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: Are Schneiderman And Liberal Groups Selling Out?
OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow: "The announcement—especially the appointment of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman— did win praise from a number of liberal groups. But there were other headlines in the progressive Internet today, too: 'Is Eric Schneiderman selling out?' asked prominent financial blogger Yves Smith. David Dayen called it 'The Schneiderman Gambit.' 'Nice Try, Mr. President,' said attorney/blogger Abigail Field ... Like these commentators, I was very disappointed to learn that Schneiderman was to be a 'co-chair' rather than heading the team. That means the group's being run by a committee, not a leader. Committees are designed for paralysis and gridlock, not efficiency ... But Schneiderman certainly knows he'll be up against a lot of resistance. And he also knows he'll hold a lot of leverage... Consider this: What would it do to the White House if Schneiderman labeled the entire effort a sham, resigned in protest, and continued his investigations alone?"
President Pushes "Insourcing" After SOTU
President makes "insourcing" push on post-SOTU tour. NYT: "'It’s become more expensive to do business in places like China,' Mr. Obama said [in Iowa]. 'Meanwhile, America is getting more productive.' So for many companies, he said, it is starting to make more sense to bring jobs home. 'We have to seize this opportunity,' he said. 'And it starts with changing our tax code.'"
Bipartisan consensus forming on manufacturing, argues W. Post's Harold Meyerson: "Remarkably, at a time when the two parties can’t agree that the sun rises in the east, the Republican candidates for president concur with some of Obama’s new emphasis on reindustrialization. Rick Santorum has called for eliminating the taxes on domestic manufacturers. Mitt Romney has called for retaliatory tariffs on Chinese imports if the Chinese continue low-balling their currency ... Obama has discovered his inner economic nationalist, just in time for the election."
NYT reveals dark side to Apple's outsourcing: "Employees work excessive overtime, in some cases seven days a week, and live in crowded dorms. Some say they stand so long that their legs swell until they can hardly walk. Under-age workers have helped build Apple’s products, and the company’s suppliers have improperly disposed of hazardous waste and falsified records ... Within seven months last year, two explosions at iPad factories, including in Chengdu, killed four people and injured 77. Before those blasts, Apple had been alerted to hazardous conditions inside the Chengdu plant, according to a Chinese group that published that warning. 'If Apple was warned, and didn’t act, that’s reprehensible,' said Nicholas Ashford, a former chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health..."
Details emerge on new housing crisis investigation announced at SOTU. NYT: "Officials said the new effort would be more focused than previous interagency programs to tackle the mortgage crisis [and] would most likely focus on Wall Street firms, big banks and other entities that many people thought had escaped scrutiny for their role in the housing crisis. The task force will most likely follow the lead of New York and Delaware, which are investigating potential flaws in the creation of mortgage-backed securities that could lead to charges of tax evasion, insurance fraud and securities fraud. The Delaware attorney general, Beau Biden, has not yet signed on to the new effort."
Low Expectations For Legislation
Focus on taxes not expected to lead to legislation before election, but after is a different story. NYT: "House Democratic negotiators have suggested that changes to the carried interest rule could be used in part to pay for a 10-month extension of the payroll tax cut. Mr. Reid called that unrealistic ... After the election, changes will be coming, regardless of the occupant of the White House. If nothing is done, the tax code put in place by Congress and President George W. Bush through successive tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 expires Jan. 1 ... Adding another wrinkle, under the 2010 health care law, a new 3.8 percent tax on passive income — dividends, capital gains, interest and other unearned income sources — goes into effect for high earners in 2013. That would raise total capital gains rates to nearly 24 percent for households earning more than $250,000. Those automatic changes could give Democrats substantial leverage to win tax code alterations on their terms, they say, especially if Mr. Obama wins re-election."
Transportation Sec LaHood lowers expectations for a multi-year transportation jobs bill this year. W. Post quotes: "Given the politics, the number of days that remain, the differences between what the Senate and the House are looking at, I think it’s very unlikely that we’ll have a surface transportation bill during this year."
Indiana On Verge Of Enacting Anti-Union Law
Indiana House passes anti-union law, expected to clear Senate. NYT: "...all but assuring that the state will become the first in the Midwestern manufacturing belt deemed a 'right to work' state ... In [other] states, Republican supporters of 'right to work' provisions said Indiana’s move ... had added a sense of urgency to their own efforts ..."
"Indiana Imposes Tax on Workers Who Support Unions" explains Dean Baker: "...a union is legally obligated to represent all the workers in a bargaining unit, regardless of whether a worker has opted to join the union. This means that non-members not only get the same wages and benefits that the union gets for its members, they also are entitled to the union's protection in the event of disputes with the employer. Most states allow workers to sign contracts that require non-union members to pay for the benefits they receive from the union. The bill passed by Indiana's legislature prohibits unions and employers from signing this sort of contract. Instead, it requires unions to provide free representation to non-members."
GOP '12 Race Meets Latino Voters
Immigration enters spotlight in GOP primary. W. Post: "Gingrich lobbed the first attack on Wednesday, poking fun at Romney during an appearance on Miami-based Univision, the country’s biggest Spanish-language network. Gingrich peppered his remarks with halting Spanish as he accused Romney of living in a 'fantasy land' for suggesting in a debate that the country’s 11 million illegal immigrants should 'self deport.' Romney also stepped up his attacks on Gingrich, releasing a Spanish-language ad noting that the former House speaker once called Spanish the 'language of the ghetto.' Also on Univision, Romney said Gingrich’s mocking of him was a cheap attempt to garner votes."
Jeb Bush urges Republicans to sound more pro-immigrant to attract Latino votes, in W. Post oped: "Start by recognizing that new Americans strengthen our economy. We need more people to come to this country, ready to work and to contribute their creativity to our economy. U.S. immigration policies should reflect that principle. Just as Republicans believe in free trade of goods, we should support the freer flow of human talent ... When we hear foreign languages in the streets of America, that is a validation of the Republican vision to create a place where people want to come and make their lives."
