Let's take a long view on costs, budget deficit--By Harold Ford Jr.

Among the many lessons from a summer of passionate town hall meetings is that Americans are concerned about the country's growing debt. And rightly so.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal budget deficit will reach $1.6 trillion in 2010. After that, the situation is even worse. The agency projects the deficit could exceed $9 trillion over 10 years. Over the past year, the government has taken some extraordinary steps, intervening in the marketplace in ways it had never done before. Before President George W. Bush left office, his administration engineered an unprecedented rescue of our nation's financial system that involved the government in running large financial institutions.

The financial rescue was absolutely necessary but was not enough by itself to get America out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Just weeks into office, President Barack Obama enacted a major stimulus package and provided much-needed aid to the domestic auto industry.

These measures are working. Once on the verge of a complete meltdown, the financial system has stabilized. Major financial institutions have begun to pay back the emergency loans with interest: According to one report, taxpayers have made a 15 percent profit from the eight largest banks that have fully repaid their TARP funds. Stock markets have rebounded from recent lows. Jobs have not come back yet, but the economy has begun to turn a corner and the groundwork is laid for a recovery.

However, the actions taken over the past year have led to real and justified fears that such unprecedented government intervention will become the norm -- that the government will just keep growing, with no way to pay for the increased spending.

President Obama is not responsible for the country's budget woes. The cost of the stimulus bill passed under his watch was a tiny fraction of the costs of decisions made during the previous administration, including providing tax cuts for the highest-income taxpayers, implementing a Medicare prescription drug plan with no measures to restrain costs, and making long-term military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nonetheless, President Obama and congressional Democrats are in charge now, and as they work to address health care and other critical priorities, they must convince the American people that they are charting a responsible, sustainable course for the future.

Republicans in Congress must also contribute ideas and responsible leadership to reduce the nation's debt, rather than simply blaming President Obama.

The ability of the private sector to produce new jobs -- our economic future -- depends on how quickly we can get back on the path to fiscal responsibility. This means that any health-care reform plan should be paid for -- a promise that President Obama has made, and one that his predecessor should have made.

As soon as possible, Congress should also enact a law requiring that any new tax or entitlement programs be paid for with offsetting cuts in spending or new revenue. Perhaps most important, Washington policymakers need to stop taking a myopic view of our nation's budget outlook.

Congress currently considers only the 10-year budgetary impact of new initiatives. As a result, it has repeatedly passed bills that appear to be budget-neutral in the short term but that explode the deficit in the long term. Congress also has developed a bad habit of addressing important issues (such as the estate tax, the alternative minimum tax and payments to health-care providers) on a year-to-year basis.

This postpones, but at the same time worsens, the financial reckoning that is sure to come. Instead, the administration and Congress should systematically consider the impact of every new policy for 10 years and beyond.

Tennessee's 5th District congressman, Jim Cooper, is a leader in Congress on fiscal responsibility as the primary author of bipartisan legislation that sets a timeline for Congress to act to reverse the country's deficits. Under Rep. Cooper's plan, if Congress doesn't muster the political courage to act, a bipartisan commission would recommend ways to balance the budget that Congress would be forced to consider. It is modeled on the bipartisan process for consolidating military installations around the country. Congress should act on Rep. Cooper's plan.

The extraordinary measures taken at the height of the nation's economic crisis were needed, but it is time to take the long view. The American people will support initiatives such as health-care reform only if they can trust the current leadership not to leave them and their children with a massive bill.

Harold Ford Jr. Makes Rare Memphis Appearance--By Lee Smith

On a devastating election night, nearly three and a half years ago, Harold Ford Junior's 15 month crusade for a Tennessee US Senate seat ended agonizingly short of it's goal.

Addressing a saddened crowd that night, an emotionally drained Ford reflected, "These are moments, you can either shrink from or grow from."

Yet, in spite of having to temporarily abandon dreams derived from a previously skyrocketing political career, an appearance as a guest speaker at the Tennessee Bar Association Convention in Memphis on Friday, proved Ford jr. has grown quite comfortably into a man intent on responding to the beat of his own drum, for right now, at the expense of advancing his personal political fortunes.

Ford told the gathering, "In many ways this presents a real and meaningful opportunity for us to do some different things. To try things at an opportunistic moment and not only to hope, but believe the best will come from it."

Ford, who declined requests for interviews with the Memphis media, basically spoke in generalities about the national and international challenges facing the Obama administration. His carefully crafted themes reflected his stance as the head of the centrist think tank Democratic Leadership Council.

While he acknowledged his support for President Obama, who as an Ilinois Senator, helped generate funds for Ford's ill-fated 2006 Senate run, he didn't exactly rub it in for an audience of lawyers probably evenly split in their political allegiances.

In measured tones, Ford declared, "The great thing about his election is that really the reset button, the renewal button, that we're always able to push in this great country. The race was unremarkable in the sense that it continues a tradition in our country of we, we as Americans, of electing a person who is a response to the person before him."

Sharing the dais with Ford, was former U-S Senator and memorable Watergate Hearings Chairman, Tennessee Republican icon, Howard Baker. He too echoed the need for a middle-of-the-road approach to government rather than being mired in political partisanship in Congress.

Baker insisted, "The political system continues to work. There is a level of polarization. But, there's also a level of cooperation."

There may still be some mental scars from his vigorous 2006 campaign, but it's obvious, Harold Ford Junior has moved on. He's gone past that fateful crossroad, down a path that may one day lead him back to his dreams.

Congress should pass a smart second stimulus--By Harold Ford, Jr.

The recession that has caused immeasurable pain to American families has now lasted more than a year — the longest since the Great Depression. We’ve reached a pivotal moment, where the U.S. economy can either build on hopes of recovery and begin to grow once again or slide back into an even deeper contraction — one that could last years and have devastating effects.

This is not a time to sit by and wait for events to take their course in the hopes that the second scenario won’t occur. It can happen. And if it does happen, it is unclear whether any fiscal or monetary policies will get us out of it.

The emergency stimulus package that Congress passed in February is still being disbursed. But that is no reason to sit around and wait. This recession is much deeper, job losses more widespread and the danger of a prolonged downturn more real than we thought earlier this year. Then, unemployment was expected to peak at 8.5 percent. It is now 9.5 percent nationally and well over 10 percent in many parts of the country. Job losses actually increased from May to June.

The first stimulus will ultimately inject $787 billion into the economy, including $60 billion wisely invested in energy innovation.

At the same time, the recessionary pressures on the economy cannot be underestimated. More than $10 trillion in wealth was lost in U.S. stocks and real estate last year. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates, 7.2 million Americans have lost their jobs since the recession began. The flow of credit to small businesses has slowed, impeding the entrepreneurial energy that is the key to growth and recovery.

The biggest threat right now is that unending job losses will trigger even more foreclosures and sap the confidence needed to revive consumer spending and investment.

Worse, without action, the budget shortfalls facing U.S. states will force them to sacrifice the very investments that will allow for long-term growth — investments in education, job retraining and clean-energy technologies. Forty-eight states are facing budget deficits for the current year. Combined, the shortfall represents a quarter of state budgets.

To be effective, a stimulus must be designed to have an immediate impact in creating jobs and helping states weather the current economic crisis. At the same time, it cannot add to our long-term debt.

Designing a fiscally responsible stimulus is also the key to building political support. Recent polls have shown that a majority of the American people oppose a second stimulus. Clearly, this is not because they believe the economy is doing well. They would want Congress to do something, but they simply don’t trust it to do the right thing. They recognize the need for bold action but do not want Congress to drown the next generation in debt.

With these principles in mind, here is what I hope to see included in a second stimulus:

The stimulus must provide immediate aid for states of $150 billion to meet the current budget shortfalls. But to ensure fiscal responsibility, this aid should come in the form of loans, not grants.

Rather than apportioning aid to states solely by population, it should be conditioned on states developing plans to restore fiscal sustainability in the long term. I propose that the president appoint a five-person board to review aid requests from states on the basis of the states’ proven commitment to cutting waste, finding more stable revenue sources and making smart long-term investments. In the meantime, Congress must extend unemployment benefits for those who have exhausted theirs while struggling to find a job in this economy.

The stimulus should also use the most efficient and fast-acting method to boost workers’ paychecks and relieve employers’ payrolls: a 10-week holiday from payroll taxes for employers and businesses.

To ensure that an immediate stimulus does not hamper long-term growth, we must find ways to pay for it, including requiring states to repay loans. In addition, as banks repay principal and interest from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, Congress should dedicate the incoming funds toward immediate stimulus.

It is also critical that we take concrete steps to restore fiscal balance in the long run. New budget estimates for health care reform show that tough measures to rein in spending and curb reimbursements can have a significant impact on the rate of growth in costs. The unfortunate truth is that cost-cutting may need to be prioritized over expansion of coverage, which, in any case, is unsustainable without massive cost savings.

Through an emphasis on innovation and investment in new energy industries, President Barack Obama’s administration has begun to lay the groundwork for a U.S. economy that bolsters its position as the driving force of economic growth worldwide. But with job losses mounting, the threat that our economy will go in a different direction, toward prolonged, self-reinforcing stagnation, is too real to ignore. This is not a time for caution or moderation but, rather, for decisive action to create jobs.

Harold Ford Jr. is the chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.

Harold Ford Jr. decides against bid for Democratic nomination for Tenn. governor in 2010--By ERIK SCHELZIG

Former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. says he has decided against a run for Tennessee governor in 2010.

The Memphis Democrat said in a release Monday that the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Bredesen "is not the right time to re-enter politics."

Ford was the Democratic nominee in the 2006 U.S. Senate race against Republican Bob Corker. Ford lost that race to the former Chattanooga mayor by fewer than 3 percentage points.

Democrats who have so far announced they will seek the gubernatorial nomination include state Sen. Roy Herron of Dresden, former state House Majority Leader Kim McMillan of Clarksville and Nashville businessman Ward Cammack.

Education reform is a defining issue

Education reform is a defining issue
By: Harold Ford Jr.
March 26, 2009

President Barack Obama's recent speech on education reform demonstrates that he is willing to put the full weight of his office behind fixing our failing schools. He called for higher standards, more charter schools, merit pay and eliminating bad teachers. When many of our urban school districts are graduating only 25 percent to 50 percent of their students, he knows that the failed methods and orthodoxies must be jettisoned for what will work.

The brave new world of the 21st century demands much more from our children. Obama's ambitious and sweeping agenda will help educate and equip them to make the most of the opportunities created by an integrated global economy.

While there is a broad national consensus for education reform in the country, Obama expects that special interests will oppose his reform agenda. Those who do will fight vigilantly to hold onto the failed schools that shame us as a nation.

But their actions will put them against the best interests of our children and on the wrong side of history. Teachers unions and education groups have expressed opposition in the past to ideas like merit pay and charter schools. They are strongly opposed to a successful voucher program in Washington, D.C., which tragically was killed by Senate Democrats in the omnibus spending bill that passed the Senate last week.

On behalf of the nation's children, Obama is prepared to take on members of his own party and the special interests. Along with turning around the economy, education reform could become the defining issue of his presidency.

Toward that end, the president and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan should consider hosting an education reform summit at the White House. The focus could be on what is working in public schools around the country. This list of "best practices" should be studied, evaluated and shared with principals and teachers -- especially in schools that are underperforming.

He could invite education groups, teachers unions, principals, teachers and education leaders who have a proven record of reform and inform them how they could qualify for federal funding for programs that comply with the policy ideas of the Obama administration.

The genius of America is that we have always been able to overcome the challenges we face. Acknowledging our failures and focusing on methods and programs that have succeeded in educating our children are the best place to start.

It is also time we wake the sleeping giant: the parents who have children attending public schools. Alexis de Tocqueville said that people in a democracy "reign supreme." The parents of public schoolchildren have never fully realized the power they have to bring change to underperforming schools.

With the financial support of the nation's leading charitable foundations, Parent Teacher Associations around the country could be transformed into a national grass-roots effort to advocate for reform of our schools. Patterned after the missionary zeal and political sophistication of the Children's Defense Fund, PTAs could be organized in school districts nationwide. Parents -- motivated by wanting a world-class education for their children and being highly informed and organized -- could bring persistent pressure to members of Congress to adopt an agenda of change to fix our failing schools.

What is at stake is nothing less than the American dream. To pass it on to our children and generations to come, we must restore quality and innovation to all our schools. President Obama knows that our legacy of excellence in education must be redeemed and, with his speech a couple of weeks ago, he has set us on a course to give our children the knowledge and skills they need to compete in this new and changing world.

As Americans, it's time we think of our obligations to each other. It's time we take seriously our collective responsibility for future generations. Providing our children -- regardless of race, class or religion -- with a world-class education is what binds us together and will make our country stronger.

President Obama's plan to reform our schools will help our children live up to their God-given potential. We don't have a moment to lose. Congress should enact his education reform proposal this year.

Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tenn.) is chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.

Innovation, not union-bashing, is road out of automakers' troubles--By Harold Ford Jr. -

THE TENNESSEAN
December 21, 2008
By Harold Ford Jr.

Intel's "strategic objective is tackling big problems and turning them into big businesses," said former Intel Chairman Andy Grove, as he urged the company's current leadership to begin manufacturing advanced batteries for plug-in cars.

Grove believes the future of the U.S. auto industry is in electric cars, and that America's battery production is limited. Thus, Grove contends, Intel should diversify its business by manufacturing advanced batteries for electric cars. Such a venture would create new jobs and increase Intel's profitability. In short, Grove believes Intel should innovate its way to future success.

The Intel model — past and future — is a good one for Detroit and Washington to follow. I watched and listened closely to the auto-bailout debate in Washington earlier this month, and the outcome revealed the stunning lack of creativity and innovation in saving the American automobile industry. Senate Republicans, led by the "Southern resistance" of Sens. Bob Corker, Mitch McConnell and Richard Shelby, implored that bloated and outdated labor agreements between unions and management were the cause of the industry's problems. They argued that, simply by undoing these labor agreements, the car companies could be put back on the path toward profitability again.

The Republican effort to put labor unions out of the car business may serve their political agenda, but it's narrow-minded and certainly no substitute for a long-term growth and innovation strategy to rehabilitate American carmakers. What is missing from the Corker-McConnell-Shelby argument is an equal zeal for incentivizing and rewarding innovation in Detroit.

American carmakers, aided by shortsighted allies in the White House and Congress, over the past two decades have repeatedly resisted making smaller and more fuel-efficient cars, while their Japanese and Korean counterparts manufactured and sold these cars to more and more Americans.

Senate GOP exacerbated market
In addition, the Corker-McConnell-Shelby effort in the Senate caused the auto bailout to fail, adding more stress to an already depressed U.S. job market, with the end result being that thousands of Tennesseans could lose their jobs right after the new year. Tennesseans should be relieved that President Bush defied Corker, McConnell and Shelby to keep the carmakers alive. This is the only way that middle-class Americans will hold on to their jobs while President-elect Barack Obama and the new Congress draft a serious auto restructuring plan.

The new plan will create an auto czar with the authority to rework labor and legacy cost agreements, bring in new management at GM and Chrysler, compel big and continued investments in new battery and hydrogen fuel technologies, and enact a set of tax credits to encourage Americans to buy these newly designed cars. It is true that Detroit's failures must be corrected for them to thrive going forward. But, Washington owes Detroit a more creative option than to destroy the labor unions or allow the carmakers to file Chapter 11.

A collapse of the American automobile industry could also cause great economic upheaval around the world. American carmakers have been very successful in selling cars in Russia, China, India and Brazil. They dominate many of these markets. Any disruption of the American auto industry could cause hundreds of thousands of jobs to be lost in these emerging countries, fueling a worse global recession.

The U.S. car industry's birth was predicated on vision, energy, hard work and innovation. Detroit's success over the decades has created millions of jobs around the country and contributed greatly to our national security. We are too great a country to permit this great industry to become a memory.

The 21st century will rise or fall on the innovation that America and the world can bring to the global marketplace. If the American automobile industry follows the lead of Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple, Fred Smith of FedEx, and, yes, Andy Grove of Intel, it will once again retain its leadership in the manufacturing of cars.

So, Washington and Detroit, get to work. There's not a moment to lose.

Harold Ford Jr. is chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council.

Will McCain Do Anything to Win?--By Harold Ford Jr.

Saturday, October 11, 2008; A21

Although our nation's economic house is on fire, John McCain isn't unveiling proposals to put out the fiscal flames. Instead, he is pursuing the presidency by taking the low road, as he and his surrogates attack Barack Obama in harsh, personal terms. It's hard to believe this is the same man who in 2004 said of the Swift-boat attacks against John Kerry: "I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable."

In fact, after McCain lost the Republican nomination to George Bush in 2000, he declared that there was a "special place in hell" for the Bush operatives who had run a smear campaign against him. By adopting the same approach against Obama, McCain diminishes his reputation and raises questions about his commitment to fairness and decency.

I know that John McCain is a man of courage and character. His ability to overcome the torture he endured at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors is a tribute to his strength and to the human spirit. But as Americans yearn for a president to lead us courageously into an uncertain future, McCain appears to be abandoning his creed of putting country first.

While I am disappointed in McCain's about-face, I am not surprised. When I ran for the Senate in 2006, my opponent, Bob Corker, also found himself trailing in the October polls. His campaign and the Republican National Committee launched a series of false and vicious character attack ads, including the infamous "call me" ad, in which a scantily clad white woman looked at the camera and said, "Harold, call me."

Every major news organization and independent ad-checking group ruled the ad a smear and deemed it way over the line. But that didn't stop John McCain from coming to Tennessee and campaigning for my opponent while the "call me" ad and other smears were broadcast across the state. Not once did McCain speak out against that ad as he did about the smear against John Kerry. In fact, the first manager he hired for his 2008 presidential campaign was Terry Nelson, the person who produced the "call me" ad. Nelson has such a history of practicing below-the-belt politics that Lee Iacocca, a strong supporter of McCain, wrote in his book "Where Have All the Leaders Gone?": "What does it say about John McCain that he's willing to make that kind of person the head of his team?"

This election may be the most consequential since Franklin Roosevelt won the presidency in 1932. Our country is at war in Iraq and in Afghanistan. The American dream is falling further out of reach of millions of families. We face intense competition from rising economic powers in Asia. And after eight years of the failed leadership of President Bush and Vice President Cheney, our image and standing around the globe are in disrepair. Our budget is burdened with runaway entitlement costs, and our public education system is failing our children.

John McCain has to make a choice over the next 3 1/2 weeks. Will he succumb to base impulses and take the country down a path littered with smears and personal attacks? Or will he focus on the future with straight talk and big ideas? America deserves solutions for its problems. Where are McCain's plans to replace the 750,000 jobs lost since the beginning of the year, to stop our financial meltdown, and to help the families hammered by the prices of gas, food and health care?

The writer is chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. He represented Tennessee's 9th District in the U.S. House from 1997 to 2007.

Harold Ford Jr. will lead Democratic Leadership Council

Former Memphis congressman Harold Ford Jr. today accepted the high-profile post of chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, the moderate policy group that launched a little-known Arkansas governor named Bill Clinton to national stardom and the presidency.

The announcement was made this morning at a Washington hotel breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, but had been anticipated for days.

Ford accepted the post, calling it "one of the most important organizations on the think-tank landscape. "

"I'm excited about the post for a couple of reasons," he said. "I think that the new majority in Congress presents not only our party with a great opportunity to give the nation a chance to see a new leadership but to embarking in a new direction on a lot of policy fronts."

DLC founder Al From and DLC president Bruce Reed made the announcement at the monthly breakfast for print journalists. Ford told the group that the job is temporary in the sense that he plans to seek elective office in Tennessee in the future......

It's Official: Harold Ford Jr. is the DLC's New Chair

Harold Ford Jr. won’t be head of the Democratic National Committee, James Carville’s wishes notwithstanding. The former 9th District congressman and U.S. Senate candidate will be chairman of the right-centrist Democratic Leadership Council, a private lobbying group. In fact, he is chairman of the DLC, as of Thursday. Ford, who succeeds Iowa governor Tom Vilsack (now a presidential candidate) is "one of the brightest stars in the Democratic Party," said DLC Founder Al From. “

“I love Jesus, I love women and I love football,” Ford told reporters on Thursday. Yes, he really did.

That last was an oblique tongue-in-cheek reference to the furor that erupted in the national media last year after a Republican National Committee attack ad that, among other things, satirized the then Democratic candidate's attendance at a Super Bowl party sponsored by Playboy Magazine.

Ford, who was defeated in his Senate bid by Republican Bob Corker, also found time on Thursday to tout another disappointed candidate from Tennessee, former presidential contender Al Gore -- but only to win an Oscar for his "Inconvenient Truth" documentary on global warming.

Oh,and Ford wants the Colts to win the Super Bowl. Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning is "a Tennessee man," the once-and-no doubt-future statewide candidate explained.