By Tim Price, originally posted on Next New Deal
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The Great Society's Next Frontier (Prospect)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal writes that Obamacare has finally completed the safety net America should have had last century. But if we dare to bring it all the way into the present day, it's time to focus on greater opportunity and shared growth.
Obama's "Roosevelt Moment" (CAF)
Richard Eskow argues that while Obama wasn't the FDR-like figure some progressives hoped for, he could still be today's Teddy Roosevelt by embracing TR's fight against excess corporate power. He's got the "talk softly" part down; now he just needs the stick.
The U.S. Does Not Have a Spending Problem, We Have a Distribution Problem (The Atlantic)
James Kwak argues that as America's wealth continues to rise, it's silly to claim that we can't afford a basic standard of living for everyone. The real problem is that the people to whom all the money is going treat everyone else like a beggar asking for change.
For Tax Pledge and Its Author, a Test of Time (NYT)
Jeremy Peters reports that some Republicans are beginning to doubt the wisdom of adhering to a pledge of anti-tax absolutism thought up by a 12-year-old 44 years ago, but Grover Norquist is confident they'll eventually ask for another delicious glass of Kool-Aid.
Small Business Sells John Boehner Out (TNR)
Timothy Noah notes that despite John Boehner's repeated warnings that raising taxes on the highest earners would (somehow) crush small businesses, actual small business owners don't seem to be losing much sleep over the idea. You win again, "reality."
Vulture Capitalism Ate Your Twinkies (The Nation)
John Nichols debunks the emerging narrative that Hostess was brought down by unreasonable demands from unions, arguing that the real culprits were greedy managers and private equity consultants who saw themselves as the company's all-important cream filling.
Keep Tipping Your Servers (Slate)
Matthew Yglesias argues that while chain restaurant owners are indulging in a collective whine about Obamacare forcing them to pay for their workers' health insurance, it's probably just another excuse to raise prices without throwing in any free bread sticks.
American manufacturing is coming back. Manufacturing jobs aren't. (WaPo)
Neil Irwin writes that a thriving manufacturing sector is good news for out-of-work robots, but due to advances in technology and automation, everyone else will find more job opportunities marketing cars to their fellow flesh-creatures rather than building them.
Hurricane Sandy Destroys Jobs, Brings Threats of Poverty to Thousands of Unemployed (HuffPo)
Catherine New reports on the challenges facing residents of states affected by Sandy whose jobs were literally wiped out by the storm. While the storm surge may have receded, they're still struggling to keep their heads above water as they search for new work.
Occupy Sandy: From protest group to storm recovery (BBC)
Kate Dailey looks at the revival of the Occupy Wall Street movement in the form of the Occupy Sandy relief effort, whose members' time navigating the ins and outs of the financial sector has proven surprisingly good preparation for organizing in a disaster area.