The gavel has been struck on what has been widely judged to be the least productive session of Congress in history, and now a new one with few, if any, expectations of improvement has commenced. It used to be that this first week of a session was filled with expectations—some […] Read more »
How Republicans turned against unemployment insurance
Just six Republicans senators joined a united Democratic caucus Tuesday to move forward with an extension of long-term unemployment benefits. The policy’s newfound controversy after years of easy passage parallels a sea change in Republican attitudes nationally on the issue. CONT. Scott Clement, Washington Post Read more »
What voter turnout means for efforts to remedy income inequality
The gap between rhetoric about income inequality and action to deal with it is sizable. There are many reasons for that, but one possible explanation, according to a provocative new book, is the contrasting views of Americans who vote and those who do not. The book is titled “Who Votes […] Read more »
Forget 2014, poll finds worried Americans predict nation in downhill slide clear through 2050
Ask people to imagine American life in 2050, and you’ll get some dreary visions. Whether they foresee runaway technology or runaway government, rampant poverty or vanishing morality, a majority of Americans predict a future worse than today. CONT. Connie Cass, AP Read more »
In Deficit Debate, Public Resists Cuts in Entitlements and Aid to Poor
As President Obama prepares to sign a bipartisan budget agreement that its proponents describe as a modest step toward addressing the deficit, the public shows little appetite for making some of the spending cuts often discussed as part of a broader “grand bargain” on the budget. The latest national survey […] Read more »
Is the Safety Net Just Masking Tape?
… Two years ago, Mike Konczal, a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, opened a productive line of inquiry in a blog post called “Are We at the Completion of the Liberal Project?” Konczal described two approaches to the liberal state. In the first, “you would have the government maintaining full employment, […] Read more »