What We Read Today 25 April 2014

Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary “reading list” which will include very brief summaries of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for “reading list” items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.

• Obama administration prepares to take over Oregon’s broken health insurance exchange (Amy Goldstein, The Washington Post) Oregon has agreed to close down a HIX (health insurance exchange) that was so dysfunctional that it has been unable to enroll even a single insured person.

• ECB’s Draghi says weak inflation could result in broader asset buying (Ananth Baliga, UPI) ECB (European Central Bank) President Mario Draghi said that weaker than expected inflation in the eurozone could see the bank broaden its asset buying program. That’s as in LSAP (large scale asset purchase) program aka QE (quantitative easing).

• The Republican Who Saved Civil Rights (Todd S. Purdum, Politico) Fifty years ago John Boehner’s congressional district in Ohio was represented by another conservative Republican, Bill McCulloch, ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee. The way Purdum tells the story, the Civil Rights Law of 1964 might have come to passage without Jack or Bobby Kennedy, without Martin Luther King or without Lyndon Johnson. But not without Bill McCulloch.

• 53% Think Neither Political Party Represents the American People (Rasmussen Reports) Hat tip to Sig Silber Subscription required to read full report with detailed data.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 53% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is fair to say that neither party in Congress is the party of the American people. That’s up six points from 47% last October and matches the previous high foundin June 2012 during the last national election cycle. Just 28% disagree, while 19% are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

But a plurality (47%) believes the Democratic Party has a plan for where it wants to take the nation. That’s up slightly from the low 40s in prior surveys back to February 2010. Thirty percent (30%) think President Obama’s party does not have a plan for the future. Twenty-three percent (23%) are undecided.

By contrast, 38% think the Republican Party has a plan for where it wants to take the nation, but slightly more (40%) disagree. Twenty-two percent (22%) are not sure. This is generally in line with past surveys. Belief that the GOP has a plan for the future jumped to a high of 54% in June 2012 but fell back to previous levels after that.

• Chinese company uses 3D printing to build 10 houses in a day (Loz Blain, gizmag) In the U.S. these would be called “cabins”. They might be used for hunting camps, lakeside cottages, temporary worker housing, cheap motel units and the like. In China they may be used for low income housing. The cost assembled can be as low as $4,800.

Today there are 13 articles discussed ‘behind the wall’.

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