Eight Recommendations for the Fed

The Fed We Need

To recover from the COVID-19 crisis, combat structural racism, and mitigate climate change, our central bank must play a more central role—and Roosevelt Director of Progressive Thought Mike Konczal has ideas. In A Federal Reserve Reform Agenda: Eight Recommendations, Konczal proposes both near-term fixes and longer-term structural changes the Fed can pursue—with help from Congress—to solve our nation’s crises and secure equity and prosperity for all. Read more.

Lessons from World War II

Earlier this year, a paper by Roosevelt Fellow J.W. Mason and Andrew Bossie looked to the economic mobilization policies of World War II and made the case that government can—and should—be doing more in times like these. This week, Mason and Bossie released its sequel: Public Spending as an Engine of Growth and Equality: Lessons from World War II, which explains how ambitious public spending programs can further goals of economic equality.

Read coverage of the paper in New York Magazine and The Week, and watch Mason’s appearance on Bloomberg TV [at 2:31].

Save the Economy for Everyone

For Vox, Emily Stewart interviewed nearly a dozen economic experts—including Roosevelt’s own Felicia Wong, Bharat Ramamurti, and Darrick Hamilton—about how the US can rebuild a more equitable post-pandemic economy. A common thread: Give people power and capital. “You really have to focus on the rules and institutions that continue to produce suboptimal outcomes for the whole economy, and specifically for Black workers, immigrants, women, etc.,” said Wong. “You need to focus not only on the outcomes but you also have to focus on the rules and the mindset that produces those things in the first place.” Read on.

Rest in Power, RBG

As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg becomes the first woman to lie in state at the Capitol, Roosevelt mourns her loss and celebrates her life: as a feminist trailblazer, progressive icon, intellectual titan, and recipient of the Freedom Medal at Roosevelt’s 2015 Four Freedoms Awards. 

In Justice Ginsburg’s honor, we must carry on her fight for equity and justice; as a new blog post by Roosevelt’s Todd Tucker shows, precedent can give us hope in this moment of despair.

Join the Conversation

Next week, a Roosevelt report by Columbia University’s Anya Schiffrin will explore how regulation of online political advertising can address rampant misinformation. On Tuesday, September 29, at 6:30 p.m. ET, join Schiffrin and a panel of experts for a Columbia webinar on the topic. Register here.

On Tuesday, October 6, at 2:00 p.m. ET, join Stacey Abrams—SEAP Co-Founder and Executive Director—and Open Society-U.S. Executive Director Tom Perriello for a webinar conversation covering what a progressive Southern strategy for an equitable recovery would look like. Register now.

And watch full recordings of this past week’s Roosevelt webinars:

The Wealth Tax: Good Policy, Good Politics – feat. Data for Progress Co-Founder & Executive Director Sean McElwee and Roosevelt Forward Managing Director of Corporate Power Bharat Ramamurti

What Will It Take to Build an Inclusive Economy in the COVID-19 Era? – feat. Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz, Roosevelt President & CEO Felicia Wong, and Roosevelt Fellow Darrick Hamilton

What We’re Reading

Why the US Risks Repeating 2009’s Economic Stimulus Mistakes – New York Times

How the Monthly Economic Crisis Support Act Could End Poverty in the US [feat. Roosevelt’s Kitty Richards] – Mic

Closing the Racial Inequality Gaps: The Economic Cost of Black Inequality in the US – Citi GPS

The Link between Decarceration and the US Economy [feat. Roosevelt’s Joseph Stiglitz]  – Nonprofit Quarterly

What Is ALEC? Learn about the Organization Writing Your State Laws [feat. Roosevelt’s Alexander Hertel-Fernandez] – Teen Vogue

The Powerlessness of Forced Labor [feat. Roosevelt’s Suresh Naidu; podcast] – Pitchfork Economics

Social Security for All [co-authored by Roosevelt Fellow Deepak Bhargava] – The American Prospect