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 Not-So-Loyal Opposition
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "In the debt-ceiling debate Republicans are holding the country hostage again, demanding that the country shift to a radical pro-big-corporate/big-wealth agenda as the ransom. At the same time the Tea Partiers say don't raise the debt limit, period, and let the country default, hoping that out of the resulting chaos and desperation they can rebuild the economy in an Ayn Randian, rule-by-the-rich vision ... it is looking more and more like Republicans are deliberately sabotaging efforts to recover the economy and create jobs, as a strategy to turn voters against the President in the coming elections ... Republican radicals are advocating 'a wrecking ball agenda' that cuts the very things that made us prosperous: infrastructure, education, scientific research as well as the things the define us as a caring people and enable all of us to pursue our dreams: retirement security, health care and a social safety net."
WH Presses GOP To Accept More Tax Revenue
Sen. Min. Leader McConnell draws line on tax increases. McClatchy: ... Republicans have ruled out tax rate increases, but not necessarily other forms of revenue-raising. Test votes recently on ending ethanol subsidies got strong Republican support ... Democrats want to go further. Among their major proposals: Limiting tax deductions to people earning more than $500,000 a year. McConnell objected, saying Monday that Democrats want 'huge tax hikes on American job creators.' He called such ideas 'not serious...'"
Or has he? NYT: "For the White House, in the wake of Mr. Cantor’s walkout, one imponderable is whether House leaders can corral enough votes for a plan that balances spending cuts with some tax-related changes. 'There’s genuine confusion about the Republican bottom line,' said the administration official.
WH willing to trade Medicare "savings" for increased tax revenue, reports Politico: "...the Biden talks have identified an estimated $1.5 trillion to $1.7 trillion in spending reductions — two-thirds of the final goal. The challenge is to either close the gap with some mix of savings and revenues or retreat to settling for a shorter-term debt increase equal to the lesser savings figure. For their part, Obama and Reid appear prepared to reach much higher, putting substantial Medicare savings on the table if Republicans would accept added revenues. ... Obama’s hope is that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), with whom he met privately last week, will be intrigued by a bolder package that might also help neutralize the Medicare issue now hurting the GOP among elderly voters. The Bush-era income tax rates would not be targeted. Instead, the focus would be more on corporate tax subsidies or capping deductions that most benefit the wealthy."
WH pushes GOP to take on "sacred cows" to reach agreement. USA Today: "'Democrats and the administration have shown themselves willing to take on tough issues and make tough choices, and it's important that Republicans are willing to do the same, to take on some of their sacred cows,' White House press secretary Jay Carney said ... Carney went so far as to call Republican budget proposals 'immoral' because they would slash spending for the middle class, seniors and disabled while leaving tax breaks for 'millionaires and billionaires.'"
Parties may be lowering size of deficit "down payment," but considering retirement security cuts, reports Bloomberg: "President Barack Obama and Republicans are narrowing the debate on a deficit-cutting plan to a reduction of $1 trillion to $2 trillion ... Making changes to Medicare, such as asking the wealthy to pay a higher price for their premiums, is one idea that has been raised. Democrats have long opposed such a change ... there are signs they may be softening, with prominent Democrats like Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who holds the party’s No. 2 position in the chamber, saying the issue needs to be on the table ... Among the recommendations of Obama’s debt commission was a change in the way the government calculates the rate of inflation ... While such a plan has drawn stiff opposition from House Democrats, who say it amounts to a benefit cut for current beneficiaries, it has been on the table ... of the Biden talks ..."
Former deficit commission co-chairs call for $2T "down payment" and retirement security cuts in The Hill oped: "...a two-part approach seems sensible, where policymakers agree to a large down payment now and follow it with more significant and structural reforms in the near future. For this to work, though, the down payment must be large — in the vicinity of $2 trillion — and it must at least begin to address entitlement growth."
Lieberman seeks to whack Medicare, Sanders seeks to tax rich to reduce deficit. W. Post: "... Biden’s group had been trying to craft more than $2 trillion in savings in exchange for a congressionally approved increase in the debt ceiling by a similar amount ... GOP leaders have pushed aggressively to include steep savings from Medicare, and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), along with ... Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), plans to introduce legislation Tuesday that would shave about $500 billion from Medicare’s coffers over 10 years, in part by increasing the eligibility age from 65 to 67. Congressional Democrats have vowed to block any plan if it includes reduced benefits for seniors. Sen. Bernard Sanders [introduced] his plan calling for 50 percent of all savings to come from tax increases..."
Sign Bernie's Letter to the President calling for "50 percent of any deficit reduction package must come from revenue raised by ending tax breaks for the wealthy and eliminating tax loopholes that benefit large, profitable corporations and Wall Street financial institutions."
House Maj. Leader Cantor stands to financially gain if debt limit is not raised. Salon: "Last year the Wall Street Journal reported that Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, had between $1,000 and $15,000 invested in ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT. The fund aggressively "shorts" long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that it performs well when U.S. debt is undesirable. (A short is when the trader hopes to profit from the decline in the value of an asset.) ... nless an agreement can be reached, the U.S. could begin defaulting on its debt payments on Aug. 2. If that happens and Cantor is still invested in the fund, the value of his holdings would skyrocket."
Mother Jones' Adam Weinstein shoots down spin that GOP is ready to accept military cuts: "House Republicans, including budget-minded tea partiers, already passed on a chance to slash military spending when they rubber-stamped a defense bill last month ... no Republicans have seriously raised cuts in war spending during the debt negotiations."
"States That Cut The Most Spending Have Lost The Most Jobs" finds ThinkProgress' Adam Hersh.
Bachmann's Fact Free Debut
Politifact slams presidential candidate Michele Bachmann on day of formal announcement: "...Bachmann said. '...under Barack Obama the last two years, the number of federal limousines for bureaucrats has increased 73 percent, in two years...' ... There's no standard definition for a limousine, and the General Services Administration, which compiled the numbers, said it wasn't sure they were accurate. Also, it's possible some of the 'limousines' were ordered the Bush administration ... 'It’s ironic and sad that the president released all of the oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve because the president doesn’t have an energy policy,' she said. Actually, the government only released 30 million barrels out of a total of 727 million barrels, or about 4 percent."
FL Gov. Scott's unpopularity may hand state to Obama. NYT: "Mr. Scott’s unpopularity is mostly rooted in his aggressive push for large cuts in the budget and the public-sector work force, his decision to reject $2.4 billion in federal money for a high-speed rail project, and the dismissive and even abrasive way he deals with those who disagree with him or ask a lot of questions ... Despite the governor’s efforts to woo out-of-state corporations to the Sunshine State, the companies have not come in droves ..."
Wall Streeters quietly sticking with Obama, unimpressed with GOP field. NYT: "...many of the biggest name financiers feel that they can’t publicly support Mr. Obama through campaign contributions the way they did in 2008 — 'it would be bad for business,' one brand-name chief executive of a major bank acknowledged — some still plan to vote for him. And some begrudgingly acknowledged that they don’t yet see a viable alternative to Mr. Obama among the Republican field .. The president’s re-election campaign has not been actively courting Wall Street’s biggest C.E.O.’s to appear at such fund-raisers out of fear that their support could offend his most liberal backers..."
President Talks Jobs In Iowa Today
President to talk manufacturing in IA today. WSJ: "At Alcoa, the president will highlight the company’s advanced manufacturing, including development of an alloy that goes into airplanes and accounts for significant exports, as well as the company’s 'highly skilled' workforce that earns better-than-average wages, said Ron Bloom, assistant to the president for manufacturing policy."
NYT's Roger Cohen says Washington not doing enough to promote green jobs: " America needs an energy policy and an industrial policy. It has to lead in green technology and — purist capitalist reflexes notwithstanding — it must find ways to get corporate America involved in a national revival ... One of Clinton’s energy ideas related to the cash incentive Obama had offered for start-up green companies. America moved in the past few years, the former president noted, from having less than 2 percent of the world market in manufacturing high-powered batteries for hybrid or all-electric cars to 20 percent, with 30 new battery plants built or under construction. Then — wait for it — Republicans in Congress wouldn’t extend the plan because they viewed it as a 'spending program' rather than a tax cut. This is madness, ... As Clinton noted, 'We could get lots of manufacturing jobs in the same way' — that is, combining green energy and industrial policy."
New immigration reform push focuses on economy. USA Today: "The DREAM Act provides legal residency and the eventual chance for illegal immigrants brought into the U.S. as children to become full-fledged citizens ... Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Monday he will continue to support passage of the law by explaining how the hundreds of thousands of people who could benefit from the act would contribute to the economy. Because they would be getting better jobs, they'd be paying more taxes, starting businesses and creating jobs..."
Dean Baker argues to let distressed homeowners become renters: "It is no great handout. People will lose ownership of their home. But it will provide them with housing security for a substantial period of time. And it does it in a way that requires no taxpayer money and no new bureaucracy."
Breakfast Sides
WH leaning on auto industry to accept tougher fuel efficiency standards. AP: "The Obama administration is telling American automakers that it would like cars and light trucks to average 56.2 miles per gallon by 2025 ... Last fall, the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency said they would consider a federal standard somewhere between 47 and 62 ... The upper end of the range would mean a massive shift in what Americans drive. A government analysis found about half the lineup of new vehicles would need to be gas-electric hybrids under the most aggressive standards. The technology needed to achieve a 56 mpg standard, according to administration estimates, would add $2,100 to $2,600 to the price of a car. But because the vehicles would need less fuel, owners would make up the difference with fewer trips to the gas station ... The goal of 56.2 mpg is tough, but General Motors will figure out a way to reach it, said Mark Reuss, the company's North American president."
Questions raised whether Tea Party Sen. Ron Johnson illegally financing his campaign. TPM: "Last week the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel started asking uncomfortable questions about $10 million in deferred compensation Johnson received from his former company, Pacur, weeks after his $9 million self-financed successful 2010 campaign came to an end ... Johnson has not produced a written deferred compensation agreement that was signed and dated before he launched his campaign. Absent such an agreement, Johnson could face serious charges that he violated campaign-finance laws barring direct corporate funding of federal candidates..."
Congressional agreement to move trade deals nearly done. Politico: "Rep. Sander Levin, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee said Monday in a Capitol speech that the trade package 'might be available in the next day.' Other sources cautioned that earlier expectations of a deal have proved premature, and the complexities of free trade deals mean that any number of glitches can derail negotiations ..."
