By Rachel Goldfarb, originally posted on Next New Deal.
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The Part-Timer Problem (TAP)
Harold Meyerson wonders if the employer mandate would really have helped many get health insurance in the first place, since full-time jobs have been on the decline for years. Saner, he thinks, would be to separate employment and health care entirely.
Job Creation and the Affordable Care Act Have Little to Do with Each Other (On The Economy)
Jared Bernstein argues that the Affordable Care Act should not effect job growth, and in fact could lower the cost of labor. Besides that, he thinks we should judge the bill as a health care bill, because it isn't a jobs bill.
The GOP’s Endless War on Obamacare, and the White House Delay (Robert Reich)
Robert Reich suggests that the delay in implementing the employer mandate will only give Republicans more time to attempt to convince Americans that they don't want this law that will help to reduce health care inequality.
As Sequestration Cuts Bite, Congress is Content with Recrimination (The Guardian)
Heidi Moore sees the lack of action to fix sequestration as a sign of the larger problem of Congress's unwillingness to actually pass a budget or any other major legislation. She thinks the window for that work will close as soon as midterm campaigns begin.
How the Sequester Savages the Long-Term Unemployed (The Nation)
George Zornick reports that as sequestration continues, cuts to Emergency Unemployment Compensation are putting the long-term unemployed in an even tighter spot. His interview subject points out that meanwhile, Congress is still drawing a full salary and benefits.
Four Years Into Recovery, Austerity’s Toll is At Least 3 Million Jobs (Working Economics)
Josh Bivens and Heidi Shierholz look at data that demonstrates just how much austerity has cost job growth over the past four years, and suggest that ending austerity policies, starting with sequestration, is the most logical next step.
Rosy Data Suggest Faster Job Growth (WaPo)
Ylan Mui explains why some groups are saying that the jobs numbers being released this morning will be higher than recent months. Others think it is more likely that job growth will prove to continue at the same slow and steady pace.