Obama Slams Sequestration
Obama takes on sequestration at Camp Pendleton. NYT: "President Obama stood at this desert base on Wednesday before nearly 3,000 Marines, sailors and their families — and a captive audience of two Republican adversaries from Congress — and vowed that he would fight to end across-the-board budget cuts that have shaken the military ... 'What makes me frustrated is sometimes the very folks who say they stand with our military proudly are the same ones who are standing in the way of fixing the sequester,' Mr. Obama said ... 'If we want the best qualified recruits, we shouldn’t be cutting investments in education,' he said. 'We should be increasing our investments in education.'"
National Journal's Norm Ornstein suggests McCain linchpin to avoiding government shutdown: "McCain's Rat Pack includes, of course, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina ... Add institutionalist Susan Collins of Maine, (now furious with McConnell for actively undermining her after she worked overtime to craft a bipartisan transportation bill); Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, more independent after her near-political death experience in the Senate primary in the last cycle; Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, a key figure in the Gang of Six budget plan; Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who understands how reckless it would be to shut down the government or threaten the full faith and credit of the U.S. on a fools' errand; maybe Lamar Alexander of Tennessee; possibly even Roy Blunt of Missouri. Also add John Hoeven of North Dakota, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Mark Kirk of Illinois, and Dan Coats of Indiana. Together, they could bump the numbers in the Senate for a deal to break the impasse close to the magic 70 that would force the House to act."
Schumer Raises Hopes For Immigration Solution
Sen. Chuck Schumer suggests piecemeal immigration legislation in the House can lead to final bill. Politico: "'We would much prefer a big comprehensive bill, but any way that the House can get there is OK by us,' Schumer told CNN Wednesday. 'I actually am optimistic that we will get this done.' A bottom line, however, is 'some kind' of a pathway to citizenship, Schumer said — the most controversial provision of immigration reform among House Republicans."
TPM lays out the possible path for successful immigration reform: "A version of the DREAM Act is — tentatively called the Kids Act — being drafted by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-TX). If that passes, Democrats may be willing to go to [a joint House-Senate] conference and expand the pathway there ... [In conference] House Republicans would be marginalized. A final product would simply need the support of a majority of conferees from each chamber in order to get floor votes in the House and Senate."
Charter School Scandal Widens
Indiana charter school scandal widens. AP: "Indiana's top education official on Wednesday acknowledged 'manipulation' in the way the state's schools are graded ... Superintendent Glenda Ritz told state school board members that this year's school ratings would be held up, at least temporarily, as a result of the independent review into the A-F grading system and left open the possibility some of last year's grades could be changed."
Charter schools botch Common Core. Politico: "Fewer than a third of students in [New York State] public schools passed the new tests, officials reported. And, in a twist that could roil education policy, some highly touted charter schools flopped particularly badly ... Other states are expected to face similar reckonings next year and in 2015, as they roll out new tests aligned to Common Core. Already, Kentucky has reported high failure rates on its Common Core tests ... Just 23 percent of charter students scored proficient in language arts, compared with 31 percent in public schools overall. That’s a greater gap than had shown up in last year’s exams. In math, charter schools beat the public school average in each of the past two years — but not this year. On the new tests, just 31 percent of charter students scored proficient, the same as in public schools overall."
Breakfast Sides
NYT edit board praises fast-food worker strikes: "At some point, as strikes continue, well-paid executives in low-wage industries will have to confront the fact that low worker pay is at odds with their companies’ upbeat corporate images and their self-images as top executives ... In addition to raising the minimum wage, there needs to be more enforcement of fair labor laws, including crackdowns on employers that misclassify employees as salaried workers, independent contractors or interns in order to deny them overtime, benefits or other pay. It would help, too, for Congress to end the foot-dragging around implementation of a law passed years ago requiring disclosure of the ratio of chief executive pay to that of a company’s work force."
Detroit emergency manager Keyvn Orr outlines vision for public pension cuts, in Reuters interview: "'There are assets in both pension funds,' he said. 'So there's going to be pensions. The question becomes how do you divvy that up.' Orr said current retirees in particular could argue they should receive more than younger workers who have decades left in their careers. 'The guy or gal who's 35, they have a chance to go to defined contribution, get another job, get a second-job supplement, get married, handle their affairs,' he said. 'Frankly there's some validity to that kind of argument.'"
