Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Joanne Butler
I was at the French memorial that Trump snubbed
Unlike former President Donald Trump, I was at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial for the centennial of the World War I armistice. Trump missed an extraordinary event, the kind that happens only once in a lifetime.
President Biden, remain true to his Delaware roots | Opinion
What do Uber, Pinterest, and Slack all have in common? They're all incorporated in Delaware. We may be small in size, but our state dominates American business. Over 66% of Fortune 500s are domiciled here. And we're not just the top choice for publicly traded firms. Over one million businesses are registered in our state. Indeed, "Delaware corporation" is virtually a national brand because we have such a long-established policy of friendliness to business.
Who Are Now The Least Among Us?
‘All-star,’ ‘brilliant jurist’: Pro-life leaders thrilled Trump nominated Barrett to Supreme Court September 26, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett is “an absolute all-star” and “a judicial role model for the next generation,” pro-life leaders said today.
While We’re Erasing Confederate Names, Let’s Remove Robert Byrd’s, Too
Recently, Sen. Elizabeth Warren pulled off a tricky legislative move to eliminate the names of Confederate soldiers from U.S. defense facilities (such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, named for Confederate General Bragg). If this is a poker game, then I counter: remove the name of the Ku Klux Klan’s Exalted Cyclops Robert Byrd (former Senate Majority Leader, a lifelong Democrat, who retired from the Senate only ten years ago) from all federal buildings, roads, bridges, programs — everything.
Better Econ. Stimulus: Pausing Social Security Taxes
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File cymakers fear a pause would be a risk to Social Security's trust fund. They're mistaken. Poli Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments Related Articles
A Better Stimulus: Pausing Social Security Taxes
Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images</a To help Americans to return to work and revive the economy, some are proposing a second round of checks (and more federal debt). There’s a better stimulus without the debt: pausing collecting Social Security taxes for six months. The larger paycheck (sans Social Security taxes) puts more money in a worker’s pocket, and the ripple effects begin. Workers spend their extra money—helping revive our local and national economies.
Sec. Mnuchin: Take My PPP Challenge!
Official Portrait Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said the Paycheck Protection Program is effective in helping small businesses stay afloat. That’s true, in a limited way. For certain small businesses (with strong professional associations or franchisees), the PPP is effective. For others, such as a Mom-and-Pop shop, the PPP is a maze, they may have to pay an accountant to help access benefits.
COVID-19’s Next Victim: Higher Education?
Amariotti via Wikimedia Commons In higher education, April is when college and university administrations prepare for their freshman incoming classes in September. In a normal year, an institution could predict, with a high level of certainty, how many students would show up after Labor Day (based on the number of deposits from accepted would-be students). But this isn’t a normal year. Health risks are a new factor in how students and parents view higher education.
COVID-19 Update For Trusts And Estates April 2, 2020 - Coronavirus (Covid-19) - United States
To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. Federal and state governments have taken a number of actions in recent weeks in response to COVID-19 pandemic. Although there is certain to be additional governmental action in the near future, we thought it would be helpful to summarize the key actions that relate to our trusts and estates clients.
COVID-19 Update for Trusts and Estates | JD Supra
Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.
Coping With Coronavirus Downtime
Photo via PickPik First, I hope you are able to work from home and receive a full paycheck. If not, I hope your employer is paying you, either your full paycheck or at least a partial one. If you’re in the latter category, I suggest you call your landlord/mortgage company, utilities, and credit card company. Be upfront and explain your situation. Right now, firms are being flexible with their customers, so this is the best time for you to take action.
Joe Biden Is No Friend Of The Working Class
Obama White House Joe Biden’s reputation as a defender of the blue-collar, lunch-bucket workers is a fake, a mere mask. When his help was needed to preserve thousands of union jobs while he was President Obama’s Vice President, he did virtually nothing. In July 2009, General Motors’ Saturn plant (had been making cars since 1940s) closed as part of its bankruptcy/restructuring process.
How Biden Went From Uncle Joe To Angry Old Man
Why is Joe Biden angry? Recently he’s been spotted grabbing people by the lapels, jabbing them with his index finger, his face screwed into a rictus of fury if anyone dares to ask him a policy question. He’s angry because for most of his adult life, he’s been Joe the Beloved. Now he’s realizing the adulation he once enjoyed with voters is gone, vanished. Yes, he is angry indeed. Add to that his dropping poll numbers among black voters, we have a Biden who’s angry and nervous.
Trust and Estates Newsletter 2020 | JD Supra
Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.
BUTLER: Trump’s China Deal Isn’t So Different From The Clinton Years
January 17, 2020 11:00 AM ET This week’s happy talk over the “Phase One” trade accord with the People’s Republic of China has been similar to the happy talk in 2000, when America concluded negotiations with the PRC to allow it to enter the World Trade Organization. Back in 2000, the stakes were simple: by giving up America’s right to unilaterally punish the PRC for trade violations, the PRC would commit to do all manner of good things for the American economy.
The Innkeeper Reconsidered
December 24, 2019 Frontpage No Comments By JOANNE SADLER BUTLER In the familiar “Infancy Gospel” of Luke, the innkeeper who sends Joseph and Mary to the stable might be viewed as hard-hearted and selfish. The Gospel (Luke 2:7) cites a lack of room at the inn as the reason for Joseph and Mary going to the stable. But was the innkeeper truly selfish? Or was he merciful? First, let us consider why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem.
BUTLER: Warren Should Plan To Crack Down On Her Colleagues When They Don’t Pay Taxes
November 26, 2019 7:00 AM ET Amid impeachment headlines, an interesting tidbit slipped by: the U.S. Tax Court found that Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s colleague on the Harvard Law faculty, Ronald Sullivan, owes more than $1.2 million in back taxes, for failing to file income tax returns from 2005 through 2013. This was not a case of resistance against the Trump administration, as Sullivan’s ‘failure to file’ occurred during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.
BUTLER: Is China Betting On Joe Biden?
September 16, 2019 3:00 PM ET Would Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election be a win for the People’s Republic of China? Donald Trump has been working to correct problems rooted in decades of neglect by previous administrations toward China on basic issues such intellectual property rights. Meanwhile, the PRC (a command economy) is using U.S. farmers as a punching bag to get the president to back off.
BUTLER: America’s First Labor Strike - 400 Years Ago -Showed Skills Matter More Than Class
September 02, 2019 5:00 PM ET In 1619 — 400 years ago (and before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts) — America experienced its first labor strike. The strike happened in the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. The strikers were craftsmen from Poland. They downed tools because their English employers would not give them the right to vote in the colony’s first election. Their lesson on the importance of skilled labor remains relevant today.
BUTLER: The Yield-Curve Inversion Could Mean A Recession - But It’s Far From Certain
August 30, 2019 5:30 PM ET The August rollercoaster in the stock market have Democrats predicting a recession that will begin just in time for the 2020 presidential elections. But a closer study of the American economy shows a recession is not necessarily on the horizon. Wall Street panicked this month due to an “inversion” of Treasury bond interest rates. The inversion occurred when the rate for a two-year note was higher than the rate for a 10-year note.
Trusts and Estates Newsletter - July 2019 | JD Supra
Updated: May 25, 2018: JD Supra is a legal publishing service that connects experts and their content with broader audiences of professionals, journalists and associations.
BUTLER: Good News From America’s Mortgage Casino
11:30 AM 06/06/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Contributor With all the churning in Washington, D.C., you may have missed some very good news: how interest rates have plummeted. Currently, the 10-year U.S. Treasury note’s yield is about 2.1 percent. This number has a direct impact on home mortgage rates. Bottom line: it’s a good time to go to the mortgage casino. For anyone considering buying a house or refinancing, this could be your moment. Why do U.S. Treasury note rates matter?
BUTLER: Will Joe Biden’s Blue-Collar Image Survive 2020 Scrutiny?
3:00 PM 05/24/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Contributor Joe Biden has been on the political stage since 1972 — when Gerald Ford was president. Yet he’s been a background character during his decades in the Senate and eight years as vice president. Today, however, he’s no longer in the shadows. For the first time in his life, the glare of the media’s spotlight is focused directly on him. And Americans are going to learn who he truly is.
BUTLER: If Biden Wants To Win Pennsylvania, He’d Better Embrace Pittsburgh’s Economic Success
12:00 PM 05/01/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Contributor Joe Biden delivered his campaign kickoff speech in Pittsburgh — a place that evokes images of rusted-out smokestacks and shuttered factories. But that isn’t the case today. Fracking has had a major role in rejuvenating the Pittsburgh region’s economy. There’s one teensy problem for Biden, however: Democrats hate fracking.
OPINION: Rip Van Biden Is Learning About The Democratic Party of 2020
11:30 AM 04/08/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Contributor Poor Joe Biden — he took a two-year snooze only to find upon awakening how the old Democratic party of 2012 no longer exists. In its place is a party of angry people, with anger awards going to women, African-Americans and Hispanics. While polling indicates Biden would beat President Trump in 2020, let’s remember the pushback from the other Democratic candidates has just begun.
OPINION: The College-Admissions Scandal - The Result Of Tiger Parents Who Didn’t Have Time To Be Tigers
11:00 AM 03/19/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee The Justice Department has indicted 33 parents in its college-admissions sting operation, labeled “Operation Varsity Blues.” William Singer, who pleaded guilty to four charges of racketeering and related offenses, allegedly offered services to wealthy parents to get their children into top-ranked universities.
OPINION: With Generational Anger, Is It Any Surprise Millennials Are Moving Left?
12:00 PM 02/27/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee A new generation of Democrats is angry at the rich. But their anger includes an expansive view of who’s rich: not just billionaires like Jeff Bezos, but also the hidden millionaires of older Americans. The albatross of student loans causes many younger people to see a future of downward mobility; they don’t expect to be better off than their parents.
OPINION: Democrats Have Proposed A ‘Right’ Not To Work - And It’s At Odds With American Tradition
12:30 PM 02/20/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee In the now-infamous fact sheet produced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (AOC) office explaining her “Green New Deal,” there was a promise that the government would provide an income for those “unwilling to work,” an old socialist ideal. In light of other AOC proposals, it’s no surprise the idea was included in the draft.
BUTLER: Looking To Buy An Engagement Ring This February? Head For Tax-Free Delaware
8:30 AM 02/07/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee Any jeweler will tell you that the run-up to Valentine’s Day is the season for selling engagement rings. However, if you’re planning to spend a few thousand dollars (or more) on a ring, and you live somewhere along the New York City — Washington, D.C. corridor, why not buy the ring in tax-free Delaware?
OPINION: Hillary Clinton - The Angriest Democrat In America
3:00 PM 01/29/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee If we can stop thinking about immigration for two minutes, then let’s consider the plight of the angriest female Democrat in America: Hillary Clinton. Her blood pressure must skyrocket every time she sees Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A mere two years ago, Ocasio-Cortez was a nobody. Today, the media are mesmerized by her every utterance, be it a speech, a tweet, or her constant press conferences.
OPINION: Jack Bogle - The Mozart Of Finance - Dies At 89
5:30 PM 01/17/2019 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee Jack Bogle, founder of Vanguard Mutual Funds, died Thursday at age 89. I call him the “Mozart of Finance” because he transformed the stock market based on a theory from his senior thesis at Princeton University. At an age when Mozart was scribbling operas, Bogle was thinking about disrupting how investments are done.
OPINION: How You Can Influence Trump On Immigration
12:30 PM 12/17/2018 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee Do you receive political fundraising mail? I do – and lots of it. Here’s an easy way to let the president, Congress and national committees know your feelings about illegal immigration and the wall: The next time you get a national Republican fundraising appeal in the mail, open it, remove the “contribution card,” and write in large letters (but do not obscure your name and address): I WANT A WALL.
OPINION: If Trump Wants Tariffs, He Must Avoid Loopholes
2:27 PM 12/09/2018 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee Recently, President Trump called himself a “tariff man.” Me? I’m a tariff woman! I maintain a research account at the U.S. International Trade Commission for the purposes of gathering statistics on trade under certain tariffs. Back in the 1990s, I was the lone female in the U.S. delegation to a conference at the World Customs Organization in Brussels. And I made a difference.
OPINION: Remembering George H.W. And Barbara Bush’s White House Parties
3:30 PM 12/05/2018 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee Although I never met the late President Bush, I worked in his administration, at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative as a trade specialist. While USTR’s building is not on the White House grounds, staff were treated as White House staffers. This meant invitations to the Fourth of July picnic on the White House lawn and the annual Christmas party.
OPINION: It’s Too Soon To Celebrate Trump-Xi Talks
11:30 AM 12/04/2018 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee The stock markets worldwide are brimful of glee over the Trump-Xi talks over the past weekend. But it’s too soon to pop the champagne corks. What if the Chinese strategy is to prolong discussions until the November 2020 election? If President Trump is not re-elected, the show may not be over, but the cast and script will have changed.
OPINION: I Was In Paris On Armistice Day And Understand Why Trump Didn’t Show Up At The WWI Memorial
4:00 PM 11/21/2018 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee Two weekends ago, my husband and I attended Armistice Day ceremonies at the Aisne-Marne American Military Cemetery (90-minute drive east of Paris). Initially, I was disappointed President Trump did not attend; but now I understand why. The weather was very foggy — no helicopter fly-in. A motorcade from Paris would have been impossible, as protesters would have blocked access to roads.
OPINION: Give To Those In Need This Thanksgiving
3:00 PM 11/16/2018 | Opinion Joanne Butler | Former Staffer, House Ways and Means Committee If you’re cooking for Thanksgiving, you’ll probably check your pantry to see what you need to buy (besides the turkey). It’s also a good time to clear out your pantry of those unexpired cans or jars of food you know you’ll never eat. Putting aside oddball foods like kumquats, your local food bank will be glad to accept your donation.
OPINION: This Sunday, It’s Armistice Day
World War I ended a hundred years ago, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For years, November 11 was known as Armistice Day. Later, as the war passed into history, it was renamed “Veterans Day.” I mean no disrespect to our veterans; World War I veterans were the founders of the American Legion. This Sunday, however, marks the centennial of the end of a war many Americans have forgotten. It deserves to be Armistice Day one more time.
OPINION: Big Mistake If Amazon HQ Is In Crystal City
Nothing’s official yet, but if Amazon selects Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia, as part of its new second headquarters, they’re making a big mistake. As someone who spent my childhood and most of my adulthood either inside or outside the Beltway, I’m an expert on the region. Traffic in the D.C. region is horrible. It’s especially bad in Northern Virginia. The quality of life in Old Town Alexandria is attractive, but it’s an outlier.
OPINION: 2 Things You Need To Know About The ‘Tight Labor Market’
I recently encountered two important factors about the so-called “tight labor market.” First, it’s tighter where the jobs are (yes, this is obvious, but it needs to be said). Second, if employers are flexible, they’ll fill those jobs. To put it another way, if firms build the right human resources structure, they (job seekers) will come. Plus, a tighter labor market means more volunteer opportunities for ex-offenders and others.
OPINION: Trump Kept His Social Security Promise
Nervous Republican incumbents can take comfort in President Trump’s fulfilled promise not to change Social Security. I don’t know if this was deliberate or coincidental, but House Speaker Paul Ryan (a huge fan of Social Security changes) was focused on the President’s agenda of tax cuts. That left no room for Ryan to propose Social Security changes. Ryan’s exit from the House, however, will leave some members continuing to support changing Social Security’s retirement program.
Trump’s Canada Export Numbers Are Off
President Trump is apparently angry about Canada’s dairy support policies. He would do well to open his Bible to Matthew 7:3-4. It’s the passage about focusing on a speck of sawdust in a brother’s eye, while ignoring the (wooden) plank in one’s own eye. For, indeed, the United States has a complex dairy support system of its own. For example, U.S. milk prices are controlled by the federal government. That’s why you never see a sale on fluid milk at the supermarket.
Pardoning Manafort: One Easy Step To Impeachment?
Having been a Beltway undergrad during the Watergate fracas, I’ve been having queasy feelings lately. The first event was Michael Cohen’s plea deal. I’m getting more unsettled as I hear President Trump is considering pardoning his now-convicted former aide, Paul Manafort. That’s asking for impeachment, Mr. President. Perhaps the president doesn’t realize this, but a pardon for Manafort telegraphs the message of a high probability that criminal things were going on during the campaign.
Brennan’s Security Clearance: A Trump Fumble
Was President Trump correct to cancel John Brennan’s security clearance? Absolutely. No one has a ‘right’ to a clearance either while working for the government or afterward. But the White House fumbled regarding Brennan’s situation. Brennan should have been one in a list of many former feds who still had active clearances for no credible reason.
Note to Ocasio-Cortez: Don’t Help Me!
If I were a Democratic candidate for anything (U.S. Senate to county coroner) and I received a call from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, I’d hang up. And I’d hit the big red button on my ‘call killer’ gizmo. Because her endorsement translates into: ‘you lose’. Real world people would treat her as if she had a contagious disease, but politics-world is different. Ocasio-Cortez’s no-hopers engage in magical thinking.
Marco Rubio And Ivanka Trump Raid Social Security To Fund ‘Paid Family Leave’
Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Ivanka Trump recently unveiled their “paid family leave” plan. It allows workers to opt for lower and later Social Security retirement payments in order to pay for maternity/paternity leave. Clearly, Marco and Ivanka won’t be retiring to a trailer park in Yuma, Arizona. But under their plan, today’s young workers will be stuck in those trailer parks 40 years from now. It’s not a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. It’s about robbing old Peter to pay young Peter.
Trump Kicks Off Initiative To Retrain American Workers: Here Are The Factors
This week, President Trump kicked off an initiative to help retrain American workers. The initiative includes a group of business leaders and federal officials to guide the effort. The results will tell us if the initiative is successful. There are many factors, however, involved in retraining, such as getting the workers to the workplace. Think about where people work in your local area. If you’re in the suburbs, chances are sprawling office parks or large warehouse centers are the norm.
Trump Is ABSOLUTELY Getting Tariffs Right (Despite The Confusion Of Overwhelmed TV Journalists)
A CNBC host, David Faber, recently admitted to being overwhelmed by the proposed list of new items the Trump administration has targeted for retaliation. Too bad Mr. Faber didn’t read my commentary from June 19, where I suggested the administration go after the “low-hanging fruit” — products with robust import numbers, but with less impact on ordinary Americans. In my commentary, I reviewed three sectors: cosmetics, furniture, and lighting fixtures.
The Story Behind The Man Who Made Music For The Fourth Of July
Any Fourth of July celebration is incomplete without a march by the “March King,” John Philip Sousa. His work — “The Stars and Stripes Forever” — is usually played on the national holiday, but he was a prolific composer, writing many marches (the audio for each of them can be found here), and a few operettas. Sousa was a D.C. native, born in 1854 near the 8th and I Street Marine Barracks, where his father, Antonio — a Portuguese-Spanish immigrant — played trombone in the Marine Band.
LABOR SHORTAGE: Disabled Workers Are Now Competing With Immigrants For Jobs
What’s the secret to getting disabled people off the Social Security rolls and into the workforce? Answer: a labor shortage. A recent New York Times article discussed how a young man with cerebral palsy eventually decided to forgo government benefits and accept a full-time job. Plus, applications for disability payments are down dramatically – due to the labor shortage. There are many lessons here, including how immigration affects the employment of the disabled.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Joanne
Contact Joanne, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack