Public Sector Unions Face the Supreme Court
DailyKos' Laura Clawson sees the Supreme Court readying "another blow against unions." But there's one ray of hope: "Friedrichs is expected to come down to a 5-4 vote, but the expected swing vote comes from an unexpected source. Antonin Scalia."
The Century Foundation's Richard D. Kahlenberg calls a ruling against unions "radicalism, not conservatism" in New York Times op-ed. "A decision in favor of the plaintiff would effectively slam the door on an era in which some conservatives joined liberals in recognizing that vibrant unions help make our democracy work."
In These Times has compiled its articles on the impact of the Friedrichs case on workers.
Obama's Last State of the Union Address
Dean Baker's take on the economic state of the union in Al Jazeera America. "While the White House would like us all to be thankful we escaped the Second Great Depression, the reality is the economy has recovered far more slowly than was generally predicted. As a result, workers are paying a huge price in terms of fewer jobs, less job security and lower wages. ... The extent to which Obama can be blamed for the weak recovery is a separate question."
Here's what Time's Charlotte Alter says Obama's done since the last State of the Union address. "A landmark climate agreement in Paris ... a historic agreement with Iran ... thawing our relationship with Cuba..."
'Fair Share' Taxation
Clinton proposes a 4 percent surtax on the wealthy. Politico: "The proposal, which she announced in Iowa, would raise an estimated $150 billion over a decade, a Clinton aide said, and comes after the Democratic front-runner said that she would build on the so-called Buffett Rule that seeks to ensure that the middle class doesn't pay a higher tax rate than top earners."
Matthew Yglesias at Vox offers political context. "... an ongoing argument with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders about the structure of taxation in the United States. ... Clinton's surtax proposal draws further attention to a contrast she welcomes — she'll soak the rich, while her socialist opponent wants to soak you ... Clinton's team says she's not done on the tax fairness front, and hints that even more soak-the-rich proposals are to come in advance of this weekend's debate."
'Black and Brown' Presidential Forum
Democratic presidential candidates face off at "black and brown" forum. "At the Iowa Black and Brown Forum, broadcast on the Fusion network, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton broke with President Obama to call for a stop to Department of Homeland Security deportation raids targeting undocumented Central American migrants. ... Meanwhile, at the forum, Sanders defended a controversial 2005 vote for a law that gave gun manufacturers and sellers immunity from lawsuits."
Clinton makes "her most unequivocal statement to date" in opposition to Obama's immigration raids. "'Our immigration enforcement efforts should be humane and conducted in accordance with due process, and that is why I believe we must stop the raids happening in immigrant communities,' Clinton said in a statement released just as she made the comments during a Democratic "Brown and Black" presidential forum hosted by Fusion. "
Zeeshan Aleem at Mic.com says the forum "didn't break any substantial new ground." "That being said, there were some enlightening exchanges between the moderators and the candidates, and Hillary Clinton in particular had some unexpectedly meaty responses to prompts about societal double standards."
Poll Examines Millennials
USA Today/Rock the Vote Poll has good news for Bernie Sanders, mixed news for progressives. "The 73-year-old democratic socialist from the Green Mountain State is leading Clinton, 46%-35%, among millennial Democrats and independents. ... The top issue by far for millennials is the economy .... Their second-ranking issue is specific to their stage of life: college affordability and student debt. That's followed closely by foreign policy and terrorism, health care and guns. A combination of those who cite climate change and those who cite energy puts that issue in the top rank as well. ... On economic issues, more call themselves conservative (38%) than liberal (33%). By a wider margin, on foreign policy, they also are inclined to describe themselves as conservative (37% to 28%). It is on social issues that they lean left: 42% say they're liberal, 32% call themselves conservative on questions including race relations and gay rights. "
And yet, "millennials are fine with socialism." Vox: "Sanders's campaign has caused dictionary searches for "socialism" to spike. And for millennials, it doesn't seem to be much of a drawback."
Conservative Poverty Rhetoric vs. Reality
Want to address poverty? One way is to "create paid work opportunities to provide work experience and build skills." One item in a list The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities' LaDonna Pavetti offers in response to Saturday's Republican candidate forum on poverty. "During the recent recession, 39 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands used funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Fund (TANF EF) to successfully place 260,000 individuals in jobs, mostly in the private sector, that were subsidized with public dollars. These jobs put money into the pockets of program participants that they could go out and spend, thereby also boosting the economy. These subsidized jobs programs also provided longer-term benefits for participants after the subsidized job placements ended, evidence suggests."
Kike Konczal at New Deal 2.0 exposes "The Contradictions of the Conservative Cultural Marriage Campaign." "According to this, professionals need to advocate for marriage to convince poor people to get married. Yet if you read deeper into the conservative literature, you find that one of their main diagnoses of why poor people don’t get married is because of the dominance of professional views of marriage over society ... It can’t both be the case that professionals need to advocate more for marriage and that professional ideals of marriage are preventing marriage among the poor."
Breakfast Sides
Congressional conservatives being rallied to block all future Obama appointees. Politico: "On Monday evening, the lobbying outfit Heritage Action called for an end to judicial confirmations during Obama’s final year, and on Tuesday it will call for an end to all confirmations except for those necessary to national security. ... So far, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) isn’t planning on a full blockade."
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's "Audit the Fed" bill faces a Senate vote today. Roll Call: "On Monday, Paul was pressuring liberal members of the Democratic caucus, including presidential hopeful Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., to back a vote on the audit measure on Tuesday. The bill would remove limits on the oversight of the Fed by the Government Accountability Office, effectively subjecting the bank to a more comprehensive audit, including sensitive matters related to monetary policy."
Critics of Trans-Pacific Partnership use a Keystone pipeline lawsuit to underscore its perils. The Hill: "Environmental groups, trade groups and labor unions say TransCanada’s attempt to secure $15 billion in compensation for the rejection of Keystone under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is emblematic of how trade agreements favor corporate interests, harm workers and undermine U.S. law."
