Sen. Baldwin on Carried Interest: People ‘Feel that Wealth Is Rewarded More than Work’

BRZEZINSKI: "And joining us now, the leader of the movement to close that loophole, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin, who also agrees with the colour combination that Elizabeth Warren was wearing."

BALDWIN: "Yes, indeed."

SCARBOROUGH: “So you are pushing something obviously supported from everybody, from Donald Trump, Elizabeth Warren --"

BALDWIN: "Jeb Bush --"

SCARBOROUGH: “Jeb Bush. And  this table.”

BRZEZINSKI: "Can this be done?”

BALDWIN: "Well, remarkably it was left on the table when we have all these critical budget decisions being made right now, but we are trying to rally support. As you know, it’s bipartisan. It’s so important in this particular case because people feel a lack of fundamental fairness. They feel that wealth is rewarded more than work. They feel that in this particular case, hedge fund managers and private equity firms aren’t paying their fair shares and they feel that the basic pillars of investment in economic growth, education, infrastructure, innovation are being neglected."

SCARBOROUGH: “And Mike Barnicle, Ted Cruz supports this as well. We showed the pictures, evidences --"[crosstalk]

BARNICLE: "So why hasn't it gotten done? What's the opposition within the Senate? What is the opposition to this?"

BALDWIN: "There are so many who have taken a no tax increase positions; others who have said any tax increase only will be considered in a package of comprehensive reform. There are all sort of excuses. But when there is such fundamental agreement on policy, we ought to be moving ahead."

BRZEZINSKI: "So how do you get that done?"

BALDWIN: "I’d like to see us do it in the course of the Transportation Bill or the budget negotiations that will go on, but we have a lot of things that are priorities that are being neglected and I think it has to come up in association with each one. I particularly think about, as I said, the pillars of economic growth. We’re neglecting our education system, we’re tied up in knots offer moving forward with a transportation infrastructure package that lasts six years. And with regard to innovation, we are falling way behind both in R&D but just basic science, national institute of health, national science foundation funding. We could be leading the world in terms of innovation and we’re not."

BRZEZINSKI: "What’s getting in the way?"

BALDWIN: "A lot of dysfunction in Washington."

BRZEZINSKI: "Who are your biggest obstacles just for this one issue?"

BALDWIN: "Let’s take the recently negotiated Transportation Bill. In both the House and the Senate, they took proposals — funding proposals like this off the table and said we are not going to be raising taxes of any sort, even on hedge fund managers and private equity firms in connection with funding this bill and they’ve used all sorts of other fee and non-tax related mechanisms to fund that. That’s just not going to get us by in the long run."

BRZEZINSKI: "Keep fighting Senator Tammy Baldwin. Thank you very much."

BALDWIN: "I will."

SCARBOROUGH: “Thank you."