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Michael Bloomberg entered the crowded 2020 Democratic primary race last month, reversing a decision he made earlier this year not to seek the presidency. Bloomberg served three terms as mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013, earning a reputation for being fiscally conservative and socially liberal.

Before entering public service, Bloomberg worked on Wall Street and founded Bloomberg LP, a financial services company that helped him amass an eye-popping personal fortune of $55.5 billion. A major philanthropist and climate change and gun control activist, Bloomberg is the eighth-richest person in the world.

Heres where Bloomberg stands on key issues in the 2020 presidential election.

Bloomberg raised property, income and sales taxes as mayor, turning the multi billion-dollar deficit he inherited after taking office in 2002 into a surplus by the time he stepped down in 2014. He boosted tourism, an important part of the New York economy, and rezoned large swaths of the city, paving the way for a major real estate boom. On his campaign website, Bloomberg claims his reforms created 400,000 new jobs in New York.

At the same time, Bloomberg drew heavy criticism for cutting spending, privatizing some city services, and failing to resolve labor disputes with unions seeking pay hikes. He once backed a plan to raise New York States minimum wage, but also vetoed city legislation aimed at raising wages for some workers with city contracts, angering critics who argued that Bloomberg was a billionaire technocrat disconnected from ordinary New Yorkers.

The former mayor has not yet released a detailed economic plan since launching his presidential run. His campaign website touts his economic record as mayor and says as president he would strengthen the middle class through policies that open the door of opportunity to every American. In a campaign ad, Bloomberg promised the wealthy will pay more in taxes, a position shared by several 2020 rivals, including progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

In January Bloomberg criticized the Medicare-for-All proposal backed by several 2020 Democrats, saying the country could never afford that. Bloomberg told reporters at the time that the plan would cost trillions of dollars and bankrupt the U.S. According to his campaign website, Bloomberg supports expanding the Affordable Care Act and the existing Medicare program in order to achieve universal health care. The campaign has not released a detailed health care plan.

As mayor, Bloomberg banned smoking in bars and restaurants an initiative that his mayoral administration said helped prevent thousands of premature deaths. Bloomberg also banned large sugary drinks, though the move was struck down by the courts. Bloomberg also reduced childhood obesity in New York, by expanding healthy food standards for schools, requiring restaurants to post calorie counts on menus, and other measures. He also increased life expectancy among New Yorkers by three years, according to his campaign website.

During his tenure as mayor, Bloomberg reduced New York Citys carbon footprint by banning the dirtiest kinds of residential heating oil. Bloomberg also took other steps to promote energy efficiency and improve air quality, including retrofitting buildings, creating new park space and introducing a citywide bike-sharing program.

Bloomberg stepped up his focus on climate change after stepping down as mayor. In 2014, he was named the United Nations special envoy for cities and climate change. In 2018, Bloomberg was appointed as the U.N. special envoy for climate change. Bloomberg has also launched several climate change initiatives and spent heavily to promote action on the issue.

In 2017, Bloomberg pledged $64 million to help fund the Sierra Clubs Beyond Coal campaign to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants. Earlier this year, Bloomberg said he would spend $500 million on an initiative run by his philanthropic organization aimed at creating a carbon-free U.S. economy.

Bloomberg has criticized Trumps record on climate change, including the presidents decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate accord. Bloomberg has also criticized the Green New Deal, arguing the ambitious climate change plan could never pass Congress.

Bloomberg was a strong advocate for immigrants as mayor of New York. He supported initiatives to provide immigrants with legal aid in immigration cases and help in starting small businesses. Bloomberg also took steps to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation, including signing legislation that limited New York Citys cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As mayor, Bloomberg expanded the use of foreign language translation in city services to helpnon-native English speakers, and frequently delivered public remarks in Spanish in a symbolic gesture to the citys large Hispanic population. He drew national attention in 2010 for a speech defending a controversial mosque project in Manhattan, known as the Ground Zero Mosque, in which he spoke out against religious intolerance and attacks on immigrants.

Bloomberg called for national immigration reform as mayor and has backed the cause since leaving office. He criticized President Donald Trumps immigration policies at a campaign stop shortly after launching his 2020 bid, saying the country needed more immigrants rather than less and calling the Trump administrations family separation policy a disgrace.

As mayor Bloomberg helped form the Mayors Against Illegal Guns group to push for gun safety measures. In 2014, Bloomberg launched Everytown for Gun Safety, a nonpartisan organization thats now one of the countrys leading gun control groups. Bloomberg pledged to spend $50 million to fund the group.

Bloomberg has made gun control a key issue in his 2020 presidential election. His campaign released a sweeping gun control plan earlier this month that would strengthen the federal background check system, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and provide more funding for law enforcement related to gun violence. The proposal also calls for a federal red flag law that would allow judges to remove guns from people deemed a danger to themselves or others.

Critics contend that Bloombergs push for safer gun control measures in cities is part of a mixed record on law enforcement and policing. As mayor Bloomberg supported a stop-and-frisk policing policy that advocates say unfairly targeted minorities. Bloomberg said last month that he was wrong on the issue and apologized.

Bloomberg does not have a lengthy foreign policy record. He has supported international free trade, and the United States relationship with Israel. In 2004, he appeared to signal support for the Iraq War in an appearance in New York alongside then-First Lady Laura Bush.

Since leaving office Bloomberg has elevated his role on the global stage through high-profile assignments for the U.N. and World Health Organization. Most of his international work has focused on combating climate change.

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What does Michael Bloomberg believe? Where the candidate stands on 6 issues - PBS NewsHour

We in the Golden State are delighted that the December Democratic presidential debate is to be hosted in our very own Los Angeles. We welcome the candidates and are happy to share a few things that Californians really want you to know before you arrive.

First, we think its just plain weird that your rules nearly resulted in a stage with just white contenders. The nation is slated to become majority people of color by around 2044 but California actually crossed that threshold in 1998. Were Americas future and we want the field to look more like tomorrow than yesterday.

So work on that. Maybe think about shuffling the order of which states go first, something Julin Castro (who will be forlornly looking on) has suggested. Or figure out how to jigger the rules so that being a billionaire is more of a liability than an advantage. You know the one person, one vote rather than one dollar, one vote thing.

Second, were deeply concerned about income inequality. Just like weve been America fast forward on demographic shifts our ethnic transformation between 1980 and 2000 mirrors the nations between 2000 and 2050 weve been way ahead on disparity. From being in the middle of the pack in terms of income gaps in 1969, we are now the fourth most unequal state in the union.

Were not proud of that and were hoping the next president can offer some answers. Improving the progressivity of our income tax system and implementing a wealth tax would help. So would raising the federal minimum wage so we dont stand out as a high-wage island. You might even consider a data dividend that is, funding a universal basic income by forcing tech companies to share the profits they make by mining the basic research we taxpayers fund and the consumer data we all provide.

Third, we are proud about another fact: that roughly one quarter of our residents are foreign-born and that approximately half of our children have at least one immigrant parent. We are also more than aware that immigrants contribute around one-third of our states GDP and that our economic problems worsened in the 1990s when we chose to scapegoat immigrants rather than develop strategies to counter deindustrialization.

So wed like you to not just firmly object to the rhetoric coming from the Trump administration but offer a positive agenda for immigrant integration. In our state, nearly 70 percent of those living without papers have been in the U.S. for more than a decade they are undocumented Californians. We need to prioritize immigration reform so they and their families can be safe and thrive.

Fourth, we are a bit chagrined to admit that we led on the over-incarceration binge. Between 1982 and 2008, the state prison population for the U.S. increased by two and a half times, but for California that number quadrupled. Driving those numbers was a toxic combination of a misguided war on drugs and a deeply embedded set of racist policing practices.

Were ready to make amends and have already passed a ballot measure that de-felonized drug use and made it possible for the formerly incarcerated to have some felony convictions reclassified as misdemeanors. You can help by adding your own voice to criminal justice reform and also by making a commitment to promote workforce development efforts that prioritize those re-entering our communities.

Fifth, lets talk about climate change. We believe in it indeed, we believe in it so much that we set our own ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move to 100 percent renewable energy. We were already on that course and its actually had bipartisan support (well, at least, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) but the recent mix of raging wildfires and electrical blackouts has sort of sealed the deal on our conviction that this is serious business.

So get serious. Stop just talking about a Green New Deal spell out what the goals, funding, and mechanisms will be. Make a commitment to ensure that coal miners fare well through a transition, but also to protect farmworkers from increasing heat and address the persistent health issues of fence-line communities as we roll back on refineries.

Which gets to our sixth request: talk about environmental justice. After all, study after study shows that there are disparities in terms of exposures by race and income and that race is actually a more statistically significant and consistent predictor of disparity than class. Youll be on the right side of the facts climate change is real but so is the climate gap and there are political benefits as well.

Why? Despite the usual suppositions, polling in California shows that people of color particularly Latinos are far more concerned about climate change than whites. You want a broader coalition for that Green New Deal? Youll find it in the populations that have been getting a raw deal in terms of both economic and environmental opportunities

Seventh, talk about housing. Yes, we have a particularly acute problem with rent burden and high housing prices here in California, but once again were likely just a few steps ahead of the nation as a whole. While some of the analysis is a bit overblown, its clear we live in a knowledge economy where high-paid professionals cluster and price everyone else out.

In the Bay Area, for example, if a family with two earners each making $15 an hour a celebrated minimum wage we have yet to reach in the state was to lose their current apartment, they would only be able to move into five percent of the regions neighborhoods. The federal government needs to step up its investment and not just in voucher subsidies that get sopped up by private landlords but also in new forms of public or social housing.

Eighth, lay out a vision for the caring economy. By this we mean the share of our population that will need ongoing support from others. After all, our ethnic shift has dramatically slowed Californias mix of whites, African Americans, Latinos, Asian American Pacific Islanders and others will not change much in the next few decades. But guess what: were all getting older.

Again, jumping ahead of the country, roughly 11 percent of our population was 65 or older in 2010; by 2060, that number will rise to 26 percent. Were going to need more flex time and family leave and were going to need to train, develop and pay care workers, reversing the current pattern of low wages, inadequate protection and exploitation. One order of business: take our states Domestic Workers Bill of Rights and make it national.

Ninth, repair geographic divides. California has experienced a growing gap between our coastal and inland regions: in Fresno and Kern counties, for example, household incomes are less than half what they are in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. Thats a problem for many reasons, including the fact that inland California the San Joaquin Valley and the so-called Inland Empire is home to just over a quarter of the states youth.

The Golden State is trying to close that gap with Regions Rise Together, an initiative that seeks to prioritize investment in areas so often left behind. Theres a lesson for you there. Wed love for you to support the coasts, but in a nation wracked by regional resentments, we also need you to develop your own analog to a Tennessee Valley Authority, the New Deal measure that incorporated a neglected part of America and helped to steady the tumultuous politics of that era.

Tenth, understand that change no matter how talented you may be as a candidate never really comes from the top. Our own state is a good example: our turn-around from the fiscal shortfalls that starved our educational system and our social safety net was largely the result of grassroots organizing that pushed our governor to support a progressive income tax.

So dont do what Obama did in 2008 dont fold up the organizing tent after you collect your votes. From the Womens March to Black Lives Matter to immigrant rights activists, America is enjoying a rebirth of social movements pushing the nation to the left. These groups can provide wind to your sails when youre right and hold you accountable when you come up short (yup, youll need that as well or, at least, we think you will).

Heres our final request: stop being scared of big, brave, progressive ideas. The country is in a deep constitutional crisis, riven by rising inequality, and seething with racial anxiety. Its not like weve been making headway with modest proposals. California has been able to push the envelope with bold initiatives on climate, immigrant rights, worker protection and so much more. The nation is waiting for you to do the same.

Dr. Manuel Pastor is a professor of sociology at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as director of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration. Dr. Pastors most recent book is State of Resistance: What Californias Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Means for Americas Future.

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What the Presidential Candidates Need to Know About California - Capital and Main

The Homeland Security Departments recently released Unified Agenda gives hope to U.S. tech workers that major, long overdue changes may be coming soon.

New DHS guidelines would provide relief to American tech specialists from the decades-long onslaught of overseas H-1B visa holders, L-1 visa international transfers and foreign-born Optional Practical Training (OPT) graduates with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees.

The H-1B, L-1 and OPT are visas that have displaced American workers or blocked them from employment consideration. The visas are popular vehicles for U.S. corporations and Indian IT services companies to add personnel and, at the expense of American workers, reduce their overhead.

A recent Forbes Magazine article, Trump Plans Far-Reaching Set of New Immigration Regulations, states that President Donald Trumps administrations specific goal regarding H-1B visas is to revise in other words, tighten the specialty occupation definition to better ensure that only the most qualified foreign nationals are granted visas.

To the surprise of many, some computer programming positions dont require foreign applicants to hold university degrees to qualify as a specialty occupation and receive an H-1B visa. The proposed H-1B ruling may be published this month.

The L-1 intracompany transfer visa, already approved in increasingly fewer numbers, is also under further review. Overseas employees, who may or may not have the alleged specialty skills they claim to hold, may be subject to more thorough scrutiny.

The L visa has no numerical cap, and employers are not required to prove that Americans are unavailable for the work. Neither do employers have to pay prevailing wage.

The Office of Inspector General found that the L-1 visa is particularly susceptible to fraud. Moreover, the L visa allows spouses and minor children to come to the United States on L-2 visas. In all, tens of thousands of L visa holders and their spouses work in the United States without any federal oversight. A September 2020 ruling is expected.

Another program that DHS hopes to corral is OPT that, without congressional approval, has morphed into the nations largest guest worker program. The term practical training should not be confused with actual on-the-job training, but rather means full-fledged work authorization.

DHS has allowed aliens who originally entered on student visas to stay over for years, without statutory authority, and take good jobs that might otherwise go to U.S. tech workers. As an additional incentive for students and their employers, both are exempt from payroll taxes.

Finally, the newest employment authorized but not congressionally approved work population, H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders, are under renewed review. After years of intensive lobbying, spouses 90 percent Indian women holding H-4 visas were first granted work authorization documents during President Barack Obamas administration.

Trump has often expressed his intention to rescind work permission for the H-4 visa category, but has not achieved any notable progress. Whether H-4 spouses can legally be employed has been tied up in the courts for years. A DHS ruling may be issued in March 2020.

Immigration lawyers are apoplectic, and quite possibly unhinged, by the possible DHS overhaul. One prominent lawyer called Trumps employment-based visa revisions a white supremacist immigration agenda that would bar ... all immigrants of color. Other attorneys were equally outraged, but used more delicate language.

But hysteria aside, the H-1B, the L, OPT and H-4 have been relentless U.S. job killers, and all are unnecessary. No American worker shortage exists, only half of qualified STEM graduates find STEM careers, and no evidence exists of wage increases that would confirm worker shortages.

In their January report, Reforming U.S. High-Skilled Worker Program, authors Ron Hira and Bharath Gopalaswamy wrote that the current system undercuts opportunities for U.S. workers and enables exploitation of H-1B workers.

Since its creation in 1990, the H-1B program has never been fixed to meet Congress original promises to safeguard U.S. jobs. Instead, the program has been expanded to allow even larger numbers of H-1B workers, admitting them for longer periods, while its flawed governing rules have remained unchanged.

U.S. jobs should go to U.S. workers; to argue otherwise defies common sense.

Joe Guzzardi is an analyst and researcher with Progressives for Immigration Reform who now lives in Pittsburgh. He can be reached at [emailprotected], or follow him on Twitter: @joeguzzardi19. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

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Joe Guzzardi: Proposed H-1B Revisions Offer Ray of Hope to U.S. Tech Workers - Noozhawk

A lighthearted look at the news of the day:

Oh, you better not shout, you better not cry, you better not pout, Im telling you why: Another Star Wars film is coming to town.

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Yes, friends, its a story that feels almost as old as Christmas itself (which is at least as old as the Millennium Falcon), and we are finally about to see installment No. 9 in a nine-part Skywalker saga. But fear not, with The Mandalorian on TV and Disney wallowing in money, we havent seen the last of the lightsabers. Anyone want a baby Yoda under the tree?

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Actually, a new study says baby Yoda is more popular in Utah than in any other state. Maybe people here are hoping it can use the Force to help some of our local ball teams.

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Love it or hate it, though, everyone agrees a new two-hour Star Wars movie in the theater beats even a minute of an impeachment hearing on TV.

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Several weeks into this thing, Americans remain about 50-50 on impeachment, with a solid majority saying they would rather watch reruns of any canceled show from this television season than another lecture on the meaning of a high crime and misdemeanor.

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Just as the House prepared to pass articles of impeachment, both parties agreed on terms for a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement on trade, then worked out a long-hoped-for budget deal, and then the president agreed in terms to a deal that may signal an end to the trade war with China. We may be just one indictment away from immigration reform and a new health care plan.

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The house that Hollywood once used to depict the Clampetts mansion in The Beverly Hillbillies just sold for $150 million. With oil currently trading at under $60 a barrel, ol Jed might not have found enough Texas tea in them hills to pay for it all today.

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The house has a reported tax bill of $1.3 million per year. It also includes an underground garage big enough for 40 cars and tall enough for someone to sit on a rocking chair in the back of a car without hitting her head, and it has a secret tunnel that runs from the house to the cement pond.

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Well finally see the end of the Star Wars saga. Well ... maybe - Deseret News

During the ceremony, which will take place on Sunday, December 15, at 2 p.m. at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, the University will award more than 700 undergraduate and graduate degrees.

December, 13, 2019

Kica Matos, a national advocate for immigration reform who served as deputy mayor for the City of New Haven as part of the administration of Mayor John DeStefano, will be the featured speaker at the University of New Havens Winter Commencement on Sunday, December 15. The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. at the Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford.

As part of the ceremony, the University will award more than 700 undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Matos, who has lived in New Haven for nearly 20 years, is the director of the Center for Immigration and Justice at the Vera Institute. She joined Vera earlier this year after spending seven years as the director of immigration rights and racial justice at the Center for Community Change in Washington, D.C.

In addition to her role with the DeStefano administration, Matos previously spent five years as executive director of Junta for Progressive Action, New Havens oldest Latino community-based organization. During the ceremony, Matos will be presented an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

The University will also award an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree to Marilou M.L. McLaughlin, who served as the dean of the Universitys College of Business from 1981 to 1994. Under her leadership, the College expanded into new programmatic areas vital to the Universitys growth and development.

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Social Justice Advocate to Address Graduates at University of New Haven's Winter Commencement - University of New Haven News