REP. BUTTERFIELD BUOYED
TO SEE BIDEN IN, DETERMINED
TO SEE JUSTICE DONE
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
Wednesday was a bittersweet day for Congressman G.K. Butterfield.
Naturally, the North Carolina First District Democrat was elated to see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sworn-in as president and vice-president respectively, bringing with them the promise to heal a badly broken nation trying to recover from four-years of the Republican Trump Administration.
Harris becoming the first African-American woman sworn-in as Vice President was particularly gratifying, as well.
But Rep. Butterfield had a hard time enjoying the inaugural festivities. The U.S. Capitol, which fourteen days prior was the scene of the Trump-inspired violent white insurrection, was an armed camp Inauguration Day, with the Secret Service, National Guard, Capitol Police and other forces on high alert for any attempt to disrupt the proceedings.
There was no 500,000 people-plus crowd extending to the National Mall (like Pres. Obama’s first inauguration in 2009), and though held outside, guests where subject to COVID-19 restrictions.
Still, Congressman Butterfield was thankful for the positive change in leadership.
‘I am excited about the Biden Administration,” the eight-term Democrat exclaims, noting that he supported the former vice president from the very beginning. Butterfield was pleased that Biden “a very elaborate, very detailed” plan for Black America due the campaign, demonstrating his commitment to diversity.
As far as other Biden-Harris proposed legislation Butterfield plans to support as it makes it’s way through the New Democratic Congress, there’s the just-announced $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which promises to send $2,000 checks to all Americans, and add $400.00 to unemployment compensation.
The bill will also include a refundable tax credit for low-income people with dependent children who don’t earn enough to pay taxes, but could still use help making ends meet.
Rep. Butterfield also looks forward to a much-needed national infrastructure package That would improve broadband, roads, schools, water and sewer in marginalized communities.
But make no mistake - as much as the former NC Supreme Court justice is looking forward to the future, he ha no intention of forgetting the past, or ignoring the present.
While Congressman Butterfield’s personal experience during the Jan. 6th U.S. Capitol siege was not as harrowing as many of his colleagues (he stayed in his office in the Rayburn Building and never went to the Capitol until that night after the pro-Trump mob had been cleared out for the continuation of the electoral vote certification process), he realized after the fact just how bad it was.
He saw firsthand the destruction left behind, which left him in “shock.” Heard from colleagues on how 200 of them had been crammed into the Ways and Means Committee room during the height of the violence, something he called “a strategic blunder” because several Republican members were apparently COVID - 19 carriers.
Rep. Butterfield says it appears the Capitol siege was “well-planned,” and that it’s obvious that the rioters had assistance, possibly from the inside. He recalls seeing people he found “interesting” touring the Capitol the day before the siege. That was strange because the Capitol had been closed to public tours since last March because of COVID-19.
“I feel that the protestors had information that they normally would not have had,” Butterfield says, promising vigorous House committee investigations into all that transpired.
Add to this the fact that Republican members now want bring guns onto the House floor, where they are absolutely not allowed. Some have already balked once metal detectors were installed shortly after the siege.
In the future, that could cost each complainant as much as $10,000 out of their salary.
One good thing tat has come out of the Capitol siege has been the unanimous acclaim for the bravery of Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who is credited with misleading an angry white mob away from the Senate chambers during the melee, possibly saving lives.
“He is a hero by any definition,” says Congressman Butterfield, agreeing that the Black officer is deserving of the Congressional Gold Medal.
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BARBER HAILS BIDEN’S
CALL FOR $15/hr WAGE
By Cash Michaels
Contributing writer
With his then Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris standing at his side, on January 14th, Joe abides made it clear that one of the first things he’ll do as president is ask the Congress to increase the national minimum wage to $15.00 per hour for all low-wage earners.
“Nobody working 40 hours a week should be living below the poverty line.”the former vice president said then.
Republicans don’t agree, saying that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 (where it’s been since 2009) is too much heavy-lifting for small business owners.
But the Rev. Dr. William Barber, co-convener of the Poor People’s March: A National Revival, and president of the nonprofit Repairers of the Breach, not only agrees, but has been wholeheartedly calling for the minimum wage hike for years.
During a recent appearance on MSNBC’s “Velshi,” Rev. Barber reiterated his support, noting that $15/hr minimum wage could lift 39 million Americans out of poverty.
“There are 62 million people in this country, who make less than a living wage. This the right thing to do. If It’s radical (as Republicans charge that it is), it is radical love.”
Studies have shown that if the national minimum wage kept pace with productivity growth since 1968, it would be over $24/hr, meaning that a minimum wage employee would earn $48,000 a year - enough to cover the basic necessities for a single person.
“It’s economically insane not rot do it,” Rev. Dr. Barber maintained. “And if the minimum wage kept pace with inflation, it would actually be $9.00 higher.”
“We see tis as a major victory of the Poor People’s campaign,” Rev. Dr. Barber continued. “And if people are paid this wage, guess what? It goes into economy, and raises productivity.”
“It’s the right way to go, and it’s a powerful start for the Biden Administration,” Barber concluded.
History shows that Rev. Dr. Barber is not the first national faith and civil rights leader to forcefully advocate for the poor to be treated fairly when it comes to making a living wage.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the originator of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, pushed powerfully for that very thing during the waning days of his life, planning to bring thousands to Washington, D.C. in peaceful protest to do so before he was cut down by an assassin’a bullet.
It was no accident that he was in Memphis, Tenn. advocating for the local garbage workers who were charging low wages and bad on-the-job treatment.
“God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty,” Dr. King said in 1963.
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STATE NEWS BRIEFS FOR 01-21-21
CREDIT SUISSE SPONSORS SCHOLARSHIP FOR NC HBCU STUDENTS
[RTP] Swiss bank Credit Suisse is sponsoring a new scholarship fund fr students attending North Carolina’s yet HBCUs. The bank says it’s created a $1.2 million endowment with the United Negro College Fund. The bank now joins other companies in making meaningful contributions after the death of George Floyd.
SEN. BURR WON’T FACE INSIDER STOCK TRADE CHARGES
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) will not face charges by the U.S. Dept. of Justice for alleged insider stock trades just before the pandemic hit. Burr announced this week that he was informed that the case was now closed. He was accused of using classified information to make stock trades. Burr, who is retiring from the Senate after this term, maintained that he used public information to execute $1.7 million in stock trades.
KERNERSVILLE MAN ARRESTED FOR HIS PART IN U.S. CAPITOL SIEGE
[KERNERSVILLE] Federal authorities have arrested and charged Christopher Raphael Spencer, 40, for taking part in the Jan. 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. Spencer allegedly live-streamed videos to Facebook from inside the Capitol, according to an informant. Authorities recovered the videos with Spencer featured in them. He was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds, and obstruction of justice.
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