Paul Krugman says it’s not that complicated. Congress is about to let the federal highway trust fund run out of money, costing as many as a few hundred thousand jobs, hurting the infrastructure and stalling the economy because we can’t increase the gas tax (because all taxes are apparently bad) and we can’t run up the deficit (because all government borrowing is bad, even in times of extremely low interest rates). Instead we’ll let the highways crumble. Via the New York Times.
The monthly jobs report came in with big numbers, bigger than expected. If the worst is finally over, that doesn’t mean, however, that the best is here. Writing in the New Yorker, John Cassidy says he is still puzzled by the low participation rate.
It seems that fracking wastewater disposal is linked to the outbreak of earthquakes in Oklahoma. So what does that mean? Via Vox.
In the second round of the Supreme Court battle over Obamacare and birth control, the arguments among the justices become even more heated. Via the New York Times.
Why Democrats are so confident: They know Republicans are on the wrong side of the cultural divide. On the same day the Hobby Lobby decision came down, the White House announced that the Republican House had given up on immigration. They call it cultural affinity, and the Republicans don’t have it. Ron Brownstein, via the National Journal.
The United States of America? As we celebrate Independence Day, it’s fair to ask just how united are we these days along the religious/secular divide? Via Slate.
[ Image by Kevin Krebs ]
