MORNING MESSAGE
Obamacare's Biggest Problem is Profit, Not Government
It’s
true: the Affordable Care Act is having problems. But Republicans who say those
problems are caused by “big government” have it exactly backward. Obamacare’s
current difficulties are grounded in our country’s political fetishization of
the private sector – a fad that began in the Republican Party, but has
unfortunately spread to much of the Democratic establishment. Government isn’t
the problem here. It’s the solution.
RACE HOLDS STEADY
Politico
poll shows no change: “Hillary Clinton has a slim three-point lead over
Donald Trump one week before Election Day, according to a new POLITICO/Morning
Consult poll conducted entirely after FBI Director James Comey announced the
discovery of new emails … there is not yet evidence that the revelations have
drastically altered the contours of the election … 33 percent it made them much
less likely to vote for Clinton. But most of those voters are already aligned
against Clinton”
Unions
try to win white working-class votes for Clinton. American Prospect’s Justin
Miller: “…organizers have adopted ‘deep canvassing’ methods that have had
some success getting voters to explain their reasoning and then conducting a
conversation that may persuade them to shift their perspective. If Clinton does
pull off a win in Ohio … it will largely be due to efforts like those that
slowly make inroads in the most frustrated white communities.”
STATES SQUEEZE INFRASTRUCTURE
“Slowdown
in State, Local Investment Dents U.S. Economy” reports WSJ: “Such government
austerity is unusual in the eighth year of an economic expansion, and it is
acting as a headwind just as the worst effects of the energy-industry bust, a
strong dollar and inventory drawdown are fading. State and local governments
spent an annualized $248.47 billion on construction in August—the least since
March 2014 and down nearly 11% from its recent peak in mid-2015. The decline
depressed gross domestic product growth this spring and was on track to weigh on
growth again in the third quarter.”
American
Prospect’s Gabrielle Gurley asks “Can We Finally Think Big?” on
infrastructure: “… neither Clinton’s five-year, $275 billion plan nor
Trump’s ‘at least double her numbers’ calculation begin to address the trillions
needed in leaky pipes, corroded tracks, decrepit trains, and faulty wiring, much
less 21st-century smart grids, protections against sea-level rise, and
innovative green investments … Launching transformative infrastructure
investments begins with a philosophical shift that reworks attitudes toward
government in order to identify the mechanisms required to unleash the trillions
needed to start that work.”
Bryce
Covert criticizes Hillary Clinton’s spending pledge in NYT oped: “[Clinton
promised,] ‘I am not going to add a penny to the national debt.’ … interest
rates on the country’s debt are incredibly low, hovering around 2 percent. That
means we could borrow more money at a very low cost … New money could be put to
incredibly good use, rebuilding deteriorating roads and bridges or investing in
education.”
FED MEETS, JOBS NUMBERS DUE
Federal
Reserve meets, monthly jobs numbers released, this week. NYT: “Federal
Reserve officials insist that their meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday in
Washington will be like any other Fed meeting … the politics are fraught, and
even proponents of a rate increase have said they do not see much difference in
waiting a few more weeks … On Friday, the Labor Department is scheduled to
release its report on the nation’s hiring and unemployment for October. This
snapshot of the economy will be the last before Americans go to the polls on
Election Day…”
Fed
not expected to raise interest rates, but could soon with more inflation.
WSJ: “…inflation is gradually coming back to life … it’s still below the 2%
level the Federal Reserve targets, one reason the Fed is almost certain to leave
interest rates unchanged when it meets this week. But economic circumstances and
attitudes of policy makers have shifted in the past year in ways that suggest
the likeliest path of inflation is up, not down.”
Economic
growth still not reducing inequality, says NYT’s Eduardo Porter: “Despite
last year’s gains, the bottom 60 percent of households took a smaller share of
the income pie than four decades ago … Whether it is life expectancy or infant
mortality, incarceration or educational attainment, countless statistics offer a
fairly dark picture of the American experience … America’s rich are richer than
the rich almost anywhere else. Its poor are still poorer than the poor of its
peers in the developed world.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
A
revamped trade policy needs to go beyond stopping “corporate capture” says W.
Post’s Jared Bernstein: “All global income must be saved (by households,
governments or businesses) or spent (consumed or invested) … they’re exporting
savings and importing the demand for manufactured goods from other countries,
notably the United States … putting issues of excess savings back into the trade
policy agenda, we would be taking a step in favor of healthier, more equitable
globalization.”
“Will
Democrats Nuke the Filibuster?” asks TNR’s David Sarasohn: “…banning it on
Supreme Court nominations would be the hydrogen bomb. But that may be necessary
next year … [Said Sen. Jeff Merkley,] ‘If there’s deep abuse, we’re going to
have to consider rules changes.’ … The expected incoming Democratic leader of
the Senate, Charles Schumer of New York, has carefully said nothing about
further changes. But he said in September, ‘A progressive majority on the
Supreme Court is an imperative, and if I become majority leader, I will make it
happen. I will make it happen.'”
Progressive
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