By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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Student-Run Group to Evaluate Cornell-Community Relations (Ithaca Journal)
D. W. Nutt speaks with Roosevelt Institute Associate Director of Networked Initiatives Alan Smith and Roosevelt Institute | Campus Network Cornell chapter president Matthew Clausen about the launch of Rethinking Communities, an initiative examining the ways that Cornell and its peers contribute to local economies.
State of the Union: Right on Wages, Wrong on Trade (The Nation)
John Nichols writes that the president's calls for free trade weakened another excellent discussion of income inequality and how to fix it. Back in 2008 on the campaign trail, Obama tied trade deals to growing inequality, and Nichols says that's still true.
Obama: Time for Congress to Get Out of the Way (MSNBC)
Suzy Khimm argues that the State of the Union emphasized the ways that Congress is blocking even the policies that both parties agree on. The president's willingness to work around Congress, as with his executive order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors, could be key.
Kain Colter Starts Union Movement (ESPN)
Tom Farrey reports on the Northwestern University football team's first steps toward collective bargaining. On Tuesday, they filed a petition and unions cards with the National Labor Relations Board, becoming the first college athletes to attempt to unionize.
Newark Passes The Country’s Eighth Paid Sick Leave Law (ThinkProgress)
Bryce Covert reports on the newest in a wave of paid sick leave laws, which the mayor of Newark, NJ has promised to sign. This is the second municipality in New Jersey to mandate paid sick leave, which she says puts more pressure on statewide lawmakers.
New on Next New Deal
It's Time to Raise Wages: Local Leaders Should Follow the President's Example
Roosevelt Institute Associate Director of Networked Initiatives Alan Smith urges anchor institutions, like universities or hospitals, to consider ways that they can quickly improve their economic impact, like paying a living wage and requiring contractors to do the same.
Republican Alternative to Obamacare: Pay More, Get Less, Put the Insurance Companies Back in Charge
Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch says that the introduction of a GOP plan for replacing Obamacare gives Democrats a moment of opportunity. Comparing this plan to the Affordable Care Act demonstrates the ways the Republican plan will harm the health care system.