MORNING MESSAGE: Which Budget Polls Best?
OurFuture.org's Dave Johnson: "...the Congressional Progressive Caucus 'Back To Work Budget' reflects what voters voted for and what polls show people want. And, much more importantly, the CPC “Back To Work Budget” reflects what history and economists tell us will fix the economy and boost the standard of living for regular Americans! The GOP/Ryan budget reflects what people voted against and polls show people really, really, really do not want."
The Serious Budget
NYT's Paul Krugman touts Progressive Caucus "Back to Work" budget: "[The budget] calls for substantial new spending now, temporarily widening the deficit, offset by major deficit reduction later in the next decade, largely though not entirely through higher taxes on the wealthy, corporations and pollution. I’ve seen some people describe the caucus proposal as a 'Ryan plan of the left,' but that’s unfair. There are no Ryan-style magic asterisks, trillion-dollar savings that are assumed to come from unspecified sources; this is an honest proposal. And 'Back to Work' rests on solid macroeconomic analysis, not [Ryan's] fantasy 'expansionary austerity' economics..."
W. Post's Jamelle Bouie notes "Back to Work" reduces debt faster than Ryan plan: "... the Back to Work budget projects a short-term spike in deficits and debt — reflecting new spending — but then public debt is expected to reach 68.7 percent of GDP by 2023, nine points lower than what it would be under current law, and significantly lower than what it would be under Paul Ryan’s plan."
Congresspeople learning that austerity means less spending at home. Politico: "As the clock runs down, the stopgap spending bill before the Senate is looking more and more like a life raft for senators trying to protect home-state interests from the automatic spending cuts ordered under sequestration. Alarmed by the rush, the leadership stalled action on the continuing resolution, or CR, Thursday, while it assessed the political situation. And there is a fear that if too many accommodations are made by the Senate, it risks a blowup with the House and exactly the sort of shutdown fight both parties want to avoid on March 27 when funding runs out."
Columbia Journalism Review's explores anti-Social Security bias in the media: "A meme that has been bubbling up in the media for months goes something like this: The elderly have it too good ... The Wall Street gods have spoken, and in the past few months, media stories have reflected their opinion ... the press has been presenting a one-sided picture of the Social Security situation, quite possibly to the detriment of young and the old alike. From other perspectives, the two generations are not in opposition at all, but natural allies, both with common interests in a strong Social Security system."
Obama Pivots To Climate
"Obama revives green energy sales pitch" today, reports The Hill: "President Obama will [promote] a proposal to divert offshore oil-and-gas revenues to fund research into alternative fuel and vehicle technologies ... Republicans would likely demand the administration expand offshore oil-and-gas drilling as a condition for their support ... But the president has no intention of doing that, White House officials said..."
President poised to use executive power to slow climate change. Bloomberg: "President Barack Obama is preparing to tell all federal agencies for the first time that they have to consider the impact on global warming before approving major projects, from pipelines to highways ... The White House is looking at requiring consideration of both the increase in greenhouse gases and a project’s vulnerability to flooding, drought or other extreme weather that might result from global warming ... While the Obama administration’s guidance could be easily rescinded by the next administration, the court rulings that stem from these cases will live on as precedents ..."
Breakfast Sides
Conservatives turn towards Paul-style libertarianism at CPAC. Time: "[Sen. Rand] Paul was greeted with wild applause and is seen as a lock to win the conference’s annual straw poll. The halls of the massive convention center and hotel were packed with “Stand with Rand” stickers and signs ... More moderate 2016 contenders like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell weren’t invited. Sen. Marco Rubio was greeted tepidly in advance of Paul’s address."
New study shows private pension system failing young workers. NYT: "A new study from the Urban Institute finds [people 40 and under] have accrued less wealth than their parents did at the same age, even as the average wealth of Americans has doubled over the last quarter-century ... With the wage and jobs picture bleak, and fixed pensions largely gone from the private sector, the answer to the conundrum of shoring up savings for younger workers might lie in new government policies, the Urban Institute scholars said. They suggested encouraging retirement accounts by making them automatic unless an employee opted out, or modifying the home mortgage interest deduction to push more money toward homeownership for lower-income workers."
Senate reports slams JPMorgan Chase. Bloomberg: "JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s efforts to hide trading losses, outlined in a Senate report yesterday, may ignite debate over whether the largest U.S. bank is too big to manage and ratchet up pressure on Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon to surrender his role as chairman ... The report and its recommendations, issued jointly by the committee’s Democrats and Republicans, may increase pressure on regulators to tighten exemptions in the draft Volcker rule, which would restrict the kinds of trades permitted by banks holding deposits insured by taxpayers."
