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: What MLK Might Say Today
OurFuture.org's Isaiah Poole: "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. laid down this marker during his 'I Have A Dream' speech in 1963: '...It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked 'insufficient funds.' But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check ... .' Here we are, 48 years after that speech, and that check is still bouncing. And we're having a national debate about racial and economic justice that is a bit like an argument with a check-cashing rip-off operation."
Romney Still On Defensive Over Bain
Romney defends record at Bain, Perry takes lead in attacking. McClatchy: "'I think anytime a job is lost it's a tragedy,' Romney said ... 'It is important for the Republican Party to represent the party that creates jobs, not the party that goes out and identifies companies that they think they can quickly make a buck on and either strip them of their assets and then they go bankrupt or flip them quickly,' Perry said ..."
NYT's Paul Krugman reminds Mitt Romney that America is not a corporation: "Making good economic policy isn’t at all like maximizing corporate profits. And businessmen — even great businessmen — do not, in general, have any special insights into what it takes to achieve economic recovery ... For one thing, there’s no simple bottom line. For another, the economy is vastly more complex than even the largest private company. Most relevant for our current situation, however, is the point that even giant corporations sell the great bulk of what they produce to other people, not to their own employees — whereas even small countries sell most of what they produce to themselves ... From the point of view of the firm’s owners (though not its workers), the more costs that are cut, the better. ... But the story is very different when a government slashes spending in the face of a depressed economy."
At Bain, Romney regularly used government subsidies to buffet companies. LAT: "The story of Bain and Steel Dynamics illustrates how Romney, during his business career, made avid use of public-private partnerships, something that many conservatives consider to be 'corporate welfare.' It is a commitment that carried over into his term as governor of Massachusetts, when he offered similar incentives to lure businesses to his state. Yet as he seeks the GOP presidential nomination, he emphasizes government's adverse effects on economic growth."
McCain whacked Romney on Bain in 2008. ThinkProgress: "In Florida, McCain shot at Romney: 'As head of his investment company he presided over the acquisition of companies that laid off thousands of workers.' In a debate, McCain charged, 'He managed companies and he bought and he sold and sometimes people lost their jobs.' McCain’s campaign manager added, 'He learned politics and economics from being a venture capitalist, where you go and buy companies, you strip away the jobs, and you resell them,' But today, McCain suggested attacks on Romney’s jobs record at Bain are akin to 'communism.'"
President Signals Focus On Inequality
President's top econ adviser Alan Krueger delivers major address on inequality: "The magnitude of these shifts is mind-boggling. The share of all income accruing to the top 1% increased by 13.5 percentage points from 1979 to 2007. This is the equivalent of shifting $1.1 trillion of annual income to the top 1 percent of families ... I think it is clear that we can’t go back to the type of policies that exacerbated the rise in inequality and threatened economic mobility in the first place if we want an economy that builds the middle class. This means that we must adequately regulate excess risk-taking and corrupt practices in financial markets. It also means that we can’t go back to tax policies that didn’t generate faster economic growth or jobs, but rather increased inequality."
Romney doesn't think talking about inequality in public is polite. TPM: "Too bad for Mitt Romney. Turns out income inequality — that thing he claims has no place in our political debate, or anywhere outside of 'quiet rooms' — will be a central theme of President Obama’s re-election message. We know this because one of his top economic advisers essentially claimed as much in a public address at a top DC think tank..."
Breakaway AGs Signal Tough Bank Investigations Coming
12 state AGs discuss alternatives to a foreclosure fraud settlement with banks. Bloomberg: "The group, which met in Washington, included New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, California’s Kamala Harris and Martha Coakley of Massachusetts ... each [are] conducting separate investigations of bank practices ... At the meeting in Washington, the attorneys general talked about their own investigations and litigation as well as different enforcement strategies and options ... The officials also discussed their concerns about the terms of the possible foreclosure settlement with the banks and their frustrations about the lack of information they’re getting about the negotiations ..."
CFPB's Cordray prepares to take on housing. W. Post: "...the new bureau released its guidelines for regulating the practices of mortgage lenders across the country. Regulators are instructed to examine whether lenders offering subprime loans, for example, closely assess whether potential borrowers are actually able to repay the loans and factor in the risks accordingly. The CFPB will also determine whether lenders misrepresent the terms and conditions of their loans..."
Cordray reaches "truce" with U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Politico: "...Cordray told reporters he’s talked with Tom Donohue, the president and CEO of the Chamber and met with other members of the organization to deliver a simple message: we’re here to protect honest businesses, too ... Donohue said the group wouldn’t sue — at least not yet — to reverse President Barack Obama’s contentious recess appointment of Cordray. Instead, he told members, the Chamber will focus on how the bureau intends to operate as the newly empowered cop on the financial services beat."
"Obama on Firm Legal Ground With Recess Appointment, Experts Say" reports US News: "Georgetown University law professor Susan Bloch says that because the Senate explicitly said it wouldn't conduct business during its session, a court is likely to agree that it doesn't break the recess."
President Plans Government Consolidation
President to propose consolidating government agencies. W. Post: "President Obama will ask Congress on Friday for the power to consolidate parts of the federal government, proposing a first step of combining several trade- and commerce-related agencies under a plan that the White House said could eliminate more than 1,000 jobs and save $3 billion over 10 years ... Obama will propose combining the functions and staff of six trade- and commerce-related agencies and offices: the Small Business Administration; the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; the Export-Import Bank; the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and the Trade and Development Agency."
The Hill adds: "By asking Congress to give him approval, Obama hopes to make it difficult for the legislature to reject his plan, as Republicans on Capitol Hill might then be the ones seen as blocking an effort to make government smaller and more efficient."
Breakfast Sides
Under terms of last year's deal, President asks for, and will get, another debt ceiling increase. W. Post: "Congress will have had 15 days to say no before the nation’s debt ceiling automatically is raised from $15.2 trillion to $16.4 trillion ... Even if such a resolution were passed, Obama could veto it, and he could be overridden only by a two-thirds supermajority in each chamber."
HHS flags a second unreasonable health insurance rate hike. NYT: "Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, issued the finding against the carrier, Trustmark Life Insurance Company, a unit of Trustmark Mutual Holding Company. Ms. Sebelius said that 'the excessive rate increases' would affect nearly 10,000 people in Alabama, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming ... Mr. Obama unsuccessfully sought the power to block rate increases deemed unreasonable, a power that some states have. Even without that authority, administration officials said, their ability to challenge and publicize large increases provides a significant new protection for consumers."
