Daily digest – Fat cat fancy
What you need to know to navigate today’s most critical debates.
What the New Deal Accomplished (Slate)
Michael Hiltzik writes that the New Deal established the concept of economic security as a collective responsibility so thoroughly that even today its critics seem nostalgic for misery.
Rabbit-Hole Economics (NYT)
Paul Krugman notes that if the GOP field honestly believes the biggest villain of the financial crisis was Barney Frank, they might as well cut to the chase and nominate the Mad Hatter. At least he knows how to throw a proper tea party.
Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan: The Return of Trickle-Down Economics (New Yorker)
John Cassidy explains why Cain’s plan is simple in both the “easy to comprehend” and “remarkably stupid” sense: It slashes taxes for the rich while hitting the poor and middle class with a huge, mostly unavoidable tax hike.
Fed Signals Next Move May Link Stimulus to Economic ‘Mileposts’(Bloomberg)
Minutes from the Fed’s last meeting suggest not only that there are senior officials pushing for more aggressive action, but that the Fed might get really crazy and give the public concrete details on what it’s thinking and what it’s prepared to do.
A Quest for Hybrid Companies That Profit, but Can Tap Charity (NYT)
A growing number of entrepreneurs are under this weird impression that there’s more to life than making gobs of money, and that it would be nice to devote some of those gobs to a good cause. It’s like they’ve never even heard of Ayn Rand.
My Advice to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters (Rolling Stone)
Matt Taibbi throws his support behind the Occupy movement and recommends five reforms that would lay to rest the idea that the simultaneous death of the middle class and explosion of wealth in the financial sector is just a big coincidence.
Missing from Occupy Wall Street: Barack Obama (MoJo)
Andy Kroll points out that unlike other recent protests, the Occupy Wall Street crowd seems indifferent to the president if not openly dismissive of his support. On the other hand, they’re trying to finish the sentence he began with “Yes we can.”
Be Nice to the Fat Cat (TNR)
A financial CEO pulls back the curtain on the scandal no one’s talking about: How Barack Obama is paying off panhandlers to ruin bankers’ day by calling them names.
The Guys in the 1% Brought This On (The Progressive)
Barbara Ehrenreich argues that if the Occupy Wall Street movement is class warfare, it’s an overdue response to the salvos that billionaires have been firing on American workers for decades.
Reuters vs. Reuters: News agency makes an ass of itself by trying to connect George Soros to Occupy Wall Street (Quote and Comment)
In other breaking news, George Soros is rumored to have once given a very generous tip to a waiter whose second cousin has been spotted in Zuccotti Park. Time for the protesters to issue a formal apology to Rush Limbaugh?
Short URL: http://aworldofprogress.com/readingroom/?p=1203
Posted by New Deal 2.0
on Oct 14 2011. Filed under New Deal 2.0, the reading room.
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