The German Political Theorist Who Explains What’s Happening in Washington
Carl Schmitt, a Third Reich jurist and philosopher, saw politics as a life-and-death battle against enemies and democracy as dispensable. By Robert J. Shapiro Americans are, of course, deeply divided today over race, gender, immigration, religion, and other differences that define us as a people and political culture. These cleavages have existed throughout American history, but in their current iterations,… Continue reading
How Much Trump Has Cost Americans in this Pandemic
Most of the economic carnage we see Americans suffer today is the result of measures that federal, state, and local governments have had to adopt to stem the spread of COVID-19—the social distancing, social isolation, and closing of borders and businesses. It follows that how great the damage is depends in important part on how quickly and effectively a country…Continue reading
To Ever Get Back to Normal, We Will Need Universal…
The Trump administration has failed miserably to test and track the initial spread of Covid-19 infections, as South Kora did. Its failure has brought terrible suffering to thousands of Americans and enormous economic costs. That’s why dramatic measures are necessary to establish a nationwide system for universal testing and tracking. Otherwise, we will continue to live in a state of…Continue reading
The Shape of the Economic Crisis and What Can Really…
The future shape of the economic crisis driven by the federal government’s inadequate response to the coronavirus pandemic are coming into focus. The widespread social isolation that has sent both the demand for and production of goods and services into a free-fall reflects our spotty knowledge about the contagiousness and lethality of the virus. At the same time, we don’t…Continue reading
The Federal Reserve Can’t Rescue the Economy from the Coronavirus
The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut on Tuesday certainly won’t hurt the financial markets or the real economy, but as the subsequent steep drop in stock prices shows, the cut won’t help much, either. Three forces stand in the way. First, when a country suffers a big shock — from a terrorist attack, a hurricane or a doubling of oil prices —…Continue reading
The Threat the Coronavirus Poses to the Economy
In 2005, the National Science Foundation, World Bank and other American and global organizations convened to discuss the threat of avian flu. The scare turned out to be short-lived and isolated, involving about 300 cases and 175 deaths worldwide. The economic effects were largely confined to chicken producers in China and Vietnam. The potential economic and human threat from the…Continue reading
The US Tax System Cannot Finance Medicare for All
Medicare for All remains the most contentious and consequential issue for 2020 Democrats. It’s easy to see why. A large majority of Democrats—and a slimmer majority of Independents—have said they approve of it. But even larger majorities of Democrats and Independents also want to keep their private coverage or enroll in a public program. Then there’s the cost: A recent…Continue reading
A Fair and Winning Tax Reform for Democrats: Broad Payroll…
The brass ring for a Democratic presidential candidate is a plan that appeals to people’s sense of social justice and to their self-interest. The last two Democrats who won the White House pulled off this feat with promises to hike taxes on high-income people and corporations to pay for middle-class tax relief. But this period of deep economic inequality calls…Continue reading
An Affordable Approach to Universal Coverage
A majority of Americans and virtually all Democrats believe in universal healthcare coverage and the federal government’s responsibility to make it happen. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) had a strategy to achieve it. But the progress stalled when congressional Republicans axed ACA’s penalty for going uninsured and the Supreme Court made the ACA expansion of state Medicaid programs optional. Today…Continue reading