Debt Limit Showdown Rapidly Approaching

Debt limit expected to be reached earlier than expected, in mid-October. Roll Call: "The upcoming spending debates on Capitol Hill will almost converge, setting up a tough slog in September and October ... [Treasury Secretary Jack] Lew once again swore off any alternative measure for handling the debt ceiling that relies only on executive branch action, such as making a declaration that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment."

W. Post's Jonathan Bernstein argues Republicans will eventually concede: "... you can be absolutely certain that not only John Boehner, but every other House Republican knows that eventually that deal will happen. The only wiggle room — outside of timing — is that they can agree to pass that deal with Republican votes, or else they can agree to pass it with mostly Democratic votes ... the two questions now, as Congress gets ready to return and deal with this, remain: Will Republicans make these deals before or after a shutdown or a debt limit calamity? And will Republicans ever get around to figuring out a reasonable 'ask' that they have a chance of getting?

Precise date still uncertain. National Journal: "'It's very difficult to tell, particularly this far out,' when exactly the Treasury would have to default on its debts, said Steve Bell of the Bipartisan Policy Center. 'October is an extremely lumpy month. Some days there's cash coming in; other days there's cash going out.'"

Jobs Picture Bleak For Older Workers

Older jobless face uphill battle. NYT: "Two-thirds in that [55 to 64] age group who found work again are making less than they did in their previous job; their median salary loss is 18 percent compared with a 6.7 percent drop for 20- to 24-year-olds. The re-employment rate for 55- to 64-year-olds is 47 percent and 24 percent for those over 65, compared with 62 percent for 20- to 54-year-olds. And finding another job takes far longer: 46 weeks for boomers, compared with 20 weeks for 16- to 24-year-olds. Nor are those who believe age discrimination was a factor likely to have much luck in court. In 2009, just as the economy was hitting rock-bottom, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that toughened the standard for proving bias."

Most public sector jobs lost have been local. W. Post: "From the start of the Great Recession in late 2007 to this July, federal, state and local governments have shed about 524,000 jobs in all. But local governments suffered just over three in four of those losses, having shed some 400,000 jobs ... the problem is unique among recent recoveries ... More than two thirds of the local government losses nationwide affected just one sector: education."

Sen. Boxer backs $10 min wage on MSNBC's The Ed Show.

Conservatives Attack Their Own

Conservative group runs ad against Sen. Mitch McConnell, pressuring him on shutdown. AP: " A conservative group is launching a radio ad challenging Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to oppose any money for President Barack Obama's health care law even if it means triggering a government shutdown. The Senate Conservatives Fund is spending nearly $50,000 on the 60-second commercial ..."

AZ Sen. Jeff Flake snubs Senate Conservative Fund attack on him on Twitter. CNN: "'Oh, whatever.' He posted that short message to Twitter on Monday evening along with a link to a radio ad from the Senate Conservatives Fund that claimed he wouldn't 'stand up to President Obama and join conservatives in pledging to oppose funding for the implementation of Obamacare.'"

House Judiciary chair ducks immigration reform rally. The Hill: "Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) didn’t attend the immigration rally that advocates of reform held in his district Monday, but organizers of the event made sure he got the message. They plastered his congressional phone number along the facing of the city courthouse, taped it to water bottles, scrawled it on hand-written placards, and at the end of the rally, they instructed an estimated 300 attendees to text their demands for comprehensive immigration reform to Goodlatte..."