Whither the Fed?
In reform, a return to monetary policy
On the Newsstand:The Fed
The Problem with Bankers’ Pay
Exorbitant compensation threatens the stability of the banking system
The Fierce Urgency of Whatever
In a culture that often values boldness above all else, American politics is surprisingly allergic to big ideas. Despite the clamor over President Obama's health-care reform plan, it is important to remember that it proposes fairly incremental changes.
Fall 2009
Fog of War Volume 36, Number 3, Fall 2009 Letter from the Editor Front Section Bursting at the Seams IAN MERRIFIELD Drug incarcerations, prison overcrowding, and community corrections Escaping the Poppy Field IVANA DJAK, NEIL PATEL American anti-opium efforts in Afghanistan The Source of the Problem ANGELA PRIMBAS Confronting prescription drug abuse Decriminalization in Massachusetts MATTHEW S. MILLER, KATHERINE LEE ... Read More
Light Rail Policy Picks Up Speed
Governor Michael Dukakis on the politics and potential growth of high speed rail public transportation
Fights over Federalism
States gaining voice on drug laws When Richard Nixon declared a “War on Drugs” in June 1971, he had little idea that he was also engaging Washington in a war with the states. In the decades since, the federal government has frequently asserted its primacy over the states on drug laws, despite the opposition of states-rights proponents. California began ... Read More
“Cracking” the Disparity
How the debate over crack cocaine sentencing has moved beyond race In 1986, amid America’s crack epidemic and the associated violence in inner cities, Congress decided to punish possession of five grams of crack as harshly as it punishes possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine. Known as the 100:1 disparity, this law has inundated prisons with low-level crack dealers, ... Read More
Feeding the Media Frenzy
How drug policy made in response to crisis misses the mark In 2008, 50,000 kilograms of cocaine and 660,000 kilograms of marijuana were seized within the United States. According to Drug Enforcement Administration statistics, that same year also saw 26,425 domestic drug arrests. These staggering numbers might seem to suggest that the United States is aggressively combating its drug problem. ... Read More
Worst-Case Scenarios
Lessons from Hurricane Katrina, and where we stand today On Aug. 29, 2005, one million people were displaced overnight when Hurricane Katrina assaulted the Gulf Coast. “We plan for what we’ve experienced, but you don’t even begin to understand [a worst-case scenario] until it is upon you,” Marty Bahamonde, a FEMA employee who took refuge in the Superdome along with ... Read More
Risky Business
The problem of too-big-to-fail “Greed is good,” said Gordon Gekko in the iconic 1987 film Wall Street. Yet while such attitudes may have contributed to economic growth in some sectors, now national and international economies are experiencing a recessionary hangover. The causes of the worst financial crisis since the Depression are many and it is likely that we will debate ... Read More
Broken State Governments
Chaos reigns as states try to budget in the recession The financial crisis affected millions of Americans, drove down property values, crippled the mortgage industry, spiked unemployment rates, and revealed the unwieldiness of the American banking system. In response, the U.S. government attempted to resuscitate the economy with a nearly $800 billion stimulus. Meanwhile, state governments have been struggling ... Read More
Worrying News
The U.S. government is probing the death of Bill Sparkman, a census worker in rural Kentucky. He was found hanged in the woods with the word “FED” scrawled on his chest. I doubt Glenn Beck means to goad his viewers into violence when he tells them the federal government is trying to destroy American democracy, but he probably shouldn’t be ... Read More
Securing the Homeland
Tom Ridge on the creation and evolution of the Department of Homeland Security and the future of the Republican Party. Tom Ridge is the first Secretary of Homeland Security. He is a former Representative and Governor of Pennsylvania. He was very visible in the 2008 Presidential Race as an aide to Senator John McCain. Harvard Political Review: Can you describe ... Read More
Support for Soldiers
Eric Greitens on rebuilding after Katrina and helping veterans continue to serve at home Greitens is the volunteer Chairman and CEO of The Mission Continues and a U.S. Navy SEAL Officer. He recently wrote a book about his humanitarian work abroad called Strength and Compassion. HPR: You have worked in many different sectors from military to education. In your work ... Read More
Shovel-Ready Spaceflight
Obama neglects the best stimulus of all: space exploration In the past few months President Obama has proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending to lift the United States out of the recession. Employing arguably the most talented engineers and scientists and involving the most cutting-edge research, spaceflight is one of the very best ways in which Obama ... Read More
