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Vol. 3 No. 28Summer 2017
Columns
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The European Mirror
Is there any way out of the dialectic of neoliberal policies producing economic backlash and support for the nationalist far right?
Notebook
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Settlements: The Real Story
Fifty years after the Six-Day War, a mistaken account of how settlement began still plagues Israeli politics. -
Silk Roadblock
Yo-Yo Ma's celebrated project for global understanding through music runs into Donald Trump's sour note. -
Ignoring Police Violence
Baltimore officials accepted a voluntary settlement to reduce police abuses. Jeff Sessions wants to kill it.
Culture
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Fiscal Purgatory in New York
How New York’s budget crisis was used to roll back expansive government -
The Long Arc of Protest
While digital media make it easier to spread activist messages, today’s movements face many of the same problems their forerunners did. -
Gift Horse or Trojan Horse?
The mixed record of America’s new rich as often self-interested philanthropists -
Goodbye to All That Democracy
Can our constitution co-exist with extremes of economic inequality? -
State-Enforced Segregation and the Color of Justice
Jim Crow was the descendant of Southern slavery. More shocking is the legacy of government-enforced racism in the North.
Features
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The Wages of NeglectThe Wages of Neglect
Place Matters
As in the 1930s, progressives need economic development strategies for the left-behind regions of the country. -
The Wages of Neglect
The Democrats’ ‘Working-Class Problem’
It’s not only with whites. It reaches well into the party’s base. -
The Wages of Neglect
A Tale of Two Populisms
The elite the white working class loathes is politicians. -
The Wages of Neglect
Democrats Need to Be the Party of and for Working People—of All Races
And they can’t retake Congress unless they win over more white workers. -
The Wages of Neglect
Why the White Worker Theme Is Harmful
It’s a mistake to racialize an economy that harms the entire working class. -
Kansas, Sam Brownback, and the Trickle-Down Implosion
The Kansas governor’s attempt to create supply-side nirvana in Middle America not only failed to grow the economy—it created a crippling crisis of government that led to a statewide rejection of his politics. -
Private Equity: The New Neighborhood Loan Sharks
Veterans of the Contract Buyers League hit the doors again. -
Who Is Wilbur Ross?
From bankruptcy king to Trump’s king of commerce -
Will Trump Kill the CFPB?
Created in response to the financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned nearly $12 billion to consumers—which may be exactly why it’s now under threat. -
The Great Los Angeles Revolt Against Cars
L.A. voters have chosen to tax themselves to build a citywide rail system. Can rail also resurrect the city’s long-vanished middle class? -
Charlie and the MBTA
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s privatization initiative at greater Boston’s transit authority has realized short-term savings—but the cure is still adequate public investment. -
The Pittsburgh Conundrum
Can you have a model city in a left-behind region? -
Tilting at Windmills
Why the green jobs promise is still unfulfilled
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Vol. 28 No. 2Spring 2017
Columns
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The Republican Health-Care Unraveling: Resist Now, Rebound Later
The reaction against the GOP could boost progressive organizing and bolder reforms.
Notebook
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Corporate America and Donald Trump
Don't mistake the corporate embrace of diversity for defense of democracy. -
Mass Incarceration and the Achievement Gap
The impact of imprisoned parents on children shows how criminal justice policy is education policy. -
The Instantaneous Injustice of Bail
For Chicago's poor, who can't afford attorneys, bail hearings often don't last longer than a few seconds—and may keep them in jail for want of a few hundred dollars. -
Fighting Child Poverty With a Universal Child Allowance
Expanding a strategy on which liberals and conservatives can agree
Culture
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In Search of Obama
Jonathan Chait lays out a case for Obama as a transformative president. -
How the Religious Right Led to Trump
Two new books on America's religious history provide key insights into the currents that produced one of the country's least religious and least biblically literate presidents. -
Citizen Activism and the Courts
The surprising impact of popular movements on judicial doctrines -
Why Are Men Dropping Out of Work?
A new book highlights the decline of male employment.
Features
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Can the Democratic Party Be White Working Class, Too?
While Hillary Clinton was losing Montana by more than 23 points, Steve Bullock was elected governor running as a progressive Democrat. What can the rest of us learn from Montana? -
The Anti-Trump Movement: Recover, Resist, Reform
The profusion of citizen organizing as defense—and offense -
How California Hopes to Undo Trump
America’s mega-state is now clearly its leftmost, too—and on social insurance, climate change, and immigrant rights, it has more capacity and desire to defeat Republican reaction than any other institution. -
Will Suburban Activism Pave the Democratic Path to the House?
If they’re to retake Congress in 2018, Democrats need their newfound activist hordes to focus on health coverage—and diverse, upscale swing districts. -
No Factions in Foxholes
Confronted by the crisis that is the Trump presidency, American progressives have overcome identity politics’ barriers and joined up in mutual defense. -
Trump’s Media War
Trump goes after the news media not because he thinks they’re strong, but because he thinks they’re weak and he can diminish them further. -
The Hour of the Attorneys General
State Democratic AGs have assumed new importance in the effort to contain the Trump presidency. -
Taking a Scalpel to Medicaid
Republican claims of their bill's great flexibility for the states are a sham cover for disabling cuts. -
Driverless Future?
If they ever get the bugs out, autonomous cars will put a lot of human drivers out of work. -
The Hidden Monopolies That Raise Drug Prices
How pharmacy benefit managers morphed from processors to predators -
The War on Facts Hits Prescription Drug Regulation
The FDA's authority was under legal attack even before Trump. Now the agency faces a triple threat. -
Trumping State Regulators and Juries
The right backs states' rights when that's convenient—but uses federal preemption to overrule blue state policies. -
The War on Regulation
Under Trump, it's open season on health, safety, labor, financial, and environmental measures—that protect people who voted for him. -
Saving the Planet Goes Local
The Trump administration plans to decimate environmental safeguards—so blue states and cities are stepping up their efforts to arrest climate change. -
The Incoming Privatization Assault
Get ready for everything from private infrastructure and private prisons to voucherized schools and Medicaid.
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Vol. 28 No. 1Winter 2017
Columns
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It's the Misogyny, Stupid
Trump's election threw the long-standing sexism of white America into stark relief. -
The Audacity of Hope
Trump's win was both a perfect storm and the culmination of long term trends. Can American fascism be stopped?
Notebook
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The Case for Resistance
There is no common ground to be had with the Trump administration. -
Mapping the White Working Class
A deep dive into the beliefs and sentiments of the moderates among them -
Voter Suppression Works Too Well
The Republicans’ quest for a permanent political majority culminated in mammoth voter suppression in 2016. The 2018 midterm election promises both to embolden these efforts and energize resistance.
Culture
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Class Act
Where Bruce comes from, and how he got here. -
The Banks Are Even Worse
Storefront payday lenders and check-cashers are all that tens of millions of Americans have. -
The Neighborhood Activist as Prophet
How Jane Jacobs took on the planners—and how her legacy is at risk. -
Hidden in the Algorithms
A new book argues that data science may serve to reinforce inequality.
Features
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Who Are We Americans Now?
And who will we become under Trump? -
The Democrats in Opposition
They not only need to resist Trump. They need to build power wherever they can. -
Latinos and the Future of American Politics
Defending immigrants and championing progressive economics (that even Rust Belt whites could like) are imperative—and complementary. -
Trump and the World
Blustering Toward Armageddon
How Donald Trump will take America to war -
Trump and the World
The Rise of Populist Nationalism in Europe and the United States
Authoritarian democracy is on the march on both sides of the Atlantic. Despite alarming parallels, the U.S. remains better positioned to preserve and rebuild true democracy. -
Trump and the World
America’s Interest in a Global Rule of Law
Will Trump destroy the global order that the U.S. has led? -
Trump and the Constitution
Justice at Risk
Trump’s nominee to succeed Scalia will restore a right-wing majority. One additional Trump appointee could undo rights established 50 years ago and more. -
Trump and the Constitution
Civil Rights Déjà Vu, Only Worse
Under George W. Bush, Republicans set about undermining the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Expect a more devastating assault on the division under Trump. -
Trump and the Economy
The Folly of Trumponomics
It may produce a short-lived boom. Then, look out. -
Trump and the Economy
Watch Out for Even More Tax Breaks -- for the Rich
How we squander resources through the tax code, and how that could get a lot worse in the age of Trump -
Trump and the Economy
Dismantling Dodd-Frank -- And More
Candidate Trump promised to take on Wall Street. As deregulator-in-chief, he will be Wall Street’s best friend. -
Trump and the Economy
Can Labor Fight Back?
Trump and the Republicans plan to roll back worker rights to pre-New Deal levels. -
Trump and Education
The War on Public Schools
Charters, vouchers, and disposable teachers are Trump’s targets. -
Trump and Education
Milwaukee’s Voucher Verdict
What 26 years of vouchers can teach the private-school choice movement—if only it would listen -
Portable Benefits for an Insecure Workforce
Why Americans need portable benefits, what those benefits should look like, and how those benefits can be created and funded -
Unions in the Precarious Economy
How collective bargaining can help gig and on-demand workers
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Vol. 27 No. 4Fall 2016
Columns
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When Elections Fail
American democracy faces the risk of systemic harm in 2016.
Notebook
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Could Clinton Tame Congress?
How a Democratic Senate might shift the legislative dynamics. -
Voting Rights: Will Court Protections Deliver?
Federal courts have overturned several state voting restrictions, but the struggle continues on the ground. -
Going Local in the Fight Against Inequality
What progressives can learn from de Blasio’s policies in New York City. -
Why the Election Is Not as Volatile as It May Seem
The hardened divide in American politics
Culture
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Making the Most of Your Luck
The role of sheer fortune challenges the politics of the fortunate—and the conceits of economics. -
Rationalizing Trump
Coulter threads her way between the Koch brothers, alt-right, and Paul Ryan. -
Hidden Injuries
The decline of the white working class and the rise of the Tea Party and Donald Trump. -
The Costs of Being Poor
Two new books explore how difficult the housing market and criminal justice system make it to climb out of poverty.
Features
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Trump’s Riches and the Real-Estate Tax Racket
The industry where you really can make billions and pay no taxes. -
Progressive Politics After Bernie
The Sanders campaign mobilized the largest democratic left the nation has seen in decades. Can its follow-up organization and other liberal groups roll its revolution on? -
Special Report: A Governing AgendaSpecial Report: A Governing Agenda
A New Era for the Supreme Court
The transformative potential of a shift in even one seat -
Special Report: A Governing Agenda
Stronger Policy, Stronger Politics
More than ever, we need a public option—and other changes—to ensure the ACA achieves its ambitious, far-reaching goals. -
Special Report: A Governing Agenda
From a Contentious Election to a Stronger Democracy
Strengthening democracy is the key to all other reforms. -
Special Report: A Governing Agenda
Aiding Families, Boosting the Economy
It’s time we saw support for child care and paid leave as central to both economic growth and family well-being. -
Special Report: A Governing Agenda
The New Rules of the Road: A Progressive Approach to Globalization
The new president needs a fresh approach to trade. -
Special Report: A Governing Agenda
Infrastructure: Can We Finally Think Big?
The defining challenge of the next president’s infrastructure agenda will be persuading Congress to come along for the ride. -
Challenging the New Curse of Bigness
Most of today’s abuses call for antitrust remedies from the Progressive Era—if we just get serious about enforcement. -
The Progressive Tax Reform You’ve Never Heard Of
How ending profit shifting can fix corporate tax cheating and satisfy Republicans -
Race and the Tragedy of Quota-Based Policing
Arrest targets compound the risk of racially biased stop-and-frisk. -
Rethinking School Discipline
Schools are cutting back on expulsions and suspensions, which are doled out disproportionately to minority students. Without adequate funding, though, the new reforms may cause problems of their own. -
Roberts Rules for Protecting Corporations
The chief justice’s changes to the rules for litigation make suing big business a whole lot harder.
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Vol. 27 No. 3Summer 2016
Columns
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Donald Trump's Constitution
The multiple opportunities for the abuse of executive power
Notebook
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Meanwhile, Back on Most Campuses
The focus on extreme political correctness at Oberlin and other elite colleges risks obscuring what less privileged undergraduates are dealing with. -
Papa’s Not a Rolling Stone: Low-Income Men and Their Children
Kids benefit when their dads make more time for them. Try doing it while juggling two or three minimum-wage jobs. -
Solar Eclipse?
Can the U.S. have a coherent solar policy in the face of China’s strategic trade moves?
Culture
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When Liberalism Came Apart
Two new books about the late 1960s provide grist for thinking about political turbulence today. -
Swept Away in the Sixties
What did the era amount to? One thing is certain: It wasn’t a revolution. -
How America Grew -- and Grew Unequal
Today’s inequality has more to do with historical accident and political power than economic efficiency. -
Using American Power Prudently
Our core national-security interests and the limits of military force.
Features
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What Is Hillary Clinton’s Agenda?
She’s had so much to say on so many issues that voters may not know what she wants to accomplish. -
The First Post-Middle-Class Election
The politics of downward mobility and racial diversity have eroded the center, pushing Democrats to the left and Republicans toward an authoritarian right. -
Blue Cities Battle Red States
As cities have moved left and states have moved right, the conflicts between them have escalated. -
Special Report: The New Labor EconomySpecial Report: The New Labor Economy
Confronting the Parasite Economy
Why low-wage work is bad for business—and all of us. -
Special Report: The New Labor Economy
On Demand, and Demanding Their Rights
Gig workers in the Uber economy are organizing to win more say over their jobs—and writing a new chapter in American labor history. -
Special Report: The New Labor Economy
Reframing the Minimum-Wage Debate
Why “no job loss” is the wrong standard for setting the right wage floor. -
Special Report: The New Labor Economy
The Subtle Force of Tom Perez
The labor secretary, a son of Dominican immigrants, has used his power to make real gains for workers—so successfully that he’s become a vice presidential prospect. -
Special Report: The Immigrant FactorSpecial Report: The Immigrant Factor
How Asian Americans Became Democrats
The last two decades have seen a major shift in the party preferences of Asian Americans, but they're still not deeply engaged in civic life. -
Special Report: The Immigrant Factor
Is This the Year of the Latino Voter?
Latinos have had some of the lowest voter turnout rates, but this November—with unprecedented mobilization campaigns and the specter of a Trump presidency—may be different. -
Special Report: The Immigrant Factor
Don’t Assume Trump’s Bias Is Mere Bluster
How the Republican nominee could bar Muslim immigrants. -
Special Report: The Immigrant Factor
Arizona's Blue Horizons
With increasing Latino activism, once-Republican Arizona is becoming contested terrain, though registration still lags. Will this be the year? -
Special Report: The Immigrant Factor
How ‘They’ Become ‘We’
Here’s what America does well in integrating immigrants and what we could do better—unless anti-immigrant passions take over. -
Trump and the Racial Politics of the South
The legacy of slavery and segregation creeps northward. -
A Just Transition for U.S. Fossil Fuel Industry Workers
A combination of better jobs and pensions will remove one political obstacle to a green transition—and it’s the right thing to do. -
Liberal Governor, Divided Government
Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf, among the nation’s most progressive governors, has been checked by the most right-wing legislature in state history—but there are always executive orders. -
Philly’s New Mayor
How many progressive changes can Jim Kenney bring to an old-style city with an antique political culture?
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