Here we go again. President Obama and House Republicans are preparing for another showdown over spending—but this time the two sides , lawmakers might not be able to reach an agreement and prevent a government shutdown.
White House officials told The Washington Post that the president will not sign Republican spending bills into law if they include more spending reductions. If both sides stick to their positions, the government would shutdown at the end of September, when Congress is required by law to authorize a new funding measure to keep the government’s lights on.
The Washington Post’s Zachary Goldfarb and Paul Kane write that "The posture represents a more confrontational approach than that of this spring, when ... Obama decided not to escalate a fight over across-the-board reductions known as sequestration ... The change in tone has been evident in repeated and little-noticed veto threats over the past few weeks by Obama, who has rarely issued the warnings with such frequency.” - Read more at The Washington Post
ECONOMY WILL ADD 1 MILLION JOBS IF SEQUESTER II IS CANCELED If Congress cancels the second portion of the sequester cuts, government spending will increase by about $14 billion in FY2013 and $90 billion in FY2014, the Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis released Thursday. The CBO also said the country will have 900,000 more jobs in the third quarter of next year. However, the report said if Congress allows the cuts to take place, it could cost the economy as many the economy could lose many as 1.6 million jobs by the end of next year. - Read more at The Fiscal Times
SENATE DEMS WANT YELLEN FOR FED Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is circulating a letter among Senate Democrats urging President Obama to nominate Janet Yellen to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The letter comes on the heels of chatter that Lawrence Larry Summers, Obama’s the president’s former top economic aide and a one-time Treasury Secretary , is the frontrunner for the job. POLITICO’s Zachary Warmbrodt writes that “the letter does not specifically mention Summers, but he has long been a lightning rod for liberals and other Wall Street reform advocates. They are upset with the key role he played in financial deregulation during the 1990s, which is considered a contributor to the 2008 financial crisis, when he served in the Treasury Department, including as secretary at the end of the Clinton administration.” Read more at Politico
WHY STUDENTS ARE PASSING ON TOP COLLEGES Living off ramen noodles only goes so far. More and more students are choosing not to go to some of the country’s most prestigious universities simply because they cost too much. According to a new study by Sallie Mae, 67 percent of families ruled out eliminated colleges based on cost. That’s up from 56 percent in 2009. Of those surveyed, 40 percent said they dismissed schools based on cost before they had even researched the school.
The Fiscal Times’ Beth Braverman writes that “the growing influence of college cost on selection reflects a still-sputtering economy , as wages have remained stagnant. Given concerns over their own job security and retirement costs, parents are shouldering less of the tuition burden, and students are increasingly aware that borrowing too much to pay for school could hamper their economic growth for years after graduation.” Read more at The Fiscal Times