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OP-ED: Bidenomics Builds on Efforts to Invest in Struggling Communities

NNPA NEWSWIRE — We have been working to target resources to communities in need across the entire federal government while recognizing that different targeting measures will work better for different programs.
The post OP-ED: Bidenomics Builds on Efforts to Invest in Struggling Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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By: Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn (SC-06)

 

There is an increased focus on “Bidenomics” as President Joe Biden and his administration implement and communicate his economic policy agenda to the American people. President Biden gave a major speech on the subject in Chicago last month. Listening to that speech, I was struck by one line in particular: “I believe every American willing to work hard should be able to say where they grew up and stay where they grew up.”

Focusing on struggling communities has been a priority of mine for many years. For too long, communities like many of those I represent have been victimized by government policies, overlooked for private investments, and neglected for economic development. President Biden understands that we must make America’s greatness accessible and affordable for everyone, everywhere.

Back in 2009, as we began to plot our recovery out of the Great Recession, I remembered how the New Deal was a raw deal for many of the communities I represent, as it largely excluded African Americans.  Careful to avoid repeating that shameful history, I insisted that resources be targeted to long-struggling communities.

We came up with what we called the 10-20-30 formula, which required at least 10 percent of funds in designated accounts to be spent in persistent poverty counties, which are defined as counties that have had a poverty rate of at least 20 percent for at least 30 years.  There are more than 400 such counties in America. These counties are as diverse as our country. They are majority Black in the South, majority white in Appalachia, majority Latino in the Southwest, and majority Native American in the Great Plains.  Far more are represented by Republicans than by Democrats.

The Recovery Act applied the 10-20-30 formula to three rural development accounts: the Rural Community Facilities Program Account, the Rural Business Program Account, and the Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account.

The results were impressive. According to the USDA, the 10-20-30 formula was responsible for funding 4,655 projects totaling nearly $1.7 billion in persistent poverty counties.  These projects ranged from drinking water infrastructure in Orangeburg County, South Carolina, to a public safety building in New Madrid County, Missouri, to a “green” administration building for a tribal housing authority in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

We increased the number of accounts subject to the 10-20-30 formula from the 3 in the Recovery Act to 15 for the past several years.  Billions of federal dollars have been invested under these provisions, and the benefits have continued. Funded by a USDA Community Facilities Grant, the Bamberg-Barnwell Emergency Medical Center opened in 2019 in rural South Carolina, filling an essential need in two communities where two hospitals had closed in 2012 and 2016.

Roosevelt County Electric Cooperative in New Mexico took advantage of the formula to improve reliability and affordability, and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians received a $1.4 million water and waste disposal grant to improve the water infrastructure on their reservation.

A more recent investment by the Economic Development Administration at the Department of Commerce illustrates the promise of these targeted investments in persistent poverty counties. An EDA grant of nearly $4 million was awarded to Panola County, Mississippi, to support the county, and I’m quoting the Department, “with renovating a former outlet mall building for use as a workforce training center that will serve North Mississippi.” That is what the 10-20-30 formula is all about.

Our work to target funds to distressed communities has not stopped with the 10-20-30 formula focused on persistent poverty counties. We recognize that county poverty rates are not necessarily the best metric by which to assess the level of need in urban areas, so we have set aside funds for both persistent poverty counties and high-poverty census tracts, including in the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant program. Late last month, a $22.8 million RAISE grant was awarded to build a pedestrian bridge and multi-modal transit hub in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to connect downtown with surrounding neighborhoods and two HBCUs, South Carolina State and Claflin. This investment will be transformational for that community.

We have been working to target resources to communities in need across the entire federal government while recognizing that different targeting measures will work better for different programs. Last Congress, we developed and introduced the Targeting Resources to Communities in Need Act, which would direct the Office of Management and Budget to work with agencies to take steps to better target funds to struggling communities and report to Congress on the steps that they have taken and the results that they have had.

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and I introduced this legislation on a bipartisan basis last year with Hal Rogers (R-KY-05) in the House and Rob Portman (R-OH) in the Senate. It passed the House and was marked up in the Senate. It came up just short of being enacted into law, but our work continues. We have achieved remarkable progress. We cannot help struggling Americans unless we help the communities they call home.

We have a president of the United States who understands that. His vision of a country where “every American willing to work hard should be able to say where they grew up and stay where they grew up” is within reach.

The post OP-ED: Bidenomics Builds on Efforts to Invest in Struggling Communities first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.


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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

 

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