Daily digest – A prescription for pain

What you need to know to navigate today’s most critical debates.

What Can Save the Euro? (Project Syndicate)
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Joseph Stiglitz writes that EU leaders must look to the future instead of shaking their heads at the past and basking in their sense of superiority.

In Ireland, Austerity Is Praised but Painful (NYT)
Europe is looking to Ireland as a model for how harsh cutbacks can turn a country’s finances around. They may also eviscerate the economy and grind down workers until they flee the country, but that’s really just the cherry on top of the sundae.

What a president with a strong hand sounds like (Salon)
Steve Kornacki notes that after abdicating his throne as DC’s most bipartisan loser, President Obama has pivoted from his jobs bill to the payroll tax cut in an ongoing effort to make Republicans be against things they really don’t want to be against.

Payroll tax fight: a win for both Occupy Wall Street & the Tea Party?(WaPo)
Two new proposals circulating through Congress have something for everyone. Want to make millionaires pay their fair share? Done. Want to make the janitor at the Department of Agriculture give up his cushy lifestyle? They’ve got you covered.

Many Workers in Public Sector Retiring Sooner (NYT)
Public employees who are watching the nationwide conservative crackdown on their fellow workers unfold are coming around to the idea that if they’re so unwanted, they might as well go enjoy their retirement benefits while they still have them.

Why Hasn’t the Government Gone After Mortgage Fraud? (The Nation)
A 60 Minutes investigation asks why Eric Holder’s Department of Justice doesn’t seem particularly interested in prosecuting lenders who might as well be walking around with “Ask me about my massive criminal conspiracy” signs around their necks.

Federal Reserve Prepares to Make Itself Perfectly Clear (WSJ)
The Fed has a new communications strategy to help both the markets and the general public figure out what they’re up to. If Bernanke tugs on his left ear, it means he wants higher inflation. If he taps his wrist, Janet Yellen steals second base.

Does Inequality Matter? (Slate)
Robert Frank explains the concept of “expenditure cascades,” which is essentially the 21st century version of “keeping up with the Joneses,” except the Joneses are multimillionaires who are completely dead inside.

Gap Between Rich And Poor Widening Across The Developed World, As Bankers And Executives Reap More Income (Think Progress)
A new report shows that the richest tenth of the population in OECD countries is now making nine times as much as the bottom tenth, but like any other contract, they feel free to breach the social contract as long as no one’s enforcing it.

While Wall Street Gets More Diverse, White Men Still Take Home Much More Money (HuffPo)
Despite all the profits flowing into the financial sector, Wall Street has its own inequality problems, with most of the money still finding its way into the pockets of the guys who look like the runners-up in a Rich Uncle Pennybags lookalike contest.

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Posted by New Deal 2.0 on Dec 6 2011. Filed under New Deal 2.0, the reading room. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry