Progressive Opinion

jackandjillpolitics.com — One number — 640,329 — figure represents the number of jobs that have been created or saved so far through the Recovery Act, according to a report released by the Obama administration. But the true significance of this number lies in the people behind it. Their stories show the true return on investment that America’s communities are reaping from Recovery Act funding.

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washingtonpost.com — It's not just that the United States uniquely lacks an industrial policy. It's that the United States uniquely has an anti-industrial policy. Turning that around could help the economy as well as convey some political rewards to an administration that could use some rewards just now.

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inthesetimes.com — This Republican disarray means that the policy debate in Washington is for the Democrats to lose. But first, in order to win, Democrats must acknowledge the root of the problem. For more than 30 years they have failed to defend the state in the face of conservative attacks. This failure has facilitated a dangerous expansion of corporate power and weakened public confidence in government.

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openleft.com — The US/China talks are actually, in many respects more important than the healthcare debate. What China is willing to pay for may well be what the US can do, and what is being negotiated right now is what they'll pay for. Let's take a look at the issues.

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huffingtonpost.com — China will lead the world out of this economic recession due to a strong industrial policy that the United States lack.

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truthout.org — Recessions are tricky things. There are a zillion economic-textbook reasons why they come, why they stay and why they go. The most intangible factor in the depth and duration of any recession, however, cannot be quantified or predicted: mood. If people start to feel better about how things are going, whether or not their wallets actually show it, the economy improves.

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economix.blogs.nytimes.com — With this post, we announce the formation of Club Wagner. It’s a (fictional) organization of people willing to acknowledge a basic economic reality.

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truthdig.com — Depending on which state and the sort of triggers that apply to benefits, hundreds of thousands of workers laid off early in the downturn are soon to be left without the basic sustenance of an unemployment check. Let’s stop kidding ourselves. In no contemporary economic crisis — not even those that unfolded on the Republicans’ watch — has Congress left the unemployed completely in the lurch. So some sort of spending package — call it stimulus, call it stopgap emergency aid, whatever works — is going to have to be passed.

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openleft.com — People understand the depths of the mess George W. Bush left us with, and so perhaps they will be more patient with this charismatic young President than they were with the last one. But the similarities in circumstances between now and then are still keeping me up nights. Here's what needs to happen to avoid another 1994 for the Democrats.

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politico.com — Critics of the president’s credibility should unclench their fists, for their analysis must recognize the inherited policies from the previous president’s final 100 days and the potential yield of the forthcoming 100 days. Only then can an accurate accounting be cast. The president’s first 100 days laid the political and logistical foundation for the Recovery Act. Now the country is ready to reap the harvest of the second 100 days, wherein the rebuilding begins — and 600,000 jobs are realized.

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