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How Liberals Win (NYT)

Bill Scher writes that Democrats from FDR to Obama have only won major progressive victories by compromising with corporations, reasoning that settling for half a loaf is better than letting them steal the whole loaf and punch you in the stomach.

Tea Party Govs Say 'No' to Medicaid Expansion (The Nation)

George Zornick notes that Florida's Rick Scott and South Carolina's Nikki Haley have become the first Tea Party darlings to declare that opting out of the ACA's Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do for their states* (*their political careers).

How Much Would the Medicaid Expansion Cost Your State? (NYT)

At the risk of letting a rogue fact or two get in the way of a really solid grandstand, Annie Lowrey charts how much each state would have to spend and how much it would receive from the federal government to implement the Medicaid expansion.

For businesses, plenty of questions remain about the health-care law (WaPo)

Sarah Kliff and Jia Lynn Yang note that the health care industry is still worried about implementation and cost control for the Affordable Care Act, especially when you factor in having to set up all the trap doors and spooky lighting for the death panel chambers.

Bankers constantly lying, defrauding; most still not in jail (Salon)

Alex Pareene writes that when bankers behave badly, they don't usually face the same consequences as lesser mortals, but some do suffer the terrible fate of being forced to retire with scant millions of dollars in stock options to give them comfort.

The Scam Wall Street Learned From the Mafia (Rolling Stone)

Matt Taibbi explains how a recent court case related to municipal bond rate manipulation shows that banks now employ the same tactics as organized crime cartels, though they've tailored the pinstripe suits and dropped the violin cases.

A Wall Street Gambling Tax: The Remedy to Inequality (HuffPo)

Dean Baker writes that instead of trying to sneak in cuts to programs voters want preserved, Congress should use a financial speculation tax to reduce the deficit and discourage bankers who treat money like they're Heath Ledger's Joker.

Can We Call it Class War Yet? (AlterNet)

Sarah Jaffe argues that with corporate profits soaring to all-time highs and workers' wages sinking to new lows, the cold war that's been waged against the American middle class for decades is approaching its Cuban MIssile Crisis moment.

Price Tags for Parents (NYT)

Nancy Folbre writes that when estimating the cost of parenthood, we need to account for unpaid time spent with children and recognize that babies are neither living, breathing farm tools nor puppies that we toss an occasional tennis ball around with.

Where Work Disappears and Dreams Die (TAP)

Don Terry writes that Gary, Indiana, once one of the Midwest's thriving industrial cities, remains a symbol of the American Dream and the strength of our economy, which is to say that it's all falling apart and really pretty depressing to think about.

With additional research by Danielle Bella Ellison.