MORNING MESSAGE: Death By Austerity
OurFuture.org's Terrance Heath: "Americans now stand a greater chance of dying from the effects of austerity than being killed in a car crash. At least that's what a new report suggests, if you read between the lines. The study, authored by a West Virginia University professor and published in the American Journal of Public Health last week, says that suicide now kills more Americans than car crashes … Can it be a coincidence that the rise in U.S. suicides occurred simultaneously with America's biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression … How much worse can things get if the result of the election is an economic agenda that slashes public sector spending, bleeds the public sector even more, increases unemployment, hobbles what currently passes for a recovery, and primarily benefits Wall Street and the one percent?"
This Week's SmartTalk: Good Jobs First
This week's installment of the "Smart Talk" economic messaging project makes case for "good jobs first": "We need a bold strategy to revive the middle class, not short-term schemes that waste money and ignore the challenges we face. We’ve got to take on the special interests that rig the rules in Washington, curb big money in politics, and shut the revolving door between legislators and lobbies. Then focus on good jobs first. Let’s see 'made in America' back in our stores. Repeal the obscene tax breaks that multinationals pocket for shipping our jobs abroad; reward companies that produce here at home. Invest in areas vital to our economy – innovation, education, rebuilding our decrepit roads and sewers, and pay for it by insuring the wealthy and the big corporations pay their fair share. And working people must be paid for the work that they do: Raise the minimum wage; stop rewarding CEOs for cooking the books; empower workers to bargain for a fair share of the profits they help to produce. This economy won’t work unless we rebuild the middle class."
29 senators pledge to stop Social Security cuts in any "fiscal cliff" deal. HuffPost: "Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), said he was heartened to hear Obama tell the AARP last week that he'd be open to raising the [payroll tax] cap … But the Vermont Independent worried that all of this could be posturing for the lame-duck session … 'Everything being equal, unless we stop it, what will happen is there will be a quote-unquote grand bargain after the election in which the White House, some Democrats will sit down with Republicans, they will move to a chained CPI.' … Sanders is one of 29 Senators who have signed a letter to 'oppose including Social Security cuts for future or current beneficiaries in any deficit reduction package.'"
Congressional progressives warn poor must be protected as well. Roll Call: "'Cuts should not increase poverty in America or put children and families at greater risk of falling through the cracks,' said a letter organized by the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus and set to be released today."
Romney Loves His Low Capital Gains Tax Rate
"Low Capital Gains Rate Saved Romney $1.2 Million In Taxes Last Year" notes ThinkProgress' Pat Garofalo.
Obama knocks Romney's claim that his tax rate is "fair", while on ABC's "The View": ""He said yes, I think it's fair, and I also think that's the way you get economic growth. The notion being, if people at the top have more income, they'll invest and they'll create jobs. I've just got a different vision about how we grow an economy … that you grow an economy from the middle out, not from the top down."
Forbes 400 magnifies problem of income inequality and tax loopholes, says NYT's Joe Nocera: "The fundamental reason the Romneys pay so little in taxes is that the bulk of their income comes from investments and thus is taxed at the capital gains rate of 15 percent. Although Romney himself isn’t close to being rich enough to join the Forbes 400, his reliance on capital gains is a trait he shares with most of the ultrawealthy. It is the thread that ties together the Forbes 400. Financiers, who make up a large percentage of the Forbes 400, long ago found ways to convert their compensation to capital gains … A large number of the Forbes 400 — 'roughly 40 percent,' according to a group called United for a Fair Economy — inherited their wealth."
Conservatives Detach From Real World
David Brooks slams sorry state of modern conservatism: "Republicans repeat formulas — government support equals dependency — that make sense according to free-market ideology, but oversimplify the real world … Some people blame bad campaign managers for Romney’s underperforming campaign, but the problem is deeper. Conservatism has lost the balance between economic and traditional conservatism. The Republican Party has abandoned half of its intellectual ammunition. It appeals to people as potential business owners, but not as parents, neighbors and citizens."
Data shows nearly all Americans take some government benefits, say Profs. Suzanne Mettler and John Sides in NYT: "We have unique data from a 2008 national survey by the Cornell Survey Research Institute that asked Americans whether they had ever taken advantage of any of 21 social policies provided by the federal government, from student loans to Medicare … nearly all Americans — 96 percent — have relied on the federal government to assist them. Young adults, who are not yet eligible for many policies, account for most of the remaining 4 percent."
Breakfast Sides
"Riot at Foxconn Factory Underscores Rift in China" reports NYT: "…analysts say worker unrest in China has grown more common because workers are more aware of their rights, and yet have few outlets to challenge or negotiate with their employers … Many of the protests this year appear to be related to the country’s economic slowdown, as employees demand the payment of overdue wages from financially struggling companies, or insist on compensation when money-losing factories in coastal provinces are closed and moved to lower-cost cities in the interior."
Medicare Advantage thriving under ObamaCare. Politico: "The Obama administration will announce later this week that the quality of private Medicare plans is on the rise, thanks to an $8 billion demonstration project that pays them bonuses for good performance."
