George Stephanopoulos: Sen. Kerry … earlier this week, your campaign questioned whether or not Gov. Dean was fit to be commander in chief. Do you think he’s fit? John Kerry: I think Gov. Dean made a statement which I found quite extraordinary, and I still do. He said that America has to prepare for the […]
Robert Kuttner
Robert Kuttner is co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School. His latest book is Notes for Next Time: Surviving Tyranny, Redeeming America. Follow Bob at his site, robertkuttner.com, and on Twitter.
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Economic Roulette
It’s easy to understand why the administration is plowing ahead with one immense tax cut after another. The Bush people oppose social outlays, and the best strategy for cutting public services is to starve government. It’s a neat game: Cut taxes on the Republican watch (Reagan, Bush I), force intervening Democratic presidents to opt for […]
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Press Mute
Free markets, taken to extremes, sometimes lead to monopolies. Monopolies, in turn, undermine the benefits of free markets — consumer choice, innovation and competition to offer a good product at an attractive price. That’s why even the most capitalistic of societies have laws and regulations against monopolies. If there were one supermarket chain or one […]
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Enemy Within
The winner of the Democrats’ first debate was . . . George W. Bush. If you missed the televised South Carolina debate last Saturday night and only read about it in the papers, you might conclude that the whole thing was a demolition derby. In fact, only a small part of the debate was candidates […]
Posted inEducation in America
Demolition Derby
Last week, in this space, I wrote a column bemoaning the Democrats’ all-too-characteristic circular firing squad, and pronouncing the winner of the South Carolina Democratic primary debate George W. Bush. Since then, things have only gotten worse. Think of the nine-person Democratic field as several sub-fields. One sub-rivalry is the two New Englanders, former Vermont […]
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Forward Progress
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.” — Daniel H. Burnham With one exception, the health plans released by the Democratic presidential contenders are a set of little plans. They leave the current system largely intact and use subsidies and tax credits to reduce the number of uninsured — as […]
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The Great Crash, Part II
In the Company of Owners: The Truth about Stock Options (And Why Every Employee Should Have Them) By Joseph Blasi, Douglas Kruse and Aaron Bernstein, Basic Books, $27.50, 344 pages Pipe Dreams: Greed, Ego, and the Death of Enron By Robert Bryce, Public Affairs, $27.50, 320 pages What Went Wrong at Enron: Everyone’s Guide to […]
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Redefining Democracy
“Freedom’s untidy,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld airily explained, referring to the anarchy and looting in Baghdad, which closed all but one hospital, sacked one of the world’s most treasured archeological museums and plundered the homes and shops of ordinary Iraqis. Untidy? Untidy is when your 15-year-old leaves his room a mess. Untidy is letting the […]
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Sharing America’s Wealth
The Bush administration settled the argument about whether inspections could ever contain Saddam Hussein by making the issue moot. But the next phase of a broader debate continues. The Iraq War is the first step in a new and alarming policy, which we might call the Wolfowitz Doctrine. On the issue of unilateralism, the doctrine […]
Posted inFeatures
Sharing America’s Wealth
The necessary role of government in broadening the middle class.
