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Sen. Sherrod Brown explains why he wants to break up the big banks (WaPo)

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal talks to the Ohio progressive about the need to end "too big to fail" and how it became something he and David Vitter can agree on -- a category usually limited to things like "Nasty weather lately!" or "It is 2:30 p.m."

Why we need to raise the minimum wage (LA Times)

Andy Stern and Carl Camden make the case that the 8 million workers who fall below the poverty line deserve a wage that reflects the value they provide and the respect they deserve, not government aid that doubles as a consolation prize for Good Effort.

Federal Austerity's Bite on Job Growth (NYT)

Binyamin Appelbaum writes that Friday's jobs report isn't just about the 236,000 jobs added last month; it's also about the 142,000 jobs a month we won't be adding thanks to deficit hawks' determination to, um, save the economy -- even if they have to kill it.

Long-Term Unemployment Inches Up in February Jobs Report (HuffPo)

Arthur Delaney finds more gray clouds to go with the report's silver lining: despite overall improvement, the number of Americans out of work for six months or more increased. Now policymakers will need to try that much harder to convince them to give up.

When Public Is Better (Prospect)

Robert Kuttner argues that what we need isn't a smaller government, but one that does what we want it to do directly and effectively instead of contracting its work out to a third party, which often results in privatizing the foul-ups and socializing the blame.

Don't Cut Social Security, Expand It (Bloomberg)

Josh Barro notes that as Obama wines and dines the GOP, chained CPI may once again be served up on a platter. But cutting Social Security isn't the answer to any question except "What is the government really good at, and how do we make it worse?"

In the South and West, a Tax on Being Poor (NYT)

Katherine Newman writes that while the federal tax code is progressive, there's a stark regional divide in state taxes, and the more regressive systems make it look like they've confused the idea of eradicating poverty with eradicating the poor people.

How Washington Could Make College Tuition Free (Without Spending a Penny More on Education) (The Atlantic)

Jordan Weissman notes that instead of spending $77 billion on federal student aid in the form of tax breaks and grants last year, the government could have paid to give every student in the state university system a free ride. So what if it just... did that?

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A way out of our budget wars (WaPo)

Now that the House has passed a continuing resolution to fund the government, E.J. Dionne writes that President Obama is looking to strike a broader deal with Senate Republicans in the hope that even they are tired of hearing themselves moan about the budget.

What Young Republicans Want: Government as a Force for Good (NYT)

Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network director Taylor Jo Isenberg writes that with research (including our own new report) showing Millennials support an active government, the GOP should stop trying to sit them on their knees and tell them about the road to serfdom.

Expand Social Security (USA Today)

Duncan Black argues that Social Security has come to serve as the last crutch for retirees instead of being one leg of a "three-legged stool," and if they haven't saved enough in their working lives, they don't get to declare their lesson learned and request a do-over.

The War on Entitlements (NYT)

Thomas Edsall notes the clear divide between what the general public wants to do about Social Security and Medicare (make the people with all the money pay more for them) and what those with influence want to do (turn them into Welfare: Large-Print Edition).

Infographic: How Universal Preschool Is an Economic Boon to Working Mothers (The Nation)

NND Editor Bryce Covert writes that amid all the talk about how universal pre-K could benefit children, there's been less attention paid to how it would help mothers, who, outside of magazine covers, can't just stuff their kids in their purse and get on with their day.

With Positions to Fill, Employers Wait for Perfection (NYT)

Catherine Rampell reports that despite an abundance of openings and applicants, employers are still only window-shopping for new hires due to fear the economy will contract again. But remember, interviewees: you only get one chance to make a sixth impression.

Wealth inequality will keep growing unless workers demand better (Guardian)

Mark Price argues there's no excuse for the growing disparity between high- and low-earners or the disconnect between productivity and wages, but unless workers organize for change, there's no solution that policymakers don't have a vested interest in ignoring.

Holder: Big banks' size complicates prosecution efforts (The Hill)

Testifying before Congress, AG Eric Holder admitted that "too big to jail" is more than just a convenient rhyme for headline writers: he worries that some financial institutions have become so big that prosecuting them would be like pulling the pin from a grenade.

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The Sequester's Hidden Danger (NYRB)

Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Jeff Madrick argues the real danger of the sequester isn't the cuts themselves but the dangerous mindset of austerity advocates who see the lemmings rushing off the cliff in Europe and think, "Oooh, I wonder what's down there."

Charity Case (Washington Monthly)

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Georgia Levenson Keohane looks at how donors and taxpayers get fleeced for $40 billion a year to prop up failing nonprofits that can only charitably be referred to as charities, no matter how much their directors enjoy the resulting trip to Vegas.

Controversial activist takes on the telecom industry (WaPo)

Cecilia Kang talks to Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford about her new book, Captive Audience, and why our cable and cell phone bills are too damn high. (Hint: If telecom giants like Comcast don't face any competition, who's going to lower them?)

As Automatic Budget Cuts Go Into Effect, Poor May Be Hit Particularly Hard (NYT)

Annie Lowrey notes that even with programs like CHIP and TANF protected from sequestration, there are still billions of dollars of cuts slated for programs that help needy families. On the plus side, once their aid is cut off, Republicans might finally admit they're poor.

Regulators and Prosecutors Gird for Sequester Cuts (Compliance Week)

Joe Mont warns that while the Fed, FDIC, and OCC have been spared, regulators like the SEC, CFPB, and CFTC aren't so lucky, meaning the full implementation of financial reform rules will be delayed. No hurry; the global economy will just be over there waiting.

Republican goal to balance budget could mean deep cuts to health programs (WaPo)

Lori Montgomery reports that with budgetary blood already in the water, the House GOP may soon go into a full-on feeding frenzy: Paul Ryan is drafting a plan to balance the budget within 10 years by cutting into Medicare benefits -- even for the over-55 untouchables.

Nothing New Under the Wingnut Sun: Reckless Spending Cuts (The Nation)

Rick Perlstein writes that while President Obama may have thought the sequester beyond the pale even for the GOP, conservative icons like Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan have shown that when handed an axe, they will go full Lizzie Borden on the budget.

The Maximum Impact of the Minimum Wage (Prospect)

Harold Meyerson takes on Christina Romer's claim that raising the minimum wage is a half-measure compared to raising the EITC and instituting universal pre-K, because as we know, most major vendors accept cash, credit, or your kids' education as payment.

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The Sequester and the Tea Party Plot (Robert Reich)

Reich writes that the sequester is a product of the grander plans of radical Tea Party-ing conservatives who seek to breed fear, anger, and hate in order to win converts to their cause -- which also happens to have been the Emperor's strategy in Star Wars.

We're headed for the sequester -- but it won't even do much to reduce the deficit. (WaPo)

Jamelle Bouie notes that some are trying to find a silver lining to sequestration, arguing that these may not be the cuts we want, but at least they're cuts, which help shrink the deficit! Except when they slow the economy and shrink revenue instead. Oh well.

Ben Bernanke, Hippie (NYT)

Paul Krugman argues that opposition to austerity is now treated with the same kind of incredulity and suspicion as opposition to the Iraq War once was, but in his congressional testimony this week, the Fed chairman reeked with the patchouli oil of dissent.

Will a Government Shutdown Threat Determine the Winner of the Sequestration Fight? (TPM)

What's better than sequestration? How about sequestration plus the expiration of the continuing resolution that funds the government, resulting in another knock-down, drag-out budgetary battle? Can we work the debt ceiling in here and go for the hat trick?

So much for 'economic uncertainty' (Maddow Blog)

Steve Benen notes that while the GOP used to blast President Obama for creating "economic uncertainty" by passing laws and stuff, they've dropped that line since they took back the House and started tying the economy to the railroad tracks on the regular.

Everything You Need to Know About the Italian Election Threatening the World Economy (The Atlantic)

Matthew O'Brien looks at the political turmoil in Italy, where an amateur comedian (Berlusconi) and a former professional comic (Grillo) hold the balance of power, sowing doubts that the country will continue to destroy itself so the ECB will agree to save it.

How the recession turned middle-class jobs into low-wage jobs (WaPo)

Brad Plumer highlights a recent San Francisco Fed presentation on NELP data showing that mid-wage jobs made up 60 percent of losses during the recession but only 27 percent of gains during the recovery, and not because the rest are living like kings.

The Six-Month Recovery (TNR)

Timothy Noah notes that new data suggest median income stagnated last May after a brief growth spurt beginning in fall 2011, meaning the average American experienced half a year of half a recovery. At least we'll always have the memories to cherish.