By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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The 25 Best Progressive Victories of 2013 (HuffPo)
Peter Dreier highlights real accomplishments from the progressive movement last year, ranging from momentum on the minimum wage to continued pressures on Wall Street. He plugs the Roosevelt Institute for its involvement in the fight to reduce student debt.
- Roosevelt Take: Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network National Field Strategist Joelle Gamble writes about student-led proposals for addressing the student loan crisis.
The great story (CJR)
Dean Starkman argues that a shift in journalism practices from investigative reporting to access reporting, which involves obtaining inside information from powerful people, caused mainstream financial journalism to miss the signs of the financial crisis in 2008.
Finally, Some Conservative Ideas to Solve the Jobs Crisis (The Daily Beast)
Jamelle Bouie praises Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute for putting forward a real plan for ending mass unemployment from a conservative perspective. Unfortunately, the GOP's brand of conservatism doesn't include these kinds of proposals.
The Strange Case of American Inequality (Project Syndicate)
J. Bradford DeLong argues that this economic crisis and its impact on America's productive capabilities is actually worse than the Great Depression. The lack of political reaction leads him to suggest that American democracy could be as damaged as the economy.
Low-wage workers’ movement looks to build on banner year (MSNBC)
Ned Resnikoff sees the new labor tactics of 2013 as a possible source of revival for unions. The question is whether alternative labor groups organizing one-day strikes at fast food restaurants and at Walmart can maintain momentum.
Meet the Americans Who've Lost Their Unemployment Benefits: "I'm Thoroughly Petrified" (MoJo)
Dana Liebelson collects stories from people who have been out of work for more than six months, and therefore lost their unemployment benefits when Congress failed to extended emergency benefits. All of these workers have been job hunting; it just hasn't worked out yet.
Senate Democrats Plan Fast-Track Fix to Reinstate Lost Unemployment Benefits (The Guardian)
Paul Lewis and Dominic Rushe explain the bill that the Senate hopes to vote on early next week, which would extend benefits through March. There's little question the bill will pass the Senate, but no one knows what will happen in the House.
New on Next New Deal
Looking to 2014: The Emerging Movement for the Next New Deal
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch is optimistic about what the progressive movement can accomplish this year. He sees growing support for the fight against economic inequality and smart strategies developing at the grassroots level.