Media

While the September jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provided plenty of political ammunition it was also an ambiguous signal about the current labor market.

In politics, there inevitably comes the dreaded time when politics and politicking run into reality. It is the point at which you can no longer appease two opposing parties and a decision must be made that chooses one party's interests over the other. I imagine politicians hate this moment because it shows their true character, for better or worse.

An important component to the student debt crisis involves law and medical school enrollees. Many of the students preparing to enter these professions are looking at six figures worth of loans, according to a study by Finaid.orgs's Mark Kantrowitz.

Just a year ago, Occupy Wall Street commanded attention from the media and politicians alike. Yet last night the central concern of that social movement -- one shared by a majority of Americans -- wasn't even mentioned as both candidates and the moderator ducked the problem of economic inequality. 

As many people have already pointed out, Mitt Romney's stated policy preferences last night differed greatly from Mitt Romney's stated policy preferences through the campaign to this point. What we saw last night was a Romney much more comfortable with the idea that tax revenue is an important part of keeping the government functioning at a healthy level, a Romney much less comfortable with the idea of cutting taxes for the rich, a Romney much more concerned with the notion of opportunity and fair play than with freeloaders ruining the economy.

To make sure that no voter is subjected to intimidation when they hit the polls next month, one organization is dispensing military veterans to booths across the country.

Energy policy came up pretty quickly in last night’s debate. Mitt Romney actually listed energy independence as his first plan for economic growth and job creation in his opening. While energy independence and investments in energy production are good economic engines, how much economic growth will occur depends on what we are talking about when we talk about energy independence.

Wednesday night’s first presidential debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney was live-blogged or live-tweeted by almost every think tank. The depth of the commentary ranged from appearance to proposal. After a little time to process, think tank experts are weighing in with analysis beyond 140 characters. 

One of the most frustrating aspects of national politics over the past two years is that deficit reduction has become Washington's top priority -- even as economists tell us that austerity only makes economic downturns worse and pollsters tell us that Americans are more worried about job creation than budget shortfalls.

President Obama shares the blame for letting the focus shift away from jobs. Again and again since late 2009, he has accepted and helped legitimize the premise that deficit reduction should be a top national priority.