By Tim Price, originally published on Next New Deal
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Bankers' Court Wins Could Come Back to Haunt Them (Bloomberg)
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal argues banks have figured out they don't need Congress if they can get judges to rewrite or throw out reform -- but even for Wall Street, there are some downsides to undermining the whole concept of the rule of law.
Democrats Are Undermining Wall Street Reform, Too (MoJo)
Erika Eichelberger notes that a bipartisan group of House lawmakers is pushing bills that would roll back various parts of Dodd-Frank, but as Mike Konczal tells her, it's probably best if we at least let this cake finish baking before we start changing the recipe.
Fast food workers plan surprise strike (Salon)
Josh Eidelson reports that workers in 50 New York City fast food restaurants are striking to demand higher wages and their right to organize. Americans may be able to live with poor treatment of low-wage workers, but how long can we live without hash browns?
The case for expanding Social Security, not cutting it (WaPo)
Brad Plumer flags a report from the New America Foundation that argues Social Security should be made bigger and better with a Part B that provides a flat $11,699 a year on top of retirees' regular benefits. Not to be confused with plan B, which is to never retire.
Does Congress have the heart to avert disability crisis? (LA Times)
Michael Hiltzik notes that the trust fund for Social Security's disability insurance could run out by 2016, forcing a 20 percent benefit cut. Sadly, even mainstream media outlets are pushing the idea that "disabled" is a euphemism for "disinterested in working."
Fannie and Freddie Are Stronger Than Ever (TNR)
David Dayen writes that while the GSEs rank below financial disclosure on politicians' list of favorite things, they're currently the only name in the game in the secondary mortgage market -- at least until private players think up some new ways to rig it.
Blame Abounds Over a Failed Foreclosure Review (NYT)
Ben Protess and Jessica Silver-Greenberg report that regulators and consultants for the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are under fire for botching the foreclosure review, which turned out so poorly it now requires its own review.
Why Risk Managers Should Be Spymasters (ProPublica)
Jesse Eisinger talks to a former Wall Street risk manager who explains why an elegant math formula is no substitute for flesh and blood people who can recognize when risk models and realities like the London Whale are divorced due to irreconcilable differences.
Tim Price is Deputy Editor of Next New Deal. Follow him on Twitter @txprice.