GOP Backs Off Shutdown Threat
Senator behind government shutdown threat over ObamaCare, says there will be no shutdown. Politico: "Pressed repeatedly on 'Fox News Sunday' by host Chris Wallace on whether he's prepared to shut down the government over defunding the new health care law, Lee said that's an unlikely conclusion ... 'We all know the government is going to get funded. The only question is whether the government gets funded with Obamacare or without,' Lee said on Sunday."
Treasury Sec Lew begins to draw lines in brewing budget battle. WSJ: "Notably, Mr. Lew did not say Mr. Obama would not accept a debt ceiling increase that included new spending cuts or other budget changes. Rather, he said Congress must work out the solution on its own. But he did draw the line at accepting a spending bill that bulks up defense spending ... while ignoring other priorities. When asked whether the U.S. is headed for another showdown over the debt limit, Mr. Lew said: 'I think the president has made crystal clear, he’s not going to negotiate over the debt limit. And I’ve got to underscore how important that is.'"
US bond sales shift a "victory" against austerity, says Bloomberg: "For the first time in three years, the U.S. Treasury will announce plans to begin reducing debt sales in a victory for stimulus over austerity ... 'It’s clear the U.S. approach of stimulate first, get the economy running and work on the deficit later has turned out much better than a crackdown of budget deficits now and assuming it will all work out in the long run,' [said] Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist in Newark, New Jersey, for Prudential Financial Inc.’s fixed-income division ...
Treasury Rejects Detroit Bailout
Lew dismisses federal bailout for Detroit. ThinkProgress: "While claiming that the administration 'stand[s] by Detroit,' ... the federal government will only offer 'the kinds of normal programs the federal government has' such as the Treasury Department making funds available to take down blighted properties ... But experts disagree with Lew on what it will take to rebuild the Motor City. It is 'very unlikely that Detroit’s going to be able to pull out of this crisis on its own,' [said] Thomas Sugrue..."
Detroit, other cities, want ObamaCare to alleviate retiree health costs. NYT: "...the city is proposing a controversial plan for paring some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets ... But if large numbers of localities follow that course, it could amount to a significant cost shift to the federal government ... even with subsidies, insurance policies bought through an exchange could be more expensive for retirees than public sector health plans ... But some municipal retirees could actually end up spending less on coverage bought through the online markets than they do now. Several states have already approved rates for health plans to be sold through the new markets that are lower than what analysts had expected."
Suburban sprawl killing upward mobility. NYT's Paul Krugman: "...in one important respect booming Atlanta looks just like Detroit gone bust: both are places where the American dream seems to be dying, where the children of the poor have great difficulty climbing the economic ladder ... in Atlanta poor and rich neighborhoods are far apart because, basically, everything is far apart; Atlanta is the Sultan of Sprawl, even more spread out than other major Sun Belt cities. This would make an effective public transportation system nearly impossible to operate even if politicians were willing to pay for it, which they aren’t. As a result, disadvantaged workers often find themselves stranded; there may be jobs available somewhere, but they literally can’t get there."
Breakfast Sides
NC Republicans "complete" extremist legislative agenda. McClatchy: "Once the new laws take effect, the new North Carolina will require photo identification at the polls, levy a flat income tax that reduces rates for many, make it harder to get an abortion, offer less generous unemployment benefits, require cursive-writing education in schools, give low-income families vouchers for private schools, require fewer government regulations on businesses, resume executions for capital crimes and allow concealed handguns in bars and restaurants."
W. Post's Glenn Klesser rips Rep. Steve King's claim that undocumented children are mostly drug smugglers: " King’s claim about valedictorians and smugglers is a nonsense fact, designed to suggest an aura of authenticity to an otherwise objectionable statement. It appears King heard something, from someone he has not named, and had blown it into 'facts' for which he feels little need to provide evidence."
House GOP divided over housing reform. Politico: "House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling successfully ushered his plan to overhaul the mortgage financing market through his panel last week. But a critical task lies ahead: minimizing the number of GOP defections when the legislation hits the House floor later this year ... The bill would get rid of taxpayer-owned mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and greatly reduce the government’s role in the housing market. One of the major concerns raised about the proposal by opponents is whether the U.S. housing market can survive the economic booms and busts if there isn’t an explicit government guarantee for the mortgage bonds and securities that provide much of the funding used to make home loans."
