MORNING MESSAGE: Why Education Advocates Join the Progressive Opposition to Obama’s Budget
OurFuture.org's Jeff Bryant: "The narrative that there’s a sort of generational warfare breaking out in the Democratic Party is remarkably false, though. Because Social Security spending is completely independent from the budget, it in no way puts a 'squeeze' on how much the federal government spends on education and children. Further, Democrats who fear opposition to Social Security cuts included in the Obama budget runs the risk of scuttling worthwhile spending on the younger generation should rest assured their fears are unwarranted. What the Obama administration is proposing for education is in no way worth the sacrifice being demanded from the elderly, disabled, and poor."
Sweeping Immigration Deal Forged
Immigration bill most sweeping in history. LAT: "The legalization program would amount to the largest such effort any nation has attempted, affecting more than three times as many people as the Reagan-era immigration reform law. But it is only one part of the legislation, and perhaps not the portion with the greatest impact. The agricultural workforce — where half the workers currently have no legal status — would be transformed by a new guest worker program ... A new visa program for housecleaners, landscapers and other low-skill occupations would be created, while high-tech industries would be allowed to double the number of foreign workers they use. All told, the country's current inflow of about 1 million legal immigrants a year could grow by half over the next decade."
Immigration bill poised for year-long fight. Politico: "Champions of the bill will argue it’s high time that lawmakers do something to address the 11 million undocumented immigrants living inside the United States. But foes will decry the legislation as 'amnesty' for creating a 13-year pathway to citizenship for that population, as well as slam the bill’s ultimate cost, including potentially providing millions of people with pricey new federal benefits."
Leahy Adds Immigration Hearing Following GOP Requests. Roll Call: "The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday pushed back a hearing on immigration until later this week and added another one for early next week ... Leahy had earlier said that he would only hold a single hearing on the yet-to-be-released immigration bill, a decision that angered Republicans ... Leahy has said he intends to mark up the bill in early May ..."
GOP Backs Chained CPI
Republican leaders embrace Chained CPI. W. Post: "This week, two House subcommittees plan to hold hearings on 'reforms to protect and preserve' programs for retirees, starting with Obama’s proposal ... Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said he has moved to tamp down criticism of Obama’s proposal, which quickly bubbled up from GOP lawmakers in swing districts ... [But some] Republicans are skeptical of the president’s motives, calling the offer a trap designed to lure Republicans into supporting not only Social Security cuts but also higher taxes. Of the $230 billion Obama proposes to save over the next decade by adopting chained CPI, about $100 billion comes from changes to the tax code."
Mark Thoma questions why some conservatives are making liberal attacks on Chained CPI: "When conservatives face a choice of cutting Social Security -- something they have long sought -- in return for an increase in taxes, they suddenly become friends of the elderly and the working class. But what is really behind their newfound fondness for the vulnerable?"
Social Security should be increased, not decreased, argues Dean Baker: "This does cost money, but we actually can afford it, in spite of the damage done by the Serious People to the economy. For a start we can raise the cap on wages subject to the Social Security tax, so that people earning over $113,000 pay the same tax rate as the rest of us. If we can stop the upward redistribution of income, it would be reasonable to raise the payroll tax rate at some point in the future. The Social Security trustees project that average hourly compensation will grow by close to 50 percent over the next three decades. It hardly seems outrageous to take back one or two percentage points of this increase in higher taxes to support Social Security. The key issue will be ensuring that workers get their share of these gains rather than letting them all go to the Erskine Bowles of the world."
Sequester World
Small business suffering from sequester. Politico: "Megagovernment contractors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing are so huge that even a 10 percent cut won’t force them to take the kind of extreme measures that a small operation would, small-business advocates say. Anecdotal evidence from across the country suggests they could be right — with small businesses already handing out pink slips and beginning to cut back on the kind of expenses that ripple through other parts of the economy, like travel and conferences."
Europe split over austerity. NYT: "Political and economic officials agree that most countries, particularly in Europe, desperately need more growth. But they remain sharply divided on how to get it. Officials strongly influenced by the Great Depression thinking of John Maynard Keynes, including some from Europe, want an easing of austerity measures, more expansionary monetary policies and even some stimulus. But powerful northern European officials, including those from Germany, have argued that balanced budgets and fiscal consolidation are prerequisites for restoring sustainable growth. In a somewhat dissonant posture, the monetary fund has split the difference: reassessing its views on austerity, pushing strongly for aggressive measures to bolster growth but all without repudiating its existing programs."
Breakfast Sides
Sens. Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey try to make more deals to reach 60 for gun bill compromise. W. Post: "...Manchin and Toomey were discussing the possibility Monday of adding language that would exempt select far-flung communities in Alaska and North Dakota from some background check requirements ..."
GOP launches attack on Labor nominee Thomas Perez: "The GOP lawmakers accuse Perez of misusing his power last year to persuade the city of St. Paul, Minn., to withdraw a housing discrimination case before it could be heard by the Supreme Court. In exchange, the Justice Department agreed not to intervene in two whistleblower cases against St. Paul ... Democrats say Perez was up front about using the strategy and cleared it with ethics and professional responsibility officials before it was finalized. Associate Attorney General Thomas J. Perrelli told investigators that it was common Justice Department practice to encourage parties not to pursue Supreme Court cases with poor fact patterns that could lead to adverse national interests."
