MORNING MESSAGE
Enormous, Humongous Trade Deficit Measures Economy’s Problem
Our
economy has a trade problem. Our trade deficit measures the extent of the
problem. Our trade deficit continues to be enormous and humongous ... our
economy bought $43.6 billion more in goods and services in February than it
sold. $43.6 billion of our economy’s “demand” is translating into jobs, wages,
and production elsewhere in the world. It has done this month after month since
the late 1970s and shows no sign of balancing.
Gorsuch, Plagiarist
Gorsuch
hit with plagiarism charge. Politico: “… documents show that several
passages from the tenth chapter of his 2006 book, ‘The Future of Assisted
Suicide and Euthanasia,’ read nearly verbatim to a 1984 article in the Indiana
Law Journal. In several other instances in that book and an academic article
published in 2000, Gorsuch borrowed from the ideas, quotes and structures of
scholarly and legal works without citing them … ‘I’ve never seen a college
plagiarism code that this would not be in violation of,’ said Rebecca Moore
Howard, a Syracuse University professor who has written extensively on the
issue.”
McConnell
files for cloture. Time: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has filed a
motion for cloture on the Supreme Court nomination of Neil Gorsuch … The Senate
will vote to invoke cloture on Thursday … This sets the stage for McConnell to
change the rules by introducing a vote for the ‘nuclear option.'”
McConnell
promises to keep legislative filibuster. Politico: “McConnell stressed that
‘there’s no sentiment’ among Senate Republicans for overhauling the filibuster
on legislation … When asked whether he would commit to not changing the
legislative filibuster under his tenure as majority leader, the Kentucky
Republican responded: ‘Correct.'”
GOP Flails On Healthcare
No
healthcare deal. Politico: “….conservative and moderate Republicans met and
realized they had two very different understandings of the changes sought by top
Trump officials … Conservatives in the House Freedom Caucus say Vice President
Mike Pence, chief of staff Reince Priebus and budget director Mick Mulvaney
sought to win their votes by offering a repeal of major Obamacare regulations
during a Monday night meeting. But moderates who met with the same Trump
officials hours before were told the changes wouldn’t be as far-reaching …
leaving Hill insiders speculating whether the White House offered two different
potential deals — or lawmakers selectively heard what they wanted.”
Majority
approve of ACA. Gallup: ” Fifty-five percent of Americans now support the
Affordable Care Act (ACA), a major turnaround from five months ago when 42%
approved and 53% disapproved. This is the first time a majority of Americans
have approved of the healthcare law, also known as Obamacare, since Gallup first
asked about it in this format in November 2012.”
WH Shoots Down Carbon Tax
Carbon
tax, VAT floated and shot down. The Hill: “The denial [by a WH spokeswoman]
… came hours after the Washington Post reported [that] Trump aides were
considering both tax proposals in place of a border-adjustable tax that is
running into significant Republican and business opposition.”
Coal
companies tell Trump to keep Paris pact. Reuters: “Remaining in the global
deal to combat climate change will give U.S. negotiators a chance to advocate
for coal in the future of the global energy mix, coal companies like Cloud Peak
Energy Inc and Peabody Energy Corp told White House officials over the past few
weeks … The coal industry was interested in ensuring that the Paris deal
provides a role for low-emission coal-fired power plants and financial support
for carbon capture and storage technology”
Freedom Caucus Aims To Shape Tax Deal
Freedom
Caucus warns GOP leadership about tax reform. Politico: “The head of the
ultra-conservative group said Monday evening that lawmakers need to see the
draft of a tax overhaul bill before it’s leaked to the media — which is what
happened on the health care repeal bill. That measure failed in large part
because it was written by leadership, and Freedom Caucus members felt they had
no input.”
Dems
set markers for avoiding shutdown. The Hill: “Among the nonstarters are any
attempts to block funds for ObamaCare implementation or environmental
protection. Democrats will oppose language that halts Obama-era rules regarding
overtime pay and retirement advice provided by financial advisers, as well as
legislation that increases funding for the Pentagon while cutting domestic
discretionary spending … The House Appropriations Committee is expected to
release a spending package the week of the [April 28] deadline…”
Breakfast Sides
Rep.
Pramila Jayapal makes case for the College for All Act in The Nation: “The
bill creates a federal-state partnership where the federal government provides
2/3 of the cost of free tuition for all students and the state provides 1/3. We
do this for families earning up to $125,000/year—which covers about 80 percent
of students … our plan also recognizes the unaffordability of non-tuition
costs—fees, books, housing—and allows for those who receive maximum Pell Grant
awards to use those awards to cover those expenses. We include tribal and
historically black colleges and minority serving institutions because we know
how important these institutions are to educational equity. And all students,
regardless of income, who want to attend a two-year community college would do
so completely tuition and fee-free.”
American
Propsect’s Harold Meyerson questions the GOP strategy of attacking social
programs: “For decades, Republicans have attacked Democratic efforts to
expand or merely defend social insurance by depicting such insurance as
benefiting presumably shiftless minorities at the expense of white workers who
weren’t all that prosperous themselves … What they didn’t factor in was the
downward mobility of the white working class…”
Progressive
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