MORNING MESSAGE
Stiglitz Speaks: Globalization’s Grand Failure, Apple & Bad Trade Deals
Nobel
prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz has a new book out entitled “The Euro:
How a Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe.” ... we spoke with
Professor Stiglitz about the tension between globalization and democracy, the
mistaken thinking that gave rise to the euro experiment, and what that
experience can tell us about the need to resist bad trade deals like the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, renegotiate older ones like NAFTA, and invest in jobs
and growth in the United States .... As with globalization overall, he said,
“the economics advanced faster than the political institutions that would make
it work.”
TRUMP ECoN PLAN MORE RIGHT-WING REHASH
Trump
reveals new economic plan, with “few details.” NYT: “…Trump largely
reiterated a broad economic vision he outlined in Detroit last month, vowing to
slash taxes on business and scale back federal regulations … He partly rolled
back his earlier proposals to reduce corporate taxation: Mr. Trump still
proposes a 15 percent tax rate on corporate income, but it would no longer apply
to business income reported on personal taxes, generally limiting the lower rate
to the largest corporations. He also reduced a tax break that generated backlash
because it would particularly benefit real estate developers. Mr. Trump also now
proposes to cut federal taxes by $4.4 trillion, not $10 trillion … The revised
version of Mr. Trump’s tax plan would still substantially reduce federal
taxation, replacing seven tax brackets with three and taxing most income at
lower rates.”
Numbers
still don’t add up. The Atlantic’s Gillian B. White: “…it still seems
unlikely that he could manage to fulfill his promises without touching spending
on some of the budget’s largest future expenses, such as defense and
entitlements.”
More
“trickle-down” notes Time’s Rana Foroohar: “What we need to jump start
growth now isn’t tax cuts that lead to unproductive debt that will eventually
become more expensive to service over the longer haul. It’s a real fiscal plan
for investing in education, infrastructure, worker training, and so forth.”
Trump
pledge of 25M new jobs doesn’t make sense, says NYT’s Neil Irwin: “…is Mr.
Trump’s promise of 25 million new jobs over the next decade and 3.5 percent
annual economic growth possible? Only if a burst of innovation arrives that
makes every worker’s labor go further, and if millions of new immigrants arrive
from overseas or the ratio of American adults who want to work rises far higher
than it has ever been. Absent all that, the math just doesn’t work.”
Trump
yanks plan to gut food safety regs off website. Mother Jones’ Tom Philpott:
“Why did the Trump campaign vow to dismantle food safety regulation, only to
quickly go silent on the topic? The campaign has not returned my request for an
explanation…”
WH LAUNCHES BIPARTISAN TPP PUSH
WH
stages bipartisan event to promote TPP today. NYT: “Expected attendees
include Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, a former contender for the Republican
presidential nomination, and Henry M. Paulson Jr., who served as Treasury
secretary under George W. Bush, as well as Gov. John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, a
Democrat, and Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta, a Democrat.”
Michael
Bloomberg pens pro-TPP oped with Chamber of Commerce president: “Congress
should vote on the bill — and pass it — before the year is out … the overall
benefits of trade are small comfort to those who feel the immediate pain of
losing their jobs when a factory moves its operations overseas. There is more
that elected officials can and should do to help such workers, but opposing TPP
is not one of them.”
Van
Jones explains “How TPP threatens our progress on climate change” in SF
Chronicle oped: “TPP would allow multinational corporations that own
gas-fired power plants … to threaten state restrictions on carbon emissions —
including some of the new world-leading standards recently passed in Sacramento
… Because TPP would threaten a successful California rebate program for green
technologies that are made in-state, the deal could result in the elimination of
good-paying green jobs…”
REPUBLICANS STRUGGLE TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN
Congressional
Republicans brace themselves for a $1T omnibus. The Hill: "Speaker Paul
Ryan (R-Wis.) and his team have sought to rally support for a stopgap spending
measure ... by promising votes on 'bite-sized' appropriations bills after
Election Day. But rank-and-file Republicans, from the conservative House Freedom
Caucus to the moderate Tuesday Group, say the strategy to break up the spending
bill into 'mini-bus' packages is wishful thinking ... Some Democratic leaders
have come out harshly against Ryan's minibus plan, fearing the Republicans will
fund their favored programs while neglecting those supported by Democrats."
Senate
passed Flint aid. The Hill: “The amended measure authorizes dozens of
water-related infrastructure projects and contains $220 million in direct
funding to address drinking water crises in communities like Flint. But the
prospects for Flint aid in the House remain less clear.”
DEUTSCHE BANK SNUBS SETTLEMENT OFFER
Deutsche
Bank rejects $14B settlement offer from Justice Department. Bloomberg:
“‘Deutsche Bank has no intent to settle these potential civil claims anywhere
near the number cited,’ the company said … Reaching a mortgage deal would clear
a major hurdle for Deutsche Bank, which has paid more than $9 billion in fines
and settlements since the start of 2008 … Justice Department spokesman Peter
Carr declined to comment…”
Sen.
Warren slams Wells Fargo. HuffPost: ” On Friday, Warren sent a letter to
[CEO John] Stumpf asking if the board is considering clawing back pay to top
executives as a result of the mess … When Warren asks him to re-evaluate prior
executive payouts, she’s asking him to consider ponying up part of his own
fortune. She and her four Democratic colleagues in the Senate who co-signed her
letter to Stumpf weren’t shy about its implications for his own bank
account.”
PROGRESSIVE LEGEND DIE
Influential
progressive Stanley Sheinbaum dies at 96. LAT: “…Sheinbaum often was a
change agent, whose fingerprints can be found on a remarkable array of notable
events … In the 1970s he was the chief fundraiser for Daniel Ellsberg’s defense
in the Pentagon Papers trial. In the 1980s he led a delegation of American
Jewish leaders who persuaded Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser
Arafat to renounce terrorism and accept Israel as a state. And in the 1990s he
headed the Los Angeles Police Commission after the beating of motorist Rodney
King and helped drive controversial police Chief Daryl Gates from
office.”
Progressive
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