Dems Pitch 'A Better Deal'
Democrats launch economic agenda ahead of 2018 campaign. Politico: "Democratic leaders in the House and Senate will unveil a broad economic agenda Monday, hoping to unite the disparate wings of their caucuses and win back working-class voters who fled the party last year. The party’s messaging strategy is the culmination of months of internal meetings and polling after a disappointing 2016 election that left Democrats reeling and many complaining they had no message to offer the public other than being against President Donald Trump."
Democrats say their economic agenda is ‘A Better Deal.’ WaPo: "Completely sapped of power in Washington, top leaders of the Democratic Party now believe that the best way to fight a president who penned 'The Art of the Deal' is with an economic agenda that they plan to call 'A Better Deal.'... it is expected to focus on new proposals to fund job-training programs, renegotiate trade deals and address soaring prescription-drug costs, as well as other issues. It is also expected to endorse long-held Democratic principles, including “a living wage” of $15 per hour and already unveiled spending plans for infrastructure that would expand broadband Internet access into rural counties."
Health Impasse
Senate healthcare bill appears headed for failure. The Hill: "Senate Republicans plan to vote this week on revised healthcare reform legislation, but a number of serious problems mean that the chances of getting that bill passed are slim to none. The latest wallop of bad news for Republicans came Friday when the Senate parliamentarian announced that key provisions of the revised bill would not pass muster under the special budgetary rules that Republicans are using to pass the legislation with a simple majority instead of 60 votes."
Connecting McCain's tragic diagnosis to Trumpcare 'Is the Goddamn Point’. Common Dreams: "'The personal hell that John McCain and his loved ones are walking through right now is the point of it all,” (Jon Pavlovitz) wrote Thursday in a blog post that started to go viral over the weekend... While acknowledging that McCain is one of the nation's most recognizable political names and someone who holds a powerful position, Pavlovitz explains why his privilege and status exposes the inequality and shortcomings of a healthcare system that works for the haves, but not for the have nots."
Universal health care would save $17 trillion. DailyKOS: "Health care costs in the United States are estimated to grow at an average annual rate of 5.6 percent from 2016 to 2025... If we apply this growth rate over 10 years, and add up the costs, our current healthcare system will cost $49 trillion. $49 trillion (current system) — $32 trillion (single payer) = $17 trillion in savings. Over a 10-year period, universal health care or a single-payer system would save $17 trillion. Yes, you read that right … universal health care would cost $17 trillion less over 10 years. A universal health care system would save us $1.7 trillion a year."
