Populist Backlash Against Right-Wing State Government
Republican education cuts upend several races. The Nation: "Conservatives are on the defensive in Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Florida and Wisconsin over their records on education. The issue features prominently not only in local and gubernatorial campaigns but also in Senate races that many predicted would be referenda on Barack Obama, not on conservative governance at the state level."
W. Post's E. J. Dionne looks at the backlash in NC: "[GOP Senate nominee Thom] Tillis’s problem is the sharp right turn in the governance of one of the South’s traditionally moderate states, which he helped engineer along with Gov. Pat McCrory. The governor doesn’t face the voters this year, so Tillis is reaping the whirlwind — particularly in a state that has been a pioneer in using good schools and world-class universities to build its economy."
Shutdown 2015?
Republicans plant seeds for another shutdown. HuffPost: "A group of 14 Republicans, led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) wrote to Boehner on Wednesday identifying a provision of the Affordable Care Act that a Government Accountability Office report concluded would require an additional appropriation from Congress in the next fiscal year ... [They] urge Boehner to end the program when Congress votes to fund the government during the lame-duck session after the November elections."
WH doubts Republicans would shutdown over immigration or anything else. The Hill: "'I don't think that there are many analysts that believe that the political standing of the Republican Party was enhanced by shutting down the government,' [WH spokesperson Josh] Earnest said. 'So I would be surprised if Republican leaders chose to pursue that path again. At the same time, I also heard Republican leaders, in the aftermath of the last budget showdown, indicate that they would never again hold hostage the full faith and credit of the United States of America. And I take those leaders at their word,' he added."
Deficit Hits 6-Year Low
Deficit drops. The Hill: "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Wednesday lowered its projection for the fiscal 2014 federal deficit to $486 billion ... Relative to the size of the economy, the deficit for 2014 would be 2.8 percent of gross domestic project (GDP). As a percentage of GDP, the deficit has declined every year since it peaked at 9.8 percent of GDP in 2009 ... The projected shortfall is the smallest recorded since 2008 ... The CBO estimates the U.S. spent 5 percent less on military activities under the Defense Department. Spending on unemployment benefits dropped, as did spending by the Housing and Urban Development Department. The Homeland Security Department spent 26 percent less in fiscal 2014 than in 2013 because of a lesser need for flood insurance and disaster relief."
Obama tells Pentagon sequestration must end. Politico: "President Barack Obama used a visit to the Pentagon on Wednesday to renew his call for Congress to free the military from what he called 'draconian' budget strictures that would return next fiscal year under sequestration ... the automatic, across-the-board restrictions will return in fiscal 2016 unless Obama and Congress can agree on how to avert them."
"The Deficit Is Falling, But Where Are The Jobs?" asks OurFuture.org's Isaiah J. Poole: "Conservatives have repeatedly told us that cutting federal spending, and reducing deficits, would unleash economic growth and create jobs. Instead, what we have to show for it is a languid economy at best, with only enough jobs for half the people who are unemployed and looking for work."
W. Post's Harold Meyerson explores the "extinction of the American raise": "While macroeconomic conditions surely explain some of the problems that have befallen U.S. workers, the institutional changes to American business — above all, the rise of investor power and the decline of worker power — are central to the tale. The case of the vanishing American raise can’t be solved without them."
Fuel efficiency is up. NYT: "Gas mileage for new cars and trucks in the United States averaged a record 24.1 miles per gallon last year ... mainly because automakers have improved gas engines and transmissions and added turbochargers to give smaller motors more power ... The E.P.A. is predicting slower growth for this year, but officials still expect the industry to meet government standards that require the fleet to average 54.5 mpg by 2025."
