until congress

acts. if you won't pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border. [applause] and a pathway to citizenship for dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers. amy: we're joined now by democratic representative delia ramirez, first latina to be elected to congress to represent illinois. she represented the progressives response to the state of the union. she is a daughter of guatemalan immigrants and the wife of a daca recipient. she was elected in 2018 is a longtime community organizer, joining us now from the canon rotunda on capitol hill. we last spoke to you as congress member-elect. welcome back to democracy now! you just heard president biden -- you are right there in the house last night as he spoke.

what he is saying is even if you don't get to other parts, though we want you to support, -- conference of immigration, at least support militarization at the border. your response? >> first of all, i appreciate what he said after, which he said i want to make sure you finally create a pathway for dreamers. in the we also do the same for those that have been here, migrant workers, essential workers. the reality is, the immigrant community, millions are essential workers and so if we go by that definition, then the response is we're going to provide worker permits for the 12:00 a.m. people who live in this country who are the reason are on a planet rate has gone down as much as it has. -- on a planet rate has gone down as much as it has. create the supplies we're going to build now in america is the president said.

my problem is -- my family came here four years ago. they're people were coming in now not because they chose "let me cross the border and nearly die because it is a luxury to do that." people are escaping poverty. people are escaping debt. there's so many things happening. talking about securing the border without executive action, the things we can do right now which is truly create a pathway to citizenship, let's start with dreamers. but we have the ability to do that now. we can't begin to create attention where we -- at the expense of the other. amy: congressmember ramirez, you talked about and often talk about your mother being pregnant with you as she crossed the border. now you have the republicans in charge of the house, and they're going to be holding hearings on the border apparently, but you

have president biden's new immigration plan where he is effectively expanding the controversial public health restrictions again -- title 42 -- even as they're declaring a pandemic over. your thoughts about this? >> i said it last night and i've said it over and over and i think a number of congressional staff members agree with me, we have to end title 42, not expand it. that is our number one responsibility. we cannot continue to talk about being a country of immigrants -- being a country that receives asylum seekers and increases enforcement or expanding title 42. amy: during a state of the unit, president biden urged lawmakers to support raising the debt ceiling. pres. biden: nearly 25% of the entire national debt that took over 200 years to accumulate was added by the last administration

alone. check it out. check it out. how did congress respond to all that debt? they did the right thing and lifted the debt ceiling three times without preconditions or crisis. they paid american bills to prevent economic disaster for the country. tonight, i'm asking this congress to follow suit. let's commit here tonight that the full faith and credit of the united states of america will never, ever be questioned. so many -- some of my republican friends want to take the economy hostage. i get it. unless i agree to their economic plans. all of you at home should know what those plans are. instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some republicans want medicare and social security to sunset every -- i'm not saying it is the majority. let me give you -- anybody who

doubts it, contact my office. i will give you a copy. i will give you a copy of the proposal. that means if congress doesn't vote -- i enjoy conversion. if congress doesn't keep the programs where they are, they go away. i don't think it is the majority of you, but it is being proposed by individuals. i'm not naming them but it is being proposed by some of you. look, folks -- >> liar1 pres. biden: the idea is we are not going to be moved into be threatened to default on the debt if we don't respond. [applause] pres. biden: folks, as we all apparently agree, social security and medicare is off the

books now. [applause] all right. we have unanimity. amy: what are radio listeners cannot see that our tv yours to see is that right behind president biden, of course, is how speaking -- house speaker kevin mccarthy shaking his head as he was talking about medicare and social security being cut and you had marjorie taylor greene shouting "liar!." this is an issue very close to your heart, ramirez -- congress member ramirez. >> i need to apply the president for what he said last night. when he said we are not cutting social security or medicare, not today, not tomorrow, not ever, i am fully in solidarity with him.

the idea that you can begin a conversation of negotiation over the things that are keeping people alive and keeping people from living in deep poverty the last few years of their life should be something that would be unimaginable and this country. and yet we have republicans, maybe not all of them, but a good number of them that want to use it as a negotiating bargain. i will give you social security but let's cut snap benefits. i will give you medicare, we just can't expand it. that kind of negotiation is bizarre to me. last i checked, poverty doesn't have a color red or blue. people need social security in kentucky, illinois, oklahoma, and certainly in georgia. amy: i want to bring dean baker into the conversation, senior economist at the center for economic and policy research.

his most recent book is titled "rigged: how globalization and rules of the modern economy were structured to make the rich richer." if you can take off from this issue of social security and medicare as republicans were shouting "liar" and president biden, and then talk about president biden talking about the billionaires tax and also increasing tax on those who make $400,000 or more. >> i had to say it was great to hear president biden stand up and defend social security, mecare. i have been around long enough, remember president clinton was not shing it but was willing to consider cuts to social security and medicare in the same with president obama. it was great to see president biden say, no, we're not cutting it, it is not on the agenda. that was really good to see. president biden, he has a lot to boast about. he spent a long time talking about 12 million jobs, lowest

unemployment rate in 50 years, lowest black on a planet rate ever. an important point can live a record number of people disabilities that are working. these are really big dea with millions and millions of people. homeownership has risen. a lot of good news. but in terms -- shld not say in terms of policy. specifically, he has been focused on trying to increase taxes on the rich, taxes on corporations, and also reducing the money drug companies get. he has made some headway. obviously, he would like to do more and i would love to see him do more, but he has had big breakthroughs. increasing the funding for the internal revenue service is big deal. the richest people in the

country getting way would pay no taxes. we should cut down on the gaming posted portion the law should be -- gaming. enforcing the law should be straightforward. he is trying to get a minimum tax on millionaires. if y are amo the richest people in the country, should be paying at least 20% of your income in taxes -- that hardly seems like an outrageous situation. also for corporations. again, trying to have a minimum tax. corporations pay at least 50% of profits in tax. -- 15% of profits in tax. something in the inflation reduction act, he got a tax, one percentage point, but it is a big deal. i would love to see as have more focus on stock buybacks, returns

to shareholders because those are things we see. so t corporate income tax is currently based on profits. if you tax share buybacks, they can't hide those. we see them. he wants to quadruple that from 1% t4% must great policy, obviously, the companies have it or they would not be paying it, paying it to their shareholders, so it is not a question we will be putting them out of business. these are profitable companies. the is a lot of very good thin in this agenda he hit on last night. he should at least be pushing them. amy: let's go back to president biden talking about the climate crisis and taxes. pres. biden: let's face reality. the climate crisis, i don't care if you're in a red or blue state, it is an existential threat most of we have an obligation not to ourselves but

our children and grandchildren to confront it. i'm proud of how america is at last stepping up to the challenge. we're still going to need oil and gas for a while, but guess what? [applause] no, we do. but there's so much more to do. we have got to finish the job. and we pay for these investments in our future by finally making the wealthiest and the biggest corporations begin to pay their fair share. [applause] pres. biden: just began. [applause] pres. biden: i'm a capitalist. i'm a capitalist, but pay your fair share. amy: your response and what can be accomplished in his republican house? >> i think it is interesting when we talk about reducing taxes for working-class families, not a republican applied. --applaud.

when you talk about fair share taxs, not a republican app lauds. but when you talk about oil and gas, they all clap. i really hope the american people see the hypocrisy that i saw in that chamber last night. i applied to the president for what he said. i thought it sounded incredibly progressive when he said that. and something a number of us have been saying for a very long time, the idea that you make $80,000 a year and you are being taxed more than a billionaire? it is unacceptable. it is in enraging. that is what i hear, about property taxes and income tax. if i make a little more, i am making less because of how much i'm paying in taxes. that is unacceptable. if you make $6 billion a year

and you pay your fair share at 20%, here's the thing, you are still a billionaire with $4 billion. i applaud him and there are things we could do in terms of executive action. i don't pretend to assume or believe that somehow we're going have a miracle maybe six or seven republicans are going to come our way. i hear them talking behind the chamber come here right, it is a good -- you're right, we should not be voting for that. but when they get into that chamber, they vote party lines, even if they don't agree with that. so i know we won't have a legislative action that we need in this congress, but we had to everything in our power through executive action to ensure we provide the protection, provide the resources, that we build the economy with working families at the center of it. and when we do that, when we show people that we find

creative ways to protect and support, then the american people will go to the ballot box so we get the majority we need and no excuses and pass the legislation we should on climate and immigration and housing and economy, raising the minimum wage. amy: economist dean baker, what you think heavy accomplished in the republican house? let incredibly important point that congressmember ramirez raised, the pressure that has been brought on biden, this is not the biden you have followed for decades, dean. >> he clearly has moved to the left, which, i was response to pressure, the progressive segments of the democratic party are far more important today than 30 years ago so that is behind his movement by it is a great thing to see. again, i don't know how much she will bable to accomplish and it congress but i will point out

his speech about climate change. we have turned the dial on that. whyo we say, honestly climate change will be in a norm's problem and we will suffer hardships -- enormous problem and we will suffer hardships, but we so much changed the picture with his infrastructure bill and particularly the inflation reduction act. you now ha companies all in on electricars. massive industries in terms of solar and wind. that can't be turned back. that is really huge. we will have to do more and keep the pressure up, but we have to recognize what has been done. we are moving forward with a clean energy transition. that is not stoppable. amy: dean baker, we want to thank you for being with us from a story, or again senior , economist at the center for economic and policy research. and democratic representative delia ramirez from illinois, speaking from the capital.

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(sophie fouron) we're in the middle of the channel. but is it the uk, or is it france? actually, france is just a stone's throw away. you see it on clear days. you think you might be in france when you just look at the signs on the british channel islands. they're british, but they're not english. it's an important difference. they're known all over the world for being a tax haven. and it's one of those islands, very rare, that in the summertime, you see more people in suits than in shorts.