Daily digest
What you need to know to navigate today’s most critical debates.
Invoke the 14th — and end the debt standoff(WaPo)
Katrina vanden Heuvel writes that by invoking his constitutional option/obligation to disregard the debt ceiling, President Obama can show Republicans what their own options are: compromise or nothing.
Obama Calls for Debt-Limit Summit (WSJ)
President Obama invited Republican leaders to the White House on Thursday, where they plan to continue to tell him why all his ideas are wrong and bad.
Republican zeal runs amok (WaPo)
Harold Meyerson notes that at both the state and national level, the GOP seems to have forgotten how to take yes for an answer.
What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Jobs (TomDispatch)
Andy Kroll sheds some light on the huge employment gap between black and white Americans that has persisted for the last 60 years, and why it proves that reports of racism’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Subsidizing Profits, Weakening Social Security: The Employer Payroll Tax Cut(Truthout)
Dean Baker argues that cutting employer-side payroll taxes won’t affect labor demand, but it will encourage claims that Social Security is insolvent and provide more cushioning to corporations that are already sitting on a mountain of profit.
Bank Regulation’s Capital Mistake (Project Syndicate)
Amar Bhide makes the case that instead of raising capital requirements, regulators must streamline the financial system and cut the mega-banks down to size.
Self-serving French recipe is wrong fare for Greece (FT)
Patrick Jenkins writes that the French banks responsible for crafting the rollover plan have baked some unsavory ingredients into their delicious Greek debt croissant.
Wall Street: Yep, They Still Own the Place (MoJo)
Is reforming business process patents for financial services a good idea, or is it blatant capitulation to Wall Street? Trick question; the answer is both.
Looking at Ken Lay and the Lack of Financial Crisis Cases (NYT)
The Bush-era Corporate Fraud Task Force sent several high-profile executives to prison and drove Enron’s Ken Lay into an early grave. By contrast, President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force has… uh… well, they’re working on it.
Uncollected Fines Undermine Regulation (Policy Shop)
A new study finds that the government has failed to collect over $35 billion in outstanding criminal penalties due to limited resources and regulatory capture. Worse, many corporations try to pay with Monopoly money.
Your State Can’t Afford It: The Fiscal Impact of States’ Anti-Immigrant Legislation (CAP)
Even if states can afford the legal fees and enforcement resources needed to clamp down on immigration, they face the economic drag caused by driving away anyone with a skin tone darker than porcelain.
Before You Judge, Stand in Her Shoes (NYT)
Some of DSK’s defenders are trying to portray his accuser as a Machiavellian manipulator, but for a poor immigrant from Guinea, fudging biographical details may simply be a survival mechanism.
Ralph Nader Is Tired of Running for President (Truthdig)
Chris Hedges observes that when the political system is fundamentally broken, the only real path to change begins on the outside.
Rick Santorum’s Math Fail: Blasts Obama For Creating ‘Only 240 Million Jobs’(Think Progress)
According to one Republican presidential hopeful, the stimulus bill’s biggest flaw was that it succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.
Short URL: http://aworldofprogress.com/readingroom/?p=43
Posted by New Deal 2.0
on Jul 6 2011. Filed under New Deal 2.0.
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