Progressive Breakfast
MORNING MESSAGE: Repeal the Sequester
OurFuture.org’s Roger Hickey: “Our month-long campaign to ‘disarm the austerity bomb’ and repeal the sequester is gaining traction in Washington. On Monday, leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus joined our call, saying if Republicans refuse to compromise, then we should simply ‘eliminate the sequester.’ No replacements with job-killing austerity measures. No concessions to the Social Security/Medicare haters. Just repeal it. Today, we’re asking you to send a message to Washington: Repeal the sequester.“
GOP Split With 2 Days To Go
Senate GOP leadership prepares bill to cap spending at sequester level, cede spending decisions to President. Politico: “If Congress were to follow this course, significant power would be shifted to the president, an unusual maneuver that even Obama himself and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have scoffed at. But the plan is being advanced by some conservative Republicans who don’t want the White House to continue using the sequester as a public relations hammer.”
But GOP caucus split over whether to support it. NYT: “Republican leaders had hoped their 45 members would unite around legislation that would give the Obama administration flexibility in implementing the cuts … That would have set up votes Wednesday on a Republican and a Democratic approach to the budget cuts ahead of the March 1 deadline. Instead, some Republicans protested that such flexibility would give President Obama far too much power…”
And Obama rejects. Yahoo! News: “President Barack Obama declared on Tuesday that ‘there’s no smart way’ to make the deep across-the-board spending cuts set to kick in at week’s end. His remarks effectively rejected efforts by Republicans to give him more power over where and when to apply the cuts…”
Sequester’s impact will vary regionally. W. Post: “…the sequester would afflict big cities and military communities — because of cuts to social programs and defense — far more than middle-class suburbs or rural areas. The disparity in some ways mirrors the nation’s electoral divide between Democrats and Republicans. The discrepancies help explain why House Republicans — many of whom represent rural and outer suburban districts — feel little urgency to strike a deal with Obama and avert the sequester…”
Liberal and conservative groups unite behind better military cuts than sequester approach. W. Post: “‘We and other military experts believe we can realize savings of at least $50 billion to $100 billion per year over 10 years in the Pentagon budget — without compromising national security,’ reads the letter [to Congress] … Among the ideas proposed by the coalition are stopping the purchase of outdated or unnecessary vehicles, ships and and aircraft, cutting the civilian workforce and/or service members, and downsizing military headquarters.”
Yes, the “turn to austerity” is killing jobs, finds NYT: “The federal government, the nation’s largest consumer and investor, is cutting back at a pace exceeded in the last half-century only by the military demobilizations after the Vietnam War and the cold war … Federal, state and local governments now employ 500,000 fewer workers than they did on the eve of the recession in 2007, the longest and deepest decline in total government employment since the aftermath of World War II.”
Austerity is unleashing negative political forces across the globe, says W. Post’s Harold Meyerson: “As in the 1930s, despair about the economic options before them has driven many voters to bizarre extremes. A quarter of Italian voters cast ballots this week for the anti-austerity xenophobic party of a professional comedian. In Spain, a movement for Catalonian separatism is growing. More ominously, in Greece, an avowedly racist, fascist party involved in numerous instances of violence has won a bloc of seats in parliament … The United States isn’t immune to Europe’s madness. The sequester slated to begin taking effect Friday is a particularly mindless form of an already stupid policy…”
Upbeat WH Meeting On Immigration
Sens. McCain and Graham praise President after immigration meeting. Roll Call: “‘He committed himself and his office to be helpful, and I believe him.’ Graham said. ‘He wants to be a helpful entity here. … I couldn’t have been more pleased.’”
“House Republican Expresses Support for Guest-Worker Program” reports NYT: “Representative Robert Goodlatte, Republican of Virginia, appeared willing to carve out a sliver of middle ground on Tuesday … offering up the possibility of a guest worker program as a trial case for how the country handles both legal and illegal immigration … Still, some House Republicans remained hesitant about the logistics of reforming the temporary worker program. Representative Lamar Smith, Republican of Texas, said that a ‘true’ guest worker program would have to be a ‘short’ guest worker program, seeming to rule out the possibility of any form of legalization for the workers.”
GOP Rep. Mike Coffman redrawn into more Latino district, suddenly warms to immigration reform. Politico: “It was only two years ago that Coffman … said the Dream Act would be a ‘nightmare’ and proposed a bill that would ensure ballots were printed in English only. He even signed an amicus brief in support of Arizona’s controversial immigration bill. So it raised more than a few eyebrows when the congressman … came out in favor of establishing a pathway to citizenship for immigrants residing in the country illegally, and for their children.”
Dimon Loves Downturns
JPMorgan Chase’s Jame Dimon tells investors, “This bank is anti-fragile, we actually benefit from downturns.” HuffPost’s Mark Gongloff: “…it is true! The bank definitely benefited from the last downturn. It got to buy Bear Stearns in a government-backed fire sale, getting itself a brokerage business on the cheap in exchange for shouldering only a few tiresome legal burdens. It also got billions of dollars in government handouts, from $25 billion in TARP funds to billions in savings from low-interest-rate borrowing programs to a permanent subsidy arising from the idea that the government will bail out the bank if it ever gets in trouble.”
Dimon also complains about new regs. Bloomberg: “Jamie Dimon … said banks are accumulating more capital than they need as regulators push lenders to build equity … [He] has said excessive regulation could impede growth as international authorities and the Federal Reserve push banks to guard capital to better withstand another financial crisis. JPMorgan halted buybacks under pressure from regulators last year after uncovering a trading loss at its chief investment office that swelled to more than $6.2 billion.”
SEC nominee has been wary of “zealous” prosecutions, reports Bloomberg: “[Mary Jo] White’s record on white-collar cases reveals a more practical streak. Her invention of corporate probation, or deferred prosecution, in the Prudential matter was later copied by scores of U.S. attorneys seeking punishment for a company without going to trial.”
Breakfast Sides
Republican Sheila Bair urges her party to address income inequality in NYT oped: “Republicans should put fundamental tax reform on the table and make it our priority to end preferential treatment of investment income … Republicans should also put rebuilding the nation’s transportation and energy infrastructure high on our political agenda … Having worked for Senate Republicans in the 1980s, I remember a time when Republicans stood up to special interests and purged the tax code of preferences for investment income and other special breaks.”
Daniel F. Becker and James Gerstenzang of the Safe Climate Campaign sets benchmark for power plant carbon emission limits, in NYT oped: ” President Obama should require existing power plants to reduce their emissions by at least one-quarter by 2020 … the rules should favor making homes, buildings and power plants more energy efficient over the more costly conversion of coal-fired plants to natural gas …”
Big progressive win in Illinois congressional special election. Daily Kos: “Of the three leading contenders who began the race, only [Robin] Kelly had earned an “F” rating from the NRA, which she wore as a badge of honor … Daily Kos then became the first progressive group to endorse her, ultimately raising over $113,000 in small donations for her campaign. CREDO Super PAC got involved as well, spending six figures on field operations to benefit Kelly … it’s indeed the NRA who was the biggest loser on Tuesday night.”
