By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
Click here to receive the Daily Digest via email.
7 Bi-Partisan Reasons to Raise the Minimum Wage (Boston Review)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal explains the most compelling reasons to increase the minimum wage, from poverty alleviation to civic republicanism. He says the political fight will center on fairness.
A Public Option for Banking (AJAM)
Mike Konczal says that postal banking could function as a public option on the model of the Treasury Department's Direct Express program, which provides debit cards to Social Security recipients.
You Call This a Middle Class? “I’m trying not to lose my house” (Salon)
Conservatives spin poverty as a personal failing caused by lack of education or skills, writes Edward McClelland, but for many Americans, even education and experience aren't enough to make ends meet.
The Business Case for Paying Service Workers More (Atlantic Cities)
Richard Florida speaks to Zeynep Ton about her research, which links higher pay for employees to higher profits in the service industry. She says service-sector workers perform better when paid better.
We Do Not Have to Live with the Scourge of Inequality (FT)
Jonathan Ostry writes that according to his recent research, redistribution creates more equality and stimulates economic growth. That means it shouldn't be considered a dirty word in policy.
New on Next New Deal
The Simple Solution to Obamacare's Employer Mandate Problems
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch suggests employers should be offered a choice between providing health insurance for all employees or paying an additional payroll tax to cover the costs.
The Congressional Budget Office Should Serve the People, Not Politics
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Jeff Madrick writes that when the CBO provides single numbers instead of ranges, it gives politicians what they want. But it shouldn't treat lawmakers as clients.