DEAN BAKER
Being Rude To The Deficit Hawks

I worked at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) for 6 ½ years. During this time, the credibility of my work and that of my colleagues was often impugned by describing EPI as "labor backed." This was partially true, we got 20-25 percent of our funding from unions. However, the clear implication of this identification was that our ties to labor called our integrity into question in a way that large amounts of corporate tied money did not affect the integrity of other think tanks. I am reminded of this because I was at the Peter G. Peterson's Foundation deficit fest this morning. I left as Peter Peterson took the stage with Robert Rubin. The hypocrisy around this sight was more than I could bear. Actually, I left because I had work to do, but this sight was still pretty painful.

ISAIAH J. POOLE
Economic Experts Counter Right-Wing Bias Of Deficit Debate

This podcast features highlights from a news conference call by a group of progressive leaders seeking to counter the largely one-sided debate about how to reduce the federal deficit being promoted by Wall Street billionaire Peter G. Peterson and other deficit hawks. Roger Hickey, co-director of the Campaign for America's Future, is joined in the call by Robert Kuttner, The American Prospect, Demos, and author of the new book, "A Presidency in Peril"; Heidi Hartmann, economist and President of the Institute for Women's Policy Research; and Dean Baker, economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

ROBERT SCHEER
'God, What A Piece of Crap'

thenation.com - It was the Perry Mason moment in the unraveling of what was left of Goldman Sachs's reputation. Only in this case, it involved a grizzled former prosecutor, Senator Carl Levin, rather than a genial defense attorney. The Michigan Democrat, citing the language of the internal e-mails of Goldman traders concerning the deceptive products they were selling, asked: "And when you heard that your own employees in these e-mails are looking at these deals said `God what a shitty deal. God, what a piece of crap,' when you hear your own employees and read about those e-mails, do you feel anything?" Viniar's answer told us all we need to know about the banal but profound immorality of Goldman's business culture: "I think that's very unfortunate to have on e-mail."

ROBERT KUTTNER
Give 'Em Hell, Barry

prospect.org - When President Barack Obama took office, at a time of grave financial crisis and disgraced laissez-faire economics, many of us hoped that he would be the next Franklin D. Roosevelt. That hope, to put it mildly, has not materialized. In fairness to Obama, he took office while the crisis was still deepening. FDR, by contrast, was inaugurated after the depression had festered and Republicans had dithered for more than three years, creating a popular mandate for more drastic change. But if Obama is not destined to be the next Roosevelt, he can choose from one of two very different presidential role models, Harry Truman or Bill Clinton.

ROBERT B. REICH
Swiftboating Finance Reform

robertreich.org - Republicans are blocking a Senate vote on the Dodd bill, seeking to build public support by misleading the public. They're claiming to want a stronger bill when in fact they're doing the Street's bidding by seeking a weaker one. Evidence of their tactics comes in the form of a shady anti-financial reform group called "Stop Too Big To Fail" which today announced a new TV advertising push in three key states. The ad features an out-of-context quote from me to bolster its case to kill financial reform.

CHRISTOPHER BEAM
Goldman Sucks

slate.com - The question at the center of Tuesday's Senate hearing on the role of investment banks in the financial crisis: Are Goldman Sachs bankers criminals or merely a big bunch of jerks? Put another way: Did the employees of Goldman Sachs deliberately mislead investors by failing to disclose that one of the people creating a certain mortgage-backed security was also betting against it, as a new lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleges? Or did they simply recommend mortgage-backed securities to investors, then turn around and bet against them - essentially betting against their own investors? The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations may have failed to prove the former, but it presented a strong case for the latter.

STEPHANIE MENCIMER
Citizens United, Take Two

motherjones.com - This week, congressional Democrats are crafting legislation to undo the Supreme Court's recent decision in Citizens United, which allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections. At the same time, the legal genius behind that case will be asking the court to take a whack at another long-standing pillar of campaign finance transparency: state disclosure laws. Call it Citizens United, take two.