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: Budget Talks: Who Speaks For The People?
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "Polls show that the public wants taxes raised on the rich, cuts in military spending and more & bettter-paying jobs. The public isn't stupid, because it turns out that these are exactly the things that economists say will get us out of the deficits. ... But the American People just are not reflected 'at the table' in these budget negotiations. How many make less than $250K? How many are unemployed? How many work taking care of someone else? What would these deficits talks, commissions, gangs consists of if they were representative of the interests of regular Americans?"
Budget Debate Moving Left?
President counsels Dems not to "draw a line in the sand" during debt limit talks. W. Post: "Showing an unwillingness to compromise, Obama said, would not only limit the ability to reach a deal with Republicans but could also have a negative impact on financial markets ... Obama also reiterated his opposition to a proposal backed by some Republicans, as well as Democratic Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.), that would limit federal spending to no more than 20.6 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product."
President predicts eventual compromise based on "deficit trigger" proposal during CBS town hall: ""I think what we're going to end up having to do probably is to set some targets, and say, you know, those targets have to be hit if not automatically, some cuts and tax increases start taking place ... That will give incentive for us to negotiate and figure something out."
House conservatives try to shift debt limit talks rightward with proposal for deep cuts. The Hill: "House conservatives said Wednesday the budget deficit should be cut in half and spending should be reduced by as much as $381 billion next year in exchange for a higher debt ceiling ... The letter circulated Wednesday by leaders of the conservative Republican Study Committee to its 176 members is intended to send a signal to the White House and to stiffen the spine of Republican leaders."
But Tapped's Sarah Babbage argues the budget debate is moving leftward: "[GOP Sen. Pat] Toomey, taking a hint from the town halls, public opinion polls, and a special election in New York state, not only spares Medicare in his budget proposal – he increases spending on it relative to Obama’s budget proposal ... Meanwhile, [Dem Sen. Kent] Conrad introduced a budget to Senate Democrats yesterday that reduces the deficit through a 50-50 combination of tax increases and spending cuts, a fairer formula than even what Obama is proposing. He too is probably responding to public opinion..."
House GOP plan to dismantle Medicare may be hurting congressional candidate in upstate NY special election. CNN: "Asked about the impact of the Medicare issue on the New York race, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Wednesday, 'That certainly is a race that was not in play and now it is.' ... Paul Lindsay, spokesman for the House Republicans' campaign arm, said the race is close not because of Medicare, but because of the impact of a third-party candidate."
House Appropriations Chair proposes $46B cut for non-military spending in the next fiscal year. NYT: "The allocations, which are based on the budget approved by the House, will allow the Appropriations Committee to begin assembling bills specifying agency spending for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 ... Representative Norm Dicks of Washington State, the top Democrat on the spending panel, assailed the Republican proposal as irresponsible, saying it would necessitate 'draconian' cuts to college aid, early childhood education, food safety, law enforcement, public health and national infrastructure."
House Passes Another Anti-Jobs Bill
House cmte passes plan to let states cut unemployment insurance. Reuters: "The legislation would allow states to apply $31 billion set aside for extended unemployment benefits through the end of the year to pay interest or principal on loans from the federal government for their jobless benefit programs ... Corresponding legislation has been introduced in the Senate, where it will face a rockier time from the Democrats who hold the power."
EPI estimates a potential loss of 322,000 jobs: "The JOBS Act essentially allows states to terminate the payment of [emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) and extended benefits (EB) progams] potentially eliminating about $40 billion in economic activity, according to CBO estimates, that would result from putting cash in the hands of needy families that will spend it. The $40 billion in economic activity generated by the EUC and EB programs under current law would create around 322,000 jobs."
Squeezed state government try to collect revenue from tax-exempt non-profits. NYT: "Boston has been sending letters to its largest nonprofit institutions this year, telling them the value of their land and asking them to begin making annual payments ... Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel of Chicago wants the city to begin charging water fees to nonprofits, which have been spared them in the past. And the mayor of Providence, R.I., Angel Taveras, cited Boston’s example this month when he called on nonprofits to pay more money to the city."
Oil Execs Face The Senate, After More Love From The House
House passes bill yesterday to expand coastal oil drilling, another one expected today. NYT: "The bill would force the Interior Department to act within 60 days on all applications for offshore drilling permits. The House then turned to a second Republican-sponsored bill that would open much of the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic shorelines to new oil and gas exploration. A vote on that measure is expected Thursday."
Oil company CEOs testify to Senate today. Politico: "A hearing like this puts the oil company execs in a tough spot. They risk giving the Democrats a YouTube moment of appearing not to care for the common man, but they also need to defend their companies’ honor and value for stockholders. Republicans have been steadfast in their effort to paint the proposed incentives repeal as a tax increase ... But they also need to avoid a gaffe like Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton’s infamous apology to BP last summer."
ExxonMobil tries to defend its taxpayer subsidies by arguing it still pays some taxes. W. Post: "'We pay our fair share of taxes,' said Kenneth Cohen, Exxon Mobil’s vice president for public affairs, who in a conference call recently lumped more than $6 of sales, state and local taxes together with every $1 of federal income tax paid in 2010 ... Whether it’s a good idea to get rid of the tax breaks has little to do with property taxes or how much companies collect and pass on to the government in gasoline, sales and payroll taxes, says Eric Toder, a tax expert at the Urban Institute."
Congressional Research Service debunks oil company claims that end of subsidies would noticeably raise gas prices. NYT: "The nonpartisan research group predicted a negligible impact on the price of gasoline from eliminating a series of tax benefits ... with the cost of oil over $100 per barrel, 'prices are well in excess of costs and a small increase in taxes would be less likely to reduce oil output, and hence increase petroleum product (gasoline) prices.' In a review of the five specific tax changes being advocated by Democrats, the research service also said that tightening the tax code would make a very small dent in the huge revenues of the industry and that the price of oil hinges on many other larger considerations."
Oil state Dems stand up for oil. HuffPost: "Democratic Sens. Mark Begich and Mary Landrieu, who represent Alaska and Louisiana, respectively, each took to the Senate floor Wednesday to decry their party's attempt to strip tax breaks from the top oil companies."
New Mortgage Reforms Proposed
Bipartisan duo introduces bill ending Fannie/Freddie. WSJ: "[The bill would] replace mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with at least five private companies that would issue mortgage-backed securities with explicit federal guarantees ... the new entities would be restricted to buying loans that meet certain standards, including size caps. But the firms would have to hold much more capital than Fannie and Freddie. And only the mortgage-backed securities that they issue—not the companies themselves—would enjoy federal guarantees ... Critics say the hybrid model risks recreating the same dynamics that led Fannie and Freddie to use their government ties to take risks that cost taxpayers."
WH officials float new foreclosure fraud settlement compromise. HuffPost: "While state officials are pushing for actual monetary damages, administration officials are looking to do something completely different: Rather than have banks shell out cash to settle claims or in admitting wrongdoing, the administration wants to create spending targets for each firm's efforts to help troubled homeowners. And for every dollar the firms spend, their accounts would be credited ... Monetary penalties would go to the Treasury, as opposed to helping homeowners, and could only be appropriated for other purposes by Congress, one official involved in the negotiations said. The administration's approach is based on its goal of helping the souring housing market heal. But to others involved in the talks, who asked not to be named, the administration's approach resembles one long-criticized by Republicans in Congress as 'HAMP 2.0' ... the White House's now-discredited $50 billion signature foreclosure-prevention initiative."
NYT edit board praises conviction of hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam: "Mr. Rajaratnam is by far the most prominent of the 36 found guilty in an extensive crackdown led by Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York ... Had he been acquitted, Americans might have concluded that it was O.K. for an insider to play the markets as dishonestly as he did because they are basically rigged ..."
NYT's William Cohan touts today's anti-Wall St. protests in NYC: "One of the most frustrating facts of the recently abated financial crisis is that those who might have been partly responsible for it have got off scot-free ...a group calling itself onmay12.org has organized a series of protests on and around Wall Street itself to 'make big banks and millionaires pay.' The group is a coalition of labor unions, community and progressive groups that were catalyzed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed city budget that cuts childcare services, teachers and public safety, among others, while continuing to give tax benefits to corporations that remain in the city."
Romney Tries To Make Sense Of His Health Care Position(s)
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, in speech today, will try to explain his opposition to a national health reform law that resembles what he enacted as governor. AP: "Aides said Romney won’t apologize for his role in the Massachusetts law ... he will make clear that he’s opposed to Obama’s federal approach ... he plans to argue that Republicans should repeal the law before most of its components take effect and replace the law with an alternative that gives states more of a say in the public’s health care options."
FL legislature votes to expand conservative Medicaid reform, after failed pilot program. W. Post: "...a five-year pilot program [was] designed to test whether Florida can reduce spending on Medicaid, the public insurance program for the poor and disabled, by largely turning the program over to for-profit HMOs ... Health professionals here say any savings have come at a high cost: the quality of care ... 'I just don’t understand why Florida is pursuing a failing model,' said Arthur Palamara, a vascular surgeon ... The pending law ... requires the approval of the Obama administration..."
