MORNING MESSAGE: The Terrible Cost of Not Fixing the Filibuster Sooner
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "Under Lyndon Johnson there was one filibuster, and the public knew about it because a Senator had to talk all night. In the last few years there have just a few been more than one and the public doesn’t know about it at all. How many filibusters have there been? Harry Reid writes in Politico: 'Since Democrats took control of the Senate in 2006, Republicans have mounted 380 filibusters.' … There is a simple fix that will stop obstruction — except when obstruction is appropriate. This simple fix is to change the rules back to what people thing the rules already are: make them actually filibuster in the way the public understands."
Smart Talk: Preserving Medicare Benefits by Controlling Health Care Costs
This week's edition of Smart Talk debunks the case for raising the Medicare eligibility age: "Denying Medicare to 65- and 66-year-olds will actually cost more money than it saves. The best estimate is that $5.7 billion in projected federal savings in Medicare will end up forcing individuals, states and employers to pay an additional $11.4 billion for health care … If the overall U.S. health care system controlled costs as well as most European countries, both Medicare and overall health care costs would be fully affordable. To do that, you have to take on the drug companies, insurance companies and hospital complexes that drive up costs. Cutting benefits - or eliminating them for 65- and 66-year-olds - doesn't control costs. It simply shifts the costs from the public budget to individual seniors or their families."
House Dems firmly against raising Medicare eligibility age. The Hill: "A number of Democrats say this is neither a case of posturing by Pelosi nor a good-cop, bad-cop routine with President Obama to boost the White House’s negotiating position. Instead, they see Pelosi’s remarks as the reiteration of a core party principle that can’t be compromised."
Boehner Struggles To Keep Caucus in Line
"Boehner Tries to Contain Defections" reports NYT: "… the House’s most conservative members vowed to vote against any deal that raises taxes, openly challenging the speaker’s authority … A senior Democrat suggested Mr. Boehner was dragging his feet on deficit talks to avoid striking a deal before January, when the House formally chooses its next speaker … The Republican dissenters at this point represent a small portion of the House Republican Conference, but their public anger is striking."
Boehner plans busy work to keep his caucus from revolting. Roll Call: "Speaker John A. Boehner and GOP leaders are considering throwing some red meat onto the House floor in the coming weeks as frustration mounts from members who are tired of sitting idle while high-level fiscal cliff negotiations continue … Boehner’s warning Wednesday that members should be ready to stay through Christmas to deal with any fiscal cliff measure has set off a round of griping from Republicans who already think that if they must be on Capitol Hill, they should at least have a proactive agenda."
Boehner hinted he'd accept more in revenue along with more cuts. NYT: "In private talks with the president, Mr. Boehner assured him he would be willing to increase the total amount of tax increases in his offer higher than the $800 billion over 10 years he initially laid out. But he added that such a concession would come only if Mr. Obama significantly increased the amount he is willing to cut in spending … A White House official said the president reiterated his request that Mr. Boehner detail what cuts he wants. He still has not."
GOPers cloak anti-tax arguments in anti-corporate rhetoric. The Hill: "'I get it — these big-time CEOs, trying to compete in an increasingly competitive global economy, want corporate tax reform,' Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah), the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a Wednesday statement. 'I want that, too. But to advocate raising taxes on Main Street businesses in exchange is nonsensical.' … Corporate executives on Wednesday tried to throw cold water on the idea that they were happy to sacrifice smaller companies for their own gain."
Bernanke Installs Jobs Trigger
Bernanke puts jobs trigger on end of monetary stimulus. W. Post's Neil Irwin: "The particular approach that the Fed undertook Wednesday was rooted in the idea is that if investors, businesspeople, and consumers know that the Fed won’t tighten policy until either the unemployment crisis is well on its way to being solved or inflation seems on the verge of becoming a problem, the economy will better be able to heal."
Mark Thoma adds: "This signals a change from time-based Fed policies that end on a certain date to those that are contingent on the state of the economy. The latter type of policy is considered more effective and less likely to cause credibility problems if, for example, the economy does worse than expected and the Fed is forced to extend the program beyond its pre-announced end."
Conservatives plot more anti-union state legislation. W. Post: "The conservative groups that supported Michigan’s new 'right to work' law … vowed Wednesday to replicate that success elsewhere. But the search for the next Michigan could be difficult … few Republican governors who could enact such legislation seem eager to bring the fight to their states."
Wind Industry Offers Concession
Wind industry proposes five-year phaseout of tax credit to avoid abrupt cutoff, reports The Hill.
New federal grants award to wind projects. NYT: "The federal government is stepping up its efforts to kick-start the offshore wind industry by awarding $28 million in grants to seven projects that are developing varying kinds of power-generation technology … The projects are in Maine, New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, Ohio, and Oregon."
