fresh voices from the front lines of change

Democracy

Health

Climate

Housing

Education

Rural

Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to affect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.

State Aid Will Pass This Week, But Much More Needed

House progressives will back Senate state aid bill this week, but will push to restore food stamp funding later. The Hill: "'But the good news is that there is time to fix it,' said Michael Mershon, a spokesman for Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.). 'And he is considering legislation to restore the cuts while finding another offset.'"

NYT's Paul Krugman sounds the alarm that there's not enough state aid to prevent a collapse in infrastructure and education: "...for all the talk of a failed stimulus, if you look at government spending as a whole you see hardly any stimulus at all. And with federal spending now trailing off, while big state and local cutbacks continue, we’re going into reverse ... Everything we know about economic growth says that a well-educated population and high-quality infrastructure are crucial."

NYT edit board tries shaming Congress to do more on jobs: "... the response from Washington has been inadequate, at best, with Democratic initiatives too timid and Republicans bent on obstruction ... the [$26B state aid] measure started out as a $50 billion effort ... it was a reasonable response to anticipated budget shortfalls estimated at well over $100 billion this year. Now, deep spending cuts and tax increases will still be needed to balance budgets, undermining the recovery. ... There is no one way to foster job growth. There are many ways, and they should all be deployed. Maybe after Congress gets back from vacation."

Robert Reich rebuts Robert Rubin and Alan Greenspan's no-more-stimulus stance: "Both Greenspan and Rubin are deficit hawks. So was Herbert Hoover and so was Hoover’s Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon. And look what Hoover and Mellon got us into. When we least need him, Hoover is being exhumed."

Leading Senate GOPers pushing the ultimate in deficit hysteria: the balanced budget constitutional amendment. The Hill: "GOP Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), John McCain (Ariz.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.) will lead the charge in the fall, when Democrats plan to debate raising taxes on families that earn more than $250,000 a year."

McClatchy analysis of the stimulus to date find uneven impact across the country: "North Dakota has had one of the nation's lowest unemployment rates for the last year. In June, it hit 3.6 percent. Yet the analysis found that it's scheduled to receive more stimulus spending, per capita, than is Nevada, where the unemployment rate climbed to 14.2 percent in June. Part of the disparity is because much of the stimulus spending was doled out based on formulas that were already in place ... [Economists disagree whether] funding stimulus programs without regard for local unemployment or economic conditions is a problem."

Washington Monthly's Steve Benen explains why the wealthiest country on earth is refusing to use its wealth to help citizens in an economic crisis: "...the Recovery Act is nearly finished, and a few too many of our political leaders believe the public would rather see schools struggle to stay open five days a week than see additional economic stimulus that could literally help keep the lights on. For Republicans, it's simply a matter of priorities -- America doesn't like and can't afford spending on core public services like a local police force, but we can afford wars and tax cuts for millionaires. And don't ask too many questions about this, or you'll be accused of being one of those liberal big spenders who likes 'class warfare.'"

Ideological Contrasts Sharpen As Election Approaches

The Loop21's Marvin King argues the GOP fights to make African-Americans "sicker and poorer": "Here’s just a sampling of the sorry state of black health in America from Kaiser’s Key Facts: Race, Ethnicity & Medical Care. People living in poverty are more likely to report being in only Fair or Poor health. Regardless of education, African Americans lead the nation in infant mortality. African American men and women have highest death rate due to heart disease. ... Faced with this, you have two choices. Option 1: Fight for some legislation to help improve these dreadful statistics. Option 2: Obstruct like hell to preserve the status quo and when that fails sue to make sure Option 1 doesn’t happen. Democrats chose Option 1, Republicans are choosing Option 2."

Dems' Nov. strategy: focus more on conservative failures then progressive successes. LAT: "Democratic strategists privately acknowledge that their party's legislative record, while far-reaching and popular with party regulars, has limited political benefit in swing districts and in a stubbornly sluggish economy ... conservatives are also finding it harder to galvanize people around issues rather than candidates now that healthcare is receding in prominence."

Will the conservative vote split? NYT's John Harwood: "In the House, Democratic operatives cite more than 100 conservative third-party candidates who could siphon votes from challengers to Democratic incumbents like as Representative Tom Perriello in Virginia."

The American Prospect's Paul Starr urges liberals to be confident over the long-haul: "The Democrats will lose ground this year because they've failed to provide economic remedies fast enough. But the long-run problem for Republicans is that remedy is not what they have been offering ... Unless conservatives abandon ideological fantasy and denial and become a responsible partner in government, progressives will dominate the search for remedy. "

GOPers Seek To Squelch Post-Election Legislating

GOP Rep. Mike Pence freaks out at prospect of December climate bill. The Hill: "Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) responded quickly Sunday to White House Energy Advisor Carol Browner's claim that the administration is still holding out hope a climate bill can pass during a [post-election] session of Congress ... Pence called her statement 'outrageous'..."

GOP Rep. Tom Price introduces legislation to ban any post-election congressional session. The Hill: "Because Price's measure is a privileged resolution, House Democratic leaders cannot block it from receiving a vote [next week]. Both Republicans and Democrats have moved significant bills in lame-duck sessions over the last decade ... Some Democrats are concerned that the White House will push for long-stalled trade deals in the lame-duck session."

Oil-friendly Dem Sens. Begich and Landrieu can't agree on spill liability compromise. CQ: "... the proposals the senators released Friday differ significantly ... Begich’s proposal would require companies drilling offshore to be insured to at least $250 million, at which point all outer continental shelf producers would collectively share damages up to $20 billion ... Landrieu’s proposal would create an insurance pool funded by producers based in part on the amount of oil and gas they produce..."

Can Wall Street Be Reformed Fast Enough?

Next Wall St. crash may occur before reforms fully in place. Bloomberg: "The financial system experiences a crisis 'every five to seven years,' JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon told the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in January. By that measure, the next crash could come by 2015 -- years before new banking reforms are in place ... The pace at which curbs on leverage are likely to be imposed on the industry contrasts with the speed at which banks including UBS AG and Morgan Stanley are hiring to ramp up trading activities."

AIG, JPMorgan Chase feeling pressure from Wall St. reform law now. Bloomberg: "The Dodd-Frank Act could 'materially and adversely affect AIG’s businesses' and hurt cash flows and credit ratings, the New York-based firm said Aug. 6 in a filing. The Federal Reserve may be the bailed-out insurer’s regulator if a new risk watchdog determines that an AIG failure could threaten U.S. economic stability, the firm said ... The overhaul may cause a 'significant loss of revenue' at JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the second-biggest U.S. bank faces potential curbs and business-practice changes, the company said on Aug. 6."

OurFuture.org's Zach Carter reviews Elizabeth Warren's earlier bankruptcy blogging, finds more awesomeness: "Again and again, Warren reveals herself to be a devout student of data in her blog work. It isn't sexy, it sure as hell doesn't traffic in the broader blogosphere, but it's the mark of someone who truly cares about getting it right, rather than merely developing a set of popular talking points."

Getting Ready For Social Security's 75th Birthday

Social Security's 75th birthday is Saturday notes McClatchy.

OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow says "Don't Fear The Boomers": "A new report released yesterday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) ... explains, 'Social Security is running a surplus of $77 billion this year and amassing a trust fund large enough to last through the peak retirement years of the Baby Boomers.' ... The worker-to-retiree ratio isn't worse than projected, despite increases in life expectancy, thanks to a growing workforce."

Recession prompting people to file for Social Security early. AP: "Nearly 72 percent of men who filed opted for early benefits in 2009, up from 58 percent the previous year. More women also filed for early benefits -- 74.7 percent in 2009 compared with 64.2 percent the previous year ... Early opt-ins receive smaller monthly checks, so they are not projected to receive any more money over a lifetime than they would if they had waited..."

Pin It on Pinterest

Spread The Word!

Share this post with your networks.