Daily Digest – February 6: If Government Cares About the Next Generation, Where Are Their Ideas?

Youth Agenda a Glaring Omission in Rauner’s State of the State (State Journal-Register)

Campus Network members Rachel Riemenschneider and Samuel Wylde point to the NextGen Illinois youth policy agenda as a collection of young people’s concerns that are being overlooked.

Amherst College’s Roosevelt Institute to share in $750,000 MacArthur Award (MassLive)

Diane Lederman reports on the Campus Network’s MacArthur Award, quoting two students from the Amherst College chapter, Joshua Ferrer and Pierre Joseph.

Fast Food Companies are Invoking ‘Main Street’ to Fight Unions (WaPo)

Lydia DePillis explains how McDonalds is putting its small franchisees front and center to push back against unionization efforts. However, these franchises don’t have much independence at all.

The Democrats in Opposition (TAP)

Harold Meyerson argues that if Democrats choose to function as an opposition party against not just the Republicans, but also Wall Street, they will have far more success at the ballot box in the future.

Jobs-Day Guide: January Surprise, U.S. Wages, Participation Rate (Bloomberg Business)

Victoria Stilwell predicts that the latest jobs numbers will fall below projections, as they often do at the beginning of the year. The annual payroll revision numbers will also be worthy of attention.

How the American Family Was Affected by the Great Recession (Pacific Standard)

The most noticeable differences, writes Philip N. Cohen, are in birth rate and divorce rate, which both saw sharp drops at the beginning of the recession and have since rebounded.