MORNING MESSAGE: Lift The Millstone of Student Debt That’s Slowing The Economy
OurFuture.org's Isaiah J. Poole: "... if you or someone you know has had a hard time finding a job or selling a home, part of what you are experiencing is the effect that escalating college costs, combined with the weak employment and income prospects of college graduates, is having on the economy. This is a key reason why it is important to support Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s legislation to lower student interest rates to 0.75 percent, the same rate that the nation’s largest banks and private lenders pay to borrow money from the government."
Jobs Scandal Continues
The Atlantic's Derek Thompson explores why Washington is ignoring long-term unemployment: "'m paid to spend my day reading economic papers and asking people to explain their conclusions. Spending my time this way has persuaded me that long-term unemployment is a national emergency ... Politicians have a slightly different information diet. They spend more time gleaning information from lobbyists and rich donors ... The centrality of big money in politics makes it nearly impossible for an issue like long-term unemployment to buy a sliver of mindshare."
"This is no time to cut food stamps" argues NYT edit board: "...a proposed $4.1 billion cut in food stamps in an omnibus farm bill [is] heading toward Senate agriculture committee vote ... Yet food stamps are already scheduled to take a hit when increases approved in the 2009 economic recovery act expire in November. The $4.1 billion reduction would result in an average cut of $90 per month for nearly 500,000 households nationwide ... Allowing cuts in food stamps is the wrong position fiscally and morally, and a terrible strategy for beginning negotiations with the House."
"Sequestration Batters Schools On Military Bases And Native American Reservations" reports ThinkProgress: "As sequestration went into effect in March, some lawmakers argued that the impact of the cuts would not be as immediate as had been claimed, as they would take place over a matter of years. But there are some areas that felt the impact immediately. One of those is schools on military bases or Native American reservations."
Immigration Reform Faces Next Challenge
"Gang of 8 looks to defend guest worker plan" reports Politico: "This week, the gang will have to fend off amendments from both the right and left to fiddle with the program, either to appease businesses or insert stronger protections for labor. Much as they did with border security measures last week, the four members of the gang on the Judiciary Committee, who brokered the immigration deal will aim to band together and defeat changes that could prove fatal to the overall bill."
Farmers want immigration reform to increase crop production, reports Bloomberg: "Farmers now have reasons to plant new crops ... Produce buyers are seeking multiple sources to shield against regional crop failures, and the popularity of locally grown food has fueled a 150 percent surge in the number of farmers markets ... A lack of workers can impede taking advantage of those opportunities, farmers say. Declining rural populations leave fewer kids at home to help in the harvest ..."
Breakfast Sides
Amtrak earns record ticket revenue, invests in new locomotives. AP: "More than 31 million passengers rode Amtrak in the 2012 fiscal year, generating a record $2.02 billion in ticket revenue. Amtrak said it will be able to pay back a $466 million federal loan for the locomotives over 25 years using net profits from the Northeast Corridor line, where ridership hit a record high last year for the ninth time in 10 years."
Democrats reconsider filibuster reform via simply majority vote. The Hill: "The option ... was raised during a private meeting Wednesday involving about 25 Democratic senators and a group of labor leaders ... Reid told a group of Democratic donors at an event hosted by venture capitalist John Doerr in San Francisco in late April that he is seriously mulling another attempt at filibuster reform, according to a person briefed on the meeting."
