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.
MORNING MESSAGE: Ireland -- Austerity's Epic Fail
OurFuture.org's Terrance Heath: "It hasn't even been a year since the Heritage Foundation placed Ireland among the top ten countries on its Economic Freedom Index ... [Now it's] nearly a textbook example of the epic failure of conservative economics to grow an economy and austerity to spark a recovery ... The 'competitive tax rate' for which Heritage rated Ireland so highly turned out to be catastrophic ... The 'efficient business regulations,' for which Heritage rated Ireland so highly were non-existent ... The government's 2008 emergency budget was the kind of economic medicine that even now conservatives are clamoring for here in the U.S. ... Fiscal austerity failed to reassure the markets, and Ireland's credit rating was lowered. Most recently, the country found itself in need of a bailout from the E.U...."
No consensus from public or deficit commission on reducing the deficit, finds W. Post's Ezra Klein: "A CNN poll released Nov. 18 found that [a]voiding cuts in Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, the mortgage-interest deduction, farm subsidies and college loans was judged more important than reducing the deficit ... poll after poll shows that Americans want the bulk of the Bush tax cuts extended ... Americans' preferences for spending and preferences for taxes don't add up ... that incoherence extends to their lawmakers, too ... these plans haven't won much broad-based support on Capitol Hill or elsewhere in Washington ... the commission ... is not expected to achieve consensus, or even get close."
Simpson-Bowles plan would cost 4 million jobs. AFL-CIO's James Parks: "The recommendations issued by co-chairs Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles would cost 4 million jobs over three years and reduce economic growth by 0.7 percent in 2012, 1.4 percent in 2013 and 1.9 percent in 2014, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute ... because the Simpson and Bowles recommendations would reduce economic growth, they would end up lowering the deficit far less than Simpson and Bowles claim."
Government Working In Kokomo
Obama-Biden visit to Kokomo, IN highlights government policies in action. NYT: "He said that thanks in part to government policies, American car manufacturers were poised to hire more workers as the automobile industry remakes itself ... he and Mr. Biden made an unannounced stop at the Kokomo Fire Department, where they chatted with firefighters who had been laid off and then rehired thanks to a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency ... the two men made a surprise visit to the Gingerbread House Bakery, where they chatted with owners who told them that a loan from the Small Business Administration helped keep their business afloat."
Fed took action on jobs after concluding job picture was worsening. W. Post: "Top Federal Reserve officials project that the unemployment rate, now 9.6 percent, will fall only to about 9 percent at the end of 2011 and about 8 percent when the next presidential election arrives, in late 2012 ... Even as conditions are likely to remain miserable for job seekers for years to come, an extraordinary bounce-back is underway in the nation's corporate sector, with profits rebounding 28 percent over the past year to an all-time high in the third quarter. Businesses' spending on compensation for employees, by contrast, rose only 7.6 percent."
Productivity gains counteract Fed action. Bloomberg: "Efficiency gains reduce the chances recession-casualty jobs will come back ... In boom times, companies stock up on equipment. In lean times, they find ways to maximize performance of that equipment."
Dim outlook for extending unemployment insurance for long-term jobless. The Nation's Christine Owens: "There is just a tiny window, between Congress's return on Monday and the expiration of the programs on Tuesday, for averting immediate cuts ... Even the Concord Coalition, an advocacy group dedicated to cutting the deficit, questions the rationale of opposing unemployment insurance. Concord's chief economist, Diane Lim Rogers, has said that 'those who use their "worry" about our longer-term fiscal outlook as a reason to oppose extended unemployment benefits don't want to reduce the deficit as much as they want to get rid of unemployment benefits.' ... Amazingly, while some in Congress believe $5 billion per month for unemployment benefits costs too much, they insist on borrowing $700 billion over the next decade to give more tax cuts to the richest 2 percent of Americans."
Treasury Review Of Foreclosure Fraud
Treasury plans to finish foreclosure review in January. LAT: "An ongoing review by government regulators of foreclosure paperwork problems has found 'widespread and, in our judgment, inexcusable breakdowns' ... But the sweeping review of the foreclosure process won't be completed until the end of the year, and a formal report based on that review won't be finished until late January ... Obama administration officials have balked at calls for a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures and have said the review had found no signs that the issue posed a threat to the financial system."
Treasury's Michael Barr talks to Reuters' Felix Salmon about foreclosure strategy. Salmon skeptical: "Barr was clear about what he expected to happen in 2011. Specifically, he said, 'if there are legal violations found, banks are responsible for fixing them and for addressing the problems.' ... I have two fundamental reasons to be skeptical ... the banks and the servicers simply aren’t set up to magically make their processes perfect, and the threat of lawsuits isn’t going to change that ... insofar as the problems are systemic and threaten the solvency of the banks, Treasury is going to blink first."
FDIC says bank industry recovering, despite high number of banks on "problem list." LAT: "The number of banks at risk of failing rose at the end of September to its highest level since the savings and loan crisis peaked in 1993 ... The agency's so-called problem list consisted of 860 financial institutions at the end of the quarter ... Still, the industry's overall financial outlook was better in the third quarter. Total profit was $14.5 billion, up from $2 billion for the same period last year ... FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said. 'Credit performance has been improving, and we remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook.'"
"House Republicans Take Aim At Elizabeth Warren To Slow Down Financial Reform" reports Wonk Room's Pat Garofalo.
"Republicans Criticizing Elizabeth Warren's Lack Of Transparency Had No Problems With Dick Cheney finds HuffPost's Peter Goodman.
Interior Plans Rapid Acceleration Of Offshore Wind Power
Interior launches Atlantic offshore wind initiative. The Hill: "The 'Smart from the Start' initiative would identify priority Wind Energy Areas along the Eastern seaboard where leases would be accelerated and issued next year and in 2012. The department will work with governors in 11 states to identify those areas in the next two months. Currently, the wind energy leasing process is estimated to take more than six years."
AP adds: "The announcement comes as Internet giant Google and other investors have pledged up to $5 billion for a network of deepwater transmission lines to bring power from offshore wind farms to homes and businesses along the East Coast. The first phase is expected to cost $1.8 billion and run 150 miles in federal waters from New Jersey to Delaware."
Treehugger's Brian Merchant praises: "Finally, some long overdue attention to what's been a disastrous permitting process. Granted, the industry is still in its infancy, but subjecting wind power proposals to redundant permitting processes and holding them up for years has left us far behind in offshore wind. It took Cape Wind 8 years to receive federal approval..."
GOP split on ethanol subsidies may also affect fossil fuel subsidies. HuffPost: "Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley was irked when his colleagues, Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) voiced their support for letting ethanol subsidies expire, claiming that Demint and Coburn should be willing to give up their oil-gas subsidies. Coburn appears to be ready to accept the challenge -- and green groups, for their part, couldn't be happier about it. 'This is exactly the chink in the armor we're hoping to see,' said Sierra Club lobbyist Melinda Pierce. 'That these fiscal hawks will be willing to go after and gore their own...'"
W. Post's Greg Sargent adds: "While the [ethanol subsidy] issue could divide Dems along regional lines as well, it seems more directly relevant to the GOP as a clear test of how serious they are about living up to their anti-spending rhetoric. And Senate Dems may have an opportunity to drive a wedge into the GOP caucus over the issue, though it's unclear whether they have any intention of seizing it."
Al Gore turns against "first-generation" ethanol subsidies. Politics Daily: "On reflection, Gore said the energy conversion ratios -- how much energy is produced in the process -- 'are at best very small.' 'One of the reasons I made that mistake is that I paid particular attention to the farmers in my home state of Tennessee,' he said, 'and I had a certain fondness for the farmers in the state of Iowa because I was about to run for president.' ... Gore now favors second-generation ethanol, using farm waste and switchgrass to produce the fuel."
"Oregon to be Coal-Free by 2020" reports Treehugger.
Dem Dares GOP To Repeal All Of Health Care Reform
House Dem to dare GOPers to vote on repeal of health reform's popular provisions. The Hill: "[Rep. Gary] Ackerman has begun circulating a letter to fellow lawmakers telling them to 'Go ahead, make my day. Become a cosponsor.' ... The measures would overturn six consumer protections in the new law that: Ban health plans from rescinding coverage; Eliminate annual coverage limits; Eliminate lifetime limits; Prevent plans from turning down adults with pre-existing conditions; Prevent plans from turning down children with pre-existing conditions; and Require that insurers offer coverage for dependents up to age 26 on family plans."
GOP congresspeople would save taxpayers an estimated $2.4M if they give up their government-run health care, reports HuffPost's Sam Stein: "There is an apparent double standard with respect to lawmakers trying to reduce health care for American workers while taking a subsidy for health care for themselves."
Dem Sen. Ben Nelson touts local impact of health reform. Wonk Room's Igor Volsky: "...a local ABC station in Omaha, Nebraska reported that 'the One World Community Health Center in south Omaha is planning a major expansion thanks to an $8.9 million grant from the Affordable Care Act.' Fortunately, Nelson was on hand to offer some supportive quotes ... 'The expansion was made possible by the president’s health care reform and by a deciding vote from Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson. “Whether you’re rich or poor, when people need health care, they need to receive it,” Nelson said.'"
Do You Want To Deport Hernando?
Seattle U. president calls for DREAM Act so all of his students can graduate and become American taxpayers: "Hernando arrived in the U.S. at the age of 11. He learned English, got his feet on the ground in middle school and [later took high school] advanced placement courses and graduating with a 3.45 grade-point average ... In his high school, where 76% of Latino students dropped out or got pregnant or joined gangs, he pioneered a program to help his classmates get into college ... Hernando embodies the American dream. The DREAM Act would give him a pathway to pursue public service, which is his goal ... I am for giving him the chance."
CA tea party backers start drive to put anti-immigrant measure on ballot. McClatchy: "Called the 'Support Federal Immigration Law Act,' the proposal was submitted to state authorities in September by Michael Erickson ... he worked with a legal team to draft a version of Arizona's Senate Bill 1070 ... The California proposal would make it a state crime for undocumented persons to seek work while hiding their immigration status, and a state crime for employers to 'intentionally or negligently' hire an illegal immigrant. The measure would also require all highway patrol, police, sheriff's deputies and other officers to investigate a person's immigration status if they are 'reasonably suspicious' that a person who they stopped is in the country illegally."
Breakfast Sides
China's growth is not the kind that actually makes people's lives much better, finds NYT's David Leonhardt: "Accidents have become common, like the Shanghai fire last week or a series of workplace tragedies in recent months. Obesity is rising. Pollution is terrible ... Breathing the smog can feel like having a permanent low-grade sinus infection ... [China] has ended the cradle-to-grave benefits system known as the iron rice bowl. In its place was a market-based medical system many Chinese could not afford ..."
GOP product safety commissioners fighting proposal to make complaints pubic. NYT: "[Currently,] the information has not been made public because of a federal law that requires a manufacturer’s approval before it can be released. On Wednesday, the commission is scheduled to vote to create a new, publicly accessible database of safety complaints ... The agency’s two Republican commissioners have waged a last-ditch effort to alter the database in ways they say would be more fair to manufacturers, but that consumer groups and at least one Democratic commissioner say would significantly weaken it ... With Democrats outnumbering Republicans 3 to 2 on the board, the proposal is expected to pass."
NJ Gov. Chris Christie puts cap of school superintendent salaries, risking suburban backlash. Bloomberg: "'He’s doing this to the very communities that elected him,' James O’Neill, who earns $210,000 as superintendent in the Chathams ... 'What he’s telling us is that those people were all smart enough to elect him, but they’re not smart enough to choose who will be superintendent.' ... Christie’s decision to base a superintendents’ salary on what the governor makes is 'arbitrary' and doesn’t take into account school administrators’ qualifications, [said Richard Bozza, executive director of the New Jersey Association of School Administrators.]"
