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: 99% March On K Street
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "Not only has our Congress come under the control of the 1%, they have done very little to help the 99% through this crisis that was caused by the 1%. This Congress -- the first since the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court -- has done nothing to create jobs while doing a lot to kill jobs, and worse, at the end of this year extended unemployment benefits run out and 2 million people will lose their entire income. So this week Take Back the Capitol brought unemployed people and others to Washington to confront their members of Congress and the lobbyists on 'K Street' that they work for, to demand a change ... Here is a a collection of photos and videos from the action at K Street today ..."
K St. Occupied
Politico reports from K St.: "Dozens of protesters were arrested during the day’s activities. The demonstrators stopped traffic for several blocks around 16th and K streets N.W., home to the biggest lobby shops in town."
"'Take Back the Capitol' protesters target Gingrich fundraising event" reports CNN: "About 25 'Take Back the Capitol' protesters gathered Wednesday night outside the Willard Hotel in DC, prompting hotel staff to lock the entrance to the hotel. Fundraising lobbyists were hosting a dinner for GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich in a reception room of the hotel. The demonstrators called for Gingrich to discuss his jobs plans with the '99% outside' protesting ... Gingrich did not meet with protesters."
Occupy Our Homes marks new chapter in movement. The Nation's Astra Taylor: "December 6 was the result of weeks of careful planning and alliance building, a sign in itself that the Occupy movement is evolving in exciting ways. In Chicago, a homeless woman and her baby moved into a foreclosed home with the blessing of the previous owner and the help of more than forty supporters; in Atlanta, protesters made an appearance at foreclosure auctions in three counties; in Denver, activists collected garbage from abandoned properties and delivered it to the mayor; in Oakland, a mother of three reclaimed the townhouse she lost after becoming unemployed while another group held a barbeque at a property owned by Fannie Mae. Over twenty cities hosted protests, all told."
President Draws Line On Payroll Tax Compromise
President rejects linking payroll tax cut to unrelated issues. USA Today: "House Republicans say they will pair a proposal to extend the payroll tax holiday with legislation that could fast track approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline ... Obama said [the payroll tax cut extension] 'shouldn't be held hostage for any other issues that they may be concerned about.'"
Friction between Republican leaders over adding corporate tax break to payroll tax cut extension. Politico: "[Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor are] on opposite sides on the issue of repatriation — corporations bringing foreign profits back to the U.S. at lower tax rates. Cantor has been vocal in his support for the process, it’s a favorite of K Street and roughly a quarter of the Republican Conference has signed a letter supporting the idea. But Boehner is staunchly opposed to tacking it onto the year-end agreement — the optics would be terrible, he thinks, since the Congressional Budget Offices says it adds tens of billions of dollars to the budget."
Some GOPers propose replacing payroll tax cut with a different tax cut. Politico: "...some [are] weighing whether to float an income tax credit ... It’s highly unlikely Republicans would offer the tax credit proposal as an alternative this week to Majority Leader Harry Reid’s revised payroll tax-cut extension plan. But the idea has been batted around in hallway discussions and closed-door meetings this week as they try to fend off a barrage of attacks from President Barack Obama and shore up divisions in their conference over the payroll tax cut."
Corporations paying less in taxes, even though profits are up reports ThinkProgress' Pat Garofalo.
TPM's Brian Beutler explains the Dem endgame: "...at some point — most likely the end of 2012 — the payroll tax holiday will have to expire. Democrats have a strategy for allowing the holiday to end without dramatically and abruptly imposing an effective tax increase on the middle class. But it’s based on a big gamble — that over the course of the next year they’ll break the GOP’s resolve and win a generational fight with the conservative movement over raising taxes on the rich."
Final Push For CFPB Chief
President keeps beating drum to confirm Richard Cordray as CFPB chief. NYT: "...White House officials in recent days have conducted several briefings with reporters and arranged special access for print and television journalists from seven states where the administration thinks it might sway moderate Republican senators to break ranks ... specifically focusing on voters in Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Nevada, Tennessee and Utah ... On Thursday, Mr. Obama will be interviewed at the White House by local news anchors from Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Memphis and Portland, Me."
USA Today edit board urges GOP to end obstruction: "Listening to Senate Republicans make the case for weakening the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a little like hearing someone suggest that the solution to bank robberies is to remove security cameras ... Today, they are expected to reject President Obama's nominee to head the agency, not because he is objectionable but because the agency is ... The solution, the GOP senators say, is to make the bureau more accountable to Congress. Quick now: Everyone who trusts members of Congress to write rules, with little public scrutiny, that are disliked by the institutions that fund their campaigns, raise your hands."
Slate's Matthew Yglesias praises CFPB's model credit card agreement: "Basically what they did was sit down and try to apply some basic design principles to the question 'how can we convey to consumers information about their credit card.' Currently the way credit card agreements are written is more like the reverse, they apply basic design principles to the question 'how can we maximize the chances that consumers will neglect something or get confused while meeting our technical legal obligations toward disclosure.' In an increasingly attention-constrained world, these kind of design questions around disclosure rules matter more and more."
Breakfast Sides
Pretty much everything Newt Gingrich says about jobs isn't true finds Politifact.
Boeing workers accept deal with management, effectively ending NLRB case. AP: " ...grants the company a long stretch of elusive labor peace and likely ends a federal complaint that had become a hot topic for Republican presidential candidates ... Boeing promised that if workers approved the pact, the company would build the new version of the popular 737 in the Puget Sound region, while the Machinists said they'd drop their allegations that Boeing opened a nonunion assembly plant in South Carolina in retaliation for previous strike."
Dean Baker slams W. Post article pessimistic on public investment in electric cars: "If the Washington Post managed the development of computers the way it reported on the administration's efforts to promote green cars, I would be writing this piece on a typewriter. President Obama has been in office less than 3 years. It would be absolutely astounding if his administration's efforts to promote cleaner cars had already produced marketable results. The effort to get affordable electric cars will inevitably a long process involving many cost-saving and efficiency enhancing innovations. People who know technology understand this fact. People who don't should not be writing on this issue for major news outlets."
