I am really excited that the long overdue battle over immigration reform and a path to citizenship has finally begun in earnest. While I am heartsick at the reason, it is good news that common sense gun safety laws are once again being discussed in this country almost two decades after we finally passed the Brady Bill. And the on-going, never ending budget fights remain urgently important in terms of stopping more damage to middle class and poor people in America. I know I will be engaging daily in the vitally important battles over all these issues, and I expect my progressive allies all over the country will be as well.

But I remain troubled, profoundly troubled, by the fact that fundamental economic issues seem to be the last thing on anybody’s minds in DC. Our economy may be slowly getting better, but we still have a very serious jobs crisis in this country- nowhere near to full employment and not on a path to get there for many years to come. Our manufacturing sector is still only limping along and our trade deficit remains catastrophically high. Our infrastructure is still badly in need of repair. Wages for most workers are still stuck in neutral or slipping compared to inflation, and a third of those who found new jobs after losing them in the great recession are being paid less than in the old job. Our housing market is getting stronger in some metro areas, but is still very weak overall in terms of prices, homeowners under water, and numbers of foreclosures and empty homes.

And looming over these economic problems is quite literally the elephant in the room: these gargantuan Too Big To Fail, and apparently Too Big To Jail, Wall Street financial conglomerates.

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It seems absolutely freakin' crazy that only one month after a superstorm flattens the infrastructure of the East Coast, the Obama administration and Congress are having Very Serious Talks about cutting $4 trillion in spending. This infrastructure crisis is fueled by the climate change crisis we seem to be ignoring. That's in addition to the zombie banks, the mortgage crisis and the fact that we have far too many unemployed people with no jobs on the horizon and very little help from the people who are supposed to represent them.

NJ Gov. Chris Christie is asking for $36.8 billion for Sandy recovery, and because he did not drop his recovery duties and enthusiastically don a cheerleader costume and wave pom-poms for the Republican candidate, the Republican House will most likely find a way to make him (and Obama) sweat for the money. This is what passes for a democratic republic these days. These people are crazy. But their craziness is encouraged by the "bipartisan" deficit fever from both parties, given extra momentum by the White House and the eternal Quest For The Grand Bargain.

The Obama proposal includes a modest $50 billion infrastructure bank, which isn't even enough to clean up after the storm, let alone address our ongoing problems.

I mean, we have sh*t pouring into the waters off New York and New Jersey. Outright sewage being pumped directly into the waters off New York City, the urban center of the world. What, are we officially a rural Third World nation now? When did the Hudson and Passaic rivers turn into the Ganges?

And while all this is falling apart, President Obama is by most accounts more obsessed with the idea of striking a Grand Bargain as his legacy -- an extraordinarily short-sighted goal that seems more likely to leave a legacy of being the president who let the country fall apart on his watch. It's going to take more than a few hugs for storm victims to fix this, Mr. President. Bad politics and piss-poor policy!

EAST ROCKAWAY, N.Y. — The water flowing out of the Bay Park sewage plant here in Nassau County is a greenish-gray soup of partially treated human waste, a sign of an environmental and public health disaster that officials say will be one of the most enduring and expensive effects of Hurricane Sandy.

In the month since the storm, hundreds of millions of gallons of raw and partly raw sewage from Bay Park and other crippled treatment plants have flowed into waterways in New York and New Jersey, exposing flaws in the region’s wastewater infrastructure that could take several years and billions of dollars to fix. In New York State alone, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has estimated that about $1.1 billion will be needed to repair treatment plants. But officials acknowledge that they will have to do far more.

Motors and electrical equipment must be raised above newly established flood levels, and circuitry must be made waterproof. Dams and levees may have to be built at some treatment plants to keep the rising waters at bay, experts say.

Failure to do so, according to experts, could leave large swaths of the population vulnerable to public health and environmental hazards in future storms.

“You’re looking at significant expenditures of money to make the plants more secure,” said John Cameron, an engineer who specializes in wastewater-treatment facilities and is the chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Council. “There is no Band-Aid for this,” he added. “This is the new normal.”

Squeeeeee! We're getting high speed rail here in California!!!! To say that I'm giddy with excitement would be an understatement. It wasn't certain that the vote would go our way, so it's with a huge sigh of relief that I share this with you:

A divided state Senate approved billions of dollars in funding to start construction on California's ambitious high-speed rail line Friday, handing the controversial project $7.9 billion in state and federal money for the first 130 miles of track and a series of local transit upgrades.

The funding measure, which was easily approved in the Assembly Thursday, will now head to Gov. Jerry Brown, who pushed lawmakers to approve it. In all, the Legislature this week authorized the issuance of $4.6 billion in state bond funds - about half of the $9.9 billion approved by voters in 2008 - and opened the door for California to obtain $3.3 billion in federal grants, for a total of $7.9 billion.

It was a key vote: Federal transportation officials had warned that if the money were not made available this summer, they would yank the $3.3 billion in stimulus funds and give it to other states.

And it was a tough win for Democratic leaders, who weren't sure by midday if they had the votes to pass the measure, which got the bare minimum of 21 votes, all of them Democrats. But some in the party refused to support the plan.

Had this project been deep-sixed, I would have read it as a sign that the state who pioneered Big Things in the 50s and 60s had lost its will to do anything to improve life and commerce here. It's not the whole banana by a long shot, but it's a darn good start.

This morning as networks were setting their schedules to accomodate the President's economic policy speech in Cleveland, the Romney campaign decided they needed to try and upstage that by having their boy give one in Cincinnati at the very same time. How mature of them. As Martin Bashir notes, we're surprised they didn't put on some fake police uniforms and pull over the President's motorcade.

After other Romney campaign operatives demonstrated how utterly stupid and childish they were by driving their campaign bus around the venue for President Obama's speech, things got real. Let me just cut to the chase. Here's the President's vision for the economy: Education. Energy. Innovation. Infrastructure. Here's Mitt Romney's:

"You may have heard that President Obama is on the other side of the state and he’s going to be delivering a speech on the economy. He’s doing that because he hasn’t delivered a recovery for the economy," Romney said. "And he’s going to be a person of eloquence as he describes his plans for making the economy better. But don’t forget, he’s been president for three and a half years. And talk is cheap. Action speaks very loud. And if you want to see the results of his economic policies, look around Ohio, look around the country, you’ll see a lot of people are hurting."

Yes, well the thing is, a lot less people are hurting than were in 2008. Here are the 2008 numbers, taken from the text of the President's speech:

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Let's just get this out of the way up front: The administration acknowledges that President Obama's promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term will not happen. So yes, it's a broken promise. Blame Wall Street for that.

Via Washington Post:

In a written message to Congress, Obama issued a passionate election-year call for increased spending to bolster domestic manufacturing, lure jobs back from overseas, hire teachers, retrain workers and rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. He drew a sharp contrast with his Republican opponents, arguing that his approach “rejects the ‘you’re on your own’ economics” that envision tax cuts for the rich and a frayed social safety net for everyone else, and “have led to a widening gap between the richest and poorest Americans.”

The President's budget proposal calls for big investments in infrastructure, education, and jobs programs with cuts to discretionary spending. It is, however, a two-pronged approach. His call for passage of the Buffett rule, taxation of dividends at ordinary income rates, and other tax increases for the wealthy are part of a separate tax reform initiative unrelated to the budget outlined by the White House.

Ezra Klein has more wonky details, comparing Obama's budget to Mitt Romney's proposals:

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I guess if you're a Republican infrastructure is great, as long as it's in Iraq or Libya.

Talking Points Memo:

So it came as a bit of a surprise to hear a GOP senator who's up for re-election this cycle say on Fox News, "We can go over there and help them build their infrastructure up."

That's Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). He wasn't talking about a forlorn corner of the United States, though. He was talking about Libya. And the 'infrastructure' he was talking about didn't really include schools and bridges.

"One of the problems I have from leading from behind is when a day like this comes we don't have the infrastructure in place that we could have," Graham explained. Here he's talking about the metaphorical infrastructure of U.S. forces and appointees on the ground who can help direct events. However, he soon moved on to talking about another type of infrastructure -- the kind that helps with extracting oil.

Republicans make me sick. I don't really even have anything more than that to add.

Despite the overwhelming din of right-wing noise, the President gave a speech. It's one worth watching. Speaking to a fired-up crowd in Ohio at the Brent Spence Bridge, the President gave his best shot at getting people to understand the value of shoring up our crumbling infrastructure, while bringing back echoes of Ronald Reagan's speech at the Berlin Wall.

The gloves are off in this battle, and anyone who doubted this President's will to fight should rethink that idea. No more compromising, no more calling out of "Congress". It's all about Republicans and Republican (lack of) leadership.

Here's the snippet of the transcript where he calls them out by name:

So my question is, what's Congress waiting for? Why is it taking so long? Now, the bridge behind us just happens to connect the state that’s home to the Speaker of the House --

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE PRESIDENT: -- with the home state of the Republican leader in the Senate.

AUDIENCE: Booo --

THE PRESIDENT: Now, that’s just a coincidence. (Laughter.) Purely accidental that that happened. (Laughter.) But part of the reason I came here is because Mr. Boehner and Mr. McConnell, those are the two most powerful Republicans in government. They can either kill this jobs bill, or they can help pass this jobs bill. (Applause.) And I know these men care about their states. They care about businesses; they care about workers here. I can’t imagine that the Speaker wants to represent a state where nearly one in four bridges are classified as substandard -- one in four. I know that when Senator McConnell visited the closed bridge in Kentucky, he said that, “Roads and bridges are not partisan in Washington.” That’s great. I know that Paul Ryan, the Republican in charge of the budget process, recently said that "you can’t deny that infrastructure does creates jobs." That's what he said.

Well, if that’s the case, there’s no reason for Republicans in Congress to stand in the way of more construction projects. There’s no reason to stand in the way of more jobs.

Mr. Boehner, Mr. McConnell, help us rebuild this bridge. (Applause.) Help us rebuild America. Help us put construction workers back to work. (Applause.) Pass this bill.

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You might wonder why on earth cyclists would be on the Pacific Coast Highway. The reason is a simple one. That's where cyclists are supposed to be. These women were riding in a bike lane on a highway where trucks and cars are merging, the speed limit is 55 miles per hour, and where there is no other option. At least, there has been no option until recently, when a separate two-lane bike path was approved as part of a wider plan for highway improvement in that area. In this case, funding for the project was paid for by transportation bonds approved in California, with funding assistance for bike lanes coming via Federal transportation funds for bike lane improvements. Thanks to the Recovery Act, cities everywhere are adding bicycle paths (PDF) like the one pictured above.

The Obama administration has made bicycle lanes and safe streets a priority. Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood is an avid cyclist who understands the benefits of safe pathways. As one who has nearly been run down by distracted drivers who inadvertently swerve into very narrow bike lanes, every improvement made is one that I view as a lifesaver somewhere to someone.

Enter Rep. John Mica, our new Republican transportation appropriations overlord. Yes, our tea party Congress has proposed killing all guaranteed funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Back in July, when the House was busily carving out all sorts of little green projects from the budget, Mica and his crew decided bicycle paths and walkways for pedestrians were just extras we don't need. Luckily, the Senate had our backs and passed a clean funding extension, but the two bills have not been reconciled yet.

Now we have President Obama's jobs bill, which includes funding for infrastructure improvements. This, of course, will give these crazypants wingnuts another bite at the slap-the-cyclist apple. Via BikeLeague.org:

This evening, the President talks to the nation about jobs and infrastructure, and he’ll likely repeat his plea for Congress to pass a “clean” extension to the Federal transportation program. The House Republican response includes an explicit demand that funding for bicycling and walking infrastructure be stripped out of the program.

Here's the actual text of that explicit demand:

For example, it is our understanding that you may propose an infrastructure initiative as part of your jobs plan. We are not opposed to initiatives to repair and improve infrastructure, and believe there are reforms that can be implemented that would improve their effectiveness in a manner that supports economic growth. Current law requires that states set-aside 10 percent of their surface transportation funds for transportation enhancements, which must be used for items such as establishment of transportation museums, education activities for pedestrians and bicyclists, acquisition of scenic easements, historic preservation, operation of historic transportation facilities, etc. While many of the initiatives funded by this mandatory set-aside may be worthy projects, eliminating this required set-aside would allow states to devote more money to the types of infrastructure programs you are advocating without adding to the deficit. We believe such a reform would be consistent with your statement last week that we should “reform the way transportation money is invested, to eliminate waste, to give states more control over the projects that are right for them.”

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Nearly a year ago to the day, San Bruno spontaneously combusted. As attractive as it may be to blame Satan, the report issued by federal investigators places responsibility firmly on the shoulders of just about everyone at PG&E, past and present.

Via LA Times:

The National Transportation Safety Board also said PG&E exploited the lack of monitoring by regulators, who mistakenly placed "blind trust" in the utility.

The report Tuesday concluded that poor pipeline welds went undetected because of a lack of inspections by the company and inadequate monitoring by state and federal regulators. The utility also lacked a workable emergency response plan that board members said could have helped to prevent the devastation in the city of San Bruno.

"This represents a failure of the entire system — a system of checks and balances that should have prevented this disaster," said Robert L. Sumwalt, an NTSB board member. "The seam weld may have been the technical reason, but this was an organizational accident."

What's shocking, though, is how far back the failures go. In the report, the NTSB pinpoints faulty welds as far back as 1956. And of course, PG&E burned $46 million in the 2010 election to try and take over utilities maintained by municipalities, so they could make lots of money and not keep their pipelines maintained. Fortunately, they failed in that attempt.

The depth and breadth of the errors enumerated in this report reminds me of Rick Perry's ridiculous call for President Obama to place a moratorium on all regulations, if elected. Sure, that's what we need.

Perry said:

We’re calling today on the president of the United States to put a moratorium on regulations across this country, because his regulations, his EPA regulations are killing jobs all across America.

Actually, no. Lack of enforcement is killing people all across America, and if Rick Perry had his way, that would be just fine. That many fewer people to govern, I suppose.

We do have a spending problem, you know. We're not spending enough on infrastructure and it's a real problem.

Via CBS in Minnesota:

According to Anoka County Dispatch, emergency crews received a call at about 7:09 a.m. that several train cars had derailed, including the locomotive, over Rice Creek in Fridley. Rice Creek feeds from Rice Lake into the Mississippi River.

The train is from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe company. At least two workers have been injured, but there are no other reports of serious injuries at this time.

BNSF Spokesperson Amy McBeth said it appears a washout occurred as a result of heavy rains in the area and likely caused the train derailment. The washout was west of the railroad bridge, which was damaged as a result of the derailment.

McBeth said 17 cars, including two locomotives, derailed Saturday morning. An engineer and conductor were the only people on the train when it derailed. They were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The spokesperson said the train had a total of 110 cars and three locomotives. The spokesperson also said about 50 trains use that route on a daily basis. The tracks there will be out of service “for a while” as crews work to clear cars, repair the tracks and conduct an investigation to determine how exactly the train derailed.

As it happens, I'm in the middle of house renovations right now. The renovations are more difficult than they should have to be because we put them off for too long and the repairs are much more expensive. Instead of simply replacing a shower pan, we have to tear the whole thing down to the studs and replace subfloors. Instead of patching some wood rot, we're going to have to tear out bathroom #2, jack up the cast iron tub and replace the entire subfloor. We were stupid. So is the US government, and this Republican congress in particular.

When Republican Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says the economy needs more stimulus right now, not less spending, it should be a clue that there's a problem. Wall Street reacted to those remarks with optimism. But after a week of garment-rending over spending, bond defaults, and other irrelevant and ultimately ridiculous posturing, Bernanke said there would be no action by the Fed to stimulate spending, and the markets reacted accordingly.

Not that there should necessarily be action by the Fed. There should be action by the Congress, and President Obama tried to push them in that direction earlier this week:

"The infrastructure bank that we've proposed is relatively small," he said. "But could we imagine a project where we're rebuilding roads, bridges and ports and schools and broadband lines and smart-grids and taking all those construction workers and putting them back to work right now?

"I can imagine a very aggressive program like that around that I think the American people would rally around and that I think would be good for the economy not just next year or the year after, but for the next 20 or 30 years," Obama continued.

Ironic that this bridge collapse happened in Minnesota, where Governor Dayton finally appears to have come to a deal with legislators to end the 2-week government shutdown there. Unfortunately, Dayton is going to take a heavy political hit for this deal, since it essentially grants everything Republicans wanted with one exception: They agreed to take the social wedge issues out. So abortion and stem cell research at the Mayo Clinic survived, as did the jobs of 15% of Minnesota's public employees. But Dayton was forced to give up raising taxes on wealthy Minnesotans.

This is the difference between states and the federal government. States are forced to balance their budgets, and they often look to the federal government for assistance in getting that done. But on a federal level, a balanced budget would be a disaster, despite the fact that Republicans say otherwise. Dayton had to balance 22,000 employees furloughed against those tax increases, and employees won. But it won't play that way to voters, I think. Bottom line in Minnesota? Republicans took hostages they were willing to shoot. The same is not true on a federal level.

The national default "crisis" talks is how effectively Republicans shifted focus from investment in this country to austerity, and yes, Obama followed along perhaps a little too closely, though he certainly has tried to make a case for an infrastructure bank and other investment this past week. At the same time, I'm not clear on how to make the case in a way that people will understand because it's counterintuitive, this idea of government spending to stimulate the economy. It's right. But it's counterintuitive, and that's largely because we have a news media that starts on a basis that Republicans' claims are fact, and doesn't ever bother to report or investigate alternate themes.

This manufactured "default crisis" will likely end with Congress passing a clean bill. I just don't see any grand bargains being possible with the climate as hostile as it is right now in DC. But the real cost will be how Republicans have driven home the austerity theme, regardless of how indefensible it is to claim austerity while not asking anyone with the means to give a little more to end things.