Happy Thursday folks,
Hopefully everyone is having a fantastic pi day so far.
A concept even more dizzying than pi is President Obama cancelling White House tours as a means to force people to feel the pain of sequester. The move has been deemed unnecessary, and according to an article by Amie Barnes in The Hill, it has “backfired.” Professor Tobe Berkovitz of Boston University said, “Using the tours to send a message seemed like a surefire winner, … I think the White House was expecting everyone to go ‘Oh, this is so horrible!’ but this time it didn’t play, perhaps because it was too overt.”
The sequester showed that spending cuts can occur without the sky falling, so silly moves like the tour cancellations were bound to “backfire.” As the article notes, “nearly two weeks after the sequester was triggered, only a small slice of Americans disapprove of the spending cuts, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll out Wednesday.”
The budget released by the House Budget Committee merely slows the growth of spending over the next decade. If the sequester has shown that mass hysteria will not occur when cuts are implemented, then a reduction in the growth of spending can sound palatable to the American public.
Seize the day,
Mark Bednar
@MarkBednar
Important Things On Tap For Today
12:30 PM: Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs the press.
12:45 PM: President Obama attends the Senate Republican Conference lunch.
2:15 PM: President Obama meets with House Democrats.
Tweet Tweet
@RobertBluey “Beautiful sunrise over D.C. this morning. http://instagr.am/p/W1hG1okOSm/”
@lLoveCoffee “All’s fair in love and war - and coffee. ~Pam Brady, Trey Parker, and Matt Stone, South Park”
@NROcorner “Obamacare, a Bigger Worry Than the Sequester: After the 2016 questions, the Quinnipiac pollsters ask http://bit.ly/150BRsW”
@alexcast “Finally, somebody finds a job in Obama economy. & w/ job security too. God bless #Francis”
@WSJ “U.S. jobless claims fell to 332,000 in latest sign of slow recovery. Economists predicted 350,000. http://on.wsj.com/XL8Npx”
On The Radar
Economic Growth
Stark Choice In Dueling Budget Plans from The Los Angeles Times by Lisa Mascaro. “The sharply divergent budget plans are likely to serve not only as starting points for negotiations, but as central elements in the 2014 midterm election. Republicans are attacking Democratic senators for drafting a budget that does not balance. Democrats are going after the Republican budget, written by Rep. Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, for cutting too deeply into Medicare and programs for the poor while giving tax breaks to the wealthy.”
Obama Treads Carefully On Deficit from The Wall Street Journal by Peter Nicholas. “Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Texas) said that Rep. Dave Camp (R., Mich.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, asked the president to move now on Medicare means-testing and the new inflation calculation, among other measures. According to Mr. Brady, Mr. Camp said, ‘Look, if we agree on baby steps on Medicare and Social Security, why wait, let’s take them now. The president gracefully declined.’ Mr. Camp confirmed the exchange. The administration’s goal, still a remote one, is to move a bill through the Democratic-controlled Senate in hopes of building momentum in the GOP-led House, where a deal would face tougher odds.”
House Lawmakers Pitch Simpler, Stabler Tax System For Small Businesses from The Washington Post by J.D. Harrison. “The legislation would, for instance, create one set of rules for various types of businesses, simplify the code for start-ups, and make permanent a popular-yet-temporary provision for expensing investments in property and equipment. By providing greater long-term clarity and fewer compliance challenges, the changes are meant to give employers more time and resources to spend building their firms and creating jobs.”
Why Paul Ryan’s Budget Matters from The Atlantic by Zachary Karabell. “You may, as I do, disagree with key elements of what Ryan and the Republicans are proposing. You may, as I do, object to the fixation on the size of the current debt without any consideration of why that debt was incurred and how much it currently costs to service it, given historically low interest rates. But Republicans are offering a set of answers, and Ryan for one is asking for those to be addressed so the process of debating and, yes, compromising can begin. No, the president is not required to offer a detailed budget; the power of the purse lies with Congress, not the White House. But a detailed vision, especially one that contrasts with the Republican one, would be welcome and productive.”
No, Printing Money Won’t Solve The United States’ Debt Problem from The Washington Post by Neil Irwin. “But for each of those programs, inflation wouldn’t solve the government’s financial problems. It would make them worse (to put it in the technical language, they are real obligations, not nominal obligations). In other words, if the Fed becomes feckless and allows double-digit inflation to take root, the cost of medical care will rise by double-digits too (or even faster, if the pattern of recent decades holds up).”
Immigration
Immigration Fight Turns Focus To SC from The Hill by Cameron Joseph. “South Carolina is fast becoming ground zero in the fight over immigration reform.
A coalition of pro-reform groups on Wednesday launched a major advertising and grassroots campaign in the state to argue for immigration reform — and to commend Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for his efforts on its behalf.”
Health Care
Insurers Warn Of Sticker Shock Due To Health Care Law’s New Taxes, Requirements As It Expands from The Washington Post by AP. “Some Americans could see their insurance bills double next year as the health care overhaul law expands coverage to millions of people. The nation’s big health insurers say they expect premiums — or the cost for insurance coverage — to rise from 20 to 100 percent for millions of people due to changes that will occur when key provisions of the Affordable Care Act roll out in January 2014.”
‘We’re In An Analytical Mode’: Ohio Weighs The Obamacare Medicaid Expansion from The Washington Post by Sarah Kliff. “Eight Republican governors have endorsed the Medicaid expansion. While that’s necessary for a state to participate in the Obamacare provision, it’s by no means sufficient: State legislatures also need to sign off on expanding the program that, in many situations, is their biggest budget item. In some states, this is moving forward smoothly: North Dakota legislators look set to go along with Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple’s plan to expand Medicaid. New Jersey and Nevada have Democratic-controlled legislatures, so Govs. Chris Christie and Brian Sandoval, respectively, are unlikely to face opposition.”
X-Factor
Israel’s Netanyahu Clinches Coalition Deals from Reuters by Jeffrey Heller. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clinched deals for a coalition government on Thursday reflecting a shift to the center in Israel and a domestic agenda that has shunted peacemaking with Palestinians to the sidelines.”
House GOP Doesn’t Expect Obama Charm Offensive to Last from Roll Call by David M. Drucker. “Memo to President Barack Obama: Next time you decide to charm House Republicans, don’t meet with them on the same day you’re scheduled to headline a fundraiser for your campaign organization turned issue advocacy pressure group.”
This & That
Strasburg Named Nationals’ Opening Day Starter from DCist by Benjamin R. Freed.
Kim K Kicks Back from The New York Post.
Ah, Wilderness! Mountain Man Vs. The Building Inspector from The Wall Street Journal by Valerie Bauerlein.
An Unusual Heavy-Metal Love Story from The New Yorker by Beth Winegarner.
2013 Taste Of The South – Tickets Are On Sale! from Cloture Club.