Features

It is one of the great ironies of American labor history that enslaved workers toiled at a wider variety of skilled tasks than did their descendants who were free. Slave owners had an economic incentive to exploit the multifaceted talents of blacks in the craft shop as well as in the kitchen and field. But […]

ACROSS: 1 A + D(MON)ISH; 5 S + HOT; 9 SIMB + A (IBM’s anag.); 10 DIG + IT + AL(l); 11 IN(BOR)N (Rob rev.); 12 ORDER (hidden); 14 P + ROM + PT; 16 SECRET (anag.); 19 ANEAR (anag.); 21 P(ROOF)S; 24 SHUT + TLE (let anag.); 25 I + DAH + O (had […]

ACROSS: 1 JINGLED (hidden); 5 MA(CH)O; 8 N(IN + N)Y; 9 S + CUTTLE; 10 E + ERIE (Haiti anag.); 11 NO + YES; 13 (h)ARNESS; 15 DRAG ON; 18 DU(S)TY; 20 USA + GE(ts); 23 REIGNED (rained hom.); 24 S + US + HI; 25 NEEDS (kneads hom.); 26 ASPERSE (hidden) DOWN: 1 JUNK […]

With Bill Bradley out of the presidential race, Vice President Gore’s proposal to expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) remains the one comprehensive proposal on the table in the presidential election to address the plight of the 44 million Americans who lack health insurance. But CHIP is far from an ideal foundation for expanding […]

ACROSS: 1 I(M)PLICATION (politician anag.); 8 TREASON (anag.); 9 LOWER (2 defs.); 10 OMANI (hidden); 11 A + TONING; 12 RE + SIGN; 14 SPIRAL (L.A. + rips rev.); 17 G + REATLY (realty anag.); 19 (m)ORGAN; 22 TAINT (2 defs.); 23 TI(E RA)CK; 24 F(ELICIT)ATED DOWN: 1 INT(R)O; 2 PIE + TA (at rev.); […]

Poking my head down, looking into the abyss of a four-story-tall, 20,000-liter fermenter, which was one of 10 there to produce anthrax for weapons, made me shudder. It made me wonder, what were they thinking? This was a big facility, [with] just an awesome capability to destroy life. In a mobilization period, it was going […]

A curious paradox defines the politics of welfare in the United States. On the one hand, we are an extraordinarily generous and forgiving people. In 1998 Americans donated more than $170 billion to charity, and we have proven open to giving just about anyone (even, say, a philandering president) a second chance. Americans are willing, […]

ACROSS: 1 SEA + R; 3 WORTHIES (anag.-e); 8 NIL + E; 9 RE(BELLE)D; 11 EX(ONE + RAT)ES; 14 MO + ROSE (OM = interior of tOMb); 15 SPA + RED; 17 CORPUSCLES (anag.); 20 REBUTTAL (anag.); 21 LAKE (2 defs.); 22 W + ATERBED (debater anag.); 23 (b)AS IS DOWN: 1 SUNBEAMS (anag.); 2 […]

One promising strategy for rewarding work seeks to create career ladders to enable low-wage workers to advance through a progression of higher-skilled and better-paid jobs. This approach requires several elements. Employers need to become more explicit about how they structure jobs and routes to career advancement. Workers need access to job-specific training. Institutionally, this endeavor […]

I’ve always wondered where the money goes when I pay extra to the U.S. Post Office for a sheet of breast cancer stamps, when I buy daffodils from the American Cancer Society, or when I pledge a donation to someone running a race for the cure. Or, for that matter, when I give money to […]