With the Medicare and other budget battles eating up the oxygen of political discourse these days, a few stories that aren't getting much coverage today:
- This one may be underbuzzed, but we're gonna try to change that on the show tonight: The price of coffee is going up. At Starbucks. And the CEO is blaming Wall St. speculators. So now it's not just your morning commute, it's your morning coffee, too. This story has been a hobby horse for me since I did it for Keith back in 2008--and the point behind it all is that it's not just any one commodity. The deregulation of trading has paved the way for investors and speculators to flood money into any commodity market. Until this gets fixed, it won't be just your coffee and gas. Eventually it'll be your bread, too. Fruits and veggies. Land. Water.
- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) says there's a secret USA PATRIOT Act. Wonder when that's up for extension? It's amazing how blithely we've accepted the implementation of a permanent security state.
- An anonymous employee has tipped off the NY Fed about Goldman Sachs systematically rejecting borrowers' attempts to lower loan payments. So, ALLEGEDLY, the same institution that led and epitomized everything that plunged us into financial ruin is ALLEGEDLY also bucking government efforts to help Americans escape the consequences of it. (Goldman Sachs, by the way, one of the pioneers of commodity-futures speculation).
- House GOP Leader Eric Cantor has secretly told lawmakers their states will get disaster relief. That would seem to take away any leverage he has to get spending cuts in return, right, House Democrats???
That's what I've got today. Let me know if I missed anything. The Ed Show airs as usual tonight. I'll be back Tuesday morning with the day's Morning EDition. See you then.