Obama Stands Down On Social Security
Obama takes Chained CPI offer out of 2015 budget. NYT: "White House officials said on Thursday that since Republicans in Congress have shown no willingness to meet the president’s offer on social programs by closing loopholes for corporations and wealthy Americans, the proposed budget for the 2015 fiscal year will not assume a path to an agreement that no longer appears to exist."
Obama budget will "call for an end to era of austerity" reports W. Post: "...the president will focus on pumping new cash into job training, early-childhood education and other programs aimed at bolstering the middle class, providing Democrats with a policy blueprint heading into the midterm elections ... Obama would fully pay for proposed new spending in his budget request, administration officials said, including $56 billion ... split between domestic programs and defense [to fund] 45 new manufacturing institutes; a 'Race to the Top' for states that promote energy efficiency; new job training programs and apprenticeships; and expanded educational programs for preschoolers."
Urgency to cut deficit gone, says WH. Bloomberg: "Last year’s federal deficit of $680 billion was the lowest in five years. The deficit as a share of the economy will shrink to a seven-year low in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, according to projections earlier this month by the Congressional Budget Office. The projected gap is down from 9.8 percent of the gross domestic product in 2009, the widest in records dating back to 1974."
A Republican Senate won't easily raise the debt limit in 2015, reports The Hill: "'If the Senate falls near or under Republican control it'll be very clear there will not be another clean debt ceiling passed next year,' said GOP strategist Ron Bonjean ... With Republicans likely to pick up Senate seats and fairly good odds of winning control of the upper chamber, they will be in a stronger position to negotiate with President Obama. They'll also be under more pressure from the GOP base not to capitulate — even if they fall short of recapturing the Senate."
Voting For Minimum Wage Might Kill Boehner
Boehner once compared vote to raise minimum wage as worse than suicide. The Hill: "Some Democrats are optimistic Boehner will cave and allow a vote this year, but the record shows there is little if any daylight between the pro-business Speaker and his conservative conference on this issue. Boehner made the comments about suicide in an April 1996 interview with The Weekly Standard. 'I’ll commit suicide before I vote on a clean minimum-wage bill,' Boehner, then the head of the House Republican Conference, said at the time."
Gap pay hike pressures other retailers. AP: "Following Gap's announcement that it will set the minimum wage for workers at $9 an hour this year and $10 an hour in 2015, big store chains from Wal-Mart to Sears said Thursday that they will continue to evaluate their wages ... whatever the major players in the U.S. retail industry decide to do will have a big impact on the job market. In fact, the industry supports one in every four U.S. jobs, representing about 42 million workers ... Still, the industry has mostly shunned the idea of higher wages."
Corporate tax rates should be linked to worker compensation, argues W. Post's Harold Meyerson: "Firms that reward workers for productivity gains would be taxed at lower rates than firms that do not ... Congress could create a lower tax rate for companies that increase their median wage in line with the annual increase in the nation’s productivity ... Congress could also cut taxes on companies with a low ratio between CEO pay and median pay..."
