Progressive Breakfast: Warmongers – Beyond Giuliani's Bile, The Real Threat

MORNING MESSAGE

Giuliani’s impugning of the president’s patriotism was cankerous, but his bellicose assault on Obama’s foreign policy is part of a growing war hysteria that is far more dangerous. It is far past time for more sensible voices to be heard. This is a time for the U.S. to address its real security needs, not to lurch mindlessly into more wars abroad. We need to focus on rebuilding our economy at home, not policing the world. We need to lead by example, not by force. We must learn that the U.S. military cannot and should not be the answer to every horror and every civil war in the world. Progressives who have been eerily absent from this debate must find their voice.

Republicans Governors Consider Taxes

Some Republican governors pushing tax hikes to balance budgets. Bloomberg: “Governors in about 10 states, many led by Republicans, are proposing increases this year … Several plans involve raising fuel taxes to pay for crumbling roads and bridges, while Republicans including John Kasich in Ohio and Maine’s Paul LePage want higher sales or other levies to offset income-tax cuts. The burden of such taxes falls more heavily on the poor … In Nevada, two-term Republican Governor Brian Sandoval has proposed $1.1 billion in new or continued business, tobacco and other taxes to pay for education and initiatives such as expanding full-day kindergarten.”
“Most Americans Say the Rich Aren’t Taxed Enough” finds AP poll: “…more than two-thirds of Americans think the wealthy pay too little in federal dues [but] 56% of respondents think their own federal taxes are too steep … A bid to raise capital gains taxes on households with incomes greater than $500,000 saw support at 56%, while only 16% opposed it. And a new tax on banks was supported by 47%, while only 13% opposed it. The estate tax did not fare as well…”
Tax cuts won’t help middle-class, argues EPI’s Larry Mishel, in NYT oped: “…a one-time reduction in taxes through, say, expanded child care credits or a secondary earner tax break, as Democrats propose, could help families. But as wages continue to stagnate, it is impossible to continuously cut taxes and still pay for things like education and social programs for the growing population of older Americans … the key is to make raising wages the central focus of economic policy making and to reverse decades of decisions that have undercut wage growth.”
Neither will independent contracting, says Robert Reich: “The rise of ‘independent contractors’ is the most significant legal trend in the American workforce — contributing directly to low pay, irregular hours, and job insecurity … But are they really ‘independent’? … FedEx doesn’t tell its drivers what hours to work, but it tells them what packages to deliver and organizes their workloads to ensure they work between 9.5 and 11 hours every working day. If this isn’t ‘employment,’ I don’t know what the word means.”
Education proposals no cure-all, says NYT’s Paul Krugman: “…soaring inequality isn’t about education; it’s about power … there’s no evidence that a skills gap is holding back employment … if businesses were desperate for workers with certain skills, they would presumably be offering premium wages to attract such workers … As for wages and salaries, never mind college degrees — all the big gains are going to a tiny group of individuals holding strategic positions in corporate suites…”
Gov. Scott Walker has won his war on unions. W. Post: “…the once-thriving ­public-sector unions were not just shrunken — they were crippled … The state branch of the National Education Association, once 100,000 strong, has seen its membership drop by a third. The American Federation of Teachers, which organized in the college system, saw a 50 percent decline. The 70,000-person membership in the state employees union has fallen by 70 percent.”

Backlash Against Greek Government

Temporary Greek bailout deal sparks backlash. NYT: “Greek leaders scrambled on Sunday to come up with a list of proposed changes to the nation’s austerity program that would be acceptable to their creditors by a Monday deadline, even as they faced a revolt by members of their own radical-left party, angered that the government had bent to demands by Brussels … The sole concession to Athens was to allow it to propose changes to the requirements agreed to with creditors by the previous Greek governments, in effect allowing Athens to change the shape of its obligations, not reduce them.”
“Alexis Tsipras must keep his nerve” argues Reuters’ Hugo Dixon: “Mr. Tsipras now has to present his own list of reforms by Monday evening. He must resist any temptation to come up with half-hearted proposals that might appease his extremist colleagues. Instead, Athens should propose radical reforms that the previous conservative-led government was too conflicted to embrace. It should surprise its eurozone partners with its zeal and so help restore their trust.”

Obama, Warren Join Forces On Retirement

Obama and Sen. Warren team up on regulating retirement advisers. Roll Call: “President Barack Obama will be making a public push to strengthen the regulation of financial advisers who provide advice about saving for retirement. The two Senate Democrats with perhaps the most star power, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, will join the president for the rollout of the proposal at an event hosted by the AARP.”

Five Days Until Homeland Security Shutdown

Republicans have five days to figure out how to fund Homeland Security. The Hill: “The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday evening for the fourth time on a motion to open debate on the House-passed DHS funding bill. The motion will certainly fail, leaving a decision on what comes next to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) … Boehner could lay out his next play when the House GOP conference meets on Wednesday morning, which would leave him just 72 hours to prevent a shutdown. One option being floated is a short-term spending bill known as a continuing resolution (CR), but it is not clear whether this would pass muster.”
Senate Republicans point to court ruling, to turn House away from shutdown. W. Post: “‘Now we have the perfect reason to not shut it down because the courts have decided, at least initially, in our favor,’ Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said last week … But despite McCain’s enthusiasm for funding Homeland Security at this point, it remains unclear whether the far-right will agree.”

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