MORNING MESSAGE: Waging Class War
OurFuture.org's Robert Borosage: "In 2012, class warfare broke out in American politics. And from the president to key Senate races, the middle class won. Today the Campaign for America’s Future launches a new website – WageClassWar.org – to detail the new terrain of American politics … For years, conservatives in both parties have warned against class warfare. Americans, we’re told, don’t like that divisiveness. They see it as the politics of envy. Inequality should, as Mitt Romney said, only be talked about in back rooms. Nonsense. More and more of our elections going forward will feature class warfare – only this time with the middle class fighting back."
350 Economists Say: Jobs Not Austerity
"350 Economists Call On Congress To Invest In Job Growth Instead Of Austerity" reports ThinkProgress: "America’s fledgling economic recovery is being threatened by 'obsessive concern with cutting deficits that has infected both parties,' a group of 350 economists wrote in a letter to lawmakers this week." (More at JobsNotAusterity.org.)
HuffPost adds: "The letter, written by Robert Borosage and Roger Hickey, co-directors of the Institute for America's Future, and Robert Kuttner, founder of The American Prospect, emphasizes that mitigating long-term unemployment is the key to ensuring higher economic growth, lower unemployment and lower deficits … Economists that signed the letter include Jared Bernstein, a former Obama economic adviser; Justin Wolfers, an economics professor at the University of Michigan; and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Paul Krugman's wife and collaborator Robin Wells signed the letter, but Krugman himself did not, even though he has made similar arguments in his pieces for The New York Times."
Cracks In GOP Over Taxes
Cracks in House GOP caucus on taxes. Politico: "…many Republican lawmakers privately concede that the 2012 election left them with far short of a mandate on taxes … Boehner has said House Republicans have a strong mandate to keep tax rates frozen … conversations with more than a dozen Republicans — from across the ideological spectrum — tell a different story. Hardly anyone ruled out a tax rate increase on the wealthy … Publicly, Republicans say they want to freeze all tax rates until mid-2013, when they will be able to complete tax reform. Republican aides have privately quizzed their Democratic counterparts on whether they’d be open to moving that threshold …"
13 Senate Dems call for 1-to-1 ratio of spending cuts and tax increases. Roll Call: “'These revenues must be real and not inflated by ‘fuzzy math’ like dynamic scoring,' the letter reads. 'Any deal should end the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of the population and close tax loopholes benefitting wealthy Americans and corporations. Furthermore any deal must include a one-to-one ratio of revenues to spending cuts.' … Changes to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security should also be rejected, the letter said."
Obama Insists On Higher Taxes For Rich
Obama shows some flexibility in press conference. W. Post: "…Obama said he would not insist on drawing “red lines” around 39.6 percent, the rate in effect for top earners during the Clinton administration. Democrats familiar with White House thinking said Obama is willing to set the top rate somewhat lower — around 37 percent or 38 percent — as long as the overall burden grows for families earning more than $250,000 a year. 'With respect to the tax rates, I just want to emphasize I am open to new ideas,' Obama said at a White House news conference. 'If the Republican counterparts, or some Democrats, have a great idea for us to raise revenue, maintain progressivity, make sure the middle class isn’t getting hit, reduces our deficit, encourages growth, I’m not going to just slam the door in their face.'"
Or did he? TNR's Jonathan Cohn: "…this was less of a concession that it might have sounded because, as Obama pointed out, the Republican alternatives won’t simply generate enough revenue."
"CEOs optimistic after Obama meeting" reports CNN: "[Honeywell's David] Cote said the meeting between Obama and CEOs 'actually went very well.' 'He recognizes that we're one big debt deal away from the potential of having a terrific recovery,' Cote said."
Breakfast Sides
Deadline Friday for states to decide whether or not to implement Obamacare themselves. McClatchy: "Beginning next year, the law requires states to establish Internet marketplaces in which individuals can compare and purchase private health insurance or, if eligible, enroll in public Medicaid coverage … Many states that opposed the health care overhaul didn’t prepare for the exchanges, hoping that a Mitt Romney presidential victory and a Republican takeover of the Senate would deal the law a death blow … At least 11 that opposed the health care law probably will end up with federal insurance exchanges run entirely by Washington.
Student debt hurts academic performance. NYT: "Money troubles interfere with the academic performance of about one-third of all college students, and a similar number of students regularly skip buying required academic materials because of the costs, according to a survey released on Thursday."
Romney blames loss on Obama's "gifts" to minorities and young voters. NYT's Andrew Rosenthal: "First, none of these examples qualify as actual gifts. Some, like keeping interest rates low on student debt, are smart investments to help young people succeed and become – yes, taxpayers. Others, like health care reform, require Americans to spend money (on insurance, or pay a penalty). I guess Mr. Romney would not consider oil subsidies a gift. Or a tax system that allows him to pay a 14 percent tax rate … It seems like no one in his party has figured out that it wasn’t 'gifts' or bad luck that caused him to lose. It was his ideas."
