America Really Does Need a Raise
Negligible wage growth dragging down economy. NYT: "...after adjusting for inflation, real wages have increased by something like 0.5 percent [in past 12 months] ... David G. Blanchflower, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, and Adam S. Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, argue in a new paper ... that the Federal Reserve should focus on wage growth in calibrating its stimulus campaign because wage growth effectively summarizes other measures like unemployment and participation."
Though WSJ offers optimism wages will grow: "The comments are at odds with broader economic data [but] executives at more than two dozen large companies—including manufacturers as well as financial and services companies—reported rising wages in significant portions of their businesses, much of it in the U.S ... It has yet to become a widespread trend, though. Gina Martin Adams, institutional equity strategist for Wells Fargo Securities, said her analysts have found few signs of significant increases."
Major WH Climate Push Tomorrow
Obama to intensify efforts to protect the climate. W. Post: "...Obama is now getting into the weeds on climate change and considers it one of the key components of his legacy ... On Tuesday, the White House’s reinvigorated strategy will be on full display. Back in June 2009, the administration’s low-key launch of its second national climate assessment received only a smattering of coverage from regional papers. This time, Obama will conduct interviews from the White House with local and national TV meteorologists, who will also be briefed by senior administration officials."
Keystone complicates Senate vote on bipartisan energy efficiency bill. W. Post: "The Senate is set to begin debate on a modest energy bill that has enough bipartisan support to pass on its own merits, but supporters of the pipeline ... are trying to leverage the bill to force votes on Keystone ... GOP leaders have pushed to get an amendment on the Shaheen-Portman bill that would allow them to simply mandate the construction of the pipeline ... Reid offered Republicans a separate vote on a bill that would be a clean Keystone vote ... By the end of the week, [GOP Sen. John] Hoeven said he had not secured at least 60 votes ... Reid’s offer is contingent upon an agreement on other amendments that Republicans want to offer on the Shaheen-Portman bill, and that’s where the pipeline’s political mythology runs up against the reality of its significance in the energy universe."
Obamacare Still Working
"Uninsured rate drops to lowest since 2008" reports The Hill: "A Gallup poll released Monday found the number of U.S. adults without health insurance dropped to 13.4 percent in April, down from 15 percent in March. After the uninsured rate peaked at 18 percent in the third quarter of 2013, the rate has dropped more than 4 percentage points."
Krugman slams GOP for phony health care report: "Last week, House Republicans released a deliberately misleading report on the status of health reform, crudely rigging the numbers to sustain the illusion of failure in the face of unexpected success ... The really big policy news of 2014, at least so far, is the spectacular recovery of the Affordable Care Act from its stumbling start ... This is a problem for Republicans, who have bet the ranch on the proposition that health reform is an unfixable failure."
Breakfast Sides
"Business racks up wins with Roberts court" reports The Hill: "The Roberts court has sided with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce 71 percent of the time when the powerful business lobby formally involves itself in a case, according to a tally kept by the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC) ... By comparison to the 71 percent mark under Roberts, the Chamber’s view prevailed only 43 percent of the time under former Chief Justice Warren E. Burger between 1981 and 1986 and in 56 percent of cases decided during William Rehnquist’s tenure as chief."
May primaries pit Tea Party against GOP establishment. Politico: "A month-long series of primaries, stretching across 10 states from the Deep South to the Pacific Northwest, is the first major electoral clash between the GOP’s two wings since 2012. It kicks off Tuesday in North Carolina ... The tea party vs. establishment theme has also defined Republican races in Kentucky and Georgia — two other seats central to the fight for the Senate majority — that will be decided on May 20 ... Democrats say the establishment’s pick in [some] of these races has adopted far-right positions to outflank conservative tea party candidates. That, they say, will disqualify them in the general election."
