Global Economy Still Awful
The world is settling for too little economic growth, argues NYT's Paul Krugman: "In Europe, for example, they’re crowing about Spain’s recovery: the country seems set to grow at least twice as fast this year as previously forecast. Unfortunately, that means growth of 1 percent, versus 0.5 percent, in a deeply depressed economy with 55 percent youth unemployment ... We’re doing worse than anyone could have imagined a few years ago, yet people seem increasingly to be accepting this miserable situation as the new normal ... an important source of failure was what I’ve taken to calling the timidity trap — the consistent tendency of policy makers who have the right ideas in principle to go for half-measures in practice..."
The 99% are more upset about their own lot than about the 1%, says W. Post's Catherine Rampell: "Polls show that Americans pretty much always want income to be distributed more equitably than it currently is, but they’re more willing to tolerate inequality if they are still plugging ahead ... [In the late 1990s, median] household incomes grew, and the incomes of the highest earners skyrocketed, meaning the chasm between the rich and the rest widened. But public criticism of the distribution of income meanwhile fell ... if the 0.1 percent want to be left alone ... they should probably support policies that promote the upward mobility of other Americans."
Boehner has no excuse for blocking jobless aid, argues NYT's David Firestone: "Fraud and abuse… where we have we heard that one before? Only every time Republicans have to justify their opposition to a social program, or explain why they have to make it harder for certain people to vote. In this case, he based his concern on a letter from the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (the people who actually send out the unemployment checks), which said that backdating the benefits to Dec. 29 would make it hard to ensure that recipients were looking for work during that period. The proper answer to that complaint is: Tough, find a way to do it. Just like the state agencies did in 2010..."
"States Holding Out on Medicaid Expansion Are Beginning to Crack" reports National Journal: "With 25 states and the District of Columbia opting in to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and another six in limbo, the tumult in a handful of holdout states is increasing. The White House hopes unrest in states like Florida, New Hampshire, Nebraska, and Maine will help turn the fight decidedly in their favor. And there's good reason to think that's happening."
Paul Ryan Faces More Criticism
Paul Ryan confronted in town hall. HuffPost: "The more heated exchange occurred when Alfonso Gardner, a black man from Mount Pleasant, read aloud remarks Ryan made last week on the 'culture problem' among inner-city men ... 'The next day you said that statement was inarticulate. Well, I don’t believe that. You said what you meant,' Gardner told Ryan."
Ryan failing to learn the lessons of the 1990s, argues National Journal's Ron Brownstein: "Nowhere in his analysis did Ryan acknowledge how globalization and technological advance have obliterated economic opportunities for low-income workers, especially men. His account of welfare reform was equally selective. While stressing the bill's work requirements, Ryan ignored its expansion of child-care and job training. The work mandate also followed earlier Clinton measures to 'make work pay' for low-wage workers-for instance by increasing federal tax credits..."
Inequality Infects Schools
Inequalities rampant in school. NYT: "Racial minorities are more likely than white students to be suspended from school, to have less access to rigorous math and science classes, and to be taught by lower-paid teachers with less experience, according to comprehensive data released Friday by [the Education Dept.] ... as early as preschool, black students face harsher discipline than other students."
Steve Cohen proposes how Washington can easily slash the cost of tuition, in NYT oped: "Congress and the president should drastically cut the [estimated family contribution] — by around 75 percent, to reflect the fact that since 1980 tuition has risen at nearly five times the rate of the Consumer Price Index. Doing so would force colleges to construct financial aid packages without the artificial price supports of inflated contribution numbers..."
Volcker Rule To Bite Banks
Volcker Rule to bite banks. Bloomberg: "The regulator estimates implementation costs between $413 million and $4.3 billion for banks it supervises, the OCC said in a report released yesterday ... 'The range of our cost estimate primarily reflects the uncertainty of the final rule’s impact on the market value of banks’ investments,' according to the OCC’s report. After Volcker, the market value 'could drop by up to 5.5 percent.'"
Drama over whether Sen. Chuck Schumer or Sen. Sherrod Brown will be next Banking Cmte chair. Politico: "The choice will signify whether Schumer is aiming to recast his political career as Capitol Hill’s chief policymaker for his home-state industry — or is instead seeking to position himself as the next leader of a Senate Democratic Caucus that has railed against the excesses of Wall Street. And for the financial industry, it may mean having a chairman with a friendly ear — like Schumer — versus one who has gone to battle with the big banks, likely Sherrod Brown of Ohio ... '[Schumer is] reluctant to do it because it impedes his path to leader,' said a senior Wall Street executive ... Brown, on the other hand, is eager for the opportunity ..."
