Before Americans criticize European xenophobia too freely, though, it's worth noting that a parallel logic has contributed to deaths along our own border with Mexico. Americans' insistence on preventing illegal immigration has trumped any humanitarian concerns about migrants attempting the crossing.
Surveillance on the border has only encouraged those crossing the border to travel by more remote and more dangerous routes. The result, as Nora Caplan-Bricker explained last year in The New Republic, is that the number of deaths along the border has been increasing, even as the number of immigrants has declined rapidly.
What's in Wonkbook: 1) Mediterranean shipwreck 2) Opinions, including Graham and Bernstein on campaign finance 3) Oil companies are drilling in deeper and deeper waters, and more
Chart of the day: There are far more black women than black men in our communities, due to incarceration and early deaths. In all, 1.5 million black men are essentially missing from American life. Justin Wolfers, David Leonhardt and Kevin Quealy in The New York Times.
1. Top story: 850 migrants believed dead in wreck
A boat carrying migrants to Europe capsized in the Mediterranean Sunday. "The United Nations refugee agency estimated Tuesday that as many as 850 migrants had gone to their deaths in a boat capsizing earlier this week off the coast of Libya, even as the ship’s captain and a crew member were taken into custody on criminal charges. ... Only 28 migrants survived. A substantial number of passengers — including scores of women and children — perished Sunday as they were trapped below decks on the three-tiered vessel, apparently helpless as the boat tipped over, according to interviews with survivors." Anthony Faiola in The Washington Post.
Chaos in Libya and throughout the region has left migrants even more vulnerable. "Shipwrecks killing hundreds of migrants at a time have been happening in the Mediterranean for years. Just last week, another shipwreck killed about 400 people. ... When Muammar Qaddafi ruled Libya, his government had an agreement with Italy to try to intercept and turn back ships leaving for Europe. But Qaddafi was toppled in 2011, thanks to the Arab Spring and support for the rebels from the US and Europe. And in the utter chaos that's engulfed Libya over the past few years, there's no government entity really capable of patrolling the Mediterranean. ... Many of the skirmishes between militias in Libya's north and southwest aren't just about support for or opposition to the current Libyan government — they're also over control of smuggling routes. And human smuggling has become an important part of the economy of many communities along the Libyan border, and for some ethnic groups within the country." Dara Lind at Vox.
Europe has shied away from helping shipwrecked migrants. "Governments under pressure from domestic anti-immigrant parties have shrunk from the task. Last year Italy undertook its own, much-praised operation to rescue people from boats, saving many; but it was scaled back in October after other governments declined to join in and some complained, wrongheadedly, that the effort itself might be attracting migrants. In recent months a much smaller E.U. search-and-rescue mission has been limited to Italy’s territorial waters, making it far more likely that sinkings and other accidents will lead to mass deaths," writes the editorial board of The Washington Post.
BERSHIDSKY: But the United States is also to blame. In Syria, "a U.S.-led coalition, including mainly Arab states, is already waging war. And these countries bear at least some responsibility for the plight of Syria's peaceful population. Similarly, the countries that conducted the 2011 military intervention in Libya and contributed to its becoming a failed state -- including the U.S., Canada, Norway and Qatar -- are obligated to help fix the humanitarian disaster they helped create." Bloomberg View.
2. Top opinions
GRAHAM: Republican candidates disagree on what to do about money in politics.
"Divisions within the Republican Party seem to be the product of a
movement to deregulate campaign finance that has achieved stunning
victories over the last 15 years. If the movement isn't quite a victim
of its own success, it now faces some disarray bred by winning so
quickly and completely. Having triumphed, conservatives aren't unified
on where to go next. ... Conservatives are faced with a new set of
questions: What happens now? Are there more restrictions to knock down?
Are the changes good, or have they gone too far?" The Atlantic.JONATHAN BERNSTEIN: The issue of campaign finance has political advantages. "Campaign-finance reform is a safe subject. It's hard to see how events will make current talking points on it look silly or embarrassing in the future. Restricting money in politics is broadly popular (especially with a lot reporters and their editors), even if it isn't something that will sway a lot of votes in the general election next year. And it's a low-cost way of appealing to Democrats who tend to support insurgent candidates -- that is, those who make a stink about money in politics. It's a lot less risky issue for Clinton than engaging in antiwar oratory or committing to some specific economic proposals." Bloomberg View.
Obamacare is creating monopolies in hospitals, writes Marty Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins. "During the 2008 financial crisis, “too big to fail” became a familiar phrase in the U.S. financial system. Now the U.S. health-care system is heading down the same path with a record number of hospital mergers and acquisitions—95 last year—some creating regional monopolies that, as in all monopolies, will likely result in higher prices from decreased competition. ... Health-care conglomeration aligns with the Affordable Care Act, which created incentives for physicians and hospitals to work together in 'accountable care organizations.' " The Wall Street Journal.
3. In case you missed it
Five years after the Deepwater Horizon spill, oil companies are drilling riskier wells.
"Opening this new frontier, miles below the bottom of the Gulf,
requires engineering feats far beyond those used at BP's much shallower
Macondo well. But critics say energy companies haven't developed the
corresponding safety measures to prevent another disaster or contain one
if it happens — a sign, environmentalists say, that the lessons of BP's
spill were short-lived. These new depths and larger reservoirs could
exacerbate a blowout like what happened at the Macondo well. Hundreds of
thousands of barrels of oil could spill each day, and the response
would be slowed as the equipment to deal with it — skimmers, boom,
submarines, containment stacks — is shipped 100 miles or more from
shore. Since the Macondo disaster, which sent at least 134 million
gallons spewing into the Gulf five years ago Monday, federal agencies
have approved about two dozen next-generation, ultra-deep wells." Cain Burdeau for the Associated Press.Clinton wants the tax code to support the real economy, not the financial sector. "She hinted on Monday that she hopes to get tougher on traders and reexamine the capital gains tax. ... She plans to 'take a hard look at what is now being done in the trading world, which is just trading for the sake of trading. ... We have to look at the whole tax system and try to figure out what is an economic investment as opposed to one without economic purpose because there are a lot of those where people are just basically playing games,' she said." Jennifer Epstein for Bloomberg.
Amtrak needs a new bridge and a pair of new tunnels into New York. "The 104-year-old Portal Bridge... crosses the Hackensack River in New Jersey on the way to New York City's Penn Station. It's been called the Achilles' heel of the rail system's Northeast Corridor, a stretch that accommodates some 750,000 passengers a day. Paired with two outdated tunnels leading into Penn Station that were flooded during Superstorm Sandy, it's a treacherous stretch where delays are frequent. ... The Portal Bridge is a swing bridge that has to move out of the way of ships passing below on the Hackensack River, but its age and disrepair means it doesn't always lock back into place. When that happens, trains can pile up for hours and send ripples all the way up to Pennsylvania. About 450 trains go over the bridge every day." Jason Plautz in National Journal.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has to convince progressives to move forward on a trade deal they don't like. "Last week, legislators introduced a bill that is a key part of passing the biggest trade deal of the new century. The measure, known as Trade Promotion Authority, would require Congress to vote treaties up or down without amending them -- and a broad coalition of labor, community and environmental groups is pulling out all the stops to defeat the measure... What is Wyden's pitch? Well, Trade Promotion Authority has trade-offs, he says. U.S. trade negotiators want to be able to tell other countries that Congress won't mess with a deal once it's inked. And Congress offers a compromise: They give away the right to quibble with specific sections of the treaty, in exchange for a promise that the administration will adhere to a set of priorities Congress lays out." Lydia DePillis in The Washington Post
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