By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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New York's Campaign-Finance Law Worked, but New Yorkers Still Won't Celebrate It (TNR)
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Mark Schmitt applauds the success of New York City's small donor campaign finance law. Outside spending was incredibly low in last week's election, especially when compared to 2012 Senate and House races.
Can Poor Californians Live on $10 Per Hour? (MSNBC)
Ned Resnikoff celebrates California's minimum wage increase even as he questions whether it's enough. Roosevelt Institute Fellow Dorian Warren suggests that a state-by-state strategy could be the best model for the labor movement on this issue.
The Myth of the “Free Market” and How to Make the Economy Work for Us (Robert Reich)
According to Robert Reich, there's no such thing as a free market, because even in so-called free markets people set rules, like forbidding the sale of other human beings. So why not set the rules in a way that would decrease inequality?
Employment Inequality: Job Gap Between Rich And Poor Widest On Record (ThinkProgress)
Bryce Covert reports that while the unemployment rate for families earning at least $150,000 is only 3.2 percent, families at the bottom of the income scale have an unemployment rate of over 21 percent. That's not far off Great Depression unemployment numbers.
Did Summers Spoil It for Yellen? (TAP)
Robert Kuttner suggests that President Obama should nominate Janet Yellen for Fed Chair right away - not only because she's well qualified for the position, but because a quick nomination will make him look decisive after a summer of dithering over Summers.
How Larry Summers Paid for Obama’s Sins (NY Mag)
Jonathan Chait says that the Summers backlash was influenced by the fact that Democrats could push left with less risk. The GOP isn't going to block a Fed nominee like they've blocked others, even if the nominee is more liberal then the GOP would like.
Subsidizing Spouses (NYT)
Nancy Folbre argues that provisions in our tax code and Social Security that subsidize non-working spouses may be pro-marriage, but they aren't pro-family. Tax credits to support caregivers would do far more for low-income families, who benefit least under current structures.
New on Next New Deal
Why New York is Home to So Many of the Working Poor, in Graphs
Nell Abernathy looks at graphs from Roosevelt Institute Fellow Annette Bernhardt that show how New York City represents an amplified version of national trends: middle-wage jobs lost in the recession are being replaced by low-wage work, and wages are stagnating or falling for all but the wealthiest Americans.