“Dysfunctional” is a word often applied to the federal government shutdown. If only we had a functional understanding of the causes of dysfunction. Many explanations offered point to the effects of increased income inequality on political institutions. But increased inequality may have even more direct effects, undermining trust and driving […] Read more »
Higher Income Means Higher Debt-Ceiling Worries
The dual debt-ceiling and government-shutdown dramas have Americans worried that Washington’s partisan politics could lead the country into yet another crisis. While concerns about both issues are widespread, a closer look shows the level of concern breaks down along different lines for each – meaning different political repercussions. [cont.] Dante […] Read more »
Rich People Just Care Less
… A growing body of recent research shows that people with the most social power pay scant attention to those with little such power. … Bringing the micropolitics of interpersonal attention to the understanding of social power, researchers are suggesting, has implications for public policy. [cont.] Daniel Goleman, New York […] Read more »
Can the Government Actually Do Anything About Inequality?
For a moment, let’s forget the central debate of our political period — how much of a role government should play in our lives — and ask a different question: can government policies counteract inequality in any meaningful way? [cont.] Tom Edsall (Columbia U.), New York Times Read more »
Hard Times, For Some
On July 24, President Obama returned to Galesburg, Ill. to reiterate a promise he made in 2005 as a freshman Senator: to create new opportunities for the nation’s beleaguered middle class. … Obama wants to raise living standards while powerful headwinds are pushing back. It’s not only Republican opposition. National […] Read more »
What’s next for left-wingers?
… Satiated by its Obama-era policy accomplishments — government takeover of healthcare, legalization of marijuana in some states, options for immigrants, the end of wars and now gay rights — America’s left needs a new purpose, a unifying goal. Ideologues are primeval, emotional people that need a bonfire. So what […] Read more »