Economics Daily Digest: The vision thing

By Tim Price, originally published on Next New Deal

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A Millennial Vision for a Millennial America (The Nation)

Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network member Erik Lampmann explains how 1,000 young people came together to envision the government they want and the policies needed to create it. Now maybe they can give everyone else some pointers on how to do that.

Obama Channeling Reagan to Break Credo Government Is the Problem (Bloomberg)

Mike Dorning writes that President Obama, who's acknowledged Ronald Reagan as a transformative figure, may be presiding over another major shift in American politics, ushering in an era in which calling oneself a liberal is no longer treated like a criminal confession.

Kick That Can (NYT)

Paul Krugman argues that, contrary to what the Boehner Republicans would have us believe about the supposed fiscal crisis, the most responsible thing we can do about the debt right now is nothing at all'at least if their idea of "something" is the alternative.

How Republicans Flipped on Sequestration (NY Mag)

Jonathan Chait notes that the GOP has made a remarkable turnaround, deciding that the defense cuts that would leave us exposed to the ravening hordes are no big deal and that the tax reforms that were the only acceptable revenue source won't raise any money.

U.K. Lesson: Austerity Leads to More Debt (New Yorker)

John Cassidy examines the painful slog that is the British economy under Chancellor George Osborne, who's implemented deep spending cuts that drove up unemployment and lowered tax revenues. Easily the worst idea to cross the Atlantic since Spice World.

Higher Payroll Tax Pinches Those With the Least to Spare (NYT)

Nelson Schwartz writes that the expiration of the payroll tax cut has forced consumers of limited means to cut back, even though the people whose taxes everyone in Washington was worried about raising would consider $20 out of their paycheck a rounding error.

Invisible Women: The Real History of Domestic Workers in America (MoJo)

Maggie Caldwell constructs a timeline to demonstrate that overlooking domestic workers in the current immigration talks is part of a long tradition of pretending our homes and loved ones are cared for by magic pixies who accept our happiness as their only reward.

More states consider welfare drug testing bills (MSNBC)

Morgan Whitaker notes that Republicans in Ohio, Virginia, and Kansas have now taken up the banner of mandatory drug testing for their states' welfare recipients, because you don't really deserve a basic standard of living unless you can prove it in a plastic cup. 

Bad credit ratings sinking job hunters (MoneyWatch)

Kathy Kristof writes that many people looking for work have to overcome not just the weak economy but their own bad (and possibly fictional) credit history, even though the best way for a potential employer to make sure they pay their bills on time is to offer them a job.

Want to be an ambassador in Paris? That'll be $1.1 million. (WaPo)

Brad Plumer notes that the more prestigious, low-stress ambassadorships tend to go to some of the president's richest friends, perhaps so that they don't accidentally start a war with France by using the wrong fork in the middle of an especially fancy state dinner.

Tim Price is Deputy Editor of Next New Deal. Follow him on Twitter @txprice.