By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
Click here to receive the Daily Digest via email.
When It Comes To High-Speed Internet, U.S. 'Falling Way Behind' (Fresh Air)
Dave Davies interviews Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford, who discusses why net neutrality is so important and how the FCC can preserve it. They also talk about the Internet infrastructure in the U.S., which needs improvements to compete globally.
Cities at Work: Progressive Local Policies to Rebuild the Middle Class (CAP)
Joel Rogers and Satya Rhodes-Conway introduce their new report on why local governments are best suited to strengthen the middle class. They point to cities' wealth, sustainability, and democratic values and organization as key reasons.
- Roosevelt Take: Roosevelt Institute Associate Director of Networked Initiatives Alan Smith discusses the Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network's "Rethinking Communities" initiative, which is similarly focused on local economic development.
Skating Close to the Edge, Again, on the Debt Ceiling (NYT)
Annie Lowrey writes about global fatigue over the U.S. debt ceiling standoffs, with everyone from Democrats in Congress to international financial managers expressing exhaustion with the tactic. She says the damage to the country's financial reputation is done, no matter the outcome this time.
Obamacare Cures 'Job Lock' (USA Today)
Theda Skocpol and Katherine Swartz praise the end of "job lock," when workers are reluctant to leave jobs because they need the employer-sponsored health insurance. Freeing those workers is going to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.
Senate Still at Odds Over Whether to Extend Unemployment Benefits for Long-Term Jobless (WaPo)
Paul Kane reports that Senate Democrats again failed to pass an extension of long-term unemployment benefits, falling just one vote shy of the supermajority needed to break a filibuster. Of course, he notes, House Republicans have shown no interest in taking up this issue anyway.
The Shame of America's Long-Term Unemployment Crisis (The Atlantic)
Derek Thompson says that Washington is failing on long-term unemployment, which is a serious crisis for the U.S. job market. There could be ways to incentivize hiring the long-term unemployed, but that would require the GOP to care about this problem.
New on Next New Deal
A CBO Report Shows How Obamacare Will Help the Working Poor
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow and Director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative Jeff Madrick writes that the money that low-income families won't have to spend on health insurance, thanks to Medicaid expansion and insurance subsidies, will boost the economy when it's spent elsewhere.