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Creativity Motivation - What is motivation - Corey K Katir Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K KatirAdvertising From http://www.creativitymotivation.com Orrick to launch City regulatory team with senior in-house duo From legalweek.com legalweek Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is launching a regulatory practice in the City with the hire of two in-house lawyers from London-based liquidity provider Liquid Capital Markets (LCM). The US firm is set to bring in LCM’s head of legal, Sam Millar, and fellow legal counsel Tony Katz as partners next month. Millar initially joined LCM from Jones Day in 2008, with Katz following in 2009 from the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
legalweek Legal Week has unveiled the judging panel for its debut awards for senior in-house lawyers working in the Middle East, which will be held in Dubai on 17 May this year. The deadline for entries is 15 March.
Norton Rose partner quits Abu Dhabi base for Standard Chartered amid spate of exits From legalweek.com legalweek Norton Rose has lost another Middle East partner, with Abu Dhabi corporate finance specialist Patrick Watson-Thorp leaving the firm to take a senior in-house role at Standard Chartered. Watson-Thorp is joining the financial services company as co-head of lending and finance for wholesale banking legal across the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan.
Wonkbook: The Fed's long national nightmare is finally over From feeds.washingtonpost Are you sitting down? Because you're not going to believe this. The Senate actually got something done yesterday. Something big! They confirmed both Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. That means, for the first time since 2006, there are no vacancies on the Fed's Board.
The next question is whether Stein and Powell will exert any influence on the Fed, and if so, in what direction. That remains to be seen. Right now, the Federal Reserve seems in the unusual position of admitting that it has missed terribly on its mandate to maintain full employment, swearing that there is more it can do if need be, and yet not doing anything more. Given events in Europe, though, they may not be able to resist escalating for very much longer. Wonkbook dashboard: RCP Obama approval: 48.4%; 7-day change: +1.0%. Want Wonkbook delivered to your inbox or mobile device?A Subscribe! Top stories 1) The Senate confirmed two nominees to the Fed's Board of Governors. "The Senate on Thursday confirmed two nominees chosen by President Obama for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, overcoming Republican objections and bringing the seven-member board to full strength for the first time since 2006, before the economic crisis. The Harvard economist Jeremy C. Stein and the investment banker and lawyer Jerome H. Powell were confirmed easily after a morning of debate. The vote for Mr. Stein was 70 to 24, and for Mr. Powell, 74 to 21. Neither has widely known views on the central policy questions facing the Fed: whether to take more action to reduce unemployment or whether the economy is already at risk of a dangerous acceleration of inflation. For months, Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican and a member of the Banking Committee, held up the nominations." John Cushman Jr. in The New York Times. @philizzo: Senate only took six months to confirm two completely uncontroversial Fed nominees that represented both parties. Hooray? @justinwolfers: I doubt anyone knows where Powell & Stein are on the hawk/dove spectrum. But both are smart & neither is doctrinaire, which is a good start. 2) The U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels. "The United States on Thursday announced the imposition of antidumping tariffs of more than 31 percent on solar panels from China. The move by the Commerce Department is certain to infuriate Chinese officials already upset after recent bilateral frictions over Chinaas human rights policies and its increasingly confrontational approach toward American allies like the Philippines and Japan. The antidumping decision is among the biggest in American history, covering one of the largest and fastest-growing categories of imports from China, the worldas largest exporter. The department said the United States bought $3.1 billion worth of Chinese solar cells last year, giving China more than half the American market for the devices. Many solar panel installers in the United States have opposed tariffs on Chinese panels, contending that inexpensive imports have helped spur many homeowners and businesses to put solar panels on their rooftops." Keith Bradsher and Diane Cardwell in The New York Times. @drgrist: Let's get this straight: we're subsidizing coal-industry exports to China and taxing solar-power imports from China? That about right? 3) House Republicans want tax reform in 2013. "As part of a year-end budget deal, House Republicans are urging adoption of 'fast-track procedures' to force lawmakers to complete a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 2013...'There is strong support to use the expiration of the [Bush tax cuts] as leverage to force action in 2013 on comprehensive tax reform,' Camp told the Federal Policy Groupas annual tax seminar. 'How? Simple: In addition to extending current low-tax policies originally enacted in 2001 and 2003, we should enact fast-track procedures to compel comprehensive tax reform next year.' Camp said he is mulling what form those procedures might take. He and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who endorsed the idea this week, made comparisons to the process by which lawmakers adopt trade agreements negotiated with other nations. Under that system, Congress has 90 days to reject or approve a pact in its entirety without amendment." Lori Montgomery in The Washington Post. 4) The Postal Service will begin the first phase of its cost-cutting plan. "The United States Postal Service announced Thursday that it would begin consolidating 48 mail processing centers beginning in July, the first phase of a cost-cutting plan that is intended to save the agency nearly $1.2 billion a year as it tries to adjust to declining mail volume. The agency said it would consolidate an additional 92 processing centers in February, and 89 more in early 2014. In all, the Postal Service said it would close 229 processing centers -- about half of the total -- and it expects to save about $2.1 billion a year after the plan is fully carried out in 2014. About 5,000 workers will be immediately affected by the consolidations, the agency said, though it was unclear if they would be reassigned or given incentives to retire. About 13,000 employees will be affected once the first phase is completed by February. A total of 28,000 positions will be eliminated by 2014." Ron Nixon in The New York Times. 5) Differing approaches to growth will dominate the G8 summit. "There are 4,169 miles between Berlin and Washington. But on economic policy, the two capitals sometimes appear to be on different planets...Chancellor Angela Merkel, her advisers and even much of the German opposition see Europeas problems in starkly different terms than the Obama administration does. Merkelas impulse -- to fight debt at all costs to boost investor confidence -- has been at the core of Europeas crisis response, because industrial powerhouse Germany has been calling the shots. But she has come under heavy criticism from Americans who say her efforts are misplaced. The differing approaches have gained renewed urgency as the crisis flares again in the euro zone, and Europeas response will probably dominate discussions Friday at the Group of Eight summit at Camp David." Michael Birnbaum in The Washington Post. Top op-eds 2) KRUGMAN: The euro's fate doesn't look bright. "Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro -- that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union -- could come apart at the seams. Weare not talking about a distant prospect, either. Things could fall apart with stunning speed, in a matter of months, not years. And the costs -- both economic and, arguably even more important, political -- could be huge. This doesnat have to happen; the euro (or at least most of it) could still be saved. But this will require that European leaders, especially in Germany and at the European Central Bank, start acting very differently from the way theyave acted these past few years. They need to stop moralizing and deal with reality; they need to stop temporizing and, for once, get ahead of the curve. I wish I could say that I was optimistic...All of us, then, have a big stake in European success -- yet itas up to the Europeans themselves to deliver that success. The whole world is waiting to see whether theyare up to the task." Paul Krugman in The New York Times. 3) WOLF: If Greece leaves the eurozone the results would be devastating. "The irritation of the eurozone with Greece is at extreme levels. After all, 80 per cent of Greeks say they are in favour of staying in the euro, but then they fail to elect politicians prepared to implement the agreed programme. This drives creditors crazy. Increasingly, the latter are inclined to accept Greek exit, even welcome it. But they should be careful what they wish for. A departure would create severe dangers. The danger of contagion is obvious. The long-run danger is more subtle. But the eurozone either is an irrevocable currency union or it is not. If countries in difficulty leave, it is not. It is then an exceptionally rigid fixed-currency system. That would have two dire results: people would not trust in its survival and the economic benefits of the single currency would largely disappear. These perils are not of concern to the eurozone alone...The risk that a bigger eurozone upheaval would cause a global crisis is real." Martin Wolf in The Financial Times. 4) PEARLSTEIN: The choice is more complicated than austerity or growth. "Fiscal austerity or economic growth? Although itas not officially on the agenda, that question will dominate the discussions this weekend as political leaders of the worldas largest economies assemble at Camp David...The argument for belt-tightening austerity is that government debt in many countries has climbed so high that it threatens to create a vicious spiral: Higher interest rates beget recessions, which in turn lower government tax revenues and lead lenders to demand even higher interest rates. The inevitable result is default and depression...Where the problem comes in is that too much austerity imposed too quickly risks causing another, similar downward spiral. In this deflationary spiral, overly aggressive tax increases and budget cuts lead to sharp increases in unemployment and decreases in spending and investment, causing tax revenues to fall so much that budget deficits actually go up." Steven Pearlstein in The Washington Post. 5) GAYER AND SWAGEL: Principal reductions won't fix the housing market. "Edward DeMarco, the temporary director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, continues to endure blistering criticism for refusing to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay for large-scale principal reductions for underwater borrowers (those who owe more than their homes are worth) or to facilitate refinancings for those stuck with high interest rate mortgages. The embattled regulator says he is merely trying to prevent Fannie and Freddie from adding to the more than $190 billion in losses that taxpayers have covered since September 2008...House Democrats have accused him of hiding data purportedly proving that principal reductions would save money and reduce foreclosures...Beating up DeMarco may prove cathartic for policy makers looking to assign blame for economic doldrums. The proposed remedy, however -- having taxpayers pay for principal writedowns and mass refinancings -- would do little to solve the nationas housing woes." Ted Gayer and Phillip Swagel in Bloomberg. Top long reads Baroque pop interlude: Rufus Wainwright plays "Out of the Game" live on WFUV. Got tips, additions, or comments? E-mail me. Still to come: Jobless claims didn't move; negotiators need to decide on a drug tracking system; House Democrats want to make voting easier; it isn't looking like Keystone XL will be in the highway bill; and a baby just wants to melt your heart by hugging every single goat. Economy Jobless claims held steady. "First-time claims for US unemployment insurance held steady at 370,000 last week, tempering some of the recent positive sentiment surrounding the jobs market. Initial claims for jobless benefits in the week ending May 12 remained unchanged from the previous weekas upwardly revised figure of 370,000, according to the US labour department. Claims in the week of May 5 had originally been reported at 367,000...The four-week moving average, which smooths out seasonal factors, stood at 375,000, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous weekas revised average of 379,750...The number of people who continued to receive jobless benefits rose by 18,000 in the week ended May 5 to 3.27m. Aside from last week they are at the lowest level since July 2008...The initial jobless claims data are a reflection of weekly firings and tend to fall as job growth picks up." Anjli Raval in The Financial Times. Jamie Dimon will testify before the Senate. "JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon will be called to testify before the Senate Banking Committee in the coming weeks, the panelas chairman announced Thursday -- and Dimon plans to accept. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) said Dimon - whose firm has been under intense scrutiny after the billions of trading losses it sustained - will be invited to speak before his committee after it holds a pair of hearings on Wall Street oversight...Dimon will agree to appear before the panel, a company spokeswoman said...Johnson said his staff, as well as staffers for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the banking panel, have held briefings with regulators and with JPMorgan in the past week. No date was given for the hearing with Dimon. The two hearings that will be held before the CEOas appearance will be on May 22 and June 6 and will feature officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Reserve and other agencies." Seung Min Kim in Politico. The SEC is under fire for allowing settlements without admission of wrongdoing. "The Securities and Exchange Commission, which polices corporations, can usually count on support from Democrats and a rougher reception from Republicans. But, on Thursday, the agency found an issue on which its traditional friends are its critics and its traditional critics are its friends. At a House hearing, Republican lawmakers defended the agency against complaints that it lets wrongdoers off the hook too easily when it routinely allows them to settle charges without admitting wrongdoing. Democrats said they were worried that such settlements could send the wrong message, allowing corporations to treat SEC enforcement actions as just another cost of doing business. The issue has become a flash point in the debate over who is to blame for the financial crisis and whether the wrongdoers are being held accountable." David Hilzenrath in The Washington Post. Some GOP freshmen are bucking the 'no new taxes' pledge. "A small but increasingly vocal group of freshman Republicans are publicly rejecting the idea they are beholden to Grover Norquistas Americans for Tax Reform pledge for their entire congressional careers. One such member, Scott Rigell of Virginia, has openly rejected the pledge, explaining on his website that it would prevent Congress in some cases from eliminating corporate loopholes or government subsidies because those changes would have to be revenue-neutral. The math, he said, just doesnat make sense...The tax pledge has long been a litmus test for any conservative who wants to be taken seriously in a Republican primary. That some newcomers are repudiating it lends support to critics who argue the document is more valuable as a campaign tool than a guidepost for governing. Norquist insists heas not bothered by any hedging on the part of the freshmen...But the slip in devotion, however slight, is notable considering how strong a hold the pledge has had over the GOP." Kate Nocera in Politico. Two Senators are pushing a bill to tax the capital gains of expatriates. "Two Senate Democrats proposed a law Thursday to set a 30 percent capital gains tax rate for expatriates on all future investment gains in the wake of reports that Facebookas Eduardo Saverin renounced his American citizenship to skirt taxes on his IPO haul...The move means Saverin is subject to so-called exit taxes in the United States on some of the earlier value of his Facebook holdings, but it will be much less than he would have paid if he remained an American citizen once Facebook had gone public. If Schumer and Casey have their way, though, Saverin and others who have done similarly in the past wouldn't escape so easily. The two Democrats unveiled a bill called the Ex-PATRIOT Act, or the 'Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy' Act...If it does pass, it would require Saverin and others who renounce citizenship to pay taxes at a 30 percent rate on any U.S. investment." Tony Romm in Politico. Legos are excellent interlude: How legos became art. Health Care Some conservatives are protesting the House GOP's Obamacare replacement plan. "Thirty minutes. Thatas the roughly time it took for conservatives to jump all over Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his leadership team after the GOPas game plan for dealing with President Barack Obamaas health care law leaked to the media. Their gripe? Republicans would try to replicate popular parts of Obamaas health care law if the Supreme Court overturns the law this summer. Rather than sending out news releases or rushing to cable TV for a rant, conservatives blasted House Republican leadership on a private Google email group called The Repeal Coalition. The group is chock- full of think tank types, some Republican leadership staffers, health care policy staffers and conservative activists, according to sources in the group. The behind-the-scenes fight among Republicans richly illustrates why House GOP leadership is so cautious, sensitive and calculating when it comes to dealing with the conservative right." Jake Sherman in Politico. @sam_baker: How many times do we need to explain to the world that making insurers cover everyone is very much tied to the mandate? Domestic Policy House Democrats introduced legislation to making voting easier. "House Democratic leaders on Thursday introduced legislation to streamline Americans' trips to the polls. The bill is a response to a slew of recent state legislation - some proposed, some already law - setting stricter standards for voters to register or cast a ballot. Supporters of those state efforts -- including new picture ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements - say they're necessary to weed out ineligible voters and maintain the integrity of elections. But critics contend they're designed to suppress eligible voters, particularly minorities and low-income Americans who tend to vote Democratic...At issue are a growing list of state laws recently enacted - usually by Republican lawmakers - in the name of preventing voter fraud. Since the start of 2011, at least 14 states have passed - or are about to pass - new voting restrictions that will affect this year's presidential election...Eight states have passed new photo ID laws - quadrupling the number before 2011." Mike Lillis in The Hill. Interspecies friendship interlude: A baby hugs and rests his head on all the goats.. Energy @MarkLeibovich: After string of sub-par Starbucks experiences, calling for rise in Cafe Standards.... Wonkbook is compiled and produced with help from Karl Singer and Michelle Williams. Wonkbook: Of course Boehner wants another debt-ceiling showdown From feeds.washingtonpost "We shouldnat dread the debt limit," said Speaker John Boehner at the Peter G. Peterson Fiscal Summit. "We should welcome it. Itas an action-forcing event in a town that has become infamous for inaction."
Of course he will. For one thing, it worked well for him in 2011. Republicans got more than $900 billion in immediate spending cuts, as well as $1.2 trillion in triggered spending cuts -- though they don't much like the $500 billion or so of those cuts scheduled to fall on the Pentagon. They also drove President Obama's approval ratings beneath 40 percent. And while I'm not one who thinks Republicans intentionally tank the economy to undermine Obama, there's little doubt that the effect of the debt-ceiling debacle was to set back the recovery, brightening Republican prospects and darkening Democratic ones. The fact is that it's easier to be sanguine about economic showdowns when you're not the ones in charge. For another, it's Boehner's only option in 2012. The Democrats, for once, have nothing but fiscal leverage. They've got the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which all Republicans would hate and many Democrats would welcome. They've got the aforementioned spending trigger, which Republicans really have begun to fear for its cuts to defense spending. They can do nothing -- or, more likely, offer Republicans a deal they can't accept -- and the resulting paralysis will swing fiscal policy far, far, far to the left. Threatening to default on the national debt is Boehner's only piece of counter-leverage. So of course Boehner will try and use the debt ceiling as leverage again. And again. And again. It's pretty clear that, at this point, there's no going back to the time when debt-ceiling increases came smoothly. If I were the market, I'd take the fact that the leader of one of the two parties has publicly said that he "welcomes" debt-ceiling showdowns as evidence that the United States is almost certain to default on its debt -- if only temporarily -- within the next decade or so. The question is what, aside from complain, Democrats and the business community will do to stop him. Somehow, the debt ceiling needs to be taken off the table once and for all, either because Republicans forced a default in a way that they were blamed for the consequences and scared into never doing it again or because the president successfully pulled off one of the more creative maneuvers suggested during last year's showdown (Bill Clinton, for instance, argued that Obama should invoke the Fourteenth Amendment -- which says "the validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned" -- to raise the debt ceiling unilaterally). Wonkbook dashboard RCP Obama vs. Romney: Obama +1.8%; 7-day change: Obama +1.6%. RCP Obama approval: 48.0%; 7-day change: +0.7%. Want Wonkbook delivered to your inbox or mobile device?A Subscribe! Top stories 1) Boehner threatened another debt-mageddon "Washington braced Tuesday for a replay of last summeras tense battle over the burgeoning national debt as House Speaker John A. Boehner threatened again to block an increase in the federal debt ceiling without significant new cuts in spending. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and other senior Democrats quickly blasted the Ohio Republican, arguing that his ultimatum could put the nationas credit rating -- and the broader economy -- at risk early next year, when the debt is expected to hit its $16.4 trillion limit." Lori Montgomery in The Washington Post. @damianpaletta: Boehner's debt ceiling "line in the sand" is very similar to what he said last year; Definitely got the attention of White House and D's @ObsoleteDogma: Shorter Boehner: Regulatory uncertainty is bad. But default uncertainty is good. INTERVIEW: Sen. Tom Coburn on defusing the debt bomb. READ: Mitt Romneyas remarks on the debt. @MichaelSLinden: As a fiscal policy analyst, I'd like to thank Mitt Romney for offering no specifics whatsoever so I can go home at a normal time tonight. 2) Greece failed to form a new government, triggering new elections. "The threat of a full economic collapse in Greece escalated Tuesday after warring political factions here failed to forge a new government, triggering fresh elections and heightening chances that this rudderless Mediterranean nation could be forced to abandon the euro...A nation in danger of running out of cash to operate the government, and where fearful residents in recent days have been rapidly withdrawing more of their savings from Greek banks, faces uncertain new elections next month. Opinion surveys have shown that Syriza, a party that wants to break the terms of Greeceas bailout deal and that came in a surprise second in the last vote, is polling in first place...European finance ministers -- whose taxpayers have largely funded the bailout for Greece -- were quick to push back Tuesday. Given the potential shock waves if Greece is forced to leave the euro zone, there have been suggestions in recent days that European officials might show more lenience with Athens." Anthony Faiola in The Washington Post. Surging bank withdrawals in Greece sparked fears of a bank run. "Greek depositors withdrew a!700 million ($898 million) from the country's banks on Monday, fueling fears of a bank run amid the growing political disarray. With deposits falling, Greek banks become even more dependent on the European Central Bank to meet their funding needs, exposing the central bank to potentially huge losses if Greece leaves the euro area. Greek President Karolos Papoulias told the country's political leaders that bank withdrawals plus buy orders received by Greek banks for German bunds totaled some a!800 million on Monday, a transcript of his comments said. A central bank official confirmed the figures...Monday's deposit withdrawal far outpaced Greek banks' steady decline in deposits since the start of the country's debt crisis in 2009, as depositors withdraw cash and transfer funds overseas." Brian Blackstone and David Enrich in The Wall Street Journal. @grossdm: So, Greece is seeking to solves its economic problems through QE -- quantitative electioneering 3) The Senate will vote on several GOP budget proposals today. "The Senate on Wednesday will hold six hours of debate and votes on four different Republican budget resolutions, in an apparent attempt to demonstrate that they will not be supported in the Democratic-led Senate. A fifth budget measure up for a vote, from Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), is based on President Obama's budget and is seen as an attempt to embarrass the White House. But Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said Tuesday that debate and votes on the GOP proposals would show there is little appetite for these plans. He also said it would give the country a chance to understand that last year's Budget Control Act already sets spending caps for Congress. Democrats have been under fire for failing to pass any budget resolution...One of the four GOP budget resolutions to be debated Wednesday is H.Con.Res. 112, the budget resolution approved by the House in March." Pete Kasperowicz in The Hill. 4) The Justice Department started a criminal probe into JPMorgan Chase's loss. "The Justice Department has initiated a criminal probe into the $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase, a law enforcement representative familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The inquiry is at a very early stage, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is private. Many details about the loss at JPMorgan are murky, so it is unclear what laws, if any, may have been violated. But the attention from federal officials indicates that regulatory pressure is rising on JPMorgan, and its chief executive Jamie Dimon, to explain what exactly led to the bankas multi-billion dollar misstep. That, in turn, has rekindled questions about whether government regulators are equipped to monitor banks making risky, complex trades...Dean Boyd, a Justice spokesman, declined to comment." Jia Lynn Yang and Sari Horwitz in The Washington Post. Too big to fail banks have gotten bigger. "JPMorgan Chaseas $2 billion blunder is throwing the spotlight on an awkward truth for President Barack Obamaas promise to end the era of big bank bailouts: The same institutions that were deemed 'too big to fail' before the financial collapse are even bigger now. Efforts to manage the size of such institutions were at the heart of the Dodd-Frank financial law passed in July 2010. But nearly two years later, many of the lawas regulations remain in limbo, as federal agencies muddle through long rule-making processes against stiff industry opposition...All the while, the countryas biggest financial institutions continue to grow. The five largest, which controlled $6.1 trillion in assets before the collapse, by the end of 2011 had assets worth $8.5 trillion -- equal to more than half of U.S. economic output, according to Federal Reserve data." Patrick Reis in Politico. @BCAppelbaum: This whole JPM story underscores one reason we don't have effective financial regulation: Our public officials don't understand finance. Top op-eds 1) PORTER: It's time for the euro to come to an end. "Social upheaval across the euro area suggests that it may be time to call it quits and try to work out an orderly process to re-establish national currencies throughout the bloc. Europe would be in much better shape if the euro didnat exist and each member country had its own currency. Monetary union has shackled together nations with vastly different economies, depriving them of an independent monetary policy that can help them through rough times. The interest rate and exchange rate that serve Germany also have to serve Spain, though that country has more than four times Germanyas joblessness. The main problem is that while leaders eagerly embraced the monetary bond, they rejected its necessary complement: a central budget that would transfer money from successful regions to underperforming ones, as the United States government sends tax dollars collected in Massachusetts to pay for unemployment benefits in Nevada." Eduardo Porter in The New York Times. 2) FROST: The FDIC shouldn't protect investment banks. "I suggest that we divide the two functions into separately owned, managed and regulated entities. That's the only way we can ensure that their riskier businesses don't undermine the insured deposits that are the foundation of a stable and healthy economy. Taxpayer safety-net programs, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), should be available only to banks in business to provide insured deposits. Financial institutions that provide primarily investment, hedging and speculative services don't deserve protection either by the FDIC's explicit guarantees or by an implicit understanding that taxpayers will bail them out because there is no other alternative. Indeed, this kind of protection is a perversion of capitalism and can distort its good outcomes...We need a real and impregnable firewall that keeps one part of the banking system--and the economy--from being consumed when the other goes into flames." Tom Frost in The Wall Street Journal. 3) ROSEN: Competitive bidding can hurt patients. "On the face of it, competitive bidding sounds like a very good idea. If one supplier can provide power wheelchairs or oxygen masks for 30 percent less than another, itas hard to argue for contracting with the more expensive supplier, especially at a time when everyone is looking for ways to save money. A one-year experiment with expanded competitive bidding that was recently conducted by Medicare yielded cost savings of 42 percent, without reducing the quality of care, and was hailed as a great success. But as a doctor working with patients on the ground, I have doubts about that quality-of-care measure, and I worry that those savings obscure a potentially serious problem...If competitive bidding is predicated on supplying equipment at the lowest possible price, something has to give. And more likely than not, that something will be patient care." Dennis Rosen in The New York Times. 4) ORSZAG: Want good news on jobs? Look to big businesses. "Big business, we keep being told, has been so hampered by regulatory uncertainty over the past few years, it has been reluctant to hire workers. So it is surprising to read the results of a little-known survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Very large businesses, it turns out, have been expanding their domestic workforces relatively rapidly. If, since January 2011, businesses of all sizes had hired at the same rate as those with 5,000 or more employees, we would have almost 4 million more jobs today...The JOLTS data highlight the importance of exploring how the continuing deleveraging process and resultant sluggish growth in demand is affecting smaller businesses in particular. With the percentage of working Americans stuck at a depressed level, we sure could use those extra 2 million to 4 million jobs." Peter Orszag in Bloomberg. 5) ALEXANDER: Washington should take over Medicaid and let states handle education. "Staring down steep tuition hikes, students at the University of California have taken to carrying picket signs. As far as I can tell, though, none has demanded that President Barack Obama accept a Grand Swap that could protect their education while saving them money. Allow me to explain. When I was governor of Tennessee in the early 1980s, I traveled to meet with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office and offer that Grand Swap: Medicaid for K-12 education. The federal government would take over 100% of Medicaid, the federal health-care program mainly for low-income Americans, and states would assume all responsibility for the nation's 100,000 public schools...If we had made that swap...states would have about $92 billion a year in extra funds, as they'd keep the $149 billion they're now spending on Medicaid and give back to Washington the $57 billion that the federal government spends per year on schools." Lamar Alexander in The Wall Street Journal. Cover interlude: Screaming Females play Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" for the AV Club. Got tips, additions, or comments? E-mail me. Still to come: Free trade with Colombia is in effect; Catholic bishops are close to suing over birth control; backlash against tests is growing; energy independence is within reach; and a puppies'-eye view of life. Economy The Senate will vote on two Fed nominees on Thursday. "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) today set up a procedural vote for Thursday on two nominees to join the Federal Reserve whose nominations have stalled because of opposition from Sen. David Vitter (R-La.)...Vitter blocked attempts in March to quickly confirm Harvard University economics professor Jeremy Stein, a Democratic nominee, and former private-equity executive Jerome Powell, a Republican nominee...Asked whether he was confident that he would have the 60 votes to invoke cloture on the nominations, Reid said, 'Well I sure hope so, weave been waiting months and months.'...Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he believes there is bipartisan support for the nominees...Without the two nominees in place, the Federal Reserve Board will remain short-handed as it attempts to support the economic recovery" Humberto Sanchez in Roll Call. The dip in gas prices eased inflation. "The recent slide in gasoline prices in the U.S. has pushed the nation's annual rate of inflation to its lowest level in more than a year, easing some economic strains on consumers. The consumer price index, which measures what Americans pay for everything from breakfast cereal to doctor visits, was unchanged from March to April, ending three months of increases, the Labor Department said Tuesday. A 2.6% drop in the gasoline-price index helped offset rising costs for many other items. Overall prices are now running 2.3% higher than a year ago, the smallest increase since February 2011...The inflation figures have mixed implications for the recovery. Lower gasoline and utility costs are keeping a lid on household expenses, effectively boosting Americans' spending money. However, prices are climbing broadly, most notably for food, but also medical care, rents, autos and airfares." Josh Mitchell in The Wall Street Journal. States are using foreclosure prevention funds to plug budget gaps. "Hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide a little relief to the nationas struggling homeowners is being diverted to plug state budget gaps. In a budget proposed this week, California joined more than a dozen states that want to help close gaping shortfalls using money paid by the nationas biggest banks and earmarked for foreclosure prevention, investigations of financial fraud and blunting the ill effects of the housing crisis. California was awarded more than $400 million from the banks, and Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed using the bulk of that sum to pay the stateas debts. The money was part of a national settlement valued at $25 billion and negotiated with five big banks over abuses in their mortgage and foreclosure processes...As part of the settlement, the banks agreed to pay the states $2.5 billion, money intended to help homeowners and mitigate the effects of the foreclosure surge." Shaila Dewan in The New York Times. House Republicans are planning a vote on a 'fast track' proposal for tax reform. "Speaker John Boehner said in a speech Tuesday that House Republicans would try to attach a timeline to fast-track a broad tax overhaul to a vote extending the George W. Bush-era tax rates before the November elections...'Our bill to stop the New Yearas Day tax increase will also establish an expedited process by which Congress would enact real tax reform in 2013,' Boehner (R-Ohio) said in remarks to a fiscal summit in Washington. 'This process would look something like how we handle Trade Promotion Authority, where you put in place a timeline for both houses to act.'...GOP aides said that, even though Boehner specifically discussed Trade Promotion Authority on Tuesday, House Republicans are looking at a variety of expedited processes that have been used in the past, and have yet to settle on just one." Russell Berman and Bernie Becker in The Hill. @grossdm: Memo to Boehner, the markets, etc.: the House passing legislation won't be sufficient to avert tax increases. They'll have to make a deal The euro zone narrowly missed recession. "The euro-zone economy narrowly escaped recession in the latest quarter thanks to a surprising rebound in Germany, which offset deepening downturns in Spain and Italy. Although the region avoided two straight quarterly drops in gross domestic product, the common benchmark for recession, the figures nonetheless reflect a deepening divide between Germany and the rest of the euro zone that complicates the bloc's efforts to stem its debt crisis...Euro-zone GDP was unchanged from the previous quarter, said Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency. In annualized terms, GDP rose 0.1% from the fourth quarter, according to calculations by J.P. Morgan Chase. Economists had expected an annualized contraction of around 1%. GDP fell at a 1.2% rate in the fourth quarter...European stock markets rose initially on the figures, which eased fears that the debt crisis may trigger an economic free fall." Brian Blackstone in The Washington Post. Export-Import Bank reauthorization cleared the Senate by a wide margin. "On a broad bipartisan vote of 78 to 20, the Senate voted Tuesday to extend the life of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and expand its authority to make loans to U.S. exporters. In the 'Schoolhouse Rock' version of how Capitol Hill works, this is what Congress does all the time -- passes legislation. But it made for big news on this Capitol Hill, where protracted partisan warfare has meant that lately the story has more often been about votes forced by one party or the other to indignantly demonstrate the otheras opposition...Tuesdayas bill was the rarest of breeds: a lasting compromise on an issue of substance. It renewed the charter of what is commonly referred to as the Ex-Im bank for three years and will over that time raise the cap on the total financing the bank can guarantee from $100 billion to $140 billion." Rosalind Helderman in The Washington Post. The U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement took effect. "A free-trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombia took effect Tuesday after years of negotiations and despite strong opposition from U.S. labor organizations, which are worried about jobs being sent abroad and union-busting violence in Colombia. The first products shipped tariff-free were crates of Colombian roses and other flowers that landed Tuesday morning at Miami's airport...President Barack Obama signed the free-trade agreement with Colombia in October, days after Congress gave its final approval following heated debates. The deal was originally negotiated by the Bush administration, but President Obama reworked the deal to satisfy Democrats. The U.S. exported $14 billion of goods to Colombia last year, everything from cars to consumer electronics to food, and exports are expected to rise by more than $1.1 billion as a direct result of the pact, according to the International Trade Commission." Dan Molinski in The Wall Street Journal. Adorable children singing interlude: Two girls cover Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" from the back seat of the car. Health Care Catholic bishops are threatening to sue over the birth control mandate. "The Catholic Church's U.S. hierarchy warned Tuesday that without quick action by Congress, it will sue the Obama administration for mandating that insurance plans provide birth control to women without a co-pay. '[F]orcing individual and institutional stakeholders to sponsor and subsidize an otherwise widely available product over their religious and moral objections serves no legitimate, let alone compelling, government interest,' lawyers for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in a letter to federal regulators. Several small Catholic universities have already filed suit over the policy...The bishops' notice came in 20 pages of comments submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on a forthcoming rule to accommodate certain religious organizations, such as Catholic hospitals, that were not exempted from the original mandate." Elise Viebeck in The Hill. Obamacare will expand healthcare options for immigrants. "The Obama administrationas drive to cut down on Americaas uninsured is about to get multilingual. Come 2014, when core provisions of the Affordable Care Act kick in, millions of legal immigrants will have new options for gaining health coverage. And like U.S. citizens, most will be subject to the individual mandate, under which they will be required to get coverage to avoid a penalty. The national health law explicitly excludes illegal immigrants -- a politically explosive topic -- and bans them from the new state insurance exchanges, even if they use their own money. They will make up a big chunk of the remaining uninsured population. But advocates say states have good reasons to reach out and get uninsured legal residents covered -- especially as the federal government picks up most of the tab...In 2014...legal immigrants will be able to shop for health coverage through the new state insurance exchanges." Kyle Cheney in Politico. Domestic Policy The backlash against standardized testing is growing. "The increasing role of standardized testing in U.S. classrooms is triggering pockets of rebellion across the country from school officials, teachers and parents who say the system is stifling teaching and learning. In Texas, some 400 local school boards--more than one-third of the state's total--have adopted a resolution this year asking lawmakers to scale back testing. In Everett, Wash., more than 500 children skipped state exams in protest earlier this month...The efforts are a response to the spread of mandatory testing in the past decade. Proponents say the exams are needed to ensure students are learning and teachers' effectiveness is measured. Critics say schools are spending disproportionate time and resources on the tests at the expense of more-creative learning. They also contend the results weigh too heavily in decisions on student advancement, teacher pay and the fate of schools judged to have failed." Stephanie Banchero in The Wall Street Journal. The NLRB suspended implementation of its union elections rule. "The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) suspended implementation on Tuesday of a rule that would speed up union elections. On Monday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg struck down the regulation. In his ruling, the judge said the labor board only had two members vote on the final rule in December 2011 when it needed three members to form a quorum. In the wake of the court decision, the agency is temporarily suspending the rule's implementation, which went into effect on April 30. Further, Lafe Solomon, the NLRB's acting general counsel, withdrew guidance he sent to the labor board's regional offices and told those offices to follow the old union election rule instead. The agency is still considering its response to the court ruling...'We continue to believe that the amendments represent a significant improvement in our process and serve the public interest by eliminating unnecessary litigation,' said NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce." Kevin Bogardus in The Hill. Dog's-eye view interlude: Life from on top of puppies. Energy Energy independence is no pipe dream. "Every president since Richard Nixon has called for the U.S. to wean itself from needing oil from unstable or unsavory countries. The nation's new-found energy riches are likely to bring that ambition closer to reality in the next two decades, according to many forecasters. It's no pipe dream. The U.S. is already the world's fastest-growing oil and natural gas producer. Counting the output from Canada and Mexico, North America is 'the new Middle East,' Citigroup analysts declare in a recent report. The U.S. Energy Information Agency says U.S. oil imports will drop 20% by 2025. Oil giant BP projects the U.S. will get 94% of its energy domestically by 2030, up from 77% now, as oil imports fall by half...Most enticing, a team of analysts and economists at Citigroup argues that the U.S., or at least North America, can achieve energy independence by 2020." Tim Mullaney in USA Today. @umairh: So consider how our political institutions are paralyzed by a financial crisis. Now think about energy, water, etc crises. Sweet! Wonkbook is compiled and produced with help from Karl Singer and Michelle Williams. Wonkbook: The Fed's long national nightmare is finally over From feeds.washingtonpost Are you sitting down? Because you're not going to believe this. The Senate actually got something done yesterday. Something big! They confirmed both Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. That means, for the first time since 2006, there are no vacancies on the Fed's Board.
The next question is whether Stein and Powell will exert any influence on the Fed, and if so, in what direction. That remains to be seen. Right now, the Federal Reserve seems in the unusual position of admitting that it has missed terribly on its mandate to maintain full employment, swearing that there is more it can do if need be, and yet not doing anything more. Given events in Europe, though, they may not be able to resist escalating for very much longer. Wonkbook dashboard: RCP Obama approval: 48.4%; 7-day change: +1.0%. Want Wonkbook delivered to your inbox or mobile device?A Subscribe! Top stories 1) The Senate confirmed two nominees to the Fed's Board of Governors. "The Senate on Thursday confirmed two nominees chosen by President Obama for the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, overcoming Republican objections and bringing the seven-member board to full strength for the first time since 2006, before the economic crisis. The Harvard economist Jeremy C. Stein and the investment banker and lawyer Jerome H. Powell were confirmed easily after a morning of debate. The vote for Mr. Stein was 70 to 24, and for Mr. Powell, 74 to 21. Neither has widely known views on the central policy questions facing the Fed: whether to take more action to reduce unemployment or whether the economy is already at risk of a dangerous acceleration of inflation. For months, Senator David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican and a member of the Banking Committee, held up the nominations." John Cushman Jr. in The New York Times. @philizzo: Senate only took six months to confirm two completely uncontroversial Fed nominees that represented both parties. Hooray? @justinwolfers: I doubt anyone knows where Powell & Stein are on the hawk/dove spectrum. But both are smart & neither is doctrinaire, which is a good start. 2) The U.S. imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels. "The United States on Thursday announced the imposition of antidumping tariffs of more than 31 percent on solar panels from China. The move by the Commerce Department is certain to infuriate Chinese officials already upset after recent bilateral frictions over Chinaas human rights policies and its increasingly confrontational approach toward American allies like the Philippines and Japan. The antidumping decision is among the biggest in American history, covering one of the largest and fastest-growing categories of imports from China, the worldas largest exporter. The department said the United States bought $3.1 billion worth of Chinese solar cells last year, giving China more than half the American market for the devices. Many solar panel installers in the United States have opposed tariffs on Chinese panels, contending that inexpensive imports have helped spur many homeowners and businesses to put solar panels on their rooftops." Keith Bradsher and Diane Cardwell in The New York Times. @drgrist: Let's get this straight: we're subsidizing coal-industry exports to China and taxing solar-power imports from China? That about right? 3) House Republicans want tax reform in 2013. "As part of a year-end budget deal, House Republicans are urging adoption of 'fast-track procedures' to force lawmakers to complete a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 2013...'There is strong support to use the expiration of the [Bush tax cuts] as leverage to force action in 2013 on comprehensive tax reform,' Camp told the Federal Policy Groupas annual tax seminar. 'How? Simple: In addition to extending current low-tax policies originally enacted in 2001 and 2003, we should enact fast-track procedures to compel comprehensive tax reform next year.' Camp said he is mulling what form those procedures might take. He and House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), who endorsed the idea this week, made comparisons to the process by which lawmakers adopt trade agreements negotiated with other nations. Under that system, Congress has 90 days to reject or approve a pact in its entirety without amendment." Lori Montgomery in The Washington Post. 4) The Postal Service will begin the first phase of its cost-cutting plan. "The United States Postal Service announced Thursday that it would begin consolidating 48 mail processing centers beginning in July, the first phase of a cost-cutting plan that is intended to save the agency nearly $1.2 billion a year as it tries to adjust to declining mail volume. The agency said it would consolidate an additional 92 processing centers in February, and 89 more in early 2014. In all, the Postal Service said it would close 229 processing centers -- about half of the total -- and it expects to save about $2.1 billion a year after the plan is fully carried out in 2014. About 5,000 workers will be immediately affected by the consolidations, the agency said, though it was unclear if they would be reassigned or given incentives to retire. About 13,000 employees will be affected once the first phase is completed by February. A total of 28,000 positions will be eliminated by 2014." Ron Nixon in The New York Times. 5) Differing approaches to growth will dominate the G8 summit. "There are 4,169 miles between Berlin and Washington. But on economic policy, the two capitals sometimes appear to be on different planets...Chancellor Angela Merkel, her advisers and even much of the German opposition see Europeas problems in starkly different terms than the Obama administration does. Merkelas impulse -- to fight debt at all costs to boost investor confidence -- has been at the core of Europeas crisis response, because industrial powerhouse Germany has been calling the shots. But she has come under heavy criticism from Americans who say her efforts are misplaced. The differing approaches have gained renewed urgency as the crisis flares again in the euro zone, and Europeas response will probably dominate discussions Friday at the Group of Eight summit at Camp David." Michael Birnbaum in The Washington Post. Top op-eds 2) KRUGMAN: The euro's fate doesn't look bright. "Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro -- that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union -- could come apart at the seams. Weare not talking about a distant prospect, either. Things could fall apart with stunning speed, in a matter of months, not years. And the costs -- both economic and, arguably even more important, political -- could be huge. This doesnat have to happen; the euro (or at least most of it) could still be saved. But this will require that European leaders, especially in Germany and at the European Central Bank, start acting very differently from the way theyave acted these past few years. They need to stop moralizing and deal with reality; they need to stop temporizing and, for once, get ahead of the curve. I wish I could say that I was optimistic...All of us, then, have a big stake in European success -- yet itas up to the Europeans themselves to deliver that success. The whole world is waiting to see whether theyare up to the task." Paul Krugman in The New York Times. 3) WOLF: If Greece leaves the eurozone the results would be devastating. "The irritation of the eurozone with Greece is at extreme levels. After all, 80 per cent of Greeks say they are in favour of staying in the euro, but then they fail to elect politicians prepared to implement the agreed programme. This drives creditors crazy. Increasingly, the latter are inclined to accept Greek exit, even welcome it. But they should be careful what they wish for. A departure would create severe dangers. The danger of contagion is obvious. The long-run danger is more subtle. But the eurozone either is an irrevocable currency union or it is not. If countries in difficulty leave, it is not. It is then an exceptionally rigid fixed-currency system. That would have two dire results: people would not trust in its survival and the economic benefits of the single currency would largely disappear. These perils are not of concern to the eurozone alone...The risk that a bigger eurozone upheaval would cause a global crisis is real." Martin Wolf in The Financial Times. 4) PEARLSTEIN: The choice is more complicated than austerity or growth. "Fiscal austerity or economic growth? Although itas not officially on the agenda, that question will dominate the discussions this weekend as political leaders of the worldas largest economies assemble at Camp David...The argument for belt-tightening austerity is that government debt in many countries has climbed so high that it threatens to create a vicious spiral: Higher interest rates beget recessions, which in turn lower government tax revenues and lead lenders to demand even higher interest rates. The inevitable result is default and depression...Where the problem comes in is that too much austerity imposed too quickly risks causing another, similar downward spiral. In this deflationary spiral, overly aggressive tax increases and budget cuts lead to sharp increases in unemployment and decreases in spending and investment, causing tax revenues to fall so much that budget deficits actually go up." Steven Pearlstein in The Washington Post. 5) GAYER AND SWAGEL: Principal reductions won't fix the housing market. "Edward DeMarco, the temporary director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, continues to endure blistering criticism for refusing to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay for large-scale principal reductions for underwater borrowers (those who owe more than their homes are worth) or to facilitate refinancings for those stuck with high interest rate mortgages. The embattled regulator says he is merely trying to prevent Fannie and Freddie from adding to the more than $190 billion in losses that taxpayers have covered since September 2008...House Democrats have accused him of hiding data purportedly proving that principal reductions would save money and reduce foreclosures...Beating up DeMarco may prove cathartic for policy makers looking to assign blame for economic doldrums. The proposed remedy, however -- having taxpayers pay for principal writedowns and mass refinancings -- would do little to solve the nationas housing woes." Ted Gayer and Phillip Swagel in Bloomberg. Top long reads Baroque pop interlude: Rufus Wainwright plays "Out of the Game" live on WFUV. Got tips, additions, or comments? E-mail me. Still to come: Jobless claims didn't move; negotiators need to decide on a drug tracking system; House Democrats want to make voting easier; it isn't looking like Keystone XL will be in the highway bill; and a baby just wants to melt your heart by hugging every single goat. Economy Jobless claims held steady. "First-time claims for US unemployment insurance held steady at 370,000 last week, tempering some of the recent positive sentiment surrounding the jobs market. Initial claims for jobless benefits in the week ending May 12 remained unchanged from the previous weekas upwardly revised figure of 370,000, according to the US labour department. Claims in the week of May 5 had originally been reported at 367,000...The four-week moving average, which smooths out seasonal factors, stood at 375,000, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous weekas revised average of 379,750...The number of people who continued to receive jobless benefits rose by 18,000 in the week ended May 5 to 3.27m. Aside from last week they are at the lowest level since July 2008...The initial jobless claims data are a reflection of weekly firings and tend to fall as job growth picks up." Anjli Raval in The Financial Times. Jamie Dimon will testify before the Senate. "JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon will be called to testify before the Senate Banking Committee in the coming weeks, the panelas chairman announced Thursday -- and Dimon plans to accept. Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) said Dimon - whose firm has been under intense scrutiny after the billions of trading losses it sustained - will be invited to speak before his committee after it holds a pair of hearings on Wall Street oversight...Dimon will agree to appear before the panel, a company spokeswoman said...Johnson said his staff, as well as staffers for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the top Republican on the banking panel, have held briefings with regulators and with JPMorgan in the past week. No date was given for the hearing with Dimon. The two hearings that will be held before the CEOas appearance will be on May 22 and June 6 and will feature officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Reserve and other agencies." Seung Min Kim in Politico. The SEC is under fire for allowing settlements without admission of wrongdoing. "The Securities and Exchange Commission, which polices corporations, can usually count on support from Democrats and a rougher reception from Republicans. But, on Thursday, the agency found an issue on which its traditional friends are its critics and its traditional critics are its friends. At a House hearing, Republican lawmakers defended the agency against complaints that it lets wrongdoers off the hook too easily when it routinely allows them to settle charges without admitting wrongdoing. Democrats said they were worried that such settlements could send the wrong message, allowing corporations to treat SEC enforcement actions as just another cost of doing business. The issue has become a flash point in the debate over who is to blame for the financial crisis and whether the wrongdoers are being held accountable." David Hilzenrath in The Washington Post. Some GOP freshmen are bucking the 'no new taxes' pledge. "A small but increasingly vocal group of freshman Republicans are publicly rejecting the idea they are beholden to Grover Norquistas Americans for Tax Reform pledge for their entire congressional careers. One such member, Scott Rigell of Virginia, has openly rejected the pledge, explaining on his website that it would prevent Congress in some cases from eliminating corporate loopholes or government subsidies because those changes would have to be revenue-neutral. The math, he said, just doesnat make sense...The tax pledge has long been a litmus test for any conservative who wants to be taken seriously in a Republican primary. That some newcomers are repudiating it lends support to critics who argue the document is more valuable as a campaign tool than a guidepost for governing. Norquist insists heas not bothered by any hedging on the part of the freshmen...But the slip in devotion, however slight, is notable considering how strong a hold the pledge has had over the GOP." Kate Nocera in Politico. Two Senators are pushing a bill to tax the capital gains of expatriates. "Two Senate Democrats proposed a law Thursday to set a 30 percent capital gains tax rate for expatriates on all future investment gains in the wake of reports that Facebookas Eduardo Saverin renounced his American citizenship to skirt taxes on his IPO haul...The move means Saverin is subject to so-called exit taxes in the United States on some of the earlier value of his Facebook holdings, but it will be much less than he would have paid if he remained an American citizen once Facebook had gone public. If Schumer and Casey have their way, though, Saverin and others who have done similarly in the past wouldn't escape so easily. The two Democrats unveiled a bill called the Ex-PATRIOT Act, or the 'Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy' Act...If it does pass, it would require Saverin and others who renounce citizenship to pay taxes at a 30 percent rate on any U.S. investment." Tony Romm in Politico. Legos are excellent interlude: How legos became art. Health Care Some conservatives are protesting the House GOP's Obamacare replacement plan. "Thirty minutes. Thatas the roughly time it took for conservatives to jump all over Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his leadership team after the GOPas game plan for dealing with President Barack Obamaas health care law leaked to the media. Their gripe? Republicans would try to replicate popular parts of Obamaas health care law if the Supreme Court overturns the law this summer. Rather than sending out news releases or rushing to cable TV for a rant, conservatives blasted House Republican leadership on a private Google email group called The Repeal Coalition. The group is chock- full of think tank types, some Republican leadership staffers, health care policy staffers and conservative activists, according to sources in the group. The behind-the-scenes fight among Republicans richly illustrates why House GOP leadership is so cautious, sensitive and calculating when it comes to dealing with the conservative right." Jake Sherman in Politico. @sam_baker: How many times do we need to explain to the world that making insurers cover everyone is very much tied to the mandate? Domestic Policy House Democrats introduced legislation to making voting easier. "House Democratic leaders on Thursday introduced legislation to streamline Americans' trips to the polls. The bill is a response to a slew of recent state legislation - some proposed, some already law - setting stricter standards for voters to register or cast a ballot. Supporters of those state efforts -- including new picture ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements - say they're necessary to weed out ineligible voters and maintain the integrity of elections. But critics contend they're designed to suppress eligible voters, particularly minorities and low-income Americans who tend to vote Democratic...At issue are a growing list of state laws recently enacted - usually by Republican lawmakers - in the name of preventing voter fraud. Since the start of 2011, at least 14 states have passed - or are about to pass - new voting restrictions that will affect this year's presidential election...Eight states have passed new photo ID laws - quadrupling the number before 2011." Mike Lillis in The Hill. Interspecies friendship interlude: A baby hugs and rests his head on all the goats.. Energy @MarkLeibovich: After string of sub-par Starbucks experiences, calling for rise in Cafe Standards.... Wonkbook is compiled and produced with help from Karl Singer and Michelle Williams. Wonkbook: Of course Boehner wants another debt-ceiling showdown From feeds.washingtonpost "We shouldnat dread the debt limit," said Speaker John Boehner at the Peter G. Peterson Fiscal Summit. "We should welcome it. Itas an action-forcing event in a town that has become infamous for inaction."
Of course he will. For one thing, it worked well for him in 2011. Republicans got more than $900 billion in immediate spending cuts, as well as $1.2 trillion in triggered spending cuts -- though they don't much like the $500 billion or so of those cuts scheduled to fall on the Pentagon. They also drove President Obama's approval ratings beneath 40 percent. And while I'm not one who thinks Republicans intentionally tank the economy to undermine Obama, there's little doubt that the effect of the debt-ceiling debacle was to set back the recovery, brightening Republican prospects and darkening Democratic ones. The fact is that it's easier to be sanguine about economic showdowns when you're not the ones in charge. For another, it's Boehner's only option in 2012. The Democrats, for once, have nothing but fiscal leverage. They've got the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, which all Republicans would hate and many Democrats would welcome. They've got the aforementioned spending trigger, which Republicans really have begun to fear for its cuts to defense spending. They can do nothing -- or, more likely, offer Republicans a deal they can't accept -- and the resulting paralysis will swing fiscal policy far, far, far to the left. Threatening to default on the national debt is Boehner's only piece of counter-leverage. So of course Boehner will try and use the debt ceiling as leverage again. And again. And again. It's pretty clear that, at this point, there's no going back to the time when debt-ceiling increases came smoothly. If I were the market, I'd take the fact that the leader of one of the two parties has publicly said that he "welcomes" debt-ceiling showdowns as evidence that the United States is almost certain to default on its debt -- if only temporarily -- within the next decade or so. The question is what, aside from complain, Democrats and the business community will do to stop him. Somehow, the debt ceiling needs to be taken off the table once and for all, either because Republicans forced a default in a way that they were blamed for the consequences and scared into never doing it again or because the president successfully pulled off one of the more creative maneuvers suggested during last year's showdown (Bill Clinton, for instance, argued that Obama should invoke the Fourteenth Amendment -- which says "the validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned" -- to raise the debt ceiling unilaterally). Wonkbook dashboard RCP Obama vs. Romney: Obama +1.8%; 7-day change: Obama +1.6%. RCP Obama approval: 48.0%; 7-day change: +0.7%. Want Wonkbook delivered to your inbox or mobile device?A Subscribe! Top stories 1) Boehner threatened another debt-mageddon "Washington braced Tuesday for a replay of last summeras tense battle over the burgeoning national debt as House Speaker John A. Boehner threatened again to block an increase in the federal debt ceiling without significant new cuts in spending. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and other senior Democrats quickly blasted the Ohio Republican, arguing that his ultimatum could put the nationas credit rating -- and the broader economy -- at risk early next year, when the debt is expected to hit its $16.4 trillion limit." Lori Montgomery in The Washington Post. @damianpaletta: Boehner's debt ceiling "line in the sand" is very similar to what he said last year; Definitely got the attention of White House and D's @ObsoleteDogma: Shorter Boehner: Regulatory uncertainty is bad. But default uncertainty is good. INTERVIEW: Sen. Tom Coburn on defusing the debt bomb. READ: Mitt Romneyas remarks on the debt. @MichaelSLinden: As a fiscal policy analyst, I'd like to thank Mitt Romney for offering no specifics whatsoever so I can go home at a normal time tonight. 2) Greece failed to form a new government, triggering new elections. "The threat of a full economic collapse in Greece escalated Tuesday after warring political factions here failed to forge a new government, triggering fresh elections and heightening chances that this rudderless Mediterranean nation could be forced to abandon the euro...A nation in danger of running out of cash to operate the government, and where fearful residents in recent days have been rapidly withdrawing more of their savings from Greek banks, faces uncertain new elections next month. Opinion surveys have shown that Syriza, a party that wants to break the terms of Greeceas bailout deal and that came in a surprise second in the last vote, is polling in first place...European finance ministers -- whose taxpayers have largely funded the bailout for Greece -- were quick to push back Tuesday. Given the potential shock waves if Greece is forced to leave the euro zone, there have been suggestions in recent days that European officials might show more lenience with Athens." Anthony Faiola in The Washington Post. Surging bank withdrawals in Greece sparked fears of a bank run. "Greek depositors withdrew a!700 million ($898 million) from the country's banks on Monday, fueling fears of a bank run amid the growing political disarray. With deposits falling, Greek banks become even more dependent on the European Central Bank to meet their funding needs, exposing the central bank to potentially huge losses if Greece leaves the euro area. Greek President Karolos Papoulias told the country's political leaders that bank withdrawals plus buy orders received by Greek banks for German bunds totaled some a!800 million on Monday, a transcript of his comments said. A central bank official confirmed the figures...Monday's deposit withdrawal far outpaced Greek banks' steady decline in deposits since the start of the country's debt crisis in 2009, as depositors withdraw cash and transfer funds overseas." Brian Blackstone and David Enrich in The Wall Street Journal. @grossdm: So, Greece is seeking to solves its economic problems through QE -- quantitative electioneering 3) The Senate will vote on several GOP budget proposals today. "The Senate on Wednesday will hold six hours of debate and votes on four different Republican budget resolutions, in an apparent attempt to demonstrate that they will not be supported in the Democratic-led Senate. A fifth budget measure up for a vote, from Senate Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), is based on President Obama's budget and is seen as an attempt to embarrass the White House. But Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said Tuesday that debate and votes on the GOP proposals would show there is little appetite for these plans. He also said it would give the country a chance to understand that last year's Budget Control Act already sets spending caps for Congress. Democrats have been under fire for failing to pass any budget resolution...One of the four GOP budget resolutions to be debated Wednesday is H.Con.Res. 112, the budget resolution approved by the House in March." Pete Kasperowicz in The Hill. 4) The Justice Department started a criminal probe into JPMorgan Chase's loss. "The Justice Department has initiated a criminal probe into the $2 billion trading loss at JPMorgan Chase, a law enforcement representative familiar with the situation said Tuesday. The inquiry is at a very early stage, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is private. Many details about the loss at JPMorgan are murky, so it is unclear what laws, if any, may have been violated. But the attention from federal officials indicates that regulatory pressure is rising on JPMorgan, and its chief executive Jamie Dimon, to explain what exactly led to the bankas multi-billion dollar misstep. That, in turn, has rekindled questions about whether government regulators are equipped to monitor banks making risky, complex trades...Dean Boyd, a Justice spokesman, declined to comment." Jia Lynn Yang and Sari Horwitz in The Washington Post. Too big to fail banks have gotten bigger. "JPMorgan Chaseas $2 billion blunder is throwing the spotlight on an awkward truth for President Barack Obamaas promise to end the era of big bank bailouts: The same institutions that were deemed 'too big to fail' before the financial collapse are even bigger now. Efforts to manage the size of such institutions were at the heart of the Dodd-Frank financial law passed in July 2010. But nearly two years later, many of the lawas regulations remain in limbo, as federal agencies muddle through long rule-making processes against stiff industry opposition...All the while, the countryas biggest financial institutions continue to grow. The five largest, which controlled $6.1 trillion in assets before the collapse, by the end of 2011 had assets worth $8.5 trillion -- equal to more than half of U.S. economic output, according to Federal Reserve data." Patrick Reis in Politico. @BCAppelbaum: This whole JPM story underscores one reason we don't have effective financial regulation: Our public officials don't understand finance. Top op-eds 1) PORTER: It's time for the euro to come to an end. "Social upheaval across the euro area suggests that it may be time to call it quits and try to work out an orderly process to re-establish national currencies throughout the bloc. Europe would be in much better shape if the euro didnat exist and each member country had its own currency. Monetary union has shackled together nations with vastly different economies, depriving them of an independent monetary policy that can help them through rough times. The interest rate and exchange rate that serve Germany also have to serve Spain, though that country has more than four times Germanyas joblessness. The main problem is that while leaders eagerly embraced the monetary bond, they rejected its necessary complement: a central budget that would transfer money from successful regions to underperforming ones, as the United States government sends tax dollars collected in Massachusetts to pay for unemployment benefits in Nevada." Eduardo Porter in The New York Times. 2) FROST: The FDIC shouldn't protect investment banks. "I suggest that we divide the two functions into separately owned, managed and regulated entities. That's the only way we can ensure that their riskier businesses don't undermine the insured deposits that are the foundation of a stable and healthy economy. Taxpayer safety-net programs, such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), should be available only to banks in business to provide insured deposits. Financial institutions that provide primarily investment, hedging and speculative services don't deserve protection either by the FDIC's explicit guarantees or by an implicit understanding that taxpayers will bail them out because there is no other alternative. Indeed, this kind of protection is a perversion of capitalism and can distort its good outcomes...We need a real and impregnable firewall that keeps one part of the banking system--and the economy--from being consumed when the other goes into flames." Tom Frost in The Wall Street Journal. 3) ROSEN: Competitive bidding can hurt patients. "On the face of it, competitive bidding sounds like a very good idea. If one supplier can provide power wheelchairs or oxygen masks for 30 percent less than another, itas hard to argue for contracting with the more expensive supplier, especially at a time when everyone is looking for ways to save money. A one-year experiment with expanded competitive bidding that was recently conducted by Medicare yielded cost savings of 42 percent, without reducing the quality of care, and was hailed as a great success. But as a doctor working with patients on the ground, I have doubts about that quality-of-care measure, and I worry that those savings obscure a potentially serious problem...If competitive bidding is predicated on supplying equipment at the lowest possible price, something has to give. And more likely than not, that something will be patient care." Dennis Rosen in The New York Times. 4) ORSZAG: Want good news on jobs? Look to big businesses. "Big business, we keep being told, has been so hampered by regulatory uncertainty over the past few years, it has been reluctant to hire workers. So it is surprising to read the results of a little-known survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Very large businesses, it turns out, have been expanding their domestic workforces relatively rapidly. If, since January 2011, businesses of all sizes had hired at the same rate as those with 5,000 or more employees, we would have almost 4 million more jobs today...The JOLTS data highlight the importance of exploring how the continuing deleveraging process and resultant sluggish growth in demand is affecting smaller businesses in particular. With the percentage of working Americans stuck at a depressed level, we sure could use those extra 2 million to 4 million jobs." Peter Orszag in Bloomberg. 5) ALEXANDER: Washington should take over Medicaid and let states handle education. "Staring down steep tuition hikes, students at the University of California have taken to carrying picket signs. As far as I can tell, though, none has demanded that President Barack Obama accept a Grand Swap that could protect their education while saving them money. Allow me to explain. When I was governor of Tennessee in the early 1980s, I traveled to meet with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office and offer that Grand Swap: Medicaid for K-12 education. The federal government would take over 100% of Medicaid, the federal health-care program mainly for low-income Americans, and states would assume all responsibility for the nation's 100,000 public schools...If we had made that swap...states would have about $92 billion a year in extra funds, as they'd keep the $149 billion they're now spending on Medicaid and give back to Washington the $57 billion that the federal government spends per year on schools." Lamar Alexander in The Wall Street Journal. Cover interlude: Screaming Females play Sheryl Crow's "If It Makes You Happy" for the AV Club. Got tips, additions, or comments? E-mail me. Still to come: Free trade with Colombia is in effect; Catholic bishops are close to suing over birth control; backlash against tests is growing; energy independence is within reach; and a puppies'-eye view of life. Economy The Senate will vote on two Fed nominees on Thursday. "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) today set up a procedural vote for Thursday on two nominees to join the Federal Reserve whose nominations have stalled because of opposition from Sen. David Vitter (R-La.)...Vitter blocked attempts in March to quickly confirm Harvard University economics professor Jeremy Stein, a Democratic nominee, and former private-equity executive Jerome Powell, a Republican nominee...Asked whether he was confident that he would have the 60 votes to invoke cloture on the nominations, Reid said, 'Well I sure hope so, weave been waiting months and months.'...Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he believes there is bipartisan support for the nominees...Without the two nominees in place, the Federal Reserve Board will remain short-handed as it attempts to support the economic recovery" Humberto Sanchez in Roll Call. The dip in gas prices eased inflation. "The recent slide in gasoline prices in the U.S. has pushed the nation's annual rate of inflation to its lowest level in more than a year, easing some economic strains on consumers. The consumer price index, which measures what Americans pay for everything from breakfast cereal to doctor visits, was unchanged from March to April, ending three months of increases, the Labor Department said Tuesday. A 2.6% drop in the gasoline-price index helped offset rising costs for many other items. Overall prices are now running 2.3% higher than a year ago, the smallest increase since February 2011...The inflation figures have mixed implications for the recovery. Lower gasoline and utility costs are keeping a lid on household expenses, effectively boosting Americans' spending money. However, prices are climbing broadly, most notably for food, but also medical care, rents, autos and airfares." Josh Mitchell in The Wall Street Journal. States are using foreclosure prevention funds to plug budget gaps. "Hundreds of millions of dollars meant to provide a little relief to the nationas struggling homeowners is being diverted to plug state budget gaps. In a budget proposed this week, California joined more than a dozen states that want to help close gaping shortfalls using money paid by the nationas biggest banks and earmarked for foreclosure prevention, investigations of financial fraud and blunting the ill effects of the housing crisis. California was awarded more than $400 million from the banks, and Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed using the bulk of that sum to pay the stateas debts. The money was part of a national settlement valued at $25 billion and negotiated with five big banks over abuses in their mortgage and foreclosure processes...As part of the settlement, the banks agreed to pay the states $2.5 billion, money intended to help homeowners and mitigate the effects of the foreclosure surge." Shaila Dewan in The New York Times. House Republicans are planning a vote on a 'fast track' proposal for tax reform. "Speaker John Boehner said in a speech Tuesday that House Republicans would try to attach a timeline to fast-track a broad tax overhaul to a vote extending the George W. Bush-era tax rates before the November elections...'Our bill to stop the New Yearas Day tax increase will also establish an expedited process by which Congress would enact real tax reform in 2013,' Boehner (R-Ohio) said in remarks to a fiscal summit in Washington. 'This process would look something like how we handle Trade Promotion Authority, where you put in place a timeline for both houses to act.'...GOP aides said that, even though Boehner specifically discussed Trade Promotion Authority on Tuesday, House Republicans are looking at a variety of expedited processes that have been used in the past, and have yet to settle on just one." Russell Berman and Bernie Becker in The Hill. @grossdm: Memo to Boehner, the markets, etc.: the House passing legislation won't be sufficient to avert tax increases. They'll have to make a deal The euro zone narrowly missed recession. "The euro-zone economy narrowly escaped recession in the latest quarter thanks to a surprising rebound in Germany, which offset deepening downturns in Spain and Italy. Although the region avoided two straight quarterly drops in gross domestic product, the common benchmark for recession, the figures nonetheless reflect a deepening divide between Germany and the rest of the euro zone that complicates the bloc's efforts to stem its debt crisis...Euro-zone GDP was unchanged from the previous quarter, said Eurostat, the European Union's statistics agency. In annualized terms, GDP rose 0.1% from the fourth quarter, according to calculations by J.P. Morgan Chase. Economists had expected an annualized contraction of around 1%. GDP fell at a 1.2% rate in the fourth quarter...European stock markets rose initially on the figures, which eased fears that the debt crisis may trigger an economic free fall." Brian Blackstone in The Washington Post. Export-Import Bank reauthorization cleared the Senate by a wide margin. "On a broad bipartisan vote of 78 to 20, the Senate voted Tuesday to extend the life of the U.S. Export-Import Bank and expand its authority to make loans to U.S. exporters. In the 'Schoolhouse Rock' version of how Capitol Hill works, this is what Congress does all the time -- passes legislation. But it made for big news on this Capitol Hill, where protracted partisan warfare has meant that lately the story has more often been about votes forced by one party or the other to indignantly demonstrate the otheras opposition...Tuesdayas bill was the rarest of breeds: a lasting compromise on an issue of substance. It renewed the charter of what is commonly referred to as the Ex-Im bank for three years and will over that time raise the cap on the total financing the bank can guarantee from $100 billion to $140 billion." Rosalind Helderman in The Washington Post. The U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement took effect. "A free-trade agreement between the U.S. and Colombia took effect Tuesday after years of negotiations and despite strong opposition from U.S. labor organizations, which are worried about jobs being sent abroad and union-busting violence in Colombia. The first products shipped tariff-free were crates of Colombian roses and other flowers that landed Tuesday morning at Miami's airport...President Barack Obama signed the free-trade agreement with Colombia in October, days after Congress gave its final approval following heated debates. The deal was originally negotiated by the Bush administration, but President Obama reworked the deal to satisfy Democrats. The U.S. exported $14 billion of goods to Colombia last year, everything from cars to consumer electronics to food, and exports are expected to rise by more than $1.1 billion as a direct result of the pact, according to the International Trade Commission." Dan Molinski in The Wall Street Journal. Adorable children singing interlude: Two girls cover Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" from the back seat of the car. Health Care Catholic bishops are threatening to sue over the birth control mandate. "The Catholic Church's U.S. hierarchy warned Tuesday that without quick action by Congress, it will sue the Obama administration for mandating that insurance plans provide birth control to women without a co-pay. '[F]orcing individual and institutional stakeholders to sponsor and subsidize an otherwise widely available product over their religious and moral objections serves no legitimate, let alone compelling, government interest,' lawyers for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote in a letter to federal regulators. Several small Catholic universities have already filed suit over the policy...The bishops' notice came in 20 pages of comments submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on a forthcoming rule to accommodate certain religious organizations, such as Catholic hospitals, that were not exempted from the original mandate." Elise Viebeck in The Hill. Obamacare will expand healthcare options for immigrants. "The Obama administrationas drive to cut down on Americaas uninsured is about to get multilingual. Come 2014, when core provisions of the Affordable Care Act kick in, millions of legal immigrants will have new options for gaining health coverage. And like U.S. citizens, most will be subject to the individual mandate, under which they will be required to get coverage to avoid a penalty. The national health law explicitly excludes illegal immigrants -- a politically explosive topic -- and bans them from the new state insurance exchanges, even if they use their own money. They will make up a big chunk of the remaining uninsured population. But advocates say states have good reasons to reach out and get uninsured legal residents covered -- especially as the federal government picks up most of the tab...In 2014...legal immigrants will be able to shop for health coverage through the new state insurance exchanges." Kyle Cheney in Politico. Domestic Policy The backlash against standardized testing is growing. "The increasing role of standardized testing in U.S. classrooms is triggering pockets of rebellion across the country from school officials, teachers and parents who say the system is stifling teaching and learning. In Texas, some 400 local school boards--more than one-third of the state's total--have adopted a resolution this year asking lawmakers to scale back testing. In Everett, Wash., more than 500 children skipped state exams in protest earlier this month...The efforts are a response to the spread of mandatory testing in the past decade. Proponents say the exams are needed to ensure students are learning and teachers' effectiveness is measured. Critics say schools are spending disproportionate time and resources on the tests at the expense of more-creative learning. They also contend the results weigh too heavily in decisions on student advancement, teacher pay and the fate of schools judged to have failed." Stephanie Banchero in The Wall Street Journal. The NLRB suspended implementation of its union elections rule. "The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) suspended implementation on Tuesday of a rule that would speed up union elections. On Monday, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg struck down the regulation. In his ruling, the judge said the labor board only had two members vote on the final rule in December 2011 when it needed three members to form a quorum. In the wake of the court decision, the agency is temporarily suspending the rule's implementation, which went into effect on April 30. Further, Lafe Solomon, the NLRB's acting general counsel, withdrew guidance he sent to the labor board's regional offices and told those offices to follow the old union election rule instead. The agency is still considering its response to the court ruling...'We continue to believe that the amendments represent a significant improvement in our process and serve the public interest by eliminating unnecessary litigation,' said NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce." Kevin Bogardus in The Hill. Dog's-eye view interlude: Life from on top of puppies. Energy Energy independence is no pipe dream. "Every president since Richard Nixon has called for the U.S. to wean itself from needing oil from unstable or unsavory countries. The nation's new-found energy riches are likely to bring that ambition closer to reality in the next two decades, according to many forecasters. It's no pipe dream. The U.S. is already the world's fastest-growing oil and natural gas producer. Counting the output from Canada and Mexico, North America is 'the new Middle East,' Citigroup analysts declare in a recent report. The U.S. Energy Information Agency says U.S. oil imports will drop 20% by 2025. Oil giant BP projects the U.S. will get 94% of its energy domestically by 2030, up from 77% now, as oil imports fall by half...Most enticing, a team of analysts and economists at Citigroup argues that the U.S., or at least North America, can achieve energy independence by 2020." Tim Mullaney in USA Today. @umairh: So consider how our political institutions are paralyzed by a financial crisis. Now think about energy, water, etc crises. Sweet! Wonkbook is compiled and produced with help from Karl Singer and Michelle Williams. legalweek Legal Week has unveiled the judging panel for its debut awards for senior in-house lawyers working in the Middle East, which will be held in Dubai on 17 May this year. The deadline for entries is 15 March.
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Stein, a Harvard economics professor, was confirmed 70-24. Powell, a banker who served in George H.W. Bush's Treasury Department, was confirmed 74-21. Neither seems evidently more qualified than Nobel laureate Peter Diamond, who Republicans filibustered last year. But the Obama administration's 'Noah's Ark' strategy -- nominate one Republican and one Democrat -- worked. Furthermore, the predicted collapse of the confirmation process after Obama recess appointed Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau hasn't happened. So that's another piece of good news. 
These comments have been the occasion for much wailing and gnashing of teeth, as if anyone, anywhere, believed that the Republicans' 2011 debt-ceiling antics were some sort of one-off. But Boehner was clear on Tuesday. "I will again insist on my simple principle of cuts and reforms greater than the debt limit increase," he said.