As everyone awaits the Federal Reserve’s decision today, I recommend taking a look at a new paper by Haverford College economics professor and Roosevelt Institute Visiting Fellow Carola Binder titled Rewriting the Rules of the Federal Reserve for Broad and Stable Growth.
Read more »Statement of Roosevelt Institute Board Chair Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, granddaughter of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, on Donald Trump’s use of internment during World War II to defend his plan to ban Muslims from entry into the U.S. The Roosevelt Institute also signed on to the We Are Better Than This call today.
“For Donald Trump to cite my grandfather and internment as a defense of his own intolerant and divisive agenda is reprehensible. The internment of thousands of Japanese Americans during World War II is a sad part of our history and, as a part of my grandfather’s administration, a terrible political decision driven by fear…
Read more »On the surface, COP21, the international climate change conference that started this week in Paris, appears to have all the right ingredients for building a global and equitable strategy to address climate change. The emerging messages deal directly with environmental justice—ending world poverty through the shift to a low-emission, sustainable future. Achieving such lofty goals will require a transformation of the global economy. Yet the proposed agreement fails to address some of the underlying factors leading to climate change and environmental injustice, such as economic inequality and the distribution of environmental burdens.
Read more »The University of Michigan and Michigan State University, the two largest universities in the state, together purchase more than $2 billion of goods and services each year, including everything from desks to high-powered computers. Much of this money is spent in Michigan, supporting local businesses even through tough economic times. Unfortunately, state policies have prevented U of M and MSU from fully using their purchasing power for the benefit of all of Michigan’s business owners.
Read more »Next week, global leaders in industry, government, and finance will descend on Paris for the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). With a significant focus on private sector innovation, more than 25,000 delegates will aim to produce the first legally binding agreement on industrial greenhouse gas emissions, as well as financial incentives for more efficient models of sustainable growth. While it remains to be seen whether international leaders can achieve the lofty goal of legally binding yet ecologically sound carbon emission standards, what is clear is that UNFCCC forgot to invite an entire generation to this discussion table.
Read more »
In September, the Department of Education unveiled its new College Scorecard website. The scorecards are a major step forward in unleashing the power of educational data, as they allow prospective students to compare outcomes at different schools, providing data on costs, graduation rates, graduate indebtedness, and student earnings, among other metrics. But the scorecards have shortcomings, too, ranging from the limits of the data sample—the tax returns of students who received federal aid—to their reduction of a college education to a purely economic exchange. Among its most significant oversights, the scorecard data fails women.
Read more »
Bernie Sanders gave a major speech yesterday outlining his definition of democratic socialism and how it relates to both his candidacy and American history. In doing so, he also described an expansive vision of economic security and fairness. The speech is important because it shows some of the strengths and weaknesses of left-liberalism at this moment, both through what it describes and, more interesting, what it doesn’t. It also clarifies how he can better contrast with Hillary Clinton on policy.
Here are eight random thoughts about the speech.
Read more »