Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Here's a bit more:

In March, the Bush administration approved a 1.9 mile-per-gallon increase in the standards for sport utility vehicles, minivans and pickups -- all in the light truck class that includes big gas guzzlers -- to 24.1 mpg between 2008 and 2011. It also rewrote the rules for calculating how far light trucks must go on a gallon of gasoline.

But the lawsuit, joined by the attorneys general of California, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont, says the move included language that could "create incentives to build larger, less fuel-efficient models" and attempts to pre-empt a California law requiring a reduction of greenhouse gas tailpipe emissions.

A sidenote: The attorney general of the District of Columbia and the corporate counsel for New York City have also joined in the suit.

The King REALLY wants his tax cuts for the wealthy:  (See related item below on Social Security.)

President Bush was set to hold a meeting with top Republican tax writers and Congressional leaders Tuesday afternoon in an effort to spur completion of a $70 billion tax cut package, House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio told reporters Tuesday. "The president really wants a tax bill," Boehner said. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Thomas, R-California, have been attempting to iron out disagreements over how to raise revenues to pay for some elements of the tax package.

After all, he has only a thousand days left to "secure" his legacy.

Speaking of tax cuts, how `bout those new numbers?

On May 1, the Center for Budget and Policy's latest newsletter discloses the Social Security Board of Trustees' 66th annual report on the program's financial and actuarial status.  

The report projects that Social Security's trust fund reserves will be exhausted in 2040, one year earlier than last year's projection.  After that year, Social Security will be able to pay 74 percent of scheduled benefits, rather than full benefits.

The trustees' report reaffirms that Social Security does not face a near-term crisis and can pay full benefits for the next 34 years but will eventually face a significant imbalance.  A sizeable shortfall between Social Security income and Social Security benefit entitlements should not be acceptable to the public or policymakers, and action is needed to restore the program's long-term solvency.

Anyone concerned about Social Security's long-term impact on the federal budget ought to be even more concerned about the long-term fiscal impact of extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.  If made permanent, the tax cuts will cost nearly three times as much, over the next 75 years, as the 75-year deficit in Social Security (follow the link for the graph).  Any attempt to address the looming fiscal challenges should include Social Security, Medicare (and the U.S. health care system as a whole), and overall government revenues.

Private accounts financed by borrowing would aggravate the problem, as they would drain resources from Social Security and increase its deficits for at least several decades.

Tom DeLay has trouble breaking even:

Rep. Tom DeLay raised more money to pay legal fees after abandoning any effort to return as majority leader than he did in the immediate months following his indictment in Texas last year on money laundering charges.

DeLay, R-Texas, received lots of help in boosting his legal defense fund from Texas financiers of Republican causes, corporations and fellow members of Congress. But he spent as much as he raised during the first three months of 2006.
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He raised $314,435 between January and March while awaiting trial on the Texas charges and spent $312,465, most of it on legal fees. In the previous three months, he raised $182,000 and spent $239,000.

One contributor was Houston home builder Bob Perry, the chief financial backer of Swift Boat Veterans of Truth, which campaigned against Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 presidential race. Perry and his wife Doylene contributed a total $10,000 to DeLay's legal fund.

Other like-minded folks, like James Leininger and his wife Cecilia pitched in an equal amount.

Saber rattling is contagious: Iran Threatens Israel if U.S. attacks

TEHRAN, Iran - A top Revolutionary Guards commander said Tuesday that Israel would be Iran's first retaliatory target if attacked by the United States.

Where's Valerie Plame when we need her?

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