DC Dispatch - "Payroll Tax Holiday"

Official Washington remains consumed with the deficit and the shortfall in the budget.  Before your eyes glaze over and you start to scroll down, or worse yet, click "delete", just give me a minute.  I promise to make this as short and painless as possible.  All employed people were given a "payroll tax holiday" for 2011, as part of the same bill that extends personal income tax cuts for another two years.  You'll want to understand how this works and where it fits in the overall national economic context.
 
The first thing to keep in mind is that we do have a deficit problem, but it isn't insurmountable, and meaningful changes can certainly be made to improve the situation.  Some of the most extreme statements you hear about the deficit, and the sustainability of Social Security, ought not to be taken at face value.  With many figures and lots of data floating around, politicians have so many factoids to use in casting their particular arguments in the most persuasive light.  And you can bet that they will pick and choose the bits that suit them best, and present them in the way that most effectively furthers their long-range goals.  Read entire Dispatch here. 

Child Care and Maternal Economics

Unlike most other civilized countries, child care is largely left out of our public policy discussions.  There's scant federal money used, and children in poverty simply make do very often with less than adequate care.  Middle class families may have more options, but the cost is staggering, about the equivalent of the monthly rent or mortgage payment.  Now, Congress wants to cut even the minimal public funding available, and families on an economic razor's edge will lose what little help they do have.  Clearly, this will affect mothers more than fathers.  Women do far more care work in the US than men, and routinely take jobs with lower pay but greater flexibility to make it work.  So, does this aspect of budget-tightening amount to gender discrimination? Read Women's eNews' story here.

First Them, Now Us

Initially called the "mancession", 3 years of economic hardship later it's women who are losing jobs at a greater rate, and are not being hired back, as men increasingly are.  Fabulous feminist economist Heather Boushey explains why in 5 short paragraphs!