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Obama and Boehner Diverge Sharply on Fiscal Plan (NYT)

Boy, that escalated quickly! Boehner threw a trident. Jackie Calmes and Jonathan Weisman report that with talks breaking down, the House GOP will vote on the Speaker's "Plan B" to show that they won't compromise any futher until they get everything they want.

John Boehner's Plan B would raise taxes on the poor (WaPo)

Dylan Matthews notes that while Boehner's plan extends the Bush tax cuts for anyone making under $1 million, the working poor will pay about $1,500 more due to the expiration of credits from the stimulus. But at least they won't have to worry about their estate taxes.

Rich Make Out Like Bandits in Fiscal-Cliff Negotiations (Daily Beast)

Daniel Gross writes that America's long-suffering-if-you-ask-them 1 percenters had braced for the worst after President Obama's reelection, but judging from his proposal in the fiscal cliff negotiations, his version of the worst is better for them than if he did nothing at all.

Compromise or betrayal? (Salon)

Joan Walsh argues that if Obama agrees to cut Social Security, it won't just be bad policy -- he'll be directly contradicting promises made by Joe Biden, Jay Carney, and his allies in Congress. Ironically, the obstinance of the GOP may be the only thing keeping him honest.

In Fiscal Cliff Deal, Don't Chain Grandma to Smaller Social Security Checks (The Nation)

NND Editor Bryce Covert points out that switching to chained CPI would have the worst impact on elderly women, many of who receive the vast majority of their income from Social Security. If these guys saw a little old lady crossing the street, they'd report her for jaywalking.

Are Democrats Reverting to Wimps? (TNR)

Timothy Noah writes that Democrats have such a big advantage on taxes that even Grover Norquist has momentarily stopped filling up the proverbial bath tub, but they seem ready to settle for less for no good reason except that winning would be a new and scary experience.

Last-Ditch Attempt to Derail Volcker Rule (NYT)

Simon Johnson notes that as regulators prepare to implement the long-delayed Volcker Rule, the Dodd-Frank limit on prop trading, banks are going for the Hail Mary pass by arguing that its distinction between U.S. debt and foreign debt would hurt other countries' feelings.

Cheat Sheet: BofA Supplied Default Answers for 'Independent' Foreclosure Claims Reviewers (ProPublica)

Paul Kiel reports that the Independent Foreclosure Review is proving to be a bit of a misnomer thanks to banks hiring and paying consultants to conduct the review and, at least in one case, providing some friendly advice on what their totally unbiased findings should be.

Temps: America's Throwaway Workers (MoJo)

Jim Morris and Chip Mitchell explore what the death of a temp worker at a chemical factory tells us about employers' lack of accountability for the safety of their workers under U.S. law, which has harsher penalties for killing an endangered bird than it does for killing an employee.

Corporations are the people of the year, my friend (Quartz)

Time has settled on Barack Obama as its Person of the Year, but Tim Fernholz argues that a more open-minded selection committee would have seen that between soaring profits and political influence, corporations had the kind of year we mere mortals could only dream of.

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A Fiscal Deal Is Emerging -- But Is It Any Good? (TNR)

Jonathan Cohn reviews the plan chefs Obama and Boehner are cooking up behind closed doors, which includes ingredients that may leave a sour taste in both sides' mouths, like higher taxes on those making over $400K and a COLA adjustment for Social Security.

The Social Security Benefit Cut Obama May Agree To (TPM)

Brian Beutler notes that "chained CPI" would ultimately reduce Social Security benefits, though some progressives think it's better than raising the Medicare age or getting no deal at all. At least there's plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons and carefully oh wait.

Remember the Children (Robert Reich)

Reich argues that the failure to protect America's children extends beyond gun violence to soaring child poverty rates and neglect for children's health, all because they don't have any powerful interests to speak up for them. Sounds like a job for... everyone, actually.

How Gun-Related Crimes Cost Each Taxpayer Hundreds of Dollars a Year (Think Progress)

Tragedies like the Sandy Hook shooting have an unbearably high human cost, but Travis Waldron writes that violent crimes also cost taxpayers $3.7 billion a year in medical, legal, and other expenses. Shouldn't their right to self-defense include their local economy?

All We Want for Chrismas Is... Guns (MoJo)

Maddie Oatman and Ian Gordon note that firearms went flying off the shelves on Black Friday, continuing a sales spike that occurred both times Obama was elected and a trend of current gun owners stockpiling more weapons. Maybe skip those houses, Santa.

A Real Right to Work (NYT)

"Right to work" is one of the right's 1984isms, but Nancy Folbre argues we should make sure everyone who wants a job has one by expanding the public sector to pick up the private sector's slack. The GOP thinks they're fake jobs, but they're realer than nonexistent ones.

Walmart VP: When Workers Ask About Unions, Management Tells Them Benefits 'Might Go Away' (The Nation)

Josh Eidelson notes that Walmart is trying to discourage its workers from talking about unionizing not by directly threatening them but by hinting that the entrails spell misfortune for them. "Awful job you have here. Shame if something even worse were to happen to it."

Why the unemployment rate might soon stop dropping (WaPo)

Good news: the job market is improving. Bad news: It probably won't look that way. Brad Plumer highlights a paper from the San Francisco Fed that predicts the unemployment rate will stall as those who have dropped out of the labor force begin to come off the bench.

The 'Mommy Penalty,' Around the World (NYT)

Catherine Rampell flags new research from the OECD that shows full-time working mothers in the developed world earn about 16 percent less than their male colleagues, in part because caregiving responsibiltiies come as a package deal with their bundles of joy.

More seniors trapped in children's student debt (Columbus Dispatch)

Education begins at home, and apparently it lingers there long after it should have left the nest. Mike Wagner and Jill Riepenhoff report that the trend of parents and grandparents helping out with college loans is turning the nightmare of repayment into a family affair.

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Why is Washington Obsessing About the Deficit and Not Jobs and Wages? (Robert Reich)

Reich notes that Democrats won the election in part by persuading voters that priority number one was job creation, not deficit reduction. And with that settled, policymakers are ready to dive right into the jobs problem just as soon as they're finished reducing the deficit.

The Federal Reserve Gets Down to Business (Prospect)

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal argues that with the adoption of the Evans Rule, the Fed is proving it's in for the long haul and that it's come a long way from when Rick Perry was threatening to pull the waistband of Ben Bernanke's underwear over his head. 

The G.O.P.'s Existential Crisis (NYT)

Paul Krugman writes that the Republicans' real worry isn't the national debt, which is so catastrophic that investors are begging the U.S. to borrow their money, but that President Obama won't just give them what they want so they don't have to figure out what that is.

The Permanent Budget Crisis (Slate)

Matthew Yglesias argues that Democrats have good reason to want to use any budget deal to permanently defuse the debt ceiling as a political threat, but for Republicans, it's like being asked to give up their new favorite toy just because it's coated in toxic lead paint.

Obama's trump card on the debt limit (WaPo)

Matt Miller suggests that if the GOP refuses to raise the debt ceiling enough to enable Obama's anti-colonial socialism, he should just ask for the $6 trillion increase needed to cover the Ryan budget. Holy hypocrites, how will the Boy Wonder get out of this one?

As State Budgets Rebound, Federal Cuts Could Pose Danger (NYT)

State budgets are finally back on solid footing in the wake of the recession, but Michael Cooper reports that state officials worry cuts to the federal aid that makes up a third of their revenue could leave them sinking back into the quicksand and unable to afford a rope.

New language, same findings: Tax hikes on the rich won't cripple the economy (WaPo)

Suzy Khimm notes that the Congressional Research Service report that Republicans censored because it rejected the correlation between top tax rates and economic growth has been revised to reflect that they're still wrong about that, but they think they aren't.

Income Malaise of Middle Class Complicates Democrats' Stance in Talks (NYT)

Annie Lowrey writes that Democrats have a strong hand due to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, but it's weakened by the fact that they know it will hurt people who can't afford it. But given the need for revenue, it could be a headache vs. head wound kind of choice.

Today in Poverty: GOP Leadership and Violence Against Native Women (The Nation)

There must be something less depressing than the fiscal cliff negotiations going on in Congress, right? Oh, Republicans are holding up the Violence Against Women Act because it helps Native American women too much. Thanks, Greg Kaufmann. Thanks a lot.

Video: "Big Write-Offs Will Inspire You," Top AIG Exec Raps About Bailout (MoJo)

Rich white conservative guys doing funny raps: Is it ever not a great idea? The Treasury Department is claiming a $22.7 billion profit on the AIG bailout, but hate-watching this could cause you to question why we didn't raze it to the ground and salt the earth.

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The Lansing-Beijing connection (WaPo)

Harold Meyerson argues that Michigan Republicans share more in common with China's Communist Party than they might think: despite a growing gap between profits and wages, they both view unions as a threat to their political regime. Also, they wear a lot of gray.

Yank the Chain: Washington's Terrible New Social Security Fix (TNR)

Timothy Noah writes that a popular proposal to change the formula used to calculate increases in Social Security would amount to a benefit cut for seniors, for whom the rising cost of cheese doesn't carry quite the same weight as the rising cost of heart surgery.

When government does things better than private enterprise (LA Times)

Michael Hiltzik argues that government is the best answer when it's the cheapest answer, and Social Security and Medicare will remain the most affordable way to meet their recipients' needs unless entitlement reform includes a quest for the Fountain of Youth.

Loopholes to Some, Lifelines to Others (NYT)

Eduardo Porter notes that many tax credits and deductions are meant to subsidize things that Republicans wouldn't directly support, so their proposal to raise revenue by closing loopholes is really a generous offer to cut spending and then cut spending again.

Beyond the 'fiscal cliff,' America's kids need more -- not less -- government spending (CS Monitor)

Lane Kenworthy makes the case that we need universal childcare and pre-K to reduce the growing opportunity gap faced by low-income children. Unfortunately, it's hard for them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps when they're still wearing Velcro sneakers.

Obama Administration Essentially Admits That Some Banks Are Too Big to Jail (HuffPo)

Mark Gongloff writes that the decision to let HSBC off with just $1.9 billion in fines for fear of systemic risks sends a clear message to big banks involved in money laundering: if you're going to commit a crime, for God's sake, make sure you commit a lot of it.

Five things to look for out of the Fed today (WaPo)

Get hype, Bernanketeers! The FOMC will announce the results of its latest meeting today, followed by a press conference with the Fed chairman. Neil Irwin has the rundown on what to expect: more bond purchases. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Go about your business.

Walmart Workers Model 'Minority Unionism' (The Nation)

Josh Eidelson notes that while U.S. law only recognizes unions that can show majority support, Walmart strikers have demonstrated the advantage of being numerous enough to have a voice but spread out enough that it's difficult for corporate to play Whack-a-Mole.

The Billionaires' Long Game (Prospect)

Robert Reich writes that although the GOP's losses in 2012 suggest that the billionaires who supported them were flushing money down the toilet, sooner or later they'll spend enough to clog the pipes, and then the glorious overflow will wash away their enemies.

Deconstructing Dodd-Frank (NYT)

Just how complicated is Dodd-Frank? Complicated enough that even the infographic explaining the lobbying, rulemaking, and implementation involved is a little difficult to follow. But at least the gray and beige pallet helps bring out the excitement in the process.