Daily Digest - July 6: It's So Wrong, But It's So Right-Wing
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GOP's Rejection of Medicaid Funds is One More Ideologically Driven Bad Idea (The Nation)
NND Editor Bryce Covert points out that Republican governors who reject the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion aren't helping their states' economies or their constituents, but it does give them the warm, fuzzy feeling of ideological purity.
Workingman's Constitution (NYT)
William Forbath argues that progressives must stop playing defense against conservative efforts to rewrite the Constitution and remind people, as FDR did, that equal rights include economic justice and the preamble isn't there to pad the word count.
Stakes for Jobs Figures Rise as Voters' Views Start to Solidify (NYT)
Annie Lowrey and John Harwood note that in an election that's likely to be dominated by economic issues, the next few jobs reports could set the political narrative going into November. They're also kind of important for all the unemployed people.
Where the Money Lives (Vanity Fair)
Nicholas Shaxson examines Mitt Romney's personal finances and the offshore tax havens that prevent the IRS from doing the same. Romney may not visit the Caymans as often as Obama visits Hawaii, but there will always be a little piece of him there.
Off and Out With Mitt Romney (NYT)
Paul Krugman argues that while Romney may object to Obama's attacks on his record at Bain, they're fair game as long as he wants to take his record in Massachusetts off the table. We can't really have an election about the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Why the LIBOR scandal is a bigger deal than JPMorgan (WaPo)
Dylan Matthews explains that while JPMorgan's recent losses have been self-inflicted wounds, Barclay's tampering with LIBOR passed the pain directly on to you and me, and not just because everyone has to keep Dimon and Diamond straight now.
Banks Release Weak Living Wills (The Nation)
George Zornick notes that nine of the biggest financial institutions released the public summary of the "living wills" that explain how they'll be wound down in the event of a crisis, and the summary of those summaries is "Good luck! You'll figure it out."
8 Ways America's Headed Back to the Robber-Baron Era (AlterNet)
Erik Loomis writes that from corporate bribery to voter suppression, today's conservatives seem dedicated to recapturing the spirit of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when men were men and corporations were even better than men.
Can You Be Fired for What You Post on Facebook? (Slate)
Josh Eidelson notes that while companies are increasingly cracking down on what their employees say online, the National Labor Relations Act may hold the key to ensuring that you can call your boss a moron in between posting all those cat gifs.
Why Americans should work less -- the way Germans do (Guardian)
Dean Baker writes that the U.S. could solve its jobs crisis tomorrow by following the German model of reducing work hours and splitting jobs between workers. Don't ask your boss for vacation time; just tell her you're having a German summer.
With additional research by Danielle Bella Ellison.