Happy Debate Day! Nick Hanauer talks Earned Income Tax Credit and Minimum Wage: Our Supreme Troublemaker spoke with The Week and had some very interesting things to say about income inequality and wages. As usual, he hits the nail on the head: “Our economy is a service economy,” and you can’t really outsource services. Companies that have based their business models on paying low wages “will either need to change or they will go bankrupt. But the beautiful thing about capitalism is someone will find a way to do the same thing as well or better while paying living wages.” What Nick Hanauer is talking about isn’t some abstract explanation of capitalism. In fact,  Skunk Works  recently highlighted a real life example of this: Z Pizza had to close in Seattle because of the minimum wage (supposedly), but was swiftly replaced by another pizza place. This is exactly what Hanauer is talking about: “capitalism works super well when companies pay workers a living wage. It’s quite simple and efficient.” The rise of Bernie Sanders: According to EJ Dionne over at the Washington Post, we are witnessing an interesting twist in the progressive movement. Out of nowhere (well, out of Elizabeth Warren’s shadow) came Vermont’s Bernie Sanders and his honest socialism is striking a chord with American voters. Dionne argues that Bernie Sanders’ surge in national popularity has much to do with his pugnacious ability to tap into America’s “deep frustration with inequality.” More than that, Sanders (and indeed, Trump) are speaking for those alienated “from the system.” But whereas Trump’s legacy from this election will be “almost entirely about himself”, Bernie’s “candidacy will leave behind policy markers and arguments about the future.” Secretary of Education skeptical about free college: Arne Duncan isn’t openly hostile to the recent push to make college debt-free , but let’s just say he’s not a supporter . Instead, Duncan and the Obama Administration don’t see student … Continue reading Daily Clips: August 6th, 2015