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“Well, honey, it’s capitalism that brings out the meanness and greed,” says I. “Our founding fathers did a decent job of framing our democracy. They wrote the Constitution and added a Bill of Rights that intended for people of all classes to enjoy the freedoms the Constitution offers. But capitalism came along without a constitution or a bill of rights and the industrialists grabbed unrestricted power. The capitalists wrote their own ‘Declaration of Capitalism’.” — Mother Jones”












BOOSTING BENEFITS, NOT WAGES: Employers are offering more paid leave, vacation days, and bonuses in lieu of wage increases in an effort to recruit workers in a tight labor market, Te-Ping Chen and Eric Morath report in the Wall Street Journal. The move "gives them more flexibility to dial back that compensation if the economy turns sour." The cost of benefits for private-sector employers rose 3 percent in June compared to one year earlier, while the cost of wages and salaries advanced 2.7 percent, Chen and Morath say, pointing to recent Labor Department data. [POLITICO's Morning Shift, September 20, 2018]


WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Behind the scenes: Trump at the UN

President Trump plans to use his chairing of the UN Security Council to spotlight two issues: the global opioids epidemic and the "malign activity" of Iran, according to sources with knowledge of his thinking.
Trump plans to address a counter-narcotics summit focused on opioids on Monday, sources familiar with the event told me. Much of the illegal opioids ravaging American streets are coming from factories in China.
  • "This is something he really wants to bring up, how there can be a global effort to fight the opioid crisis," a senior administration official told me.
  • But the event is "primarily for show" and unlikely to produce anything meaningful, a source briefed on the event said.
  • Press Secretary Sarah Sanders pushed back against that characterization. She said that "by the president bringing this up and making it one of the two focal points of his time chairing the UN Security Council, it's impossible for any leader or anyone else to ignore the issue."
On Iran: On Wednesday, Trump will chair a UN Security Council briefing on "counter-proliferation." Sources familiar with the preparations say he will likely spend much of the session beating up on Iran.
  • Trump wants to single out Iran, especially when it comes to ballistic missile proliferation during the era of the Iran deal, according to a source familiar with the administration's plans.
Go deeper: For a preview of coming attractions, read Brian Hook's speechat the Hudson Institute on Thursday. The passage of Hook's speech that caught the attention of insiders:
  • "In fact, and let me be clear about this, Iran’s pace of missiles did not diminish after the Iran deal was implemented in January 2016, Iran has conducted multiple ballistic missile launches since that time.
  • "We assess that in January 2017, Iran launched a medium-range missile believed to be the Khorramshahr. This missile is designed to carry a payload greater than 500 kilograms and could be used to carry nuclear warheads. Its suspected range also approaches 2,000 kilometers, which is far enough to target some European capitals."
A Republican foreign policy official told me: "The administration is pissed the Europeans are refusing to do anything about it, so they're going to continue laying out evidence in front of the public to shame them into acting. ... Hook's Hudson speech contained some of that and you should expect to see more at UNGA about Iran's missile threat." [Axios Sneak Peek, September 23, 2018]


"Sovereignty week" at the United Nations

President Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. A source briefed on his remarks shared one word on his theme: "Sovereignty."
  • "Mutual respect and sovereignty" will be his frame for cooperation with other countries, another source with direct knowledge of his remarks told me.
  • He'll talk about reforming international trade, that source added.
With John Bolton as his national security adviser — a man who has fought for decades against international institutions that he believes infringe on U.S. sovereignty — Trump will have plenty of material for such a speech.
  • In his speech to last year's UN General Assembly, Trump branded Kim Jong-un "Rocket Man" and said the U.S. may have "no choice but to totally destroy North Korea."
  • Foreign officials were shocked. They'd never heard such incendiary rhetoric from a U.S. president. And Trump loved the headlines.
  • "So you'll have to wonder what the target will be this time, who he will vent against," a Washington diplomat mused to me.
On North Korea: According to a source who's spoken with Trump about North Korea this week, Trump feels good about the latest developments and is "very happy" about the latest letter he received from dictator Kim Jong-un.
  • But hawks worry Trump will be concede too much to North Korea before Kim completely and irreversibly denuclearizes the Korean Peninsula.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, who is close to Trump, told me, "Here's what I'm concerned about: The letters that Kim Jong-un is sending to Trump are good. It's good to keep a dialogue. But the letters and the behaviors do not match up.
  • "I am very worried about President Moon [of South Korea], who I think is the President Obama of Asia, putting President Trump in a bad spot."
  • "The last thing you want to happen is to lose control of the negotiations. I don't know how much Moon is freelancing here ... but the worst possible outcome is for us to talk about ending the Korean War with a peace treaty before they have a program to give up their nukes."
  • "That's what they want the most, to end the war, get normal relations, have security agreements. But all that comes at the end, not the middle." [Axios Sneak Peek, September 23, 2018]



WHIMSEY



















IMMIGRATION







SHERIFFS HEAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE: A group of 45 sheriffs will travel to Washington tomorrow to talk about immigration and border security. The sheriffs will join Republican Reps. Mo Brooks (Ala.), Louie Gohmert (Tex.), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Lou Barletta (Pa.) and Steve King (Iowa) in a media event on Capitol Hill, according to the New Bedford Standard-Times. After, they'll head over to the White House to advocate for immigration legislation, although what specifically they'll be supporting is not clear.

"The purpose of this visit is to express the urgency of Congress passing legislation immediately on the enforcement and security aspects of immigration reform," Frederick County, Md. Sheriff Chuck Jenkins who is attending the roundtable said in a news release, according to the Herald Mail. "It is our intention to tell Congress that their failure to deal with this issue for more than 20 years has made our communities less safe, and has undermined our promise to the people who elected us to keep them safe." [POLITICO's Morning Shift, September 4, 2018]



FOOD SAFETY







EDUCATION










USDA APPROVES THREE ASIAN CATFISH INSPECTION SYSTEMS: The Food Safety and Inspection Service plans to publish a Federal Register notice on Wednesday formally designating China, Vietnam and Thailand as countries eligible to export catfish and catfish products to the United States.
The proposed rule is the latest chapter in an ongoing saga. Congress included provisions in both the 2004 and 2008 farm bills transferring catfish inspection from the Food and Drug Administration to USDA. FSIS published a final rule in Dec. 2015, which created a transitional mechanism for trade to continue while it determined whether China, Vietnam and Thailand's inspection systems are equivalent to the U.S. system.

The National Fisheries Institute, which represents seafood importers, welcomed the news. "Catfish, like other seafood, has been and will remain a safe and nutritious meal for American families," NFI President John Connelly said. "Tens of thousands of Americans who process catfish from these countries can be more confident they will continue to have jobs as a result of this proposal." [POLITICO's Morning Trade, September 17, 2018]



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