Progressive Breakfast: Yes, Glass-Steagall Matters. Here Are 5 Reasons Why.

MORNING MESSAGE

Bernie Sanders wants to implement a new version of the law, which was repealed in 1999 after having been in effect for more than 75 years. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, is not calling for its reinstatement. Sen. Sanders is right. Here are five reasons why it is important to reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act ... Too-big-to-fail banks are bigger, riskier and more ungovernable than ever ... The argument that the absence of Glass-Steagall didn’t cause the 2008 financial crisis is wrong ...

Clinton Tries To Tamp Down Fundraiser Fallout

Clinton campaign recasts 9/11 comment. WSJ: “Asked about her 9/11 remarks, Press Secretary Brian Fallon said that she was offering one explanation for why she worked on Wall Street’s behalf … ‘To suggest that she of all people would politicize 9/11 is an outrageous notion.'”
Teachers’ union president defends Clinton on charter schools. NYT: “‘You can be pro-charter and still be critical of things that charters ought not to be doing,’ Ms. Weingarten said, pointing to instances of fraud and abuse in the charter school system that have been written about in places like Chicago and in Miami … Mrs. Clinton made waves when she sounded a critical note about charter schools at a forum …”
Clinton criticizes Sanders on taxes. Politico: “‘Bernie Sanders has called for a roughly 9-percent tax hike on middle-class families just to cover his health-care plan,’ said Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon, referring to legislation Sanders introduced in 2013 … Sanders introduced a single-payer healthcare bill in 2013 that included a 2.2 percent income tax across the board, as well as a 6.7 percent payroll tax for employers … Sanders camp has argued in response that in the long run, the single-payer system will save the country trillions of currently wasted dollars.”

Highway Fund Extended

House passes two-week highway trust fund extension. The Hill: “The measure would extend federal transportation spending … until Dec. 4. The Senate is expected to quickly take the patch up at the end of this week … The temporary highway bill does not include any new money because lawmakers included enough road funding in the three-month transportation bill that was approved in July to last until the end of the year…”
NYT edit board rejects “inadequate transportation bills”: “…Anthony Foxx, the transportation secretary, said that the government must spend $400 billion over the next six years just to maintain the current transportation system; to improve the system would take an additional $78 billion. Yet the House passed a bill this month that budgets only $325 billion for six years…”

GOP Conflicted On Coal

Republicans move away from pro-coal rhetoric. The Hill: “GOP candidates instead are calling for an increase to oil and natural gas production while they promise to roll back Obama’s regulations … Talking about coal isn’t the best way to appeal to younger voters, say some experts. And while coal is a dominant issue in some states, it’s not seen as a national issue.”
But pro-coal Sen. Mitch McConnell moves to block EPA climate regs. The Hill: “…resolutions could come up for a vote as soon as this week. President Obama is certain to veto anything undoing the climate rules…”

TPP In Trouble?

Will Republicans bail on TPP? The Hill: “Republicans are deeply disappointed with the deal negotiated by Obama’s team, as are many business groups, which have yet to embrace it … The reactions — from lukewarm support to outright hostility — have led many to believe the deal doesn’t have the votes to pass Congress.

Breakfast Sides

Settlement will require for-profit college to forgive student loans. NYT: “…Education Management Corporation will forgive loans to about 80,000 former students nationwide as part of an agreement with state attorneys general resulting from a multiyear investigation of the company’s aggressive recruitment practices. The $102.8 million loan forgiveness program was announced on Monday in Washington along with a separate $95.5 million civil settlement with the Department of Justice…”
New report documents racial discrimination in Baltimore mortgage lending. NYT: “The black population of Baltimore is double that of the white population. Yet in 2013, banks made more than twice as many mortgage loans to whites in the city as they did to blacks … the racial makeup of a neighborhood — and not income, for instance — is the most significant predictor of whether a loan gets made in Baltimore.”

Progressive Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to activists. Progressive Breakfast is a project of the Campaign for America's Future. more »