By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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Veto Decision Looms for DC Retail Living Wage Bill (The Nation)
Josh Eidelson speaks to Roosevelt Institute Fellow Dorian Warren, who thinks that it's fine if DC's living wage bill targets Wal-Mart, because it sets standards for its industry. He suggests that initiatives like this one are the most successful way to raise labor standards today.
More Than a Quarter of Fast-Food Workers Are Raising a Child (The Atlantic)
Jordan Weissmann looks at the details of some surprising statistics about fast food workers. The numbers show that those who claim fast food workers are teenagers or young people working for pocket change are just plain wrong.
Helping Low-Income Renters (Off The Charts)
Douglas Rice explains just how out of balance housing policies are today. More than one third of American households are renters, but less than a quarter of housing assistance funds go to those households.
Washington Steps Warily on Housing (NYT)
Binyamin Appelbaum examines the challenges that face the federal government in altering its role in the mortgage business. It's possible that without government support, the 30-year mortgages that are so common here could disappear.
Obama Bets on Private Market in Housing Recovery (MSNBC)
Ned Resnikoff reports on the details of the president's housing policy, revealed in a roundtable discussion on Wednesday. Obama calls for the private market to step into the space that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will leave, which puts a lot of trust in the banks.
The Fed Could Still Let Wall Street Sneak Back Into the Commodities Business (MoJo)
Lina Khan lays out how big banks got started in oil, electricity, and other physical commodities. This allows them insider access to industries they trade on, and she thinks it would be safest if banks were forced out of these riskier, more speculative fields.
New on Next New Deal
Debunking the Minimum Wage Myth: Higher Wages Will Not Reduce Jobs
Emily Chong discusses evidence supporting the fight to increase the minimum wage. Multiple studies show that a higher minimum wage will have no negative effects on employment, and she thinks the increase would work as an anti-poverty program.