MORNING MESSAGE
Does
the TPP contain provisions that corporations can use to force us to privatize
“public” things ... so they can replace them with profit-making enterprises that
provide a return only to the wealthy few? We need to see the provisions of TPP
that are designed to regulate “state-owned enterprises” (SOEs) and see them now
... The U.S. Trade Representative website says TPP will have “groundbreaking new
rules designed to ensure fair competition between state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
and private companies.” ... Will TPP enable the privatizers to declare things
like our beloved U.S. Postal Service, schools and roads to be “commercial
activity” that competes with private companies? How about our parks, libraries,
public pensions, and other public services?
Fast Track Whip Counts Tight
Fast
track supporters “bullish” on House vote, says The Hill: “Republicans
familiar with the vote-counting operation say they’ve steadily been picking up
new ‘yes’ votes on trade and that the numbers are moving in the right direction
… a member of the pro-TPA Democratic whip team told lawmakers that [the] number
[of Democratic supporters] might now be as high as 25 or 26…”
But
fast track majority is not secure. Politico: “…House Majority Leader Kevin
McCarthy of California and other GOP leaders have not yet committed to bringing
up Trade Promotion Authority by week’s end, a sign that while pro-trade leaders
in the House are closing in on the 217 ayes they need to pass the bill, the
contentious vote remains very close.”
“Trade
Pacts Face Growing Pushback” says WSJ: “In the 10 districts with the biggest
export growth since 2006, only three of the representatives say they back [fast
track.] … The exports-create-jobs argument has long been oversold, say trade
experts, diminishing its power
Secretaries
of State and Defense defend TPP in USA Today oped: “TPP would help us
promote a global order that reflects our interests and our values. The success
of our efforts cannot be captured in economic terms alone.”
Simon
Johnson rebuts pro-TPP tariff argument in Politico oped: “…Ambassador
Michael Froman [implied] TPP will dramatically lower such tariffs, boosting US
exports, significantly increasing the size of our economy, and helping most
Americans. That is not, however, what the best available projections about the
deal suggest it would do, and Froman’s emphasis on tariffs – though it sounds
like the heart of the issue – is a distraction from the bigger question we need
to ask about the TPP.”
Boost For Bernie
Bernie
Sanders scores a close second in Wisconsin straw poll. Politico: “Bernie
Sanders scored 41 percent in a straw poll vote at the Wisconsin Democratic Party
convention this weekend — finishing a close second to Hillary Clinton, who won
49 percent …”
“Let
me tell you a secret: we’re going to win New Hampshire,” declares
Bernie.
Hillary
Clinton rallies “Fight for $15″ activists. W. Post: “‘All of you should not
have to march in the streets to get a living wage, but thank you for marching in
the streets to get that living wage,’ she said … [She] virtually echoed the
language that the Service Employees International Union has used in its campaign
for a $15 minimum wage …”
Anti-union
network behind Scott Walker. NYT: “More than any of his potential rivals for
the White House, Mr. Walker, 47, is a product of a loose network of conservative
donors, think tanks and talk radio hosts who have spent years preparing the road
for a politician who could successfully present their arguments for small
government to a broader constituency.”
Breakfast Sides
WH
close to announce overtime rule, boosting pay. Politico: “As early as this
week, the Labor Department could propose a rule that would raise the current
overtime threshold — $23,660 – to as much as $52,000 … Boosting the threshold to
$50,440 would bring it back in line with the 1975 threshold, after inflation. By
one estimate that would give somewhere between five to ten million workers a
raise … One key concern about expanding overtime is that it could prompt
employers to reduce the number of hours that individual employees work … [But
that could mean] more job creation, not less.”
Many
states still suffering budget shortfalls. NYT: “Though the national economy
is in its sixth year of recovery from the recession, many states are still
facing major funding gaps that have locked legislatures in protracted battles
with governors. In some states, lawmakers have gone into overtime with
unresolved budgets, special sessions and threats of widespread government
layoffs.”
Greece
saga will probably drag on. Bloomberg: “Even if Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras clinches as much as 7.2 billion euros ($8 billion) from a bailout
tranche creditors are withholding, he’s going to need another cash infusion
shortly thereafter. What will ensue is a renewed battle after almost five months
of trench warfare.”
Progressive
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