By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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Left Jab Radio (Sirius XM)
Jon Aberman and Mark Walsh speak with Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow and Director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative Jeff Madrick about technological innovation that doesn't lead to productivity increases, the jobs emergency, and how to make the U.S. economy more competitive.
Republicans Just Won the Food Stamp War (MoJo)
Erika Eichelberger writes that as the Senate plans to pass the current House version of the Farm Bill, which cuts $9 billion from SNAP, it's clear that the Democrats lost this fight. These cuts will mean that about a million families will receive $90 less per month.
Port Authority Demands Airlines Raise Worker Wages (NY Daily News)
Dan Friedman, Kenneth Lovett, and Rich Schapiro report that following a week-long campaign pushing for higher wages for airport workers, the executive director of the Port Authority has mandated a $9-per-hour wage for workers at LaGuardia and JFK airports.
Outsiders, Not Auto Plant, Battle U.A.W. in Tennessee (NYT)
Steven Greenhouse looks at the opposition to unionization efforts at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. National groups like the Center for Worker Freedom are pouring vast amounts of money into this fight, even though some think Volkswagen is open to the union.
Fed Stays the Course on Stimulus Reduction (WaPo)
Ylan Q. Mui writes that the Federal Reserve will continue to scale back its bond-buying program by about $10 billion in February. She notes that this is despite some concerns about weak job growth, as the December jobs report showed the nation added only 74,000 jobs.
New on Next New Deal
Roosevelt Reacts: What Worked and What Didn't in the 2014 State of the Union
Roosevelt Institute Fellows and Network members respond to the State of the Union: what they liked, what was missing, and how the president should proceed from here.
State of the Union 2014: Obama Offers Action, Not Apologies
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Jeff Madrick praises the president for focusing on the changes that can be made rather than the year's mistakes. He's also glad to see Obama taking Congress to task for making progress impossible due to gridlock.
The State of the Union Then and Now: Raising the Minimum Wage is Still a Good Idea
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow and Hyde Park Resident Historian David Woolner notes that the president's call for a higher minimum wage mirrors President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1938 State of the Union, which used similar arguments to call for the creation of the minimum wage.