MORNING MESSAGE
The
CFPB is proposing new rules to crack down and protect Americans from these
scammers. The bureau has opened up a public comment period. To dismantle the
debt trap, payday lenders should only loan to borrowers who can afford to repay
their debt. The payday lending industry is spending millions on a disinformation
campaign that includes flooding the CFPB with comments from customers coached to
write industry-friendly statements. We need to push back...
WH TO LAUNCH TPP BLITZ
WH
to barnstorm country during congressional recess to promote TPP. Politico:
“…30 events [are scheduled] over the congressional recess … Administration
officials including Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Agriculture Undersecretary
Alexis Taylor are touting the deal across the country in meetings with business
and agricultural leaders in a bid to generate positive local headlines…”
“Political
revolution can stop Trans-Pacific Partnership” says Larry Cohen in Des Moines
Register oped: “…we are being set up for a vote on TPP at a time when most
Americans have shut down on politics, but also a time when corporate lobbyists
will be fighting fiercely for adoption … When Iowa CCI Action convenes its
convention on Aug. 20 in Des Moines, we cannot simply focus on politics as
usual…”
TRUMP SPEECH MAKES NO SENSE
Trump’s
immigration plans unworkable. Politico: “…the basics that Trump proposed
Monday left observers struggling to envision how they could ever become a
reality … what does Trump mean by ‘terrorism’ and ‘regions’ with ‘a history of
exporting terrorism?’ Who counts as an immigrant — people who want to move to
the U.S. permanently or the many millions who come as tourists, often without a
visa? What counts as ‘bigotry and hatred?’ And how will the ideological test be
administered?”
Trump
foreign policy speech littered with falsehoods. W. Post: “For reasons known
only to Trump, he continued to repeat false statements that have been repeatedly
debunked in the past.”
Paul
Ryan, GOP donors squeezed by Trump. American Prospect’s Roger Bybee:
“…Trump’s blistering attacks on trade deals with Mexico and China … have placed
House Speaker Paul Ryan in an awkward spot in part because of his own entrenched
‘free-trade’ beliefs—and those of the Republican donor class he has so
skillfully cultivated. But Ryan’s position is most precarious because he harbors
ambitions for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination, he wants to avoid
alienating the supporters of Donald Trump … Republican elites seem certain to
face deepening disaffection among their most dependable voting bloc.”
SANDERS TEAM WORKING WITH DNC
Former
Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver holds strategy call with DNC chair Donna
Brazile. Politico: “The call focused on a 50-state strategy for the November
election to be implemented soon by members of Clinton’s campaign and Sanders’
former presidential team … Weaver noted that Sanders’ organization Our
Revolution has raised nearly $300,000 for liberal Democratic down-ballot and
congressional candidates.”
Clinton’s
economic plan lacks subsidized employment. Politico’s Danny Vinik: “…a chunk
of [Obama’s stimulus] money—$1.3 billion—was earmarked for subsidized
employment, a low-cost experiment that used federal resources to put people back
to work … This wasn’t a direct employment program … Some states directly paid
the wages of those with subsidized employment … Other states contracted with
community providers to pinpoint employers … people who’ve looked closely have
found [the programs] were almost universally successful at putting Americans
back to work—and it was a relatively cheap way to do it.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Bard
College president Leon Botstein calls for student debt forgiveness in Time
oped: “By forgiving student loan debt—which is largely held by the
government—a tremendous economic stimulus would be generated, whose
beneficiaries are people, not banks … Student loans of the type we now have
should never have been instituted. They were predicated on an inflationary
economy and rising wages over time, which is not the reality we all now
face.”
Retirees
spend $130,000 on health care. Bloomberg: “The average single 65-year-old
woman can expect to need $135,000 to spend on health care in retirement, while a
man will spend $125,000, according to estimates from Fidelity Investments … up 6
percent from last year and 18 percent from 2014 … Prime culprits in accelerating
health expenses are prescription drugs, especially high-priced specialty
drugs.”
Progressive
Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to
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