Teachers, End of Medicaid and Wisconsin

Over 100,000 Rally in Madison; Thousands Join Nationwide Protests

Over 100,000 people rallied in Madison on Saturday against Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s effort to remove the collective bargaining rights of most public-sector workers. It was the largest demonstration Madison has seen since the Vietnam War. Tens of thousands of people marched in solidarity protests nationwide. In New York City, thousands gathered for a "Save the American Dream" rally outside City Hall. Crowds drawing several thousand were also reported in cities including Chicago, Columbus, Los Angeles and Denver. In Wisconsin, hundreds of demonstrators defied police orders and slept inside the State Capitol building Sunday night in defiance of Walker’s order to leave. Capitol police decided not to enforce Walker’s edict after hundreds of labor activists, students and supporters insisted on staying put.

Providence School Teachers Warned of Layoffs

Public school teachers in Providence, Rhode Island, have been warned they could lose their jobs this year. The Providence School Board issued the work alert last week, citing a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall. Nearly 2,000 teachers have been told they could be fired.

Governors Push Changes to Medicaid

President Obama is hosting a meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House today amidst a contentious debate over the squeezing of workers’ rights and social services in the name of reducing deficits. At a gathering of the National Governors Association over the weekend, Democratic and Republican leaders agreed to form a committee to explore ways to amend Medicaid. The panel will look at how states can change eligibility rules and other provisions of the insurance program for low-income Americans. Republicans have called for converting Medicaid from an entitlement program to a block grant, similar to how Republicans and former President Bill Clinton altered welfare programs in the 1990s. Among the strongest advocates for that route is Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has just been named the new chair of the National Governors Association’s health and human services panel.

Poll: To Reduce Deficit, Most Americans say Tax the Rich More

As Washington gears up for a fight over federal spending and the national debt, lawmakers may want to consider some new polling figures.

A survey from CBS News' "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair magazine shows that most Americans, given a set limited choices for balancing the national budget, would prefer to see taxes increased for the wealthy.

As many as 61 percent said they would prefer increasing taxes on the rich over three other options: cutting defense spending, cutting Medicare or cutting Social Security. Another 20 percent chose cutting defense spending as the best option. Just 4 percent said they would cut Medicare, and just 3 percent said they would cut Social Security.

Rep. Issa to Big Business: What Regulations Should GOP Fight?

In news from Capitol Hill, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) has asked the oil industry, drug manufacturers, healthcare providers and telecom firms to tell him which government regulations he should target this year as the new chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. According to Politico, Issa has sent letters to more than 150 trade associations, companies and think tanks last month requesting a list of existing and proposed regulations that would harm job growth. At least two recipients of Issa’s letter — the National Association of Manufacturers and the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association — complained about new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards for greenhouse gas emissions for major polluters that went into effect Sunday.

Deficits: Real Issue, Phony Debates

Deficits have now risen, yet again, to headline status. Conservatives inside and to the right of the Republican Party frame the national debates by attacking deficits. They want to reduce them by cutting government spending. Liberals respond, as usual, by insisting that overcoming the crisis requires big government spending (“stimulus”) and hence big deficits. Most Americans watch the politicians' conflicts with mixtures of confusion, disinterest, and disdain. Yet deficits pose a real issue for everyone, one that the debates among politicians and their economist advisors miss, ignore, or hide.

When the federal government raises less in taxes and other revenues than it spends, it must borrow the difference. Such annual borrowing is each year's deficit. The U.S. Treasury borrows that money by selling bonds, federal IOUs, to the lenders. The accumulation of annual deficits comprises the national debt, the total of outstanding U.S. treasury bonds. So the first and simplest questions about deficits are (1) why does the federal government choose to borrow rather than to raise taxes? and (2) why does it borrow rather than cut its expenditures? The twin answers are profoundly political. Elected officials are afraid to raise taxes on business and the rich because their profits and great personal wealth can then finance the defeat of officials who do that. Cutting government spending that benefits business and the rich is avoided for the same reason. As the tax burden shifted increasingly onto middle- and lower-income people in recent decades, elected officials have faced rising tax revolts coupled with demands for more government services and supports.