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

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