Inflation is at record highs. Americans are paying more for gas, groceries, and basic goods than at any other time in recent history. What the Federal Reserve once called “transitory” unfortunately seems to be anything but. So why is it that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pursuing an aggressive, overreaching regulatory agenda that will only result in less financial stability for Americans? SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s rationale does not track with the reality of working-class families. The proposals that Chairman Gensler’s SEC is attempting to railroad through will take a significant toll on university endowments, charitable nonprofits,...
Read MoreTaxes & The Economy
Sound economic policy appropriately crafted and scrutinized allows the free market to do what it does best: provide a wide range of opportunities for all Americans, regardless of status, wealth, or background. Unfortunately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Chairman Gary Gensler, has laid out a sweeping and harmful regulatory agenda that would diminish the economic prospects of those benefiting from investments in private funds, such as working families and everyday Americans. It’s a classic example of regulators overstepping executive authority and creating incredibly burdensome rules and red tape that, in the end, unfairly creates winners and...
Read MoreToday One America News interviewed HLF’s president about the harm to minority communities that would result from a reinstatement of the so-called “fiduciary rule” that is being strongly considered by the U.S. Department of Labor. HLF has a recent report that breaks down the rule’s effects, which would reduce the retirement savings of 2.7 million individuals with incomes below $100,000 by $140 billion over 10 years. And it would increase the wealth gap by a staggering 20 percent for Hispanic and Black Americans. Watch:
Read MoreHLF today released an in-depth analysis of the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2016 fiduciary rule—a regulation meant to help financial services consumers by seeking to legally ensure that advisors were acting in their customers’ best interest. But despite the self-proclaimed good intentions, the details of fiduciary rule produced a multitude of negative consequences, even in the short time that the regulation was in existence prior to it being vacated in court in 2018 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Now, the Department of Labor is sending strong signals that it intends to reinstate many aspects...
Read MoreHLF just finished a two week online ad campaign encouraging some of the Democrats in Congress who have shown a willingness to support small business. Congress is currently considering a myriad of extreme progressive bills and proposals that would raise taxes and drastically increase cumbersome regulations on small businesses, including a new ‘investment tax.’ Small business issues remain vital in the Latino community, with Latinos starting them at a rate three times that of the general population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The ad ran online, targeting constituents in key states and districts, garnering a total of 1,374,600 impressions...
Read MoreWe’ve previously made the case that the “ABC Test”, a proposal intended to overhaul our nation’s worker classification regulations, would make life much harder for workers and small business owners if it were signed into law. The ABC Test would effectively remove a worker’s choice and ability to identify as an independent contractor, and instead force these individuals to become full-fledged employees, stripping away the freedom and work flexibility they once enjoyed as contractors. That is, unless they aren’t laid off amid the transition. A federally mandated ABC Test is an especially raw deal for Hispanic Americans, given their large...
Read MoreBelow is a recent radio interview from the Matt Buff Radio Show in Orlando. Matt asks HLF president Mario H. Lopez about the role of HLF, communicating to audiences of recent immigrants and its relation to policy, and the recently introduced STEP Act, which would hurt the ability to create inter-generational wealth in underserved communities. .
Read MoreLast week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a hearing on the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. See our previous post on this, as well as an op-ed from HLF’s president. The hearing showed just how disastrous the passage of this bill would be for our nation’s workforce. If the PRO Act becomes law, tens of millions of Americans who are currently independent contractors stand to have their livelihoods upended. The bill goes far beyond providing workers with a greater protections to organize, as proponents have argued. Under the legislation’s strict worker...
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