By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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Blows Against the Empire (Medium)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford praises the new "Stop Mega-Comcast Coalition" for uniting the voices of those who view the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger as monopolistic.
Bigness, by itself, isn’t unlawful. We celebrate largeness as a country. We live large; we’re numb to bigness. But bigness in a world of essential communications and connections carries with it — if unconstrained — grave risks to speech, civic life and democracy. Allowing one company to have control over every bit of information and entertainment flowing to so many American homes should be unthinkable.
There’s nothing evil about Comcast. It just seeks to lower its unit costs, and it’s well-managed, enough to do what AOL/Time Warner couldn’t. But even though bigness isn’t bad and Comcast isn’t evil, in the absence of any visible benefit to American consumers, it’s hard to see why the FCC would let this latest merger proceed. Gene Kimmelman, president of Public Knowledge, a key member of the Stop Mega-Comcast Coalition, thinks the time is right and the feds will be receptive to the group’s message. He’s not alone—there is a definite vibe among Comcast watchers that this time the powerhouse might not get its way.
Follow below the fold for more.
Fed’s Lockhart Still Favors Mid-2015 for First Fed Rate Increase (WSJ)
Lockhart, President of the Atlanta Fed, calls for patience regarding raising interest rates, writes Michael S. Derby, who describes Lockhart as "a bellwether of policy makers’ consensus outlook."
Congress Races to Reach Spending Deal Before Shutdown Deadline (MSNBC)
With a potential shutdown approaching at midnight on Thursday, Benjy Sarlin says Congress is working through disagreements on issues like environmental regulation and financial reform.
Are West Coast Longshoremen Spoiling Christmas? (Politico)
As their union continues to negotiate wages and benefits, Mike Elk reports that the longshoremen are accused of slowing holiday season shipping by sticking exactly to company rules.
The Lame-Duck Congress Plots to Undermine Retiree Pensions (LA Times)
A proposed change – which has no public language only days before Congress goes on vacation – would decrease the pensions of already-retired workers on certain plans, writes Michael Hiltzik.
U.S. States' Revenue Growth Picks Up But Still 'lackluster' (Reuters)
Lisa Lambert reports on a new survey on state revenues and budgets, which says that stagnant wages are keeping revenues from growing as well.