Democrats hand Obama a stinging defeat on trade deal Washington Post – Dana Milbank. Has economic populism taken control of the Democratic Party? This is the question Dana Milbank asks after 44 out of 45 Senate Democrats blocked consideration of “fast track” trade authority – a crucial vehicle to get the TPP through Congress. This effort was largely headed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren who urgently noted that, We can’t keep pushing through trade deals that benefit multinational companies at the expense of workers. Government cannot continue to be the captive of the rich and powerful. Working people cannot be forced to give up more and more as they get squeezed harder and harder. The Obama administration is in no way pleased with this populist surge from the left. White House press secretary Josh Earnest labelled Tuesday’s vote a  “procedural snafu.”  And President Obama himself has offered some harsh words for Democratic opponents of the TPP . But just yesterday, Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics retorted, The president is making some fairly nasty remarks about people on the other side, that they don’t understand we’re in the 21st century. Actually we do. I don’t think he understands. Tim Worstall is at it again: ‘Marvel’ at his newest article attacking Robert Reich’s arguments on the minimum wage. For your entertainment, check out this paragraph: As I’ve said before there probably is good reason for Robert Reich to be a professor of public policy rather than of economics. Because he doesn’t seem to understand the economics of the arguments that he himnself [sic] uses. First off – is Tim Worstall an economist? (Not an insult, I’m genuinely curious. The guy blogs on economics, but nowhere on the internet can I find where/what he studied.) And secondly, does anyone copy-edit this guy’s work? Poverty is finally having its day: 2015 has been an unusual moment in American politics, “with presidential aspirants in both parties suddenly talking about income inequality , even if they don’t agree on solutions.” Whether or not this ‘talk’ leads to outcomes, however, remains to be seen. 10 percent of Seattle residents … Continue reading Daily Clips: May 13th, 2015