The Chastity Ring-Around
The college abstinence-only movement sells itself as empowering and pro-woman. Too bad the usual rejection of marriage equality and reproductive rights still applies.
The Bicycle Grief
In the quest for bike-friendly cities, are snobby cyclists their own worst enemies?
Democracy’s Faith-Based Troubles
Religion and rationality have been clashing for centuries. Is it possible to talk about this conflict without going nuts?
Literature from the Underground
Does a new anthology devoted to a hip-hop classic elevate the genre to its rightful place as a literary form?
Fantasy-League Politics
The recurring dream of an independent candidate or party protects the status quo.
What Happened to Democracy?
Nobody seems to be talking about the reforms needed to clean up democracy.
Eric Holder’s War
How the attorney general’s relationship to his president, his adopted city, and his race are shaping the Justice Department.
American Taliban
The marriage between religious fundamentalism and market conservatism is as strong as ever.
Fiscal Folly
We need more deficit spending on public investment and jobs now, then deficit reduction once recovery comes.
Swagger Like Us
Should women amplify their aggression to mimic successful men? Or should they play up what supposedly makes them different?
Germany’s Economic Engine
For years, economists said Germany was doing everything wrong. But today it’s thriving, even in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The Ultimate Test Case
Obama has said he wants to change our very mind-set about foreign policy. Afghanistan is where he must prove it.
Buckeye Budget Blues
Ohio has all the reform elements in place — except political will.
Transparency For What?
The left, right, and center agree that they want more state budget data. But not all data improves policy.
A Tour of Six States
Snapshots of the fiscal crisis across the nation.
State Fiscal Gimmicks: A Budgetary Balancing Act
Phony budget accounting defers the day of reckoning — but raises costs.
California in Crisis
With a dysfunctional state government unable to act, the universities, schools, and roads that were once the model for the nation are crumbling — if not collapsing.
Digging Out, Planning Ahead
The federal government needs to do more to help states survive this downturn — and plan for permanent anti-recession fiscal relief.
Loosening Fiscal Straitjackets
Proponents say that caps on taxing and spending enhance democracy. In reality, they destroy accountable government — but that can be changed.
Public Capacity and Public Trust
Can we reverse the vicious circle of frustrated citizens denying state government adequate resources — and then resenting the lack of state services?
Reform Amid Fiscal Ruin
In some states, progressive leadership and grass-roots activism have turned crisis into opportunity for long-deferred tax reform.
Underrating Reform
Even with its compromises, health reform is the most ambitious effort in decades to reorganize a big part of life around principles of justice and efficiency.
