By Tim Price, originally posted on Next New Deal.
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Repackaging Mitt as a Compassionate Conservative? It's Too Late (Robert Reich)
Reich writes that Mitt Romney is trying to reignite his fizzling presidential campaign and alter his aloof millionaire image by emphasizing to voters that he feels their pain, but if that's true, the policy responses he's proposing must make him a masochist.
Redistributing wealth upward (WaPo)
Harold Meyerson argues that if there's a party of redistributionists, it's the Republicans who have slashed top tax rates and rigged the rules in favor of the wealthy, not the Democrats who have quietly cleared their throats and asked them to slow down a bit.
In Romney-Obama 'Redistribution' Debate, a Gray Area (NYT)
Eduardo Porter notes that presidents from both parties have presided over redistribution, and the economic cycle and changing demographics mean they don't have much choice unless they're aiming for a Greater Depression or plan to deport the elderly.
When Parents Can't Enroll in Medicaid, Children Stay Uninsured (NYT)
NND Editor Bryce Covert highlights data linking poverty and lack of health insurance among children, since being eligible for Medicaid doesn't necessarily mean their uninsured parents can navigate the red tape along with their walking pneumonia.
Horatio Alger, RIP (National Journal)
Jim Tankersley writes that to get ahead in America, it's not enough to just work hard anymore. You also need a college degree to gain entry into careers with potential for growth. Oh, and make sure you're born into an affluent family. Don't skip that step.
Pain in Spain (Prospect)
Robert Kuttner notes that the Eurozone continues to deteriorate, and the central bank's offer to bail states out only if they accept its demands for austerity are the equivalent of offering to toss a rope to someone stuck in a well if they'll cut off their hands first.
The Better Bargain: Transaction Tax, Not Austerity (The Nation)
Katrina vanden Heuvel argues that instead of closing the deficit with painful cuts that discourage the poor from, say, eating, we should raise revenue with a tax on speculation that discourages Wall Street from doing something that's actually harmful.
Beyond Wall Street, Curbs on High-Speed Trades Proceed (NYT)
Nathaniel Popper reports that international regulators are looking at our stock market as an example of what not to do, but the industry prefers American regulators' low-speed approach to high-speed trade, which runs less risk of achieving something.
CFPB finds discrepancies in credit scores provided by credit bureaus (WaPo)
Danielle Douglas looks at a new study from the CFPB that finds credit-reporting firms are providing as many as one in four Americans with scores that don't match the ones lenders use. I knew it was fishy when they gave me three and a half stars.
6 Major Reasons You Should Care About the Labor Battles in Professional Sports (AlterNet)
The NFL lockout may be over, but with the NHL lockout just getting started, Sarah Jaffe argues that we should be concerned about the crackdown on workers even if we're not sure whether the Stanley Cup is a trophy or a piece of athletic equipment.