[ [link removed] ]CBS News in Detroit reports on Junk Fees event.
Each evening, Politico's West Wing Playbook newsletter gets circulated
around the White House and DC circles.
Last night, it led with the Progressive Change Institute's recent work to
impact the national economic debate: "Biden's junk fee push goes local."
As Trump dominates the national news, progressives are working with the
White House and congressional leaders to bring a popular economic issue to
key media markets like Detroit, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Raleigh, and Las
Vegas -- a strategy that Politico calls "gold." Read about it below!
If you haven't yet shared how you've been impacted by surprise junk fees
on your bank account, plane and concert tickets, hotel rooms, hospital and
cell phone bills, and rent applications, [ [link removed] ]tell us here.
[ [link removed] ]And if you ever despair that our side does not have a good messaging
strategy, and you appreciate our work, chip in here to help it continue.
It makes a big difference.
Thanks for being a bold progressive.
-- Adam Green, Progressive Change co-founder
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POLITICO White House Playbook: [ [link removed] ]Biden's junk fee push goes local
(8/25/2023)
Washington in August always has that busy-but-quiet,
no-one-will-pick-up-your-calls feel. But beyond the Beltway this month,
the White House has vigorously been mining political gold in going after
[ [link removed] ]junk fees.
The administration, with the help of Democratic lawmakers, has worked with
the Progressive Change Institute to coordinate a string of hyperlocal
events to turbocharge the message on one of President JOE BIDEN’s favorite
economic issues.
During this month’s congressional recess, Michigan Reps. DEBBIE DINGELL
and RASHIDA TLAIB held junk fee events in Detroit, while Pennsylvania Rep.
BRENDAN BOYLE hosted one in Philadelphia and Rep. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN in
her central New Jersey district. In Albuquerque, Rep. MELANIE STANSBURY
teamed up with Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director ROHIT CHOPRA.
This week, Reps. JEFF JACKSON and ELISSA SLOTKIN made the push around
eliminating junk frees in, respectively, Charlotte, N.C., and Lansing,
Mich. Pennsylvania Rep. CHRIS DELUZIO will do the same Tuesday in
Bellevue.
The high volume of local news coverage of the events has surprised White
House officials, MICHAEL NEGRON, special assistant to the president for
economic policy, told West Wing Playbook.
"The attention these events are getting and the desire on the part of many
to be working on these issues really speaks to just the universal
resonance of this feeling that companies are abusing us in a whole host of
ways that we can’t always detect," Negron said.
*** A message from Progressive Change: [ [link removed] ]If you ever despair that our
side does not have a good messaging strategy, and you appreciate our work,
chip in here to help it continue. It makes a big difference. ***
The efforts are intended to boost support for the president’s economic
agenda. [ [link removed] ]Just 36 percent of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s handling of
the economy, so the White House and Progressive Change Institute are
testing out the new hyperlocal strategy to gin up coverage. While they
don’t view this as an end-all-be-all solution to voters’ concerns about
inflation and the economy writ large, they hope the push can help shape
what Americans think when they hear “Bidenomics” and make junk fees a
winning 2024 issue.
Going after junk fees, part of Biden’s competition agenda, has strong
bipartisan support: [ [link removed] ]76 percent of U.S. adults somewhat or strongly
support the president’s junk fee proposals. It’s also tangible for many
Americans. According to unreleased data from Data for Progress, 82 percent
of consumers have been hit with these hidden fees — like when buying
concert tickets or during hotel stays — in the past two years.
Planning for this month started after the White House reached out to the
Progressive Change Institute following Biden’s State of the Union address
earlier this year. According to dial testing done by [ [link removed] ]Navigator Research
at the time, the junk fees section of Biden’s remarks was among the most
popular. Biden has tried to rein in these hidden costs through executive
action, while House Democrats have introduced legislation to further crack
down.
The White House approached Jackson about participating in the push after
Biden’s address, and the Progressive Change Institute helped organize the
North Carolina Democrat’s event Thursday at a local Charlotte theater. The
venue’s director also participated in the local media engagement,
describing how they sell tickets to contrast the “bad actors” in the
space, Jackson said.
"As an individual issue, the best way to make the case is to make sure
people understand how it could impact them personally," he told West Wing
Playbook.
It’s not yet clear whether this localized approach will translate into
Americans giving Biden credit on the economy. But given the success in
generating attention and support at the local level, they plan to deploy
the strategy with other issues, said Progressive Change Institute
co-founder ADAM GREEN.
"It definitely makes sense to rinse and repeat the hyper-localized
strategy on issues like lowering Pharma costs and child care costs," Green
said.
His group will expand the blitz into September, and has upcoming events in
Madison, Wis., New York City, and Las Vegas. A dozen other events are in
the works in states including Arizona, Florida, California and Texas.
Administration officials including HUD Secretary MARCIA FUDGE have
bolstered events with local media interviews, and plans are underway for
Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG and Agriculture Secretary TOM
VILSACK to potentially join in coming weeks.
The White House’s junk fees push goes beyond federal lawmakers. Officials
have also roped in state legislators in recent months to talk about junk
fees, providing a playbook on what actions they can take at the state
level, Negron said. Not long after those meetings, California lawmakers
proposed a package of bills to tackle junk fees.
"Part of the effort is to shift culture at all levels, so that this is
something companies think twice about doing," said JESSE LEE, senior
communications adviser to the National Economic Council.
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strategy, and you appreciate our work, chip in here to help it continue.
It makes a big difference.
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