By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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There Is Still Hope For Net Neutrality, Telecommunications Policy Expert Says (The Kathleen Dunn Show)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford says that in order to save net neutrality, the Federal Communications Commission needs political cover from advocacy groups that support reclassifying the Internet as a traditional telecommunications service.
States Cutting Weeks of Aid to the Jobless (NYT)
Annie Lowrey reports on the effects of extensive cuts to unemployment insurance in North Carolina, where benefits have been limited to 20 weeks since July. The state has seen a significant drop in the unemployment rate, but that comes with a drop in labor force participation.
Raising the Minimum is the Bare Minimum (TAP)
Harold Meyerson argues that raising the minimum wage won't do enough to reverse the stagnation of wages for 90 percent of workers. That would only be the first step in reversing the redistribution of wealth from labor to capital and the growing problem of inequality.
Millions Of People Are Quitting Their Jobs Every Month. That's Good News. (NPR)
Quoctrung Bui praises the slowly-rising quit rate as a sign of economic recovery, because people don't quit if they don't have another job or feel they can get one. He points out that incoming Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen has noted the importance of this statistic as well.
“Everything Amazon did had the underlying tone of fear” (Salon)
Josh Eidelson takes an inside look at the failed attempt to unionize machinists at an Amazon warehouse in Delaware. He discusses the campaign with the union's spokesperson, who claims that Amazon intimidated workers and made them fear for their jobs.
What If We Just Got Rid of All the Money in Political Campaigns? (Pacific Standard)
Seth Masket considers this question using data on state-level public campaign financing systems, which offer incentives for candidates to forgo private fundraising. One of the biggest upsides is that candidates can spend more time with all voters, not just funders.
New on Next New Deal
The Right Takes Aim at Public Sector Unions in a New Supreme Court Case
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch writes that Harris v. Quinn is part of a larger effort by the right to undermine progressive power bases. The case challenges public sector unions' ability to collect dues, without which the unions can't do much to support workers.