The Real Economic Threat, Trump’s Cabinet Picks, and More

1. What’s Really Holding Us Back

In Democracy Journal, Roosevelt Fellows Mike Konczal and Marshall Steinbaum write that the Great Recession, like the Great Depression before it, showed that our economic problems are fundamentally about concentrated corporate power, and the best response is for an active government to provide alternatives.

2. Unconfirmed Reports

Roosevelt VP of Policy and Research Nell Abernathy joined a roundtable with Salon’s Carrie Sheffield and Alli Joseph to discuss Donald Trump’s “Soviet” press conference, the latest allegations about Russian election interference, and the ongoing confirmation hearings for Trump’s cabinet picks. Watch it here.

3. Making Plans for 2017

The Roosevelt network gathered for its annual Midyear Leadership Retreat, where they discussed diversity and equity in the network, combatting increased privatization of public goods, and intentional growth and recruitment strategies for the year ahead. Click here to view highlights from the weekend.

4. Can Trump Deliver?

Writing for Project Syndicate, Roosevelt Senior Fellow Rob Johnson argues that Trump prevailed by challenging the orthodoxy on structural inequality and the downsides of globalization, but if he tries to address those problems without fixing the rigged system he criticized, he will fail to deliver on his promises.

5. America’s Jeff Sessions Problem

Roosevelt Communications Manager Alexander Tucciarone writes that, among Trump’s many troubling cabinet picks, Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions stands out as a threat to communities of color, immigrant families, and all Americans concerned about civil rights, police violence, and equality under the law.

What We’re Reading:

Mother Jones reporter Josh Harkinson highlights the measures that legislators are taking to make California the home state of the anti-Trump resistance on issues ranging from immigration to climate change.

At Vice, Matt Phillips and Kathleen Caulderwood explore how mass incarceration has barred millions of men from the workforce, forcing them to the margins and harming the American economy.