Justice Effort On Banks Under Fire
Sen. Warren, Rep. Waters & Rep. Cummings call on AG Holder to explain audit criticizing bank investigations. W. Post: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Md.) and Reps. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) expressed concern about the findings in a letter to Holder on Monday, but the they have not called for a congressional hearing to question him publicly. The Justice Department’s inspector general released a report last week that said the agency 'did not uniformly ensure that mortgage fraud was prioritized at a level commensurate with DOJ’s public statements about the importance of pursuing financial fraud cases in general and mortgage fraud cases in particular.' Auditors also determined that the number of agents investigating mortgage fraud and the amount of pending cases declined in 2011 despite Congress providing the FBI with $196 million to investigate the crime between 2009 and 2011."
GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley even harsher in response to audit. McClatchy: "...Grassley was less diplomatic, saying in a statement that the report indicates the Justice Department 'wasted time cooking the numbers about the cases it pursued, when it should have been prosecuting cases ... the Justice Department needs to be honest and transparent about its efforts, and actually prosecute some people instead of succumbing to a too big to jail mentality.'"
The 1% Strike Back
Wealthy backers of both parties push back on populist tide. Politico: "'I hope it’s not working,' Ken Langone, the billionaire co-founder of Home Depot and major GOP donor, said of populist political appeals. 'Because if you go back to 1933, with different words, this is what Hitler was saying in Germany. You don’t survive as a society if you encourage and thrive on envy or jealousy.' ... The Democratic power elite now believe that appeals to raise the minimum wage and extend unemployment insurance are not enough to overcome Obama’s deep unpopularity and frustration with the president’s signature health care law. They fear that unless Democrats shift footing to a more hopeful, growth-based message, the party could lose the Senate..."
Former Clinton Chief of Staff Mack McClarty urges approval of TPP in WSJ oped: "...Democrats should lead a constructive discussion about expanding trade, one true to the party's tradition and values. Its goal should be to place global commerce squarely in the mix of solutions for creating new jobs at good wages at home, restoring the middle class, and asserting U.S. leadership."
Bloomberg's Evan Soltas argues the economy may be doing the best it can do: "What would explain the slowdown in growth, if the culprit isn't some version of unused capacity? ... lack of investment during the recession probably reduced the country’s economic potential and, with it, the amount of slack it has left ... If this is really what has happened, the policy prescription is clear: less monetary easing."
Manufacturing Revs Up ... Or Not
Positive manufacturing report could prompt Fed pullback. NYT: "Manufacturing production increased 0.8 percent in February, its largest advance since last August, after a 0.9 percent drop in January, the Fed said. Economists had expected a 0.2 percent gain. Along with the manufacturing increase, a gain in mining production, which offset a drop in utility output, helped lift overall industrial production 0.6 percent in February after a decline of 0.2 percent in January."
Cold water on report from Dean Baker: "It's a bit hard to see this as solid growth. If we add in December, manufacturing has grown at a 0.4 percent annual rate over the last three months. Manufacturing output is just 1.5 percent above its year ago level. This has led to a drop in the capacity utilization rate of 0.1 percentage point to 76.4 percent. It is pretty hard to see this as an argument for cutting back stimulus."
ObamaCare Enrollment Momentum
ObamaCare enrollment projection target in sight. W. Post: "...more than 5 million people have signed up for new insurance plans under the health-care law ... The figure brings the administration closer to Congressional Budget Office projections that 6 million people would enroll by the end of March ... About 800,000 people selected health plans on the state and federal insurance marketplaces in the beginning of March, officials said in a blog post -- almost as many as signed up during the entire month of February. The figure brings the administration closer to Congressional Budget Office projections that 6 million people would enroll by the end of March."
Republicans embark on effort to draft health care alternative. NYT: "Senior House Republicans ... are planning to test ideas in April at town-hall-style meetings ... The 'House ObamaCare Accountability Project' is still months away from producing actual legislation ... and may not succeed."
