By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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Top 400 U.S. Billionaires' Wealth Equals Brazil's GDP (Real News Network)
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Rob Johnson comments on this data point from Forbes, noting that the social dysfunction caused by this kind of inequality isn't hitting the wealthy yet. But he says that even the wealthy are starting to realize that the country can't continue on this path.
I think increasingly those billionaires and other wealthy people know that we're on an unstable trajectory, that the system is dysfunctional, the system's broken, and we are heading towards social conflict. Social conflict can take the form of more repression, military equipment, intimidation, incarceration. As you know, the prison population, particularly black male population, is exploding, and America has a tremendous eyesore associated with the incarceration of black males. But there is a sense in which if you have wealth or if you have the knowledge to create wealth, say, like an engineer at Apple Computer, you've got to be scared that it isn't going to go on, you're not going to be able to reap the fruits of your talents and your wealth unless we adjust course. I think wealthy people have to change course now. It's not sustainable.
Follow below the fold for more.
Pulling the Plug on Comcast's Merger (Bloomberg View)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford explains why the Federal Communications Commission should block Comcast's proposed merger with Time Warner Cable.
Debt Scolds: Pay No Attention to the Falling Deficit! (NY Mag)
Jonathan Chait scolds those who treated the deficit like the end of the world; now, the deficit is falling, but their outlook took needed stimulus off the table back in 2009.
Fed Officials to Be Flexible on How They Raise Rates (WSJ)
Reporting on the Federal Reserve meeting notes from September, Jon Hilsenrath explains the Fed's decision to try new experimental tools when it's time to raise interest rates.
Obama Had Security Fears on JPMorgan Data Breach (NYT)
Michael Corkery, Jessica Silver-Greenberg, and David E. Sanger report on the administration's knowledge of a summer-long cyberattack on JPMorgan and other banks.
Post-recession Decline in Black Women’s Wages is Consistent with Occupational Downgrading (Working Economics)
Valerie Wilson says that unlike other groups, black women lost both mid-wage and high-wage jobs in the recession, which explains their decreased earnings.
New on Next New Deal
Obama Administration Defends Amazon’s Low Pay – Again
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch says the support of Amazon in Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk illustrates the continued influence of the donor class over workers.
The Federal Reserve Won't Save the Economy for All
Deepening participatory democracy will improve outcomes for the working class, writes Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network National Director Joelle Gamble.