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The Final Days, the Biggest Issue, and the Clearest Choice (Robert Reich)

Reich writes that as we enter the home stretch of the 2012 election, the question at the center of it all is not what the latest Gallup tracking poll says or whether we need to unskew the numbers. It's whether the rich need to pay more to unskew the tax code.

The progressive case against Obama (Salon)

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Matt Stoller argues that progressives who plan to vote for Barack Obama because they believe he's the lesser of two evils should reweight their scales to account for four years of growing economic and political inequality.

Medicaid on the Ballot (NYT)

Paul Krugman notes that while many of Romney's plans add up to little more than a question mark and a knowing wink, there's no doubt that his cuts to Medicaid would be catastrophic -- and all for the sake of scoring a touchdown against Team Moocher.

Why the GM Rescue Should Matter in Ohio -- and Everywhere Else (TNR)

Jonathan Cohn argues that the auto bailouts aren't just relevant to who wins Ohio's 18 electoral votes. They illustrate that in times of crisis, Obama thinks American industries should turn to government, while Romney thinks they should turn to Bain Capital.

Who Gets Credit for the Recovery? (NYT)

David Leonhardt writes that after four years of Democrats and Republicans tossing the blame for our economic situation back and forth like a live grenade, they're now jockeying to be in the right place at the right time when the belated upswing begins.

How the fiscal cliff would affect the poorest Americans (WaPo)

Suzy Khimm notes that the rich will have to pay higher taxes if we head over the fiscal cliff, but the expiration of stimulus policies like the extended Child Tax Credit and the EITC will ensure that the poor are there at the bottom to cushion their fall.

This Week in Poverty: Big Foot, Nessie, and Paul Ryan (The Nation)

Greg Kaufmann writes that while Paul Ryan claims that the Holy Spirit moves him when talking about poverty, he might as well be speaking in tongues when it comes to his explanation of the problem's causes and what we need to do to solve it.

America - land of inequality (SF Chronicle)

Brad DeLong writes that the economists of 30 years ago predicted the U.S. would become a steadily more egalitarian and middle class country and do away with the "malefactors of great wealth," but instead it has transformed into one big malefactory.

When Low Taxes Don't Help the Rich (NYT)

Robert Frank argues that the key to weakening the influence of big donors is not to attack their selfishness but to appeal to it by pointing out that more tax cuts and deregulation aren't going to fill a pothole for them. Won't someone think of the convertibles?

Billionaires Going Rogue (NYT)

Thomas Edsall writes that recent shifts in campaign finance have benefited the GOP, but all that money doesn't come without a cost. Before, the party maintained tight control over candidates' funding. Now, one rich guy can make Newt Gingrich a thing.