Visual Source: Newseum
Happy July 4, everyone.
EJ Dionne on July 4:
Only divisions this deep can explain why we are taking risks with our country’s future that we’re usually wise enough to avoid. Arguments over how much government should tax and spend are the very stuff of democracy’s give-and-take. Now, the debate is shadowed by worries that if a willful faction does not get what it wants, it might bring the nation to default.
This is, well, crazy. It makes sense only if politicians believe — or have convinced themselves — that they are fighting over matters of principle so profound that any means to defeat their opponents is defensible...
“The federal government was created by the states to be an agent for the states, not the other way around,” Gov. Rick Perry of Texas said recently.
No, our Constitution begins with the words “We the People” not “We the States.” The Constitution’s Preamble speaks of promoting “a more perfect Union,” “Justice,” “the common defense,” “the general Welfare” and “the Blessings of Liberty.” These were national goals.
They are fighting over power, not principles. "Principles" is their cover story.
Amy Myers Jaffe:
The release of oil from the system last week was aimed to remove the fear factor out of the oil market and thereby both protect the stability of the global economy and additionally ensure that oil producers are discouraged from taking undue advantage of market instability and uncertainty.
We believe this aim is in line with the original spirit of the creation of the reserve and is sound policy. The release, while small, signals the market that this administration and our European allies are ready and willing to deal with any future disruptions, a signal that should keep rampant speculation at bay.
NY Times:
The Defense of Marriage Act remains on the books. Any Congress with a real respect for personal freedom would repeal it.
AP:
Authorities struggled Sunday to gauge the environmental and crop damage from tens of thousands of gallons of oil that spilled into the legendary Yellowstone River, as Montana's governor criticized Exxon Mobil for downplaying the possible scope of the disaster.
Drill, baby, drill.
Roll Call in a story primarily about PPP:
Pollster Scott Rasmussen told Roll Call that his firm will probably start polling Senate races this fall when the political climate starts to settle and the presidential race becomes more defined.
“Until we get past the Iowa State Fair, political analysis is worthless,” Rasmussen said about the mid-August event. Rasmussen, who admitted he was exaggerating a bit, also downplayed the concept of shaping narratives.
But with a hungry media eager to eat up any and all polls, surveys conducted by PPP, Rasmussen and others inevitably make their way into political story lines.
That can create headaches for party strategists, who doubt those public polls will ultimately persuade or dissuade serious potential candidates from entering or exiting a race. Party strategists on both sides of the aisle will always rely on surveys they pay for by firms they trust.
“You’d have to be high to make decisions based on either of those firms,” Jesmer said, referring to PPP and Rasmussen.
Colin McEnroe on the CT budget crisis:
While the conservative union elements railed about Sustinet and "Obamacare," the liberal elements tried to play middle-class voters off against Wall Street (they caused it!) and the super-rich (they weren't taxed enough!). These may be interesting angles but not right now. Most of Connecticut's voters do not work on Wall Street not are they super-rich. Most of them have lived through three years of economic hardship. They have lost jobs. They have been handed drastic pay cuts. Not furlough days, like state workers. Pay cuts. You work just as many days for less money...
The majority of state employees understood the preceding. They voted for the concessions. The minority who killed them have opened up a world of pain for everybody. There will be layoffs right away. In the long term, there will be an increased public appetite for politicians who play hardball. Malloy's survival may depend on his ability to be more of a Walker or a Christie. The next governor may be a clone of one of those guys. I'm a registered Democrat, and I'm pretty disgusted with what appears to be a never ending hog trough for many non-union and union employees. I wouldn't vote for a governor who didn't promise to get rid of longevity pay and the use of overtime to pad pension eligibility.
A commonly shared sentiment in Connecticut. There's no sympathy for some of these provisions, but remember, most union members voted to get rid of them.
Paul Krugman:
Nonetheless, trickle-down is clearly on the ascendant — and even some Democrats are buying into it. What am I talking about? Consider first the arguments Republicans are using to defend outrageous tax loopholes. How can people simultaneously demand savage cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and defend special tax breaks favoring hedge fund managers and owners of corporate jets?
Well, here’s what a spokesman for Eric Cantor, the House majority leader, told Greg Sargent of The Washington Post: “You can’t help the wage earner by taxing the wage payer offering a job.” He went on to imply, disingenuously, that the tax breaks at issue mainly help small businesses (they’re actually mainly for big corporations). But the basic argument was that anything that leaves more money in the hands of corporations will mean more jobs. That is, it’s pure trickle-down.
What should be a commonly held sentiment.
Added Frank Rich:
What haunts the Obama administration is what still haunts the country: the stunning lack of accountability for the greed and misdeeds that brought America to its gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression. There has been no legal, moral, or financial reckoning for the most powerful wrongdoers. Nor have there been meaningful reforms that might prevent a repeat catastrophe. Time may heal most wounds, but not these. Chronic unemployment remains a constant, painful reminder of the havoc inflicted on the bust’s innocent victims. As the ghost of Hamlet’s father might have it, America will be stalked by its foul and unresolved crimes until they “are burnt and purged away.”
h/t
bobswern for finding Rich online.