What you need to know to navigate today's most critical debates.

Warren Warns of Gutted Reform (NPR)
ND20 contributor Elizabeth Warren sat down with NPR's Tom Ashbrook to discuss lobbyists' ongoing efforts to derail financial reform. You can listen to the full interview here.

Banks queasy as reform deal nears (Politico)
Wall Street is shocked that Democrats have not caved in to its demands and eliminated all the parts of the FinReg package that the banks don't like. Yet.

Q&A: Joseph Stiglitz Discusses the European Debt Crisis (Vanity Fair)
He explains why fiscal austerity measures in Europe have everyone panicked, from workers to investors.

Comparing Financial Regulatory Reform Bills (WSJ)
The Wall Street Journal charts the differences between the House and Senate FinReg bills. (h/t: Big Picture)

Learning from Roosevelt(s) (The Nation)
Americans need to get back to work, and someone needs to clean up BP's mess. President Obama has a prime opportunity to match the jobs focus of Franklin Roosevelt with the environmentalism of Teddy Roosevelt by creating a new Civilian Conservation Corps.

Still 'Jobs, Jobs, Jobs' -- Just Not the Way the Administration Is Thinking About Them (HuffPo)
Leo Hindery Jr. argues that combining New Deal-like investments in jobs and infrastructure with higher taxes on wealthy traders and corporate elites would put millions back to work and help to cut the deficit.

How mortgage default could get much worse (Reuters)
Just because homeowners say they won't walk away from their homes doesn't mean they won't. And Felix Salmon thinks that's cause for serious alarm.

A Few Steps Short on Jobs (NYTimes)
Many Democrats have decided that pushing for more stimulus is too risky with the midterms approaching, but heading into November with 10 percent unemployment could be even scarier.

Fear must not blind us to deflation's dangers (FT)
Martin Wolf argues that premature fiscal tightening could create another global recession.

A few thoughts about the Euro crisis and the psychology of change (Credit Writedowns)
Edward Harrison notes that governments seem incapable of addressing unsustainable economic trends until they develop into full-blown crises. If recent history is any indication, even that might not be enough to motivate them.

The Regulation Crisis (New Yorker)
A combination of deregulation, budget cuts, and graft has left the foxes guarding the hens at many important regulatory agencies. Is it still possible for regulators to regain the respect the American people?

Years of Internal BP Probes Warned That Neglect Could Lead to Accidents (ProPublica)
BP execs had ample evidence of the safety risks that plagued their operations, but they failed to take action and ignored or punished those who spoke out.

Spain Hit by Strike Over Austerity Measures (NYTimes)
Worker protests aren't limited to just Greece. Spain is the next to strike back.

Legacy for One Billionaire: Death, But No Taxes (NYTimes)
The federal government is running record deficits, but thanks to a one-year moratorium on the estate tax, the heirs of Texas oil tycoon Dan Duncan recently inherited 9 billion dollars without having to pay back a cent.

The government's crummy computers (WaPo)
Ezra Klein reacts to Peter Orszag's call for Executive Branch budget cuts and notes that the public sector could be much more efficient if it weren't hobbled by outdated technology. Maybe everyone in the Patent Office should chip in and get an iPad.

What you need to know to navigate today's most critical debates.

Financial Re-Regulation and Democracy (Project Syndicate)
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow and Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz argues that in order to have meaningful financial reform, we need to stop putting so much faith in regulators and instead restructure the system itself.

Obama, the Oil Spill and the Chaos Perception (NYTimes)
Like FDR, Obama needs to prove to the public that he can impose order on our chaotic lives.

Hiring Recovery Sputters (WSJ)
Friday's jobs report showed that almost all jobs added in May were temporary Census Bureau positions, disappointing Wall Street and White House analysts who had expected more robust growth.

Downgrade the Ratings Agencies (NYTimes)
It's time to drop the need for ratings agencies like a bad habit.

Banks Say No. Too Bad Taxpayers Can't. (NYTimes)
Banks are trying to find any loophole they can use to get out of buying their bad loans back from Fannie and Freddie, but they're perfectly happy to let the public foot the bill for them.

The Banking Showdown (HuffPo)
As the conference committee prepares to hammer out the final details of financial reform, Robert Kuttner breaks down the individual pieces of the bill and the challenges that lie ahead for each of them.

Lost Decade, Here We Come (NYTimes)
Paul Krugman wonders why the G20 nations are focused on implementing solutions that don't work for problems that don't exist right now.

Obama's Double Bind (WaPo)
President Obama needs to fix the broken economy and the ruined Gulf at the same time. By 2012, he may not even want to be reelected.

From shared sacrifice to hedonism (Salon)
In 1941, in response to a major foreign threat, FDR called on all Americans to change their ways of life and contribute to the defense of their nation. In 2010, in response to a major environmental threat, we're being urged not to let all the dead pelicans on the beach spoil our vacation plans.

Don't Get Mad, Mr. President. Get Even. (NYTimes)
It's not about Obama's clenched jaw -- it's about his hold over his own presidency.

Government must OK new domestic worker rights (NY Daily News)
New York is on the verge of passing legislation that would protect domestic employees throughout the state from discrimination and guarantee benefits such as paid vacation and sick days. The law would be the first of its kind and supporters hope that it will serve as a model for the rest of the country.

Euro Run (ECB)
In this educational online game presented by the European Central Bank, your goal is to collect as many euros as you can without falling into a bottomless pit. Just like the real European economy! (h/t: Business Insider)

Twelve (Imperfect) Ways to Clean the Gulf (NYTimes)
A chart to describe all the ways to (hopefully) clean up the spill.

What you need to know to navigate today's most critical debates.

Euro Likely to Survive Debt Crisis, Stiglitz Says (BusinessWeek)
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow and Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz predicts European governments will do all they can to save the euro, but austerity measures will lead to a weak recovery.

U.S. to Push for Bank Rules in Other Large Economies (NYTimes)
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner wants members of the G-20 to coordinate their financial reform plans, although Congress must first figure out what ours is.

Lawmakers move to toughen 'Volcker rule' (FT)
The finance bill that emerges from conference may include a strong ban on proprietary trading as well as a provision that would allow the president to appoint the chief of the New York Federal Reserve.

Friday's Job Numbers, and What They Won't Tell Us About America's Growing Anxious Class (HuffPo)
Robert Reich argues that more and more Americans are becoming entrepreneurs due to necessity rather than choice.

Laissez-Faire Meets the Oil Spill (WSJ)
Thomas Frank notes that in a moment of crisis, free marketeers have begun to demand "big government" solutions. Funny how that happens.

Climate policy is health policy (WaPo)
Kate Sheppard highlights the self-evident but often-overlooked fact that improving the health of the planet will improve the health of its inhabitants.

Nuclear Option on Gulf Oil Spill?  No Way, U.S. Says (NYTimes)
Some experts think that the government should detonate a nuclear bomb in the Gulf of Mexico in order to stop the oil leak. And really, what could go wrong?

Does A Bank Tax Make Sense? (TaxVox)
Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center summarizes a recent report that evaluates several different options for levying taxes on financial institutions.

Gender and the Geography of Work (Early Warning)
Stuart Staniford maps out male and female employment across the United States.

“What you need to know to navigate today’s economic debate.”

Shorting Reform (NYTimes)
Wall Street lobbyists follow a simple code: when in doubt, cloud the issue.

German Central Bankers Suspect French Intrigue (Der Spiegel)
Something may be rotten in the state of France.

Relief for Gulf is 2 months away with another well (Associated Press)
The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico drags on after several failed efforts to stop the Deepwater oil leak.

BP & The Bankers (HuffPo)
Robert Kuttner argues that the financial crisis and the oil spill have a lot in common -- including missed opportunities for progressive leadership.

European Central Bank's Report Issues Warning (NYTimes)
More trouble looms for banks in the euro zone.

Bankers' 'doomsday scenario' under fire (Financial Times)
Surprise, surprise -- banks are exaggerating the downsides of financial regulation.

Brazil, India, China may be overheating, Roubini says (Bloomberg)
The economist who predicted the U.S. housing bubble sees new trouble spots emerging.

The Next Wave of the Crisis (Newsweek)
Paralyzed governments could be just as big an economic threat as over-leveraged banks.

After bankruptcy, GM, Chrysler turn the corner (WaPo)
One year later, the auto bailouts have begun to pay dividends.