House GOP Rigging More Rules For Big Business
House Ways and Means Committee clears another business tax break without offset. The Hill: "The House Ways and Means Committee cleared a permanent extension of the tax break, known as bonus depreciation, along with five other provisions related to charitable giving ... Unlike [Chair Rep. Dave] Camp, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is pushing to extend most of those preferences for two years, which is more in line with how Congress has generally handled the incentives ... none of [the committee Democrats] voted for any of the tax breaks, insisting they couldn’t get on board with clearing another slate of tax breaks that would add more than $300 billion to the deficit. In all, the dozen preferences approved by the Ways and Means panel over the last four weeks cost $600 billion over a decade."
Piketty rebuts charges by Financial Times of errors undermining his case. Bloomberg: "In arguing that wealth inequality has not risen in Britain in recent decades, the newspaper relies on household surveys which Piketty said “significantly” underestimate the holdings of the top groups. He argued that his calculations based on estate tax data are more accurate and show inequality widening in Britain, though less so than in the U.S. The survey data that the newspaper uses for Britain also skew the average it comes up with for Europe, allowing it to argue mistakenly that inequality for the region has not risen in recent decades, Piketty added. As for the U.S., Piketty said the Financial Times ignores recent research that indicates that the rise in wealth inequality in the country has, if anything, been more marked than his book maintained."
Austerity and inequality feeding rise of neo-fascism in Europe, argues W. Post's Harold Meyerson: "Absent political options that can create healthy economies, hard times tend to produce a need for scapegoats. The Euroright has found those scapegoats in the millions of immigrants who’ve come from outside Europe over the past two decades."
Justice Dept. seeking another guilty plea from major bank. Bloomberg: "BNP Paribas SA fell the most in 15 months in Paris trading after a person familiar with the matter said U.S. authorities are seeking more than $10 billion to settle federal and state investigations into dealings with sanctioned countries including Sudan and Iran ... U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is taking a tougher stance following criticism from lawmakers for settlements that let banks escape criminal charges while paying fines, admitting wrongdoing and improving controls."
Jousting Over Climate Rules Begins Early
Cutting carbon emissions will be cheap, argues NYT's Paul Krugman: "Just ask the United States Chamber of Commerce. O.K., that’s not the message the Chamber of Commerce was trying to deliver ... the report considers a carbon-reduction program that’s probably considerably more ambitious than we’re actually going to see, and it concludes that between now and 2030 the program would cost $50.2 billion in constant dollars per year. That’s supposed to sound like a big deal. Instead, if you know anything about the U.S. economy, it sounds like Dr. Evil intoning 'one million dollars.' ... what the Chamber of Commerce is actually saying is that we can take dramatic steps on climate ... while reducing our incomes by only one-fifth of 1 percent. That’s cheap!"
WH touts oil and gas production ahead of climate regulation proposal. HuffPost: "The administration on Thursday released a paper touting its 'all-of-the-above energy strategy,' which promotes recent growth in domestic oil and natural gas production, as well advances in renewables, nuclear power, and energy efficiency. 'The U.S. is now the largest oil and natural gas producer in the world,' said Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers..."
California's cap-and-trade system working better than Europe's. NYT: "...at just over $11 a ton, the carbon price in California is now the highest in any cap-and-trade market, 60 percent above the price in Europe. In setting up the market, California took measures to prevent the wild price gyrations seen in Europe. The state spent years getting accurate emissions data, for instance. And it established de facto floor and ceiling prices for its permits. The price so far has been highly predictable, trading in a range from $11 to $14 a ton."
Republicans ducking questions about climate science. Politico: "Some leading conservatives have a new talking point on climate science: They’re not qualified to talk about it. House Speaker John Boehner became the latest top Republican to try that tack Thursday ... Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott has offered the response 'I am not a scientist' on multiple occasions ... Now he’s facing a tough fight for reelection — in one of seven races nationwide where [Tom] Steyer is aiming to make climate change a litmus test for voters. Another reason for the change in tone could be Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio’s recent struggles over the topic."
