Posts By This Author
Borrowing Increases Dramatically
Andrew Leonard examines the latest consumer borrowing figures for Salon:
"Consumer borrowing, reports Bloomberg, skyrocketed in March, leaping up by $21.4 billion, more than twice as high as the consensus estimate predicted. Much of the increase, according to Bloomberg, can be attributed to new financing for auto purchases and to students hoping to lock in low interest rates on student loans. (Unless Congress takes action, the interest rates on government-backed student loans will double on July 1.)"
It's Getting Better to Be a Mother in the U.S.
For USA Today, Michelle Healy analyzes a new report on the state of motherhood around the globe:
"Just in time for Mother's Day, an annual ranking of the best and worst countries in which to be a mom puts the USA in 25th place, up from 31st last year. The 13th annual State of the World's Mothers report by the Save the Children foundation, out today, examines the well-being of mothers and their children in 165 countries, based on a range of measures, including mothers' education, infant mortality and breastfeeding rates."
Read more about the report here
Why the Economy Is Where It Is
Jared Bernstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities takes a look at the economic situation for The Huffington Post and asks:
"Why are advanced economies so seemingly immune to correct diagnosis and prescription? Why are we applying leeches instead of the contemporary medicine of combined monetary and fiscal stimulus in order to once and for all hit the escape velocity that's eluded us thus far?"
Take a look at his answers here
Media Interest in Occupy Wanes
For Salon, Natasha Lennard worries that falling interest in the Occupy movement could have repercussions for the debate on inequality:
As evidenced by the lack of stories about the May Day general strike last week, the mainstream media’s interest in Occupy Wall Street has waned. It’s a shame because, as a new report indicates, Occupy has been central to driving media stories about income inequality in America.
Read her full article here
Ph.D. in One Hand, Food Stamps in the Other
The Huffington Post reports on the drastic rise in the number of people with advanced degrees who are also reliant on government welfare:
The number of Ph.D. recipients on food stamps and other forms of welfare more than tripled between 2007 and 2010 to 33,655, according to an Urban Institute analysis cited by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The number of master's degree holders on food stamps and other forms of welfare nearly tripled during that same time period to 293,029, according to the same analysis.
Learn more here
The Democrat-Evangelical Disconnect
In yesterday's New York Times, professor and author T.M. Luhrmann examined how Democrats can speak to evangelicals more effectively:
To be sure, they won’t connect to every evangelical. But the good news for secular liberals is that evangelicals are smarter and more varied than many liberals realize. I met doctors, scientists and professors at the churches where I studied. They cared about social justice. They cared about the poor. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of them got into their cars and drove to New Orleans. This is a reachable population, and back in 2008, a quarter of white evangelicals voted for Mr. Obama. Democrats could speak to evangelicals more effectively if they talked about how we could develop our moral character together as we work to rebuild our country.
Why Getting money Out of Politics is Good for Business
From Newsweek Magazine:
It’s worrying to think that shareholder democracy is needed to rectify shortcomings in the real thing, yet this week two of the nation’s biggest corporations will give their investors precisely that opportunity. Motions on the ballots at the annual meetings of Bank of America and 3M will act as referenda on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case, which handed companies the same freedoms of speech accorded people. Happily, restricting the use of corporate money in politics isn’t just good for democracy, it’s good business.
Christians Rethink Interactions in Public Arena
For USA Today, Jonathan Merrit examines the changing nature of "Christian civic engagement":
Christian Millennials are now coming of age and recognizing the flawed strategies and broken agendas embraced by their forebears. They've seen how the religious right (and the religious left, for that matter) has used the Bible as a tool to gain political power and reduced the Christian community to little more than a voting bloc — and they are forging a different path.
Read the full article here
War and Peace and the President
Yale Professor David Bromwich analyses President Obama's foreign policy for The Huffington Post:
Making Better Use of Food Stamps
On the Politico opinion pages, Jason Ackerman examines how food assistance programs could be better utilized:
Sudan Promises to End Hostilities
From the BBC:
Learn more about the situation in Sudan and South Sudan here
Time to Raise Minimum Wage?
Over at The Atlantic, Jordan Weissmann asks whether it is time to raise the minimum wage:
Are Faith-Based Initiatives a 'Failure'?
Sarah Posner critiques faith-based initiatives in an article on Salon.com:
Keeping 'Above the Fray' in Religion and Politics
In The Washington Post, Lisa Miller profiles religion and politics commentator Mark Silk:
Civil Disobedience in Alabama on HB56
Civil disobedience hits the Alabama State Legislature today in opposition of the HB56 legislation on immigration. See the livestream for the latest updates:
Graduate from Harvard, MIT... for Free?
The Boston Globe reports on a new partnership between Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology:
Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will team up on a $60 million initiative to offer free online, college-level courses under a joint superbrand known as edX, the universities said Wednesday.
Read more about the initiative here
Former Bush Advisers Take Prominent Roles in Romney Campaign
Over at Salon.com, Jordan Michael Smith tells us, 'The Bushies Are Back':
Republicans lost their popularity on security issues for one reason: George W. Bush’s foreign policy was a disaster. And yet, the party’s nominee, Mitt Romney, has assembled a foreign-policy team composed almost exclusively of individuals with the same war-always mentality and ideology that served Bush — and the United States — so poorly. In some cases, the exact same men responsible for Bush’s catastrophic national security policies are advising Romney.
Read Smith's full article here
Daily Show Appearance Has Viewers Asking, "Who Is David Barton?"
For CNN's Belief Blog, Dan Gilgoff writes:
A longtime star on the conservative Christian circuit, controversial evangelical historian David Barton is today the No. 1 trending topic on Google. The online surge comes on the heels of Barton’s appearance on The Daily Show on Tuesday night.
To learn more, read the full article here
National Day of Prayer Marked with Prayer... and Protest
As reported by Cathy Lynn Grossman for USA Today:
The annual National Day of Prayer, mandated by Congress in 1952, is upon us and the usual folks are out with proclamations, prayers -- and protests. President Obama issued his annual proclamation on Monday, making special mention of prayers for the military as befitted his surprise visit to Afghanistan.
Read the full article here
Why Fixing the Economy is Easier Than We Think
In an interview with Rolling Stone, Paul Krugman talks about his new book, and why fixing the economy is easier than we think:
Four years after the start of the Great Recession, nobody would mistake U.S. economy for a thrumming engine of growth, prosperity, and human flourishing. Sure, we're officially out of "recession." But the recovery is painfully slow and uneven, and 24 million Americans are still unemployed or underemployed. There's a lot of pain out there, and a lot of potential going to waste.
Read the interview here