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: Will The Media Cover "The People's Budget?"
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "You can't open a newspaper or turn on a radio or TV without being told that the world is going to end because of the deficit. The deficit was caused by tax cuts for the rich, huge military spending increases, two wars and the costs of our health care system. So of course all the solutions we hear about involve gutting the things We, the People (government) do for each other and our economy, not touching the military budget and even more tax cuts for the rich. Bet you didn't know about The People's Budget from the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Why is there so little attention being paid to this plan? This plan fixes the deficit by addressing the causes of the deficit."
Grassroots Heat Rising Against GOP Budget
Criticism of GOP budget rising in town halls, more to come this week. The Hill: "...Democratic organizations have trumpeted examples of town-hall meetings where Republican legislators were criticized by constituents ... But there are differences between this year’s early examples and the sustained string of events in 2009. The town halls that liberal organizations and Democrats have been touting haven't been nearly as crowded as those in 2009. And none of those being touted as examples of extreme public discontent with the Ryan budget have gotten so heated that violence could have broken out." EARLIER at OurFuture.org: List of major town halls for this week.
New ad targets key congresspeople for voting to support dismantling Medicare. TPM: "... the progressive advocacy group Americans United for Change will run broadcast TV ads in the districts of Reps. Steve King (R-IA), Sean Duffy (R-WI), Chip Cravaack (R-MN), and Paul Ryan (R-WI)."
TNR's Jonathan Cohn begins five-part series on what else is disastrous in the GOP budget, starting with food aid to the poor: "Today, spending on SNAP automatically rises during economic downturns, as more people lose jobs or see incomes fall. Not only does that automatic expansion help alleviate hardship. It also boosts the economy ... But the Republican budget wouldn’t simply convert the program into a block grant. It would also reduce the program's funding. The impact would likely be severe, as states either reduced the value of the subsidies, served fewer people, or some combination of the two."
Sen. Maj. Leader may force vote on House GOP budget. The Hill: "The idea is to drive a wedge through the GOP caucus and put vulnerable incumbents such as Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) in a political jam."
NYT's Paul Krugman challenges the deficit hysterics who reject tax increases, praises Progressive Caucus for repealing most of Bush tax cuts: "President Obama’s proposal is a lot better [than the GOP's]. At least it calls for raising taxes on high incomes back to Clinton-era levels. But it preserves the rest of the Bush tax cuts — cuts that were originally sold as a way to dispose of a large budget surplus. And, as a result, it still relies heavily on spending cuts ... by rescinding many of the Bush tax cuts, not just those affecting top incomes, [the Progressive Caucus budget] would modestly raise taxes even on middle-income families ... [The] proposal achieves [budget balance] without dismantling the legacy of the New Deal..."
Tax Reform Center Of Deficit Deal Talks
"Gang Of Six" members say their deficit reduction plan won't increase tax rates on anyone, will only close loopholes and end credits, on NBC's Meet The Press. GOP Sen. Tom Coburn: "...what we were talking about is getting significant dynamic effects by taking away tax credits, lowering the tax rate and having an economic increase that will actually increase the revenues to the federal government."
Dems aggressively pushing higher taxes on wealthy, but unclear at what threshold. The Hill: "Obama, in recent appearances, has framed his position as essentially asking millionaires and billionaires to do their part to help the country’s fiscal situation. House and Senate Democrats have made similar comments, even if it remains to be seen what figure the party’s lawmakers push for most strongly ... 'Policy-wise, the White House continues to draw the line at 250,000,' [a Senate] aide said. 'Messaging-wise, everyone’s talking about a million.'"
WH aides close to finishing "revenue-neutral" corporate tax reform proposal. NYT: "The approach officials are now discussing would drop the top rate as low as 26 percent, largely by curbing or eliminating tax breaks for depreciation and for domestic manufacturing. Final options have not been presented to Mr. Obama, but officials aim to unveil a single proposal or a set of alternative plans as early as May ... such a proposal could sweeten the mood among Republicans as they consider Mr. Obama’s insistence that any long-term deficit reduction deal include increases in revenue from the individual tax code."
Bernanke Presser On Wednesday
As Fed chief Ben Bernanke prepares for unprecedented press conference on Wednesday, criticism from all sides. NYT: "...a growing body of research suggests that the Fed could have had a larger impact by spending more money on a broader range of debt, like mortgage bonds, as it did initially. A vocal group of critics, meanwhile, argues that the Fed has already done far too much, amassing a portfolio of more than $2 trillion that may impede the central bank’s ability to raise interest rates to curb inflation."
Time's Michael Grunwald has a question for Bernanke: "I wrote the 2009 Person of the Year profile that credited him with saving the global economy. I made the case for his confirmation for a second term ... So here’s my first question ... Mr. Chairman, why are you failing? ... 8.8% unemployment is just outrageously, tragically high ... he’s already done more than any chairman has ever done and then some. But he hasn’t fixed the problem, so he ought to do even more, or else say why he can’t."
