MORNING MESSAGE
This Trump Hire is Hazardous to Your Health (And Not Just Your Medicare)
Donald
Trump’s latest cabinet pick endangers the health and well-being of millions of
Americans. From tax cuts to surgeons’ income, Rep. Tom Price of Georgia –
Trump’s choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services –has
repeatedly fought for the wealthy and privileged at the expense of ordinary
Americans. As a trained physician, Price is supposedly bound by the Hippocratic
oath: “First, do no harm.” Unfortunately, he’ll soon be in a position to do a
great deal of harm – and his widely publicized desire to gut Medicare is only
part of the problem.
PRICE PICK THREATENS MEDICARE
“Donald
Trump Is Coming for Your Medicare” argues The Nation’s David Dayen: “The
selection of Georgia Congressman Tom Price as Health and Human Services
Secretary offers the clearest signal yet that Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan
are perfectly aligned, and ready to make Medicare phase-out the signature
proposal of his presidency.”
Politico
explains “Tom Price’s radically conservative vision for American health
care”: “His vision [includes] privatizing Medicare so that seniors would
receive fixed dollar amounts to buy coverage … Trump’s transition spokesman did
not return calls Tuesday about whether the president-elect now shares his
nominee’s views on Medicare … Price also wants to limit federal Medicaid
spending to give states a lump sum, or block grant, and more control over how
they could use it — a dream of conservative Republicans for years and a
nightmare for advocates for the poor who fear many would lose coverage. Trump
has endorsed block grants.”
MNUCHIN PICK WIN FOR WALL STREET
Treasury
pick Steve Mnuchin lacks government experience. NYT: “Over his business
career, he was never particularly involved in politics, nor did he publicly
express an interest in public policy. He never ran a large organization or
showed himself to be an accomplished economist … he is very much a part of the
firmament of the finance world, even if he never reached the corner office of
one of Wall Street’s top firms … he is expected to face a steep learning curve
when it comes to working on international trade, where he doesn’t have much
previous experience …”
Sen.
Warren rips Mnuchin nom. Politico quotes: “Steve Mnuchin is the Forrest Gump
of the financial crisis — he managed to participate in all the worst practices
on Wall Street. He spent two decades at Goldman Sachs helping the bank peddle
the same kind of mortgage products that blew up the economy and sucked down
billions in taxpayer bailout money before he moved on to run a bank that was
infamous for aggressively foreclosing on families.”
TRUMP VEERS FAR RIGHT
Trump’s
cabinet is “most conservative since Reagan” declares Politico:
“…conservative activists and think tanks say his early picks have inspired
confidence that his administration will take action on their long-standing
priorities … at this rate, with cooperation from a Republican Congress, Trump
will have the support to dismantle a significant portion of President Barack
Obama’s legacy and set his sights on Great Society programs that have been the
linchpin of the social safety net for nearly 50 years.”
Trump
meets with Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn. Bloomberg: “Transition
spokesman Sean Spicer didn’t give any hint of the agenda for Trump’s meeting
with Cohn or whether he’s in line for an administration job. But a person
familiar with transition planning said Trump and his aides are still discussing
what role he might play, with potential jobs including posts at the Treasury
Department or Office of Management and Budget. Cohn also may be considered for
the Federal Reserve…”
Bloomberg’s
Noah Smith defends Trump’s infrastructure plan: “Federal Reserve Chair Janet
Yellen … cautioned against spending too much on infrastructure, warning that a
move could stoke inflation and reduce the government’s ability to use fiscal
stimulus in the event of a recession … [But w]hen economists look for actual
evidence that deficit spending drives up inflation, they find very little …
there are many prime-age workers who are out of the labor force, and might come
back if a burst of infrastructure spending gave them opportunity to do something
useful…”
Trump
claims he’ll leave his business. Politico: “… ‘the president-elect on
Twitter said legal documents “are being crafted which take me completely out of
business operations.’ … Exactly what strategy Trump will deploy to end his
business conflicts is unclear … Trump has dismissed suggestions he sell
everything, and his aides had stayed mum beyond issuing an official statement
that his three oldest adult children and a ‘team of highly skilled executives’
will soon be in command of the official Trump Organization. While a patchwork
approach is certainly more complicated, and it might still result in litigation
and bad headlines, political, business and legal experts told POLITICO it’s also
the price Trump must pay if he’s serious about making the leap from
international entrepreneur to president of the United States.”
Many
unanswered questions in Trump’s deal with Carrier. W. Post: “What did the
president- and vice president-elect offer the manufacturer? What did they
threaten it with, if anything? Will taxpayers be ponying up? … as the group Good
Jobs First has relentlessly documented, corporate subsidies tend to
under-deliver on jobs promises, and they often advantage big corporations over
small businesses and start-ups. It would immediately create some perverse
incentives for multinational companies…”
DEM LEADERSHIP ELECTION TODAY
House
Dems hold leadership election today. AP: “Pelosi is likely to be re-elected
easily Wednesday despite disenchantment among some in the Democratic caucus she
has led since 2002 … The 76-year-old Pelosi has been promising some changes to
assuage concerns in her caucus, including adding a member of the freshmen class
to her leadership team. But her proposals do little to ensure new blood at the
very top or change the seniority system that has key committees led by lawmakers
in their 80s …”
Election
will have repercussions. Politico: “Pelosi’s team has projected confidence,
and she’s the heavy favorite to win another term atop the House Democratic
caucus. But [Rep. Tim] Ryan’s bid ensures that even with a win she’ll have to
contend with a growing group of detractors inside her own party.”
House
Dems jostle to lead tax-writing committee. Politico: “Both Reps. Xavier
Becerra (D-Calif.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) announced Tuesday they would seek
the [Ways and Means committee] post, shortly after the long-time ranking member,
Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.), said that he wouldn’t run for the top job again …
Becerra [is] plugging himself as a fighter ready to take on President-elect
Donald Trump and his agenda … Neal, who’s generally been more likely to work
across the aisle on Ways and Means than Becerra, maintained that he also was
better prepared on policy matters such as taxes, Medicare, Social Security and
welfare.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Cities
and states can lead on climate, says Climate Narrative Project’s Jeff Biggers in
NYT oped: “With or without significant federal support, reducing greenhouse
gas emissions will require major private investment … and ambitious
private-public initiatives from mayors and governors. We need to activate a new
era of ‘regenerative’ cities and states. California’s recent move to reduce its
carbon emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 is a hopeful shift that
other cities and states should emulate.”
Former
Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano defends DACA in NYT oped: “…the
program is not the same as amnesty. Each case is assessed on its own merits to
ensure the applicant meets the criteria and poses no security threat. This is
similar, but not identical, to how a prosecutor decides to charge a case. The
program does not grant categorical relief to an entire group. Today, there are
nearly three-quarters of a million Dreamers who no longer have to constantly
fear an encounter with an immigration enforcement agent … There is no reason to
abandon these sensible priorities now.”
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