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: Job #1 Is Jobs
OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "When Congress convenes, job #1 ought to be jobs. In a rational world, Washington would be flooded with jobs plans -- a green corps, an urban corps, a new WPA, modeled on the old new deal program, a massive, concerted effort to rebuild our infrastructure, and more. But outside of the realms of the Congressional Progressive and Black Caucuses, there isn't much talk about jobs ... newly elected New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte announced: 'Job one is to stop wasteful Washington spending.' ... This, of course, is simply refried conservative beans ... Not a murmur about the investments vital to any economic growth – not even the need to rebuild our decrepit infrastructure that even the Chamber of Commerce recognizes is long overdue."
White House Grapples With Summers Replacement
Progressive push President to choose econ adviser from Main Street, not Wall Street. W. Post: "One of the leading contenders is Gene Sperling ... . But some liberals say Sperling is too close to Wall Street after being paid $887,727 in 2008 by Goldman Sachs ... Another contender, Roger Altman, has strong business ties as a longtime investment banker who now runs his own firm ... 'It's a big concern when there are these high-level advisers who have been marinated in the industry,' said Robert Borosage, co-director of the liberal Campaign for America's Future ... 'I don't think it's a question of outright corruption, it's a question of orientation,' [economist Dean] Baker said."
NYT's Paul Krugman warns against hyping few bits of good econ data: "... when you start from an unemployment rate of almost 10 percent, the arithmetic of job creation — the amount of growth you need to get back to a tolerable jobs picture — is daunting."
"Small Business Use of Part-Timers Has Underemployed at 17%" reports Bloomberg: "...small-business employment is lagging behind other drivers of the recovery. While past rebounds were led by companies with fewer than 500 people adding full-time workers, some owners say they’ll rely on part-time help and push their staffs to be more productive as they wait as much as a year for demand to improve."
Joe Stiglitz says sacrifice is needed to grow the economy ... from the wealthy: "It has become fashionable among politicians to preach the virtues of pain and suffering, no doubt because those bearing the brunt of it are those with little voice – the poor and future generations. To get the economy going, some people will, in fact, have to bear some pain, but the increasingly skewed income distribution gives clear guidance to whom this should be ... If there is pain to be borne, the brunt of it should be felt by those responsible for the crisis, and those who benefited most from the bubble that preceded it."
New poll shows that nearly three-fifth of Americans say more manufacturing can stop our economic slide. AFL-CIO's James Parks: "Only one in five Americans say the U.S. economy is the world’s strongest. Nearly half (47 percent) say China’s economy is stronger and only one in three expects the United States to regain the top spot in the next 20 years. Nearly three-fifths of those surveyed say that increasing competition from lower-paid workers around the world will keep living standards for average Americans from growing as fast as they did in the past."
New Congress To Be Sworn In Wednesday
USA Today speculates where President and GOP may seek common ground: "... updating [the No Child Left Behind] 2001 education law, which members of both parties say includes unrealistic deadlines, to rewriting the federal tax code, one step in addressing the nation's spiraling debt. Lawmakers and analysts also see the potential for breakthroughs on a free trade agreement with Korea and a multibillion-dollar farm bill."
TNR's Jonathan Cohn slaps Sen. Lindsey Graham for threatening to oppose new debt ceiling: " Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced that he, too, was willing to engage in serious brinkmanship over the debt: '... I'm not going to vote for debt ceiling increase unless we go back to 2008 spending levels...' ... the demand of going back to 2008 spending levels is radical and, not coincidentally, highly unrealistic: According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, it’d amount to a one-fifth cut in discretionary spending--forcing cuts that could damage the fragile recovery and starve programs like Pell Grants that most Americans value ... In the same interview, he notes that default could be catastrophic. But that's not stopping him from making his demands."
Rep. Darrell Issa details planned "investigations." Politico: "Rep. Darrell Issa is aiming to launch investigations on everything from WikiLeaks to Fannie Mae to corruption in Afghanistan in the first few months ... [He] is also planning to investigate how regulation impacts job creation, the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the foreclosure crisis; recalls at the Food and Drug Administration and the failure of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to agree on the causes of the market meltdown ... Stimulus oversight isn’t among the early hearings..."
W. Post edit board argues the House GOP's warped "pay-go" rules show their true priorities: "In the GOP concept, pay-as-you-go applies only to spending programs. When it comes to tax cuts, it's all go, no pay ... the rules then take the extra step of specifying which deficit-busting tax cuts the new majority has in mind. They assume the continuation of all the Bush tax cuts; extension of the new version of the estate tax; and the creation of a big tax break to let 'small businesses,' which can be expansively defined, take a deduction equal to 20 percent of their gross income ... The expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit, programs that help keep low-income working parents and children out of poverty, are not assumed to continue and would have to be paid for - with, of course, spending cuts."
Up First, Futile Attempt To Repeal Health Reform
"House Republicans plan early vote on health care repeal" reports USA Today: "... before President Obama delivers the State of the Union address in late January ... The repeal effort is almost certain to fail ..."
NYT on Dem response to repeal effort: "Democrats [are] gearing up for a coordinated all-out effort to preserve and defend it. Under the law, they say, consumers are already receiving tangible benefits that Republicans would snatch away. House Democrats will get help from allies in the Senate, who can stop any repeal, and at the White House, where officials hope to transform the law from a political liability into an asset, a centerpiece of President Obama’s expected bid for re-election."
W. Post highlights Urban Institute report showing individual Medicare taxes don't fully cover health costs: "Many workers may believe their Medicare payroll taxes are going for their own insurance after they retiree, but the money is actually used to pay the bills of seniors currently in the program. That mistaken impression complicates the job for policymakers trying to build political support in the coming months for dealing with deficits that could drag the economy back down." Dean Baker rebuts: "The idea that workers have paid for their benefits actually would be close to accurate if the U.S. health care system was anywhere near as efficient as the health care systems in other wealthy countries ... There are a whole set of mistaken impressions that [the W. Post] could try to combat rather than foster..."
"6 states to watch on health reform" from Politico: "[Wisconsin] Republican Governor Scott Walker, who takes office today, won’t take a firm line against pursuing health reform grants—but he has also promised to 'back off' of a lot of the state has done so far ... Newly sworn-in [Vermont] Democratic Governor Peter Shumlin ran on an aggressive, single-payer platform. Now, all eyes watch Vermont to see whether it’s possible ... If there’s a hope for reviving the public option, it’s strongest in Connecticut ... Cost-control ... is positioned to become a legislative priority in the coming Massachusetts session."
EPA Enacts Greenhouse Gas Rules, With More Coming
EPA moving, carefully, on greenhouse gas rules, as GOP goes to court. Time: "On Jan. 2, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted what are the first regulations of major stationary sources of greenhouse gases ... affecting only new plants or existing facilities that are undergoing major upgrades ... eventually the EPA will be issuing regulations for nearly all sources of greenhouse gases ... The EPA said in December that it wouldn't propose standards for existing power plants — meaning facilities that aren't being upgraded or overhauled — until the middle of 2011, and for refineries until the end of the year, with final standards coming even later. Jackson insists those rules won't impose unreasonable costs, and the EPA will be holding a series of consultations with business this year to ensure that industry will have its say ... A dozen states have already filed suit to block the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gases, though so far federal courts have refrained from stopping the first round of regulations from going into effect. Texas, though, is going further, simply refusing to comply with the new rules entirely."
House GOP Likely to Impede EPA Efforts by Limiting Funds" reports CQ: "...once Republicans are in control of the House and the Appropriations Committee, they will have no trouble writing so-called limitation amendments into fiscal 2012 spending bills stating that 'none of the funds' provided to an agency can be used to carry out a specified task ... the Natural Resources Defense Council is particularly worried about the likely renewal of an effort that appropriator Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio, made in July to block the EPA from putting in place regulations regarding smog."
Big Oil whines as White House takes offshore permits seriously. WSJ: "More than two months after the Obama administration lifted its ban on drilling in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, oil companies are still waiting for approval to drill the first new oil well there ... The administration says it is simply trying to enforce new safety rules ... But the delay is hurting big oil companies such as Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which have billions of dollars in investments tied up in Gulf projects that are on hold...."
NYT explores the tricky politics of high-speed rail in CA: "...Representative Dennis Cardoza, a Central Valley Democrat, disparagingly referred to it as 'the train to nowhere.' ... Part of that agita, of course, may be that the first section of high-speed rail will not pass through his district ... farmers have grumbled about the rail project gobbling up valuable farm land ... Ronald W. Hoggard, the city manager of Corcoran ... worries that the train will distract from the city’s carefully shaped [small-town] character."
States Must Deal With Financial Regulation
States struggle to take over part of financial services regulation. WSJ: "Regulation of 4,100 investment advisers, with $25 million to $100 million of assets under management, will transfer in July from the Securities and Exchange Commission to state regulators. The switch is designed to improve scrutiny of the midsize firms. But the states' dire [fiscal] conditions have raised questions about how effective the regulatory overhaul will be ... The battle centers on whether investment advisers should be put under the control of an industry-funded national regulator or left to the states and the SEC. An SEC report on this option will be issued this month."
Glimmer of hope for state budgets. USA Today: "Sharp rises in tax collections since July, especially in the last three months, have boosted tax revenues to levels not seen since 2008..."
Unions On NY Gov. Target List
NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo starts by attacking public employees. NYT: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will seek a one-year salary freeze for state workers as part of an emergency financial plan ... The move will signal the opening of what is expected to be a grueling fight between the new governor and the public-sector unions ... It will also come days after the New Year’s Eve layoffs of more than 900 state workers ..."
UAW seeks to organize foreign-owned auto factories. WSJ: "Many of these plants are located in 'right-to-work' states that historically have been unfriendly to unions, and where unionized workplaces can't compel a worker to join a union or pay the equivalent of union dues ... UAW President Bob King signaled in an interview the union is willing to take a much less confrontational approach to foreign car makers than it did decades ago in battles to become established at the Big Three. But if the companies don't agree to a set of rules being promoted by the union to ensure what it calls free and fair union elections, he indicated the fight could turn nasty—and global."
