January 27

“What you need to know to navigate today’s economic debate.”

Post-Shame (3 Quarks Daily)
Jeff Strabone wonders if America is leaving a state of persuasive hegemony aimed at the many to just plain shameless power-mongering by select corporate interests.

Is Obama Repeating the Mistake of 1937? (Capital Gains)
Bruce Bartlett compares Obama’s plan to cut spending in the midst of a recession with Roosevelt’s quest for a balanced budget in the years following the Great Depression.

President Plans Own Panel on the Debt (NYT)
President Obama plans to create a panel to push for increased taxes and lower spending after a similar proposal failed in the Senate.

Obama Speech Will Seek Reset With Spending, Tax Plans (Bloomberg)
Obama will try to gain control of the economic debate in his State of the Union address by announcing a spending freeze, tax relief for the middle class, and increased regulation of TARP recipients.

High-Court Hypocrisy (Newsweek)
Roosevelt Institute Braintruster Jonathan Alter weighs in on the contested Supreme Court decision to strip the Federal Election Committee of its power to limit and regulate corporate donations to political campaigns.

Lobbying and the Financial Crisis (Economist’s View)
This research finds evidence that financial firms that lobbied the most on mortgage lending and securitization issues (often successfully) took on the most risk, and experienced worse loan performance.

Blocking Bernanke is Smart Economics, Smart Politics for Dems (The Nation)
John Nichols writes on why blocking Bernanke could be politically beneficial to Democrats, and beneficial to the economy in general.

“Strategic Deficit” Redux (American Prospect)
Greg Anrig discusses the ways in which deficit reduction can serve as a political tool to retard progressive reform.