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--:-- Host: The NFL is back, and FanDuel's got everything you need to play your game. From same-game parlays to live betting. Right now, new customers bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. 21-plus in president select states. 18-plus in Kentucky and Wyoming. Must be first online real money waging. $5 deposit required. Bonus issued is non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See full terms at FanDuel.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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--:-- Host: The president has outlined his economic priorities in his proposed 2025 budget, which was released on Monday. I think this is saying let's shoot for the moon. And if we get 10 percent of what we want, it's still going to be a huge accomplishment for that particular side of the aisle. What does the $7.3 trillion plan cover and how are critics reacting? I'm Georgia Howe and John is on vacation this week. It's Tuesday, March 12th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Host: Senate Republicans are sounding the alarm over counting illegal immigrants in the U.S. census. Why do Democrats want them included? The weight of every American's votes should be equal. More legal alien resettlement shouldn't mean more political power. And 16 state AGs accuse Wells Fargo of political discrimination, warning that debanking is a step towards a social credit system. Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
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--:-- Host: While experts anticipated rate cuts, inflation in the U.S. is still a significant economic concern. The U.S. is $34 trillion in the hole, and yet we keep printing money, which just raises the prices we pay every day. You can bury your head in the sand or do something about it by diversifying a portion of your savings into gold with Birch Gold Group. They'll help you convert your existing IRA or 401k into a tax-sheltered IRA in gold. And you won't pay a penny out of pocket. Just text WIRE to 989898 and Birch Gold will send you a free info kit on gold. That's WIRE to 989898 today.
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--:-- Host: President Biden has released his proposed budget for 2025 and outlined his top economic priorities ahead of the November election. Daily Wire reporter Tim Pierce is here to discuss. So, Tim, what are the top line takeaways from the new budget?
--:-- Tim Pierce: The White House's proposed budget for 2025 is $7.3 trillion and introduces a slew of spending increases and new spending programs. Some of the highlights include increased health care spending, tax credits to offset the impact of high interest rates, new subsidies for child care, and a quarter of a trillion dollars on building low-income housing and a new government office on women's health.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So it sounds like a lot of new spending. How's that going to be paid for?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Mostly through a $5.5 trillion tax increase. That includes an increase in the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. And then a 21% minimum tax for private companies valued at $1 billion or more.
--:-- Peter Earl: According to Peter Earl, a senior fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, that $1 billion benchmark raises questions about how companies are valued and how fluctuations in a company's market value are treated.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And then there is a proposal to tax unrealized capital gains by billionaires by 25%. Earl said a policy like that, if implemented, would drop a bomb on economic activity. I can only imagine what kind of business and microeconomic volatility would be generated by that kind of proposal. It would create unemployment. It would absolutely shred the financial markets And it would create an invisible ceiling above which individuals would not permit themselves to accrue wealth That would have huge implications for job creation for entrepreneurship for the expansion of existing enterprises.
--:-- Tim Pierce: This would be the kind of thing that would drive people to other countries, I think, and particularly the wealthy. Earl says that you would likely see an immediate drop-off in the number of billionaires in the U.S. and an associated spike in the number of people with something like $950 million.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And another proposal would tax the capital gains of anyone worth at least $1 million, the same as their wages.
--:-- Peter Earl: That would have a huge impact on seed stage entrepreneurs, and in particular on small businesses, which are the cauldron of job growth in America, job creation.
--:-- Tim Pierce: So some pretty radical proposals. What are the chances that this becomes law?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Not likely. These budget proposals are typically more like a wish list than a realistic policy proposal. And the chances that any of these are enacted is always pretty low, especially given that Republicans control the House right now.
--:-- Tim Pierce: A better way to view this budget proposal is through the lens of campaign politics. It's an election year, and this budget is mainly about the message ahead of November.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I think that the message that this budget proposal is sending is one of a hyper-populist bend. It demonizes and excoriates wealth and corporate innovation, job growth, that sort of thing.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Now, according to recent polling, Biden is pretty underwater when it comes to economics, at least compared to former President Trump. Are these items popular with people?
--:-- Tim Pierce: Well, he's hoping the optics of them will be appealing to his base, but he still needs to overcome some of the economic realities that many Americans are being hit with.
--:-- Peter Earl: According to Earl, if nothing else, this proposal will be polarizing. These kinds of spending documents are only going to further tribalize the political divide.
--:-- Tim Pierce: I think that for people who believe that the current administration and the ideology that it represents is one of just spending until there's nothing left and of running our debt up, they'll see confirmation in this.
--:-- Tim Pierce: And for those who believe that the evils of the world are caused by billionaires and wealth and that supply and demand doesn't matter anymore, they will see vindication in this budget proposal.
--:-- Host: All right, well, we'll see how people respond to it. Tim, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Tim Pierce: Good to be on.
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--:-- Host: Republicans are moving to stop the Census Bureau from counting illegal immigrants toward congressional seats and electoral college votes, arguing that doing so disenfranchises American citizens, especially those in red states. Here to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So, Amanda, there's been a lot of buzz around this issue in recent days following a failed amendment from Tennessee Republican Senator Bill Hagerty.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: First, what was in that amendment?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Hagerty's amendment would require a question about citizenship on the U.S. census. So those who confirm that they are not U.S. citizens, including illegal immigrants, would then not be counted toward population totals, which dictate the number of House seats and electoral college votes in each state.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Currently, all residents are counted in those totals, including illegals.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Here's Hagerty discussing the issue. The more illegal aliens, the more non-citizens in your state or your district, the greater your voting power in Congress and the greater your voting power in presidential elections
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: But that amendment passed. Why not?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, that right. Every single Democratic senator voted against it actually which Hagerty says is strategic
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Hagerty was quick to point that out online, too. He wrote, quote, Democrats prove they will vote for anything that preserves their own power, even using illegal immigration to compromise Americans' voting rights.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: He expanded on that further, saying that in theory, there could be 13 more congressional districts added based on estimates that there are around 10 million illegals that have entered the country during Biden's tenure so far.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Hagerty implied that most of those would favor Democrats.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Republicans have argued that Democrats are losing residents to red states and they're looking to replace them with immigrants to pad their population and therefore their representation.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: They point to comments like this one from Representative Yvette Clark of New York City. She went viral last year when she publicly said she could use more illegals for redistricting purposes.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: I'm from Brooklyn, New York. We have a diaspora that can absorb a significant number of these migrants. And, you know, when I hear colleagues talk about, you know, no room in the inn, I'm saying I need more people in my district just for redistricting purposes.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Others also weighed in, including Ohio Senator J.D. Vance. He called Democrats' vote against the amendment a disgrace.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And ex-CEO Elon Musk said that permitting legals to be counted toward congressional representation is the, quote, biggest corruption of American democracy in the 21st century.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, this isn't exactly a new issue. I recall President Trump similarly tried to add a question about citizenship to the census back in 2019.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: What happened to that proposal?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, that's right. So in that instance, Trump ran into legal hurdles at the Supreme Court, and basically the clock ran out on the issue.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: The liberals on the court were joined by Chief Justice John Roberts to block the question from being added. But Roberts said the issue was not the question, but the administration's reasoning for wanting to add it, which left room, though no time, to relitigate.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So legally speaking, I wouldn't consider that door shut.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: OK, so what are the arguments from Democrats who oppose asking about citizenship?
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Well, aside from them all voting no, we haven't heard many statements from Democrats yet.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: But when it came up under Trump, they basically argued that it would deter people from answering honestly, therefore undermining the accuracy of the census.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: But given the practical issue of congressional representation, it remains an important issue to sort out.
--:-- Host: Right. And by no means settled. Amanda, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: You're welcome.
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--:-- Host: 16 state attorneys general sent a letter to Wells Fargo Bank last week demanding answers about the debanking of a gun shop owner and the company's move towards denying loans to entities that don't meet certain climate emission standards. Here to discuss the growing concerns that these AGs have is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: So, David, can you give us a little breakdown of what exactly these state officials are alleging here?
--:-- David Marcus: Good morning, Georgia. So there were two things that the AGs really focused on in this rather aggressive letter to Wells Fargo.
--:-- David Marcus: They claim that in pursuing anti-gun, anti-traditional energy policies, the banking giant is discriminating against its customers on the basis of political ideology.
--:-- David Marcus: Montana AG Austin Knutson wrote that it was his job to, quote, protect Montanans from discriminatory business practices, end quote.
--:-- David Marcus: A key example they point to is that of Brandon Wexler a Florida gun dealer who had his accounts at Wells Fargo abruptly closed after 14 years with only a vague explanation as to why
--:-- David Marcus: Here Wexler telling News Nation why he believes this was political
--:-- David Marcus: The gun business, everything is done very legally. Background checks are done on every gun purchase. I believe that the gun control, nothing was getting done. So they were going to take a backdoor approach via social media, shutting down accounts.
--:-- David Marcus: And now Wells Fargo, which I was in complete shock. When I did go into the bank and when I did call the number and they said, sir, this is a business decision. That's the only thing we have to tell you.
--:-- David Marcus: The AGs agree that Wexler was being punished for legally selling guns and fear that the company is moving in the direction of denying lending opportunities to persons or entities that don't toe the line on gun or climate issues.
--:-- David Marcus: For example, setting emission standards for companies as a condition for loans. Wells Fargo has stated that those standards would be based on the goals set by the Paris Climate Accords.
--:-- David Marcus: But the AGs rightfully point out that the Paris Accords are not in any way American law.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, has Wells Fargo responded to the letter yet?
--:-- David Marcus: Wells Fargo has not responded. The AGs gave them 30 days to answer their questions about Wexler and loan policies based on climate.
--:-- David Marcus: But some of this is related to equity, social, and governance, or ESG efforts that major corporations have engaged in over the past several years to influence what they see as positive change.
--:-- David Marcus: The problem is that companies like Wells Fargo treat emissions goals or lowering the amount of gun ownership as universally accepted good, like fighting breast cancer.
--:-- David Marcus: The difference is that nobody is in favor of breast cancer, but lots of people are in favor of using fossil fuels and buying guns.
--:-- David Marcus: Now, is this a growing trend of state attorneys general going directly after corporations that they feel are violating rights of customers?
--:-- David Marcus: And if so, is this tactic likely to become more common?
--:-- David Marcus: Yes and yes.
--:-- David Marcus: Another set of 16 AGs, not exactly the same ones, though there was overlap, also sent a letter to YouTube's CEO in recent weeks demanding that the platform stop putting what amount to correction notes on pro-life videos, most notably one from the Alliance Defending Freedom about the dangers of chemical abortion.
--:-- David Marcus: Again, the AGs are arguing that customers, in this case content creators, are being discriminated against for holding a conservative political position.
--:-- David Marcus: In their letter, they argued that engaging in this kind of political bias strips YouTube of its Section 230 protection against liability for what its users post.
--:-- David Marcus: That is a scary and game-changing proposition for social media and Internet content companies.
--:-- David Marcus: In regard to both banking and internet platforms, there are very real emerging fears about a de facto social credit system in which our ability to do business and participate in society could be limited by our political ideas and speech.
--:-- David Marcus: That ultimately is what these AGs and lawmakers are looking to stop.
--:-- Host: Right. Well, Dave, thanks so much for coming on.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Host: Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
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