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.
Auto Dealers Get Upper Hand
Auto dealers may escape new consumer protection agency, but final deal not yet reached. W. Post: "Under Dodd's proposal, auto dealers would technically be exempt from the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. However, the bureau would have the power to write new truth-in-lending rules that could apply to auto dealers. The Federal Reserve could ignore those rules but would have to explain its rationale. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission would have the authority to adopt aggressive new rules governing dealer-assisted financing ... House negotiators had yet to agree to it Tuesday evening ... though it seemed nearly certain that auto dealers would escape direct supervision by the new consumer bureau ... auto dealers were happy with the prospect of escaping regulation but remained wary of the Senate proposal."
Click here to fax Dodd and Frank and say NO to any auto dealer loophole.
Deal nears to house new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection at Fed. Reformers claim victory. McClatchy: "The bureau will get powers of autonomy to write rules for consumer protections for almost all lenders that extend credit to consumers ... 'We have won our major priority, which is winning the agency. All the major banks in the world and the (U.S.) Chamber of Commerce tried to kill the agency and they lost,' said Ed Mierzwinski, director of consumer programs for the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups."
Sen. Scott Brown expected to win Volcker Rule loophole. W. Post: "...Boston-based State Street wields enormous influence. The bank has a powerful advocate: Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.), whose vote the Democrats need to pass the financial overhaul bill ... Some critics say that State Street is the perfect example of a bank that required taxpayer bailouts during the financial crisis because the firm engaged in the kind of risky trading the Volcker rule is designed to stop." More from Bloomberg.
Dean Baker knocks right-leaning Dems seeking special deal for local wealthy constituents: "The Wall Street Journal reported on efforts by Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln to secure a provision in the financial reform bill that will aid an Arkansas bank owned by the Walton family ... there is little evidence that capital constraints on banks are affecting consumers or businesses ability to raise capital at present, as Lincoln implied ... last week the Washington Post reported on Indiana Senator Evan Bayh's efforts to save the fund manager's tax subsidy. It asserted that he was motivated by a concern about helping growing businesses, as opposed to the more obvious explanation, that he simply wanted to help wealthy people who supported his political ambitions."
Geithner confident of recouping bailout cost reports AP. Naked Capitalism rebuts: "... the key metric as to whether the deal was a good deal is not the speed of repayment, as the Adminstration’s boosterism implies, but whether the deal was a good one given market conditions as of October 2008. Answer: not at all."
Corporate leaders who had good relations with the White House, turn on Obama. W. Post: "The final straw, said [Business] Roundtable president John Castellani, was the introduction of two pieces of legislation ... a provision of the administration's financial regulation overhaul [that] would make it easier for shareholders to nominate corporate board members. The other would raise taxes on multinational corporations."
Jobs, and Jobless Aid, Impasse Drags On
"Twenty One Days Since Congress Allowed Extended Unemployment Benefits To Lapse" notes HuffPost's Arthur Delaney: "...903,000 people jobless through no fault of their own have missed unemployment checks and doctors are getting shorted for taking care of old folks."
Boston Globe some of the 10,000 in MA about to be cut off: "Constance P. Harris, 58 and single, said it’s unlikely she will be eligible for such programs if her benefits run out this week. Since her management job at a state social service agency was eliminated by budget cuts in December, she has depended on unemployment to pay the mortgage on her two-bedroom condominium in Malden. Now she worries she will lose her home along with her benefits."
Talk of winding down increased Medicaid funding to get jobs bill passed. The Hill: "Senate Democrats and Republicans are focused on gradually phasing out increased federal Medicaid payments to states to reach a deal on a tax extenders package. ... Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said at least some Republicans might be swayed into supporting the extenders bill if Democrats agree to a package that cuts the extra spending in half so that only $30 billion is added to the deficit."
States face daunting budget gaps in 2011. WSJ: "States have long known stimulus funds sent their way early in the recession would taper off in the first half of 2011. But many hoped a rebound in tax receipts would close the gap. While state revenues have rebounded somewhat, legislatures still must grapple with deficits totalling $127 billion over the next two fiscal years ... Already, state and local governments have cut more than 230,000 jobs since August 2008..."
W. Post's Harold Meyerson observes that the Blue Dogs make no sense on jobs: "Earlier this year the Blue Dogs, and many other Democrats, were saying they would welcome an end to the debate over health-care reform so they could turn their attention to jobs, jobs, jobs. But now that President Obama and Democratic legislative leaders have done that, the Blue Dogs have largely turned skittish.
Some congressional Dems considering tax increases on households earning over $200,000. The Hill: "Democrats are looking at the possibility of raising taxes on families below the $250,000-a-year threshold promised by President Barack Obama during the election. ... Democratic lawmakers want to shield middle-income families from tax increases, but they don’t necessarily put families making over $200,000 in that category."
Congressional Dems may also go father than Obama on cutting spending. The Hill: "One option would cut non-security discretionary spending by 2 percent for each of the next three years and freeze that spending for the following two years ... Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.), the Blue Dog Coalition’s co-chairman for policy, said he was 'confident' the new budget plan would reflect the 2 percent proposal, at least for 2011."
The Nation's William Greider puts the blame for a weak jobs agenda squarely on the President: "Obama’s governing problem is that he tries to have it both ways. His presidency started with stimulus spending, but far short of what even some of his own economists said would be needed. Then the president swiftly took up the other side of the argument and joined the chorus of deficit hawks ... The White House makes cozy with Blue Dog Democrats and right-wing Republicans. The president refused to give strong instructions to Congress and, not surprisingly, nervous members of Congress took this as permission for them to duck too."
NYT's David Leonhardt suggests Bernanke is the one who could be doing more on jobs: "...Mr. Bernanke and his colleagues have decided to accept an all-but-certain downside — high unemployment, for years to come — rather than risk an even worse situation — a market panic ... [But] you have to wonder if the Fed is paying enough attention to the risks of its own approach."
Mark Thoma questions Fed for worrying about market panic: "I wish I had a better sense why the Fed is so worried about a market panic when there is no evidence indicating that financial markets are near the tipping point. Is there actual evidence that has them worried -- if there is, how about sharing it?"
Baseline Scenario's Simon Johnson endorses Paul Krugman to take over OMB: "...when Republicans push back against Krugman on this issue, he will let them have it full blast on fiscal policy during the Bush administration."
Europe spurns Obama's plea for more spending" reports Fortune: "Obama has sought to use the upcoming meeting of the Group of 20 global finance ministers in Canada this weekend as a rallying cry for more fiscal stimulus ... Since Obama issued his call to focus on growth, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called budget cuts 'urgently necessary,' [and] the United Kingdom on Tuesday unveiled a budget that will slash real spending in many government departments by 25% over four years."
Bipartisan Energy Meeting at WH Pushed Back
WH meeting on energy with bipartisan Senate group bumped until next week. The Hill: "...Obama’s Wednesday schedule was altered to accommodate his planned meeting with Gen. Stanley McChrystal..."
Pro-carbon cap Dems stick to their guns. The Hill: "'We are focused on a comprehensive energy bill that would price carbon,' said Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) ... Said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) after exiting the session: 'I think there’s a consensus that it’s not enough to do an energy-only bill.'"
Duke Energy CEO throws his weight behind carbon cap on utilities only, in Politico oped: "If that means capping emissions from the utility sector first — so be it. There is growing consensus in the electric utility industry to act now, so let’s move forward ... A clear and predictable federal energy and climate policy can accelerate these [energy efficient] projects and put private capital to work more rapidly. It can also create millions of jobs."
New report finds pricing carbon good for the economy. Curious Capitalist:Judge with financial holdings in oil block deep-water drilling moratorium. Mother Jones' Kate Sheppard: "...US District Court Judge Martin Feldman ... had holdings of up to $15,000 in Transocean in 2008. He has also recently owned stock in offshore drilling or oilfield service providers Halliburton, Prospect Energy, Hercules Offshore, Parker Drilling Co., and ATP Oil & Gas. Feldman was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1983."
Salon's Joan Walsh shreds ruling as evidence of "if Republicans ran the country": "Eleven people died on the Deepwater Horizon. Thousands have lost their livelihoods indefinitely. We still don't know when, maybe even if, the rig will stop spewing regular Exxon Valdez levels of oil into the Gulf. There is no realistic estimate right now of the economic or ecological damage the disaster caused. But according to Feldman, it's 'arbitrary and capricious' and an 'immeasurable' burden for the government to shut down the other 33 deepwater wells (apart from the 3,600 shallower Gulf rigs) for six months while we figure out what happened."
Sen. Mary Landrieu breaks with WH over appeal of the ruling, reports The Hill.
Interior Sec. pledges new drilling moratorium after judge's ruling. The Hill: "Salazar, in a prepared statement, said he would 'issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities.'"
Judge's ruling doesn't change Arctic drilling ban reports McClatchy.
An anonymous "senior EPA official" says the dispersants are working. NYT: "The number of small droplets measured in water nearby was 20 to 40 percent higher when dispersant was being applied than when it wasn’t ... Early indications are that naturally occuring bacteria are doing their work on the spilled oil ... [consuming] oxygen as they eat oil ... If oxygen levels drop too low, dispersant injection would be suspended for fear of causing more environmental damage..."
Mother Jones reports that the EPA has not completed testing on the dispersant Corexit: "During a conference call with reporters on May 24, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson ... made a clear promise: 'We will conduct our own tests to determine the least toxic, most effective dispersant available...' ... a month later those tests have not been completed..."
Salazar may face tough questioning in Senate hearings today and tomorrow reports Bloomberg.
New offshore drilling agency head creating "internal investigations unit." AP: "In testimony prepared for a Senate subcommittee Wednesday, Bromwich said the new unit will report directly to him and will help ensure that oil and gas companies comply with laws and regulations, as well as investigate problems within the agency itself."
Another conservative stands up for oil companies, saying they shouldn't pay a Superfund tax to fund toxic waste cleanups. The Hill: "[Sen. James] Inhofe ... said the administration's support for reviving the taxes was muted until the Gulf oil spill ... 'Now they feel the political climate is right to tax oil and gas companies.' It's just one piece of evidence, he added, to support the notion that the Obama administration 'has exploited the BP spill to pursue a radical agenda to shut down America's domestic production of oil and gas.'"
Corporate-backed initiative to block California's carbon cap qualifies for ballot. Sacramento Bee: "The opposition campaign will have help from one of the AB 32's biggest backers: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ... 'This initiative sponsored by greedy Texas oil companies would cripple California's fastest growing economic sector, reverse our renewable energy policy and decimate our environmental progress for the benefit of these oil companies' profit margins,' Schwarzenegger said..."
Grist's Jonathan Hiskes notes: "Texas refinery companies Tesoro and Valerog and private donors have poured more than $1 million into the campaign. Clean-air advocates worry that figure could reach $50 million by year's end."
New Health Reform Rules Ensure Early Benefits
President announces new rules for implementing health care reforms. W. Post: "As of Sept. 23, no plan will be allowed to revoke coverage of sick members who made unintentional mistakes on their applications or to set lifetime limits on coverage ... most plans will be barred from excluding children with preexisting conditions. Existing plans purchased by individuals -- as opposed to employers -- will be exempt from that protection [until 2014.] ... The new rules also phase out most health plans' ability to impose annual dollar limits on benefits."
AFL-CIO's Mike Hall adds: "The warning came a day after a report by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that health insurers are raising prices by an average of 20 percent for working-age adults who are not covered on the job and who buy their own policies."
China Moves Veeeery Sloooowly
China continues "very gradual" adjustment of its currency. NYT: "On Wednesday ... the central bank set the reference rate at 6.8102 per dollar. That was 0.18 percent weaker than Tuesday’s fixing, but 0.05 percent firmer than Tuesday’s closing level ... minimal compared to the fluctuations that are common in more freely traded currencies. But they have been large in relation to the very tight range that Beijing has imposed in the past on the currency..."
