To read the papers and watch TV news during the past week, you would think that the most dire problem afflicting Americans was the federal deficit in 2020 or 2030.
But for most people, the crisis right now is lost income, lost jobs, lost homes.
And the recommendations of the two co-chairs of the fiscal [...]

In the 1970s, the CIA appointed a "Team B" to challenge prevailing assumptions about national security. Since then, there have been other Team B exercises to question prevailing views.
This is a smart move. An in-group of experts often becomes an echo-chamber, reinforcing their own prejudices and excluding people with different views. If [...]

Is the election basically sewn up, with the House gone and the Senate hanging in the balance? If things continue as they have been going, almost surely.
Voters are still seeking some signs that the Democrats are on their side. Here are two speeches Obama should give, and probably won't. One concerns [...]

By pocket-vetoing the bill that sailed through Congress to expedite mortgage foreclosures, President Obama may have begun a chain reaction that will blow up Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's confidence game with the banks. Let me explain.
In early 2009, Obama and his top economic aides faced a fateful choice: either do an honest accounting of the [...]

Tired of bleak political news? Here is an optimistic scenario of what just might happen on November 2: some Republican gains, but both houses of Congress remain Democratic.
It may well be that the anticipated Republican takeover of Congress peaked a little too soon and that the Tea Parties were too successful for their own good. [...]

The task of progressives is to address voter discontent with business as usual, and break it into understandable issues. Like votes drawing the line against cutting Social Security benefits, or offering tax relief to the middle and working class but not the rich, the Fair Elections Now legislation is a good way to smoke out differences between Democrats and Republicans and to disentangle the general backlash against "Washington." Any incumbent Republican who votes against this reform should be ashamed to face voters.

This article was originally published on The Huffington Post
The campaign to get Elizabeth Warren appointed to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau got me thinking — why is it that so many of the heroic leaders who have pushed the Obama administration to be more steadfastly progressive on financial issues just [...]

This originally appeared on Politico.com
Democratic factional infighting and White House dithering are undermining the economic strategy that President Barack Obama needs to rally his party — and the country.
With a clear strategy and message, Democrats could minimize their congressional losses this fall. Otherwise, the widely predicted Republican blowout could paralyze [...]

This originally appeared on the Huffington Post.
For the past several days, people who care about whether financial reform is to be real or sham have been following the drama of whether President Obama will name Elizabeth Warren to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Bureau is the best thing [...]

This originally appeared on The Huffington Post.
The financial reform bill that passed both houses of Congress was far less than we needed. But it was a start — enough of a start that the bankers have spent tens of millions trying to kill it. And now, with the House-Senate conference version of [...]