By Tim Price, originally posted on Next New Deal.
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Political Causes, Political Solutions (NYT)
Roosevelt Institute Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz explains how America's bad policy choices have led to rising inequality and economic instability and provides an answer key for the choices we face moving forward. And yes, this will all be on the final exam.
Anatomy of the 47 Percent (TNR)
Timothy Noah reviews CBPP's breakdown of who makes up the 47 percent of Americans Mitt Romney doesn't care for and determines that just because something looks like a duck and quacks like a duck doesn't mean it's anything close to a lucky ducky.
New lie: The government spends more on welfare than everything else! (Salon)
Did you hear "welfare" includes Medicaid? How about Pell Grants? The Earned Income Tax Credit? It's all there in the new definition invented by Senate Republicans, and as Alex Pareene notes, now that you've heard it, you'll probably never stop hearing it.
Mitt Romney's tax increase on poor Americans (WaPo)
Dylan Matthews writes that Romney's plan to cap deductions and eliminate credits for working families would raise taxes on the poor while cutting them for the rich. But this claim is based on math rather than Romney's assertions, so take it with a grain of salt.
Snow Job on Jobs (NYT)
Paul Krugman argues that given President Obama's disappointing economic record, an opponent with a real plan to create jobs could have a strong case against him. Then there's Mitt Romney, whose jobs plan is 1) be Mitt Romney and 2) let the magic happen.
How Obama Can Smoke Out Mitt (Robert Reich)
Reich makes the case that President Obama should call for the break-up of big banks and the return of Glass-Steagall to draw a clear contrast between himself and Romney and remind voters just who created the mess that he's spent four years mopping up.
Obama's plan: Push Republicans off the fiscal cliff (WaPo)
Ezra Klein writes that the president's second-term strategy involves using his veto power to force Republicans to accept a progressive deficit deal. It's similar to his first-term strategy of compromise, except this time the GOP is in a compromising position.
A Financier in Chief (NYT)
Peter Joseph offers some perspective from someone who, like Mitt Romney, created a successful private equity firm focused on cutting costs and tax liability and maximizing returns, but unlike Romney, never thought "Wow, this is just like being president!"
In Conference Call, Romney Urged Businesses to Tell Their Employees How to Vote (In These Times)
Mike Elk reports that Mitt Romney has been recorded encouraging business owners to tell their employees to vote for him and assuring them there's nothing illegal about it, which is always a good sign that whatever you're doing is totally not morally toxic.
Mitt Romney's Bailout Bonanza (The Nation)
Mitt Romney either opposed the Obama administration's auto bailout or was its grand architect depending on what day you ask him, but Greg Palast writes that he definitely didn't have any objections to the $15.3 million he and his wife made off the deal.