Bernie Teases Run
Bernie Sanders suggests he will run for president at Brookings event: "I am giving thought to running for president of the United States. At a time when the middle class is disappearing ... I think it is imperative that we have candidates who stand up for the working families of this country who are prepared to take on the big money interests ... the decision that I’m going to have to reach is whether there is that willingness to stand up and fight back. If not, I don’t want to run a futile campaign. If I run I want to run to win."
"Left and Right Align in Fighting Obama’s Trade Agenda" reports NYT: "The new breed of populist conservatives who have come to the House since the 2010 Tea Party wave are less enamored of the pitches of Wall Street and big business ... With more than a hint of delight, [Sen. Bernie Sanders] welcomed the unexpected support from the right. 'Some of my conservative friends' he said, 'are worried legitimately about the issue of sovereignty.'"
Justice Dept. wants guilty pleas. NYT: "The Justice Department is pushing some of the biggest banks on Wall Street — including, for the first time in decades, American institutions — to plead guilty to criminal charges that they manipulated the prices of foreign currencies ... federal prosecutors have recently informed Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Citigroup that they must enter guilty pleas to settle the cases."
Greece floats compromise. Bloomberg: "Greece sought to drum up support for a 10 billion-euro ($11.3 billion) bridge plan ahead of the euro-area finance ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. The country is seeking to stave off a funding crunch, while also buying time to push creditors to ease some austerity demands."
Dems Crafting "Parent Agenda"
Democrats see "parent agenda" as top priority. NYT: "The policies under discussion — paid family leave; universal preschool; an expanded earned-income tax credit and child tax credit; free community college and perhaps free four-year college in time — are intended both to alleviate the burdens on middle-class families and to expand educational opportunity for children ... It could give them a better chance of reclaiming their support among traditionally Democratic white working-class voters ... Yet it would still appeal to many affluent families..."
Mayor DeBlasio releases budget proposal. NYT: "The $77.7 billion spending plan, up 3.6 percent from last year, ... includes a spate of new social programs that would aid homeless New Yorkers, spur prison reforms and expand literacy programs in public schools ... money from higher-than-anticipated tax revenues [is] allowing the mayor to present a pain-free plan that included virtually no cuts in city services or tax increases."
Politico investigation finds publishing company Pearson profiteering off of standardized tests, regardless of effectiveness: "...Pearson stands to make tens of millions in taxpayer dollars and cuts in student tuition from deals arranged without competitive bids in states from Florida to Texas. The review also found Pearson’s contracts set forth specific performance targets — but don’t penalize the company when it fails to meet those standards ... It writes the textbooks and tests that drive instruction in public schools across the nation ... at least $98.5 million in tax credits from six states ... have flowed to Pearson even when the company can’t show its products and services are producing academic gains."
Republicans Attack Unions
"GOP moves to block union election rule" reports The Hill: "Senate Republicans sought Monday to employ the little-used Congressional Review Act in a bid to block the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from speeding up union elections ... but those efforts are unlikely to overcome a White House veto."
IL Gov. moves to undermine unions. NYT: "Gov. Bruce Rauner [issued] an executive order that would bar unions from requiring all state workers to pay the equivalent of dues ... [He] took the unilateral step saying that he believed those fees violate the United States Constitution ... On Monday evening, the reaction from [Democratic] legislative leaders seemed surprisingly tempered."
