Tyranny lets play

After years of slowly easing toward remote work arrangements, companies and their employees had to take the plunge fully clothed in March. Instead of drowning, they learned to make it work, saving an untold number of jobs and ushering in profound changes that will carry into a post-pandemic world. “Remote work has been all or nothing in the past,” said Sara Sutton, founder and CEO of FlexJobs. “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.” FlexJobs connects workers with remote work opportunities, and the Boulder-based company, practicing what it preaches, has operated remotely for 14 years. Despite being well-versed in what many companies were pushed into unwillingly, Sutton said this year has proved to be the hardest in the company’s history. What happened this year doesn’t at all reflect the benefits that remote work can offer, Sutton said. And yet, despite all the limitations, many employees came to prefer it. “It has been far more challenging than what typical remote work is by … [Read more...] about Work-at-home will stay in play long after the pandemic recedes

Say it ain’t Joe. Photo: Julia Schmalz/Bloomberg via Getty Images Barring a medical emergency or sudden outbreak of austerity fever, Joe Biden’s nearly $2 trillion COVID relief bill will be law by mid-March . After that, congressional Democrats plan to turn their attention to a climate-friendly infrastructure package . Like the president’s “relief” bill, this “recovery” program will consist primarily of spending measures, and almost certainly be passed via a budget-reconciliation bill — a special category of legislation that can pass the Senate on a party-line vote, so long as all its provisions primarily impact the federal budget. But once reconciliation is done, acrimony may follow. Through the opening weeks of the Biden presidency, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have held the line against altering the legislative filibuster. To progressives’ dismay, these Democratic senators have forced their party to advance relief through a byzantine process that has delayed the … [Read more...] about How Dems Can Turn Filibuster Reform Into the ‘Moderate’ Option

Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) defended her proposed Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act , which would tax the wealthiest 100,000 households in the nation. Jayapal pushed back against the notion that her proposal is “confiscatory.” She argued the legislation is about “leveling the playing field.” “You know, I just don’t see how you can say that two cents on every dollar over $50 million is confiscatory,” Jayapal asserted. “You still got 98 cents left on every dollar over a million. You got 97 cents left on every dollar over a billion. So, what we’re talking about is the very, very top number of families, 100,000 families, where wealth has been concentrated, and because in this country we’ve taxed income, we tax property as you know to some extent, but property for working families is a much, much bigger share of their total net worth than it is for the people at the very, very top of the scale, so all we’re talking about is leveling the playing field here and … [Read more...] about Dem Rep. Jayapal: ‘Nothing Confiscatory’ About Ultra-Millionaire Tax

Presented by Facebook Welcome to The Hill’s Morning Report. Today is Thursday! We get you up to speed on the most important developments in politics and policy, plus trends to watch. Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver are the co-creators. Readers can find us on Twitter @asimendinger and @alweaver22. Please recommend the Morning Report to friends and let us know what you think. CLICK HERE to subscribe! Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported each morning this week: Monday, 513,091; Tuesday, 514,657; Wednesday, 516,608; Thursday, 518,453. Senate Democrats on Wednesday took a scalpel to President Biden Joe Biden The West needs a more collaborative approach to Taiwan Abbott's medical advisers were not all consulted before he lifted Texas mask mandate House approves George Floyd Justice in Policing Act MORE ’s $1.9 trillion relief bill hoping to surgically ensure enough support from centrists this week to clear the measure, … [Read more...] about The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Lawmakers face Capitol threat as senators line up votes for relief bill

The Wisconsin Badgers will play Illinois in a Saturday afternoon matchup, and we need a huge win. At the moment, Wisconsin is 14-5 as we enter the weekend against the Fighting Illini. We’re coming off a revenge win over Penn State , and it’s time to notch another victory. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wisconsin Basketball (@badgermbb) Illinois is a damn good basketball team. They’re one of the best teams in America, and are currently ranked 12th in the AP Poll. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Illinois Basketball (@illinimbb) The Fighting Illini represent the kind of team I want to be playing. I salivate for top 20 opponents. I love taking the court against other elite teams. If you want to be viewed as one of … [Read more...] about PREVIEW: Wisconsin Needs A Huge Saturday Win Over Illinois