The Women’s March, Austerity Culture, and More

1. On the March

Andrea Flynn writes that the policy platform for the Women’s March on Washington targets the gendered and racialized rules that must be rewritten in order to achieve equity for women. And at The Atlantic, Flynn looks at how the Affordable Care Act has made Americans, and women in particular, more financially secure.

2. The Age of Austerity

In Dissent, Mike Konczal argues that the Obama era was defined by austerity, not only in our economic policy but throughout our entire culture, and Democrats’ failure to respond effectively may have given us President Trump.

3. Why Schools Fail

Roosevelt Program Associate Katie Kirchner weighs in on the confirmation hearings for Trump Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos, noting that DeVos promotes a neoliberal view of school reform that deliberately undermines public institutions in order to create markets where none existed.

4. Forecloser-in-Chief

Roosevelt Researcher Devin Duffy explores Treasury Secretary nominee Steven Mnuchin’s track record as head of OneWest, a bank infamous for its abusive foreclosure practices, which included ousting a 90-year-old woman from her home because she was 27 cents short on her mortgage payment.

5. Oh, Canada

Roosevelt Fellow and Senior Economist Marshall Steinbaum appeared on Canada’s Business News Network to discuss Commerce Secretary nominee Wilbur Ross, the Trump administration’s plans for NAFTA and tax reform, and how it will all affect our neighbors to the north.

What We’re Reading:

At Feministing, Barbara Sostaita provides another perspective on the Women’s March, noting that women of color deserve some assurance that white feminists will have their backs before they are called on to unite behind one banner.

The New Yorker’s David Remnick writes that an active resistance, rather than wishful thinking, will be needed to defend the country’s constitutional norms and principles from a presidential administration that has shown little regard for them.