Daily Digest – January 30: Where Did the Manufacturing Jobs Go?

Wal-Mart’s Manufacturing Recovery? (The Hill)

Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Damon Silvers says that Wal-Mart’s manufacturing initiative is really just an attempt to make people forget the company’s influence on offshoring jobs.

Bernie Sanders Wants to Spend $1 Trillion on Infrastructure (WaPo)

Senator Sanders’ proposal calls for investment in a full range of infrastructure projects, and he says it would put 13 million people to work, writes Ashley Halsey.

What the Sharing Economy Takes (The Nation)

Doug Henwood dives deep into the so-called sharing economy, pointing out how the utopian ideals of the companies involved fail to play out in the real economy.

Obama Has a Modest Plan to Tackle One of the Most Underrated Economic Problems in America (Vox)

Timothy B. Lee praises a proposed study of state occupational licensing. There’s little evidence that licensing massage therapists and funeral attendants improves quality.

Rent to Own: Wall Street’s Latest Housing Trick (ProPublica)

Jesse Eisinger says rent-to-own housing schemes, which seem to take advantage of consumers’ lack of knowledge, make a case for a stronger government role in overseeing the housing market.

Stop Trying to Make Financial Literacy Happen (Slate)

Helaine Olen argues that the financial services industry pushes financial literacy because it’s a way around true consumer protection models with legal backing.