Economics (Sorry, no good news this week.)

• Paul Krugman, The Twinkie Manifesto.  (The US was prosperous and inequality was less pronounced when the highest marginal tax rate was much, much higher and more unions were around to help workers secure better wages and benefits.)
• “…in a sharp reversal of historical trends, there is now less equality of opportunity in the United States than in most other wealthy democratic nations.” (Another plug for Kenworthy’s article in Foreign Affairs.)
• Fiscal austerity in a recession is bad policy – really, really bad policy – 2nd ed. (“The U.S. recovery has been remarkable on a comparative basis precisely for one reason: Because despite all of the rhetoric, the U.S. has completely avoided the austerity madness that’s gripped much of the world.”)
• The underlying growth rate of the US economy has slowed significantly
• Dean Baker argues that underwater mortgages do not explain the weak recovery
• @#$% The Grand Bargain and John Boehner too
• How we should approach the Fiscal Cliff
• Robert Reich’s suggestions for Grand Bargain/Fiscal Cliff negotiations: Aim high, Have a trigger mechanism, Taxes

Politics

• Andrew Cuomo:  Not a Chip Off the Old Block
• Grover Norquist:  @$$wipe
• I am at a loss to understand what the President was seeking to accomplish – more specifically, I am at a loss to understand how he believed what he was doing was a good idea.
• In a sane world Sen. Reid appoints Elizabeth Warren to the Senate Banking Committee ASAP
• Robert Reich’s takeaways from the 2012 election

Miscellaneous

• Does anyone else find “All In” to be an ironic title for Broadwell’s biography of Petraeus?
• Did you know another oil rig recently blew up in the Gulf of Mexico?  No?  Me neither.
• Coming soon to a theatre near you “Second Chance U” and “The New Dirty Dozen”
• Bedford Blueberry Goat Farm.  (I understand that the milk is available at Chip-In Farm.)