It seems as if every conference I attend on the subject of American competitiveness (and there are many — the competitiveness industry is surely one of America’s most competitive) begins or ends with a speech by a prominent chief executive of a large American corporation about business’s stake in improving the quality of the American […]
Features
Posted inBooks
The Growth Puzzle
Here are two books with drastically different stories about growth and productivity in the American economy. The more persuasive of the two hasn’t got the attention it deserves.
Posted inAmerica and the World
Canada’s Health Insurance and Ours: The Real Lessons, the Big Choices
Contrary to a well-financed campaign by the AMA, Canada’s record in health care is exemplary. But is a Canadian model feasible in the U.S.?
Posted inAmerica and the World
Dubious Crusade: The Push for Agricultural Laissez Faire
The Bush administration is pushing an international agreement to do away with agricultural subsidies. But we have never practiced—for good reason—the policies we are preaching to others.
Posted inLaw and Justice
The Great Immigration Debate
Congress is once again rewriting the immigration laws. How wide, and to whom, should we open that Golden Door? What goals should our national immigration policy serve?
Posted inLaw and Justice
Getting Prisons Straight
In the 1970s prison rehabilitation seemed destined for the conservatives’ trophy case of failed social programs. Now the evidence looks better: Some programs have beneficial effects on both the prisoners and the prisons.
Posted inWorking in America
Fetal Risks, Women’s Rights: Showdown at Johnson Controls
For the first time, women are gaining entry to “good” jobs in manufacturing. But some companies, like battery-maker Johnson Controls, say that because of potential fetal health risks, no fertile women need apply. Should the Supreme Court let that pol
Posted inEnergy and the Environment
The Greening of the Tax System
Would an environmentalist kill two birds with one stone? Not ordinarily. But taxes on pollution and waste can discourage environmentally harmful activities and produce revenues for environmentally beneficial programs.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
The Conservative Crackup
Conservative intellectuals are now facing some of their toughest adversaries ever—each other.
Posted inAmerica and the World
Beyond the Guns of August
At this writing, American and Iraqi forces still face each other warily across the Saudi sands. Sooner or later, Iraq will likely have to reverse course. But beyond the question of how and when the immediate military crisis will be resolved, the Iraqi annexation of Kuwait has given momentum to the development of a post-Cold […]
