Reports of the death of the Democrats are greatly exaggerated. Three new books, despite their author’s pessimism, suggest how to reconstruct the party’s middle-class foundations.
Poverty & Wealth
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Constitutional Mischief: What’s Wrong with Term Limitations
How to fill legislatures with the old, the rich, and the bought.
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Private Use of Public Life
Last December, a public interest group called the Center for Public Integrity published a unique analysis of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), titled “America’s Frontline Trade Officials.”* The center used a wide variety of government documents, newsletters, press clips, directories, and other sources to piece together the career paths of mid-level and […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
Why Save the Banks? The Ambivalent Liberal’s Guide to Reform
Liberals may find it difficult to muster sympathy for bankers, but there are compelling reasons to strengthen banking. Reforms should help restore the banks’ profitability, while coupling new powers with stronger supervision to curb abuses.
Posted inBooks, Arts and Culture
Delectable Materialism: Were the Critics of Consumer Culture Wrong All Along?
It takes an immigrant, or a Soviet visitor, to celebrate the culture of consumerism. Why, as a nation, are we so eager for material improvement, yet so skeptical of materialism?
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Racism and Race-Conscious Remedies
An exchange on whether American social and economic policy should emphasize special programs for blacks and other racial minorities or a more universal approach aimed equally at disadvantaged whites.
Posted inCivil Rights in America
The Fire This Time
Up against the smoldering violence and passions of the inner city, the journalist, the novelist, and the sociologist skilled in field work give us three very different perspectives on race and urban life today.
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Racism and Race-Conscious Remedies
An exchange on whether American social and economic policy should emphasize special programs for blacks and other racial minorities or a more universal approach aimed equally at disadvantaged whites.
Posted inCivil Rights in America
Racism and Race-Conscious Remedies
An exchange on whether American social and economic policy should emphasize special programs for blacks and other racial minorities or a more universal approach aimed equally at disadvantaged whites.
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Real Welfare Problem
A new study documents that in major cities, a welfare check barely pays rent and utilities.