MORNING MESSAGE: 40M Underwater Homeowners? Organize.
OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow: "The number of people living in underwater homes is larger than the number of people living in twenty-two states and the District of Columbia. The residents of those states are represented by 44 Senators. … these homeowners could account for as much as 18 percent of all voters - if they all turned out to vote. It also makes them one of the largest potential voting blocs in the country … If the Home Defenders League continues to show up at Obama and Romney rallies and steps up its efforts to exert pressure on both parties - and if it's able to rally large numbers of underwater homeowners - underwater homeowners could become an enormous political force."
Deadlines Loom For Student Loans, Highways
Obama rallies students to pressure Congress keep loan rates low. W. Post quotes: "“How many people can afford to pay an extra $1,000 when you’re a student, just because Congress can’t get its act together? This is a no-brainer. . . . Get it done."
Speaker Boehner snubs bipartisan Boxer-Inhofe compromise on transportation jobs bill. W. Post: "'We’re going to go with a six-month extension,' he said … When that word reached to other side of the Capitol, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) exploded … 'I am very disappointed that Speaker Boehner is even talking about a long-term transportation extension, which would lead to the Highway Trust Fund going bankrupt,' she said. 'Three million jobs and thousands of businesses are at stake.'"
Sen. Maj. Leader Reid proposes fresh compromise, combining student loan and transportation issues. Politico: "[By] making some reforms to pension payment contributions by employers, as well as increasing premiums paid by businesses for Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. coverage … [they could] pay not only for the $6 billion cost of extending the current 3.4 percent rate for federal student loans but also for reauthorizing the surface transportation programs … McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said Senate Republicans will review Reid’s offer, adding that 'we are encouraged to see the majority leader drop his insistence on taxing job creators.'"
Majority Reject Turning Clock Back On Health Reform
Majority either supports health reform law, or says it "doesn't go far enough. CNN poll: "…51% of Americans say they oppose the health care law, while 43% say they favor it. It’s important to note, however, that of those who disagree with the law, only a third oppose it because it’s too liberal, while one in six oppose it because it doesn’t go far enough."
"Health Care Reform Didn't Kill Jobs In Massachusetts" reports HuffPost: "Although joblessness is up everywhere because of the recession and sluggish recovery, employment trends in Massachusetts are comparable to the rest of the country, according to the study. 'Massachusetts has achieved its goal of near-universal health insurance coverage under its 2006 health reform initiative, with no indication of negative job consequences relative to other states as a result of health reform,' said the study…"
"ObamaCare" already helping 6.6M young adults. US News: "… a new study says that healthcare reform has helped to lighten the burdens on this economically troubled generation. … 'This is the first time in a decade that we have actually seen an increase in the number of young adults with insurance coverage,' said Sara Collins, vice president for affordable health insurance at the Commonwealth Fund."
Breakfast Sides
European compromise may hinge on French legislative election: "If the [French] Socialists do well and get a working majority in the National Assembly in alliance with federalist parties of the left, it will be easier for Mr. Hollande to join Ms. Merkel in a practical push for more fiscal and political convergence … The Germans are looking for a sort of 'grand bargain' with Mr. Hollande … French commitment to domestic reform and fiscal discipline in return for Berlin’s accepting the beginning of a European banking system, a 'growth pact' and a discussion of collectivized debt … That could mean a willingness to renegotiate the bailout agreement with any credible new Greek government and to give Greece, Spain, Portugal and other troubled economies, all trying to cut deficits amid a recession, more time to reach fiscal targets."
Reagan was a bigger spender than Obama, notes NYT's Paul Krugman: " I find it especially instructive to look at spending levels three years into each man’s administration … Under one president, real per capita government spending at that point was 14.4 percent higher than four years previously; under the other, less than half as much, just 6.4 percent."
House Dem leaders cool to minimum wage hike bill. The Hill: "Behind Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Ill.), almost two dozen liberal Democrats endorsed legislation this week to raise the federal minimum wage immediately from $7.25 to $10 per hour … But no Democratic leaders have endorsed the measure … But Jackson also suggested those leaders are leaning toward a less aggressive approach that would hike the minimum wage in small increments over a span of years … Jackson called that strategy 'unacceptable.'"
