Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.
MORNING MESSAGE: Yes, Transportation Spending Creates Jobs
OurFuture.org's Isaiah Poole: "This matters in the struggle over whether we will have a burgeoning middle-class economy built on a robust public infrastructure that serves national interests, or a fragmented and dysfunctional patchwork of whatever states and localities can do on their own, alongside a few transportation assets turned into corporate profit-making ventures answerable to Wall Street, not public, interests. Congressional conservatives are rather unapologetically driving the nation toward that latter dystopia by tossing national transportation policy into the category of so-called 'spending we can't afford' by a government 'that doesn't create jobs.' The Associated Press gives them aid and comfort. What it doesn't offer is facts sufficient to support its central assertion, much less the loaded headline assigned to it by The Post."
Senate To Move On Transportation Jobs
Senate on verge of transportation jobs bill vote, while House remains in disarray. W. Post: "Senators are expected to vote on whether to proceed on consideration of a two-year, $109 billion measure packed with funding for road projects and reforms designed to bolster the safety of the nation’s trains, trucks and buses. The bill’s backers — including Democrats, some Republicans, labor unions and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce — say it will help create or sustain more than 2 million jobs in the next two years. If Tuesday’s vote succeeds, final passage of the bill is expected by Thursday, according to Senate aides."
This is no time to pivot away from job creation towards deficit reduction, reminds Paul Krugman: "... to reach an unemployment rate of 5.5% within four years — four years! — we would need 179,000 jobs a month. Are you sure we’ll do that well? ... why postpone needed fiscal adjustments? ... because we’re in a liquidity trap, and the Fed can’t offset the economic downside. This is a very bad time for austerity."
WH does not expect deficit reduction bill before election, but would sign one. TPM: "A senior administration official says the White House could support balanced deficit reduction legislation if Congress passes it before the end of the year — but sees no evidence that Republicans have moved off their now higher tax revenue position, and thus doubt policymakers will be able to reach an agreement that President Obama can sign."
Another Romneyism Dropped Before Super Tuesday
10 GOP presidential contests today on Super Tuesday. Politico: "With its big delegate pile, Rust Belt character and general election significance, [Ohio] is the major prize of the night — and it’s coming down to the wire, with four polls heading into today showing the state essentially tied."
Ann Romney's turn to sound out-of-touch. NY Mag's Brett Smiley: "'You know, we can be poor in spirit,' Ann Romney told Fox News' Neal Cavuto Monday night. 'I don't even consider myself wealthy, which is an interesting thing. It can be here today and gone tomorrow.' ... The idea that she's poor in spirit and doesn't consider herself wealthy is a tough sell, considering Mitt earned about $42 million in 2010 and 2011 and has a net worth of about $200 million."
Romney suggested support for national mandate to purchase health insurance in 2008. HuffPost: "Take, for instance, this January 2008 ABC debate in which Romney specifically disputed the notion that he opposed the individual mandate applied nationally. 'GIBSON: But Governor Romney's system has mandates in Massachusetts, although you backed away from mandates on a national basis. ROMNEY: No, no, I like mandates. The mandates work.'"
Obama To Holder Presser on Housing Plan
President to hold press conference today and announce housing plan. ABC: "Obama was to announce plans to let borrowers with mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration refinance at lower rates, saving the average homeowner more than $1,000 a year. Obama also was detailing an agreement with major lenders to compensate service members and veterans who were wrongfully foreclosed upon or denied lower interest rates."
More evidence of an increasing debt burden on students. NYT: "A report released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ... suggests that as many as 27 percent of the 37 million borrowers have past-due balances of 30 days or more ... Forty percent of the people under 30 had outstanding student loans, and the average outstanding debt is $23,300. About 10 percent of borrowers owe more than $54,000 ..."
CFPB investigating student loan abuses. Politico: "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ... is now accepting complaints from students and their loved ones about the difficulties of obtaining and repaying college loans, according to a press release issued today. As part of its mandate, the CFPB wants to help borrowers who have struggled to get a private student loan, have had problems eliminating the debt or had difficulties managing a school loan that has gone into default or into collection ... Under Dodd-Frank, the CFPB now has the authority to police the student loan market."
Energy company deal shows how Goldman Sachs games the system. NYT's Andrew Sorkin: "...El Paso, the big energy company ... was in talks to be sold to Kinder Morgan ... Goldman [was] El Paso’s adviser in the transaction ... Somewhat awkwardly, Goldman had a 19.1 percent stake in Kinder Morgan ... a court ruling in a shareholder lawsuit has laid bare the truth: Goldman was on every conceivable side of the deal. As a result, El Paso may have unwittingly sold itself far too cheaply ... Goldman’s brazenness in this deal is nothing short of breathtaking. It is just another example of why Goldman’s reputation has been dented as questions have circled about the firm’s loyalty to its clients over itself. Other firms have conflicts, but rarely do you hear about them being so incestuous."
Breakfast Sides
House Republicans, before attacking federal clean energy loans, flooded Energy Dept. with requests for loans. Politico: "[Energy Sec] Chu complained about getting mixed signals from Capitol Hill on the DOE’s loan programs ... Chu said the lawmakers' message flipped from 'Why don’t you speed things up?' — before Solyndra flopped — to 'Weren’t you rushing to complete all these loans?'"
Rush keeps bleeding advertisers. W. Post: "Two more national advertisers — online giant AOL and tax service Tax Resolution — said Monday that they were suspending their sponsorship of Limbaugh, bringing the total number of companies fleeing Limbaugh to nine. In addition, two [Washington, DC-area] advertisers, Hadeed Carpet and Rug and window-replacement company Thompson Creek said they have pulled their ads ... Despite saying his apology was 'heartfelt,' Limbaugh quickly pivoted to criticizing his opponents. 'In fighting [liberals] on this issue, I became like them,'..."
Medicaid waivers helping states prepare for health care reform. Politico: "[TX Gov. Rick] Perry’s administration, while openly fighting the health care law, agreed to a waiver that comes with plenty of federal strings attached. The state gets to move its entire Medicaid population to managed care. But Texas hospitals will have to meet quality measures in order to get their share of the money ... More and more states are taking advantage of their waiver opportunities: New Jersey intends to use its waiver to expand Medicaid before 2014. New York, Colorado and Wisconsin have waiver applications pending..."
Senate may pass House version of "insider trading" bill. NYT: "One Senate provision at risk would regulate a booming industry that collects 'political intelligence' from political insiders for the use of hedge funds, mutual funds and other investors. The second would give prosecutors powerful new tools to pursue public corruption cases ..."
Congress on verge of passing law allowing tariffs to offset Chinese subsidies. Bloomberg: "The bill responds to a Dec. 19 decision by a U.S. appeals court in Washington that said existing law doesn’t authorize the agency to set tariffs on goods from countries lacking a domestic market to establish prices ... The legislation ... would overcome a court’s challenge of a policy, in place since President George W. Bush’s administration, that led to U.S. duties on undervalued imports of about two dozen Chinese products."
