By Rachel Goldfarb, originally posted on Next New Deal
Click here to receive the Daily Digest via email.
A Wall Street Regulator’s Race Against Time (WaPo)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal writes on Commodities Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler's most important goal: regulating derivative trades that go through foreign affiliates. Such trades were a common thread in many recent financial crises and bailouts.
By Pivoting Away From Stimulus, Is The Federal Reserve Making the Same Mistake as Congress? (On The Economy)
Jared Bernstein is concerned that the Fed, which was the last group of policy makers speaking out on unemployment, is moving towards focusing on the budget deficit just like everyone else in Washington.
Et Tu, Bernanke? (NYT)
Paul Krugman also thinks that the Fed needs to spend more time on unemployment instead of the deficit. He worries that Bernanke’s talk of "tapering" will just serve to keep us in a low-grade depression for even longer.
3 Dangerous Myths About 'Revenue-Neutral' Tax Reform (The Fiscal Times)
Andrew Fieldhouse argues that revenue-neutral tax reform, which broadens the tax base and lowers rates, won't solve our problems. He wants to see reform that pushes back against income inequality and raises revenues to protect the social safety net.
John Boehner Is Dangerously Clueless About Economics (The Atlantic)
Matthew O'Brien thinks that the Speaker of the House prefers to ignore the empirical evidence against his favored economic policies. Boehner's continued call to immediately reign in the deficit goes against all the data that shows that austerity is limiting economic growth.
The Minimum-Wage Stimulus (Reuters)
Felix Salmon explains why we should implement Nick Hanauer's recent suggestion to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. He says it will be a win-win-win, and even better, it will be an effective stimulus to improve employment rates right now.
In All But Six States, You Can Be Fired For Being A Victim Of Domestic Violence (ThinkProgress)
Bryce Covert reports on the lack of protections for victims of domestic violence in the workplace, following a recent case in California where a teacher was fired after her abuser violated his restraining order by showing up at her school. He's in jail; she's out of a job.
Rowboats for Retirement (NYT)
Nancy Folbre supports recent proposals that we move towards some version of a federally defined pension plan, because the current system of 401(k)s and IRAs is not viable for low-income households. Individual accounts only work when you can afford to contribute.