Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.
MORNING MESSAGE: The Alternate Universe Where Senators Put Jobs First
OurFuture.org's RIchard Eskow: "In our world - the one where most people live - 25 million Americans are unemployed or under-employed. A recent Celinda Lake poll shows that concern over jobs outweighs deficit concerns by 2 to 1, and that 77% of the public opposes cutting Social Security. Nevertheless, in what's an especially surreal move even for them, a majority of Senators just sent a letter demanding that the President make the deficit his highest priority, not jobs - using as his framework a a proposal that cuts Social Security ... I thought I'd offer an uplifting glimpse of a more rational universe, a universe where people are both fair-minded and sensible ... a universe where the letter from those Senators would read like this..."
Reid Ready To Rally To Protect Social Security
Senate Democrats split over Social Security. W. Post: "A growing number of Democratic lawmakers say they are willing to consider controversial measures such as raising the retirement age and reducing benefits for wealthier seniors ... But senior lawmakers such as Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) are lining up against them, arguing that tampering with Social Security would harm the elderly — as well as the political fortunes of Democrats ... Reid has scheduled a rally Monday on Capitol Hill..."
Social Security. Still not in crisis. The American Prospect's Ben Adler: "According to a 2010 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security spending will increase from less than 5 percent of gross domestic product today to about 6 percent in 2030 'and then stabilize at roughly that level.' Even that projection could be brightened by better-than-expected economic or population growth ... to expect Democrats to agree to make their painful concessions without a compromise deal in place is to ask them to trade away Social Security benefits for further tax cuts for the rich. There are already people doing that: They're called Republicans."
Washington Post. Still unable to accurately report on Social Security's finances. Dean Baker: "Workers were taxed more than was necessary to pay current benefits. The surplus was used to buy bonds so that the cost of benefits when the baby boom cohort retired could be partially funded by the bonds instead of current tax revenue. The Post is now describing the repayment of the bonds held by the Social Security trust fund as a 'problem,' implying that it wants to default on these bonds. This is a strong position for a newspaper to take, especially in a news story."
Failed austerity policies in Europe should make us ignore America's deficit hysterics, says NYT's Paul Krugman: "Portugal’s government has just fallen in a dispute over austerity proposals. Irish bond yields have topped 10 percent for the first time. And the British government has just marked its economic forecast down and its deficit forecast up. What do these events have in common? They’re all evidence that slashing spending in the face of high unemployment is a mistake."
Mark Thoma smacks down conservative signers of letter by former presidential economic advisers calling for urgent deficit reduction: "The time to stand up to the budget busting was when it happened, and when members of the list had the power to affect policy, not many years later in an article at Politico. Many on the list were either part of the decision making team in the 2000s that opened the hole in the budget, or supported what the team did."
House Republicans may try making more demands for cuts to ... "avoid" government shutdown. The Hill: "House Republican leaders have all but ruled out a government shutdown ... With a shutdown seemingly off the table, Republicans are considering an alternative tactic: 'ratchet' up demands in future short-term spending bills by including amendments that defund Democratic priorities like healthcare reform ... in an attempt to put the onus on Democrats to avoid a government shutdown. The House has already approved two short-term bills to fund the government that cut spending by $2 billion per week. But passing another short-term bill in that mold might not fly with Tea Party-backed conservatives."
GOP Sen. Scott Brown taking heat for fuzzy position on defunding Planned Parenthood in bill to keep government open. Politico: "Abortion rights supporters lauded a Monday statement from the Massachusetts Republican, in which he denounced House Republicans' budget 'proposal to eliminate all funding for family planning' as going 'too far.' It was widely read as opposition to Rep. Mike Pence's (R-Ind.) amendment to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal dollars. But Democrats and Republicans alike are now questioning what Brown quietly left unaddressed: whether he actually opposes defunding Planned Parenthood, or is taking the less controversial stance of opposing a provision in the spending bill to cut off funding for the Title X program ... Asked to clarify his position on defunding Planned Parenthood in light of the criticism, a spokesman for Brown emailed Thursday: 'The statement speaks for itself.'"
Not only does G.E. not pay taxes, taxpayers pay G.E. NYT: "The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion ... Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion [thanks to] fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits offshore ... As the Obama administration and leaders in Congress consider proposals to revamp the corporate tax code, G.E. is well prepared to defend its interests. The company spent $4.1 million on outside lobbyists last year, including four boutique firms that specialize in tax policy."
Michigan Slashes Jobless Aid, Other States May Follow
Michigan moves to cut jobless aid, more states may follow. W. Post: "The Michigan measure reduces the maximum period a person can receive state unemployment benefits from 26 to 20 weeks, the lowest in the nation ... other Republican-dominated legislatures, including in Florida and Arkansas, are weighing similar efforts ... [Yet,] nearly 44 percent of the country’s jobless have been out of work for more than six months."
Wisconsin Dems predict they'll retake the Senate this summer. W. Post: "Statewide, Democrats say they have over fifty percent of the number of petitions they need to recall eight Republican state senators, although they are not over the fifty percent threshold in every district ... Democrats need to flip three seats to take over ..."
Legal fight over Wisconsin anti-union law fast-tracked to state Supreme Court. NYT: "The lower court, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, said the issues involved were so fundamental ... that it made sense to send the case straight to state’s highest court."
Gov. Walker's education cuts driving away former supporters. AP: "Almost five months after the election, [Barb] Feest and some other Republican voters are having doubts about their choices at the ballot box. Although they consider themselves fiscal conservatives, many of the same people who put Walker and other GOP leaders into office are now having second thoughts, largely because the cuts they are seeking could put the quality of their cherished local schools at risk."
Republican bill would deny food stamps to families of striking workers. W. Monthly's Steve Benen: "The message these Republican lawmakers want to send is as straightforward as it is callous: if you go on strike, your family should have less access to food."
Medicaid May Face Cuts
Dems expected to propose Medicaid cuts. The Hill: "Medicaid advocates came out of a meeting with Democrats this week expecting the party to propose cuts to the entitlement program. They expect those cuts would be smaller than the ones that will be in the Republicans’ 2012 budget proposal and some see them as a way for Democrats to start the bargaining process with the GOP ... Advocates came out of the Wednesday meeting with mixed feelings. Some criticized Democrats' late response while others praised them for trying to unite opposition to Republican cuts that could be as high as $1 trillion."
Right-wing Sen. Ron Johnson's infant daughter was saved by medical procedure invented in country with government-run health care. Wonk Room's Igor Volsky: "According to CAP Senior Fellow (and resident biochemist) Dr. Lesley Russell, it is most likely that the surgery Carey had was first performed and reported in Brazil in 1975, where doctors described their version of the procedure as 'the first successful report of total correction of transposition of the great vessels at the arterial level.' Alternatively, Johnson’s daughter may have had what’s known as The LeCompte procedure, which was developed in France in 1981."
Repealing health reform would be like installing a death panel. TPM's Brian Beutler: "In the year since the law passed, patients and their doctors have been making treatment decisions based on current benefits ... patients will get transplants and life-saving treatments, thanks to these new benefits ... these same patients will require lifetimes of expensive care and medication ... The consequences of the care they received thanks to the health care reform law, will leave them holding the bag, if Congress or the Court abolishes it. That means bankrupting out of pocket costs, a scramble for care and medication, and possibly death."
FL Gov. Rick Scott looks to privatize Medicaid, and let his wife reap the profits. Mother Jones' Suzy Khimm: "Scott and Florida Republicans are currently trying to enact a sweeping Medicaid reform bill that would give HMOs and other private health care companies unprecedented control over the government health care program for the poor. Among the companies that stand to benefit from the bill is Solantic, a chain of urgent-care clinics ... The Florida governor founded Solantic in 2001 ... In January, he transferred his $62 million stake in Solantic to his wife ..."
Nuclear Industry Fighting Back
Organized nuclear lobby helping maintain U.S. political support despite Japan crisis. NYT: "Nuclear executives, girding for a fight, have already held 20 briefings for Washington lawmakers and others about the events in Japan and the potential lessons learned at home. They have been putting out guidance on increased safeguards for reactors, and giving reporters tours of nuclear plants. The message: Despite the events in Japan, nuclear is a safe, affordable and 'clean' energy source that does not spew harmful carbons into the environment or rely on foreign producers."
Potential nuclear expansion still stalled by high costs. Time: "...Wall Street hates nukes as much as K Street loves them, which is why there's no new reactor construction to freeze. Once hailed as 'too cheap to meter,' nuclear fission turns out to be an outlandishly expensive method of generating juice for our Xboxes ... Trying to avoid flukes like Fukushima Daiichi is remarkably costly. And trying to avoid those costs can lead to flukes."
Most potential GOP presidential candidates used to support cutting carbon emissions. Time: "...Pawlenty signed the Next Generation Energy Act of 2007 in Minnesota, which called for a plan to 'recommend how the state could adopt a regulatory system that imposes a cap on the aggregate air pollutant emissions of a group of sources.' [And he] urged Congress to pass national curbs on greenhouse gases ... in 2007, [Mitt Romney was] voicing concern about man-made global warming while supporting more government subsidies for new energy sources, new efficiency standards, and a new global carbon treaty ... [In 2007 on PBS, Newt Gingrich said,] 'I think if you have mandatory carbon caps combined with a trading system ... it's something I would strongly support.' ... The former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been a long-time supporter of an economy-wide cap and trade policy, calling it a 'moral issue.'"
Dems pushing "use it or lose it" legislation on existing leases to oil companies. The Hill: "Democrats argue companies should tap their unused leases before drilling in new territory, and President Obama this month demanded a quick Interior Department review of unused leases. But Republicans sought to discredit 'use it or lose it' proposals Thursday ... The American Petroleum Institute had similar sentiments Thursday..."
Breakfast Sides
Ian Fletcher lays out a plan for "ethical economic nationalism": "It must aim at the economic good of the nation as a whole, [avoiding] the classic danger of protectionism incompetently implemented, as when it protects industries based on who had the smarter lobbyist ... It must allow other nations the same right to fight for their own people's economic interests as we claim for ours ... It must be based on sound economics and policies that actually work, not misguided nostrums and empty populist gestures."
Elizabeth Warren argues those concerned with holding her accountable should also want the same for Wall Street, in Bloomberg interview: "The idea that we should be worried that some agency that will speak up for consumers might get a little too loud is looking in the wrong direction."
Fannie Mae warned about improper foreclosure procedures in 2006. WSJ: "Fannie Mae was warned in a 2006 internal report of abuses in the way lenders and their law firms handled foreclosures, long before regulators launched investigations into the mortgage industry's practices. The report said foreclosure attorneys in Florida had 'routinely made' false statements in court in an effort to more quickly process foreclosures and raised questions about whether some mortgage servicers or another entity had the legal standing to foreclose."
Fourth quarter 2010 GDP growth revised upward from 2.8% to 3.1% reports Bureau of Economic Analysis.
