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Yes, Inequality Hurts Growth

New report shows inequality slowing growth. AP: "The rising concentration of income among the top 1 percent of earners has contributed to S&P's cutting its growth estimates for the economy. In part because of the disparity, it estimates that the economy will grow at a 2.5 percent annual pace in the next decade, down from a forecast five years ago of a 2.8 percent rate ... Part of the problem is that educational achievement has stalled in recent decades. More schooling usually translates into higher wages. S&P estimates that the U.S. economy would grow annually by an additional half a percentage point —or $105 billion — over the next five years, if the average the American worker had completed just one more year of school."

NYT edit board shames Republicans for doing nothing on corporate tax dodges: "Evidence of excessive corporate tax avoidance keeps piling up. And so do Congress’s excuses, mainly from Republicans, for not doing anything to curb it ... Inversions completed to date are expected to sap the Treasury of nearly $20 billion in taxes in the next decade. And that’s just the beginning. At a recent hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, the Democratic chairman, Ron Wyden, said that up to 25 companies, encouraged by big banks that earn lucrative fees on the deals, are currently considering relocating overseas to cut their tax bills."

NLRB moves past recess appointment controversy, ratifies past rulings. The Hill: "The National Labor Relations Board said Monday that it had ratified a host of administrative, personnel and procurement actions initially taken when the board was unconstitutionally constructed ... The move comes in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling ... The justices held that President Obama overstepped in 2012 when he used recess appointment powers to install members on the board while the Senate was technically still in session."

Obama Weighs Executive Action on Immigration

Obama explores how far he can go on immigration. Bloomberg: "'He’s going to hit political constraints before he will hit legal constraints,' [UCLA law professor Hiroshi Motomura] said. 'He has the legal power to decide who’s going to be at the top of list for deportation and who’s going to be a the bottom of the list.' ... [White House officials] worry that a broader action would invite a greater number of court challenges, potentially threatening the entire program including the legal status of the Dreamers. Another potential pitfall, say advocates, is a future Republican president. Anything Obama does could be easily overturned by his successor."

"Blame Spanking Advocates for Child Migrants' Lack of Rights" reports Mother Jones: "The US treatment of migrant kids might be better if the country had ratified an international treaty called the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ... The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has long been a conservative hobby-horse ... home-schooling advocate Michael Farris ... believes, among other things, that if the United States signed the treaty, 'parents would no longer be able to administer reasonable spankings to their children,' ... This kind of conservative opposition is one reason why the United States and Somalia are the only countries in the world that haven't ratified the child-protection treaty."

Breakfast Sides

"House Republicans Have Voted to Increase the Debt by Nearly $1 Trillion This Year" notes TNR's Danny Vinik: "...most congressional Republicans, particularly those in the House, have no problem with voting for legislation that increases the deficit. In fact, since January 1 of this year they’ve passed a number of different bills that increase the long-term debt by nearly $800 billion (nearly a trillion dollars if you factor in interest costs) ... The point of this is not to say that deficit spending is wrong. But it’s outrageous for House Republicans to fight Democratic priorities under the guise of fiscal prudence and then abandon that principle whenever they feel like it."

"Tea Party’s Senate hopes fade" reports The Hill: "A dismal primary cycle for Tea Party Republicans will likely get more disappointing this week with uphill races in Kansas and Tennessee. On Tuesday, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) is the favorite to win reelection against radiologist Milton Wolf, though conservatives have certainly dinged the three-term incumbent. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) is a far more comfortable bet in his Tuesday contest."

Will you get toxic algae in your water like Toledo? TNR's Rebecca Leber: "Officials have been watching microcystin in the Great Lakes region for a while now, and warned that this season would be the fourth-worst on record ... Scientists say climate change is causing algae blooms to become a bigger threat ... Human activity, like runoff from phosphorous-heavy agriculture fertilizers, has also created an optimal environment for the blue-green algae, while invasive species haven’t helped matters by eating the algae that’s not harmful ... Testing for microcystin isn’t federally mandated, nor is it required in the state of Ohio. As a result, many towns don’t have emergency response plans in place and vary in how often they test water samples for the toxin."

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