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.
Stimulus "On Time And Under Budget"
Stimulus is "on time and under budget." W. Post: "...with strikingly few claims of fraud or abuse - according to a White House report to be released Friday ... Even some former skeptics who predicted that the money would lead to rampant abuse now acknowledge that the program could serve as a model for improving efficiency in government ... lower-than-anticipated costs for some projects have permitted the administration to stretch stimulus money further than expected, financing an additional 3,000 projects..."
Washington Monthly's Steve Benen pins blame on GOP for expiration of "Emergency Fund" jobs program for welfare recipients: "...in a sane political world, the death of the TANF Emergency Fund would be a pretty big scandal, and Republicans would have been afraid to kill an effective jobs program with an unemployment rate near 10%."
Beyond the loss of jobs, who else will lose out now that the "Emergency Fund" has expired? Off The Charts' LaDonna Pavetti: "Nevada ... will reduce TANF funding for child welfare services, a program for autistic children, and other services for vulnerable families ... [Washington State] is considering reducing child care assistance, shrinking monthly TANF cash assistance benefits, and scaling back its subsidized jobs program ... [Texas] has proposed cutting its already low TANF benefits of $260 per month for a family of three by 20 percent."
U.N. report warns fiscal policies need to prioritize jobs. NYT: "It will take five more years before employment around the world rebounds to the point it was before the financial crisis, two years longer than previously predicted ... Now that the effects of public stimulus packages around the globe are fading, fiscal policies are not sufficiently focused on job growth ... Without such changes, there will probably be an increase in social unrest..."
FT's Martin Wolf knocks IMF for praising austerity: "Thus does the staff of the International Monetary Fund assess the UK’s [austerity] fiscal strategy ... This is more than an evaluation. It is a love letter ... Yet the IMF also states that it expects economic growth to be 2 per cent next year rising gradually to 2½ per cent in the medium term ... It accepts huge losses of output as quasi-permanent. Why does it do so?"
AIG Deal Aims To Further Reduce TARP Cost
AIG deal further improves TARP bottom line. NYT: "... the once-unthinkable possibility that the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program could end up costing far less, or even nothing ... Treasury reckons that taxpayers will lose less than $50 billion at worst, but at best could break even or even make money. Its best-case assumptions, however, assume that A.I.G. and the auto companies will remain profitable and that Treasury will get a good price as it sells its corporate shares in coming years ... Whatever the final losses from housing, auto companies, A.I.G. or smaller banks, those will be offset by taxpayers’ profits from the big banks "
AIG deal includes "new form of risk" to taxpayers. McClatchy: "The new arrangement is conditioned on AIG completing the sale of two prized foreign assets, the Asia-based American International Assurance Co. and the American Life Insurance Co. AIG would use the proceeds to repay the New York Fed the $20 billion owed under a $35 billion credit facility and to terminate that loan agreement. Those AIG liabilities would shift to the Treasury Department, which would lend the insurer about $22 billion remaining on a separate, $29.8 billion credit line."
AP adds: "The deal will give Treasury a 92.1 percent stake in AIG before it begins selling its shares. But it can't be completed until AIG proves its strength by displaying its ability to raise money from private investors and regain a top rating from credit agencies."
TARP still a failure even with reduced cost, say critics including Elizabeth Warren. Politico: "A separate report by TARP inspector general Neil Barofsky raises similar questions, pointing out that TARP is only a small part of the financial rescue, and that the government’s total debts for that effort have actually been growing sharply ... [Warren's] argument was that Geithner ... didn’t adequately consider alternatives to government aid that would have penalized the risk-taking on Wall Street and thus discouraged future recklessness."
As foreclosure fraud scandal emerges, evictions slow. NYT: "Despite the turmoil, some economists said the breakdown could ultimately lay the groundwork for a real estate recovery. Stricken neighborhoods across the country, for example, could benefit. One big factor undermining home sales is fear of a large number of foreclosed homes coming to the market. If the foreclosures are delayed or never happen, housing prices might find a floor ... While such a happy ending is possible, the near term is more likely to produce paralysis and confusion."
Feds order lenders to review foreclosure policies. W. Post: "A top federal bank regulator said Thursday that he has directed seven of the nation's largest lenders to review their foreclosure processes after learning about the widespread mishandling of homeowner evictions by the industry."
Outgoing Sen. Ted Kaufman to replace Elizabeth Warren on congressional TARP oversight panel reports HuffPost.
New Drilling Rules
New offshore drilling rules announced in advance of moratorium's end. Ecocentric's Bryan Walsh: "The Interior Department chief issued a new set of safety rules today for offshore drilling operations, specifically designed to prevent some of the problems with well cementing and blowout preventers that helped cause the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon ... The new rules won early praise from mainstream green groups ... Industry groups like the American Petroleum Institute were a little less positive."
New workplace safety rules as well. McClatchy: "One rule calls for a workplace safety system to identify hazards and reduce human errors, including a requirement that each rig have an oil spill contingency plan and conduct drills to practice it. Oil and gas companies had strongly objected to such a rule before the BP gusher..."
More rules coming before moratorium lifted. Mother Jones' Kate Sheppard: "[Interior Sec.] Salazar also announced that the agency is at last finalizing its 'Safety and Environmental Management System' rule. The agency first proposed this rule, which would require oil and gas companies to develop new mandatory environmental planning procedures, more than a year ago, but the industry—most notably, BP—pushed back hard ... Salazar also warned that oil and gas drillers should 'expect a dynamic regulatory environment' in the future as well, with other new rules coming in the next weeks and months as his agency creates the framework for proceeding on offshore drilling."
Oil-state Sen. Mary Landrieu's hold on budget director nomination to end drilling moratorium is a total waste of time. The Hill: "'There's no chance that we'll lift it sooner because of political pressure of any sort,' said Michael Bromwich, director of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, on MSNBC Thursday ... [WH Press Sec Robert Gibbs] suggested that newly issued Interior safety rules are a step toward easing the ban."
EPA/DOT proposal for tougher fuel-efficiency standards expected today. Politico: "The Obama administration on Friday is expected to suggest nearly doubling fuel economy goals for new cars and light trucks -- possibly to more than 60 miles per gallon by 2025."
Conservatives States Taking Fed Funds For Health Care Reform
"21 Of 22 States Suing Over Health Reform Begin Planning For Exchanges With Federal Funds" reports Wonk Room's Igor Volsky.
McDonald's gets temporary exemption to new health insurance rules, while Principal Financial drops health insurance side business. NYT: "'What you’re seeing is the beginning of some serious math and some posturing,' said Len Nichols, a health economist ... While some insurers, like Principal, are choosing to leave the business rather than make the necessary investments to stay, others may be simply trying to delay some of the new rules or overturn them, he said."
WH-PhRMA deal in health refomr law will result in $2B in savings for seniors. Bloomberg: "Drugmakers led by Pfizer Inc., AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. may provide more than $2 billion in drug discounts to senior citizens next year ... The deal provides Medicare beneficiaries who fall into a coverage gap known as the 'doughnut hole' 50 percent off brand-name medications ... The data 'disputes the narrative that health care reform is bad for pharmaceuticals, and as more data emerges I think you’re going to see that narrative play out across the health industry,' [said one analyst] ... Provisions in the law that expand insurance coverage will give brand-name pharmaceutical companies about 32 million potential new customers..."
No Trade War, Says Geithner
Geithner downplays friction with China after House vote. Bloomberg: "'We’re not going to have a trade war,' Geithner said in remarks to a Washington conference yesterday hosted by The Atlantic magazine and the Aspen Institute. He also said that if the recent appreciation in the yuan 'continues, that would make a really material difference on their economics and on our economics in ways that we think are important.'"
NYT's Paul Krugman praises House China currency bill: "Diplomacy on China’s currency has gone nowhere, and will continue going nowhere unless backed by the threat of retaliation. The hype about trade war is unjustified — and, anyway, there are worse things than trade conflict. In a time of mass unemployment, made worse by China’s predatory currency policy, the possibility of a few new tariffs should be way down on our list of worries."
PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian argues for different diplomacy in W. Post oped: "...America is right in reminding China that it has important global responsibilities ... Rather than be seen as lecturing China on its exchange rate, the United States should be doing even more to push its European allies to allow a larger Chinese voice in multilateral forums. This would engage China more, give it a greater stake and provide a better platform for its deeper global responsibilities."
Breakfast Sides
Conservative senators go to the mat to defend shoddy for-profit colleges. ABC: "Sen. Richard Burr, R-NC, called the investigation a 'witch hunt,' ... Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, took his time to read aloud sections from [for-profit college] lobbyist Lanny Davis’ Huffington Post article ... The report released at today’s hearing found that for-profit colleges aggressively target low-income students, have high dropout rates, and often graduate students ill-equipped to find work in related fields. Compared to their community college peers, students of for-profit institutions carry much higher debt loads and have higher default rates."
Senators introduce dueling immigration bills. Wonk Room's Andrea Nill: "Last night, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) filed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010. The bill establishes a path to legalization, but also outlines a set of border enforcement 'triggers' that must be met before any unauthorized immigrants can apply for permanent residency ... Republicans have already blasted Menendez’s bill. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) called it nothing more than a 'cynical ploy for votes.' ... [Hatch's bill] doesn’t do anything to address the status of the 11-12 million undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. and the lack of visas available to migrants who want to work in the U.S."
Fox News parent company gives $1M to Chamber of Commerce, which is backing GOP congressional candidates reports Politico.
"Winner-Take-All Politics" co-author Jacob Hacker talks with The American Prospect about the roots of our income gap: "...the fact that over the 1979 to 2007 period almost 40 percent of after-tax income benefit gains have gone to the richest one percent of Americans can't but have an impact on the rest of society...we've seen the middle-class lose so much apparent political clout as well as apparent economic clout."
