Daily Digest – February 3: A New Kind of Budget

Budget Day Feels a Lot Like Groundhog Day (Marketplace)

Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal says that year after year, the president’s budget tried to compromise with Republicans from the start, but this year’s has broken off that routine.

Obamacare is Costing Way Less Than Expected (Vox)

Ezra Klein reports that the Congressional Budget Office’s adjusted predictions show the government will spend $600 billion less than estimated on healthcare – and the original estimate was pre-Obamacare.

In Net Neutrality Push, F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating Internet Service as a Utility (NYT)

The Federal Communications Commission’s new proposal will give it authority to enforce true net neutrality, including ending paid “fast lanes” on the Internet, writes Steve Lohr.

• Roosevelt Take: Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford argues against the GOP’s recent embrace of open Internet, which she says is a bait and switch.

Labor Pains (TNR)

Rebecca Traister, currently on maternity leave at The New Republic, explains the impossible career situations created for women who want children under U.S. laws.

Banks See Stable Lending Landscape, But Some Auto Loans Signal Trouble (WSJ)

Kate Davidson looks at the results of a Federal Reserve survey of banks, which shows concern about the sub-prime auto loans that have become a larger and larger part of the market.

The City That Outlawed Free Food (The Nation)

Michelle Chen takes a close look at Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s new policy restricting the distribution of free food. City officials claimed free food enabled homelessness.