Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems The American Dream Is Fading Faster In Michigan (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Charles Ballard argues median wages should receive the same attention as unemployment rates. Civic, Business Leaders Emphasize Urban Agenda At Mackinac Policy Conference (link is external) IPPSR Affiliates Josh Sapotichne and Eric …
Howard French discusses his new book, Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power, with Orville Schell. The book is primarily focused on the Chinese historical worldview and how it is likely to affect China’s role in geopolitics. French characterizes his book as, in part, … an extended exploration of the …
Millennials, defined by the Census Bureau as being born between 1982 and 2000,(link is external) are notorious for their love of urban living and all things that go along with it, from easy access to public transit to a wide array of employment opportunities. But does that stereotype hold in Michigan? Being the largest generation …
See earlier post Trump, Putin, Stephen Cohen, Brawndo, and Electrolytes. Note to morons: Russia’s 2017 GDP is less than that of France, Brazil, Italy, Canada, and just above that of Korea and Australia. (PPP-adjusted they are still only #6 in the world, between Germany and Indonesia: s-s-scary!) Apart from their nuclear arsenal (which they will …
The two figures below come from recent posts on climate change and AI. Please read them. The squiggles in the first figure illustrate uncertainty in how climate will change due to CO2 emissions. The squiggles in the second figure illustrate uncertainty in the advent of human-level AI. Many are worried about climate change because …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems No Easy Answers But At Least Right Questions At Mackinac Policy Conference (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Charles Ballard reflects on themes discussed at annual Mackinac Policy Conference. How To Attack Africa’s Neonatal Mortality Problem (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Sue Grady leads study on …
I am struggling to remember an earlier time in my life when I felt like the world was as surreal as I find it now. We have a person in the drivers seat so self-absorb, most professional mental health experts I know concur that he suffers from Narcissistic Behavior Disorder (NBD), based upon his public statements …
Problems Books, Pencils, and Billboards: Local School Ad Spending Spikes (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate David Arsen discusses school choice and marketing. Researchers: Fake News Not Swaying Elections (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate William Dutton leads report on the impact of fake news on public opinion. Trump Fires Comey: It Looked Bad Right Away (link …
Almost everything we hear from the media these days is simply motivated reasoning — i.e., partisan nonsense. Wikipedia: …When people form and cling to false beliefs despite overwhelming evidence, the phenomenon is labeled “motivated reasoning”. In other words, “rather than search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief, people actually seek out information …
Mark Squillace, Eric Biber, Nicholas S. Bryner, and Sean B. Hecht have posted “Presidents Lack the Authority to Abolish or Diminish National Monuments” on SSRN. Here is the abstract: By any measure, the Antiquities Act of 1906 has a remarkable legacy. Under the Act, 16 presidents have proclaimed 157 national monuments, protecting a diverse range …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems Fake News And Filters Aren’t Fooling Internet Users (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate William Dutton conducts international survey on internet users and fake news. Climate Change, Tornadoes And Mobile Homes: A Dangerous Mix (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Mark Skidmore co-authors study on climate change …
There is probably a built in mechanism in our culture’s brain that the newest ideas and thoughts are better than older ones. Today’s thinkers have the chance to stand on the shoulders of those who came before. I know I’m always looking for fresh new ideas in the books recently published, thus my almost weekly …
An introduction to school voucher programs: School voucher systems are one of the leading topics of debate in education policy. A school voucher system offers state funds for financial assistance to parents who want to send their child to another school district or a private school. Oftentimes, legislatures will set parameters on who is able …
New York Magazine seems to have dedicated an entire issue to the Alt-Right. If you don’t recognize any of this subterranean internet stuff you should probably have a look. Somehow they left out the Illuminati, though. See The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Subaltern Postcolonial Gramsci Homi Bhabha Babble. BEYOND ALT: THE EXTREMELY REACTIONARY, …
15 states legislatures have term limits, but what does this mean? What are term limits supposed to do, and what observable effects do they have on government? This is the subject of the research I presented at the 2017 Michigan State University Undergraduate Research and Arts Forum. Term limits place a limit on the amount …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems Full Day Kindergarten: NH Republicans Have Lost Their Minds (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Todd Elder discusses prescription drugs and their impact on children. National Mental Health Survey Finds Widespread Ignorance, Stigma (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Mark Skidmore co-authors national survey on mental health …
I’ve spared any regular readers, both of you, from any drainage from my mental swamp for over a month. No real fancy reasons, just The MUSE has not visited despite having completed several good new books and lots of activism. And despite the current absence of The MUSE I feel compelled to put down a …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems In Richmond, High Number Of Homicides Go Unsolved (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate David Carter talks homicide investigation practices in Richmond, Virginia. Few Democratic Voters Back Syria Bombings. So Why Do So Many Democrats In Congress? (link is external) IPPSR Director Matt Grossmann discusses foreign …
One of the key provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) more commonly known as Obamacare is allowing states to expand their Medicaid program. Many states including Michigan decided to expand their Medicaid programs to include more of their population to reduce uninsured levels. Michigan’s Medicaid expansion is called Healthy Michigan. This …
Michael Anton is head of strategic communications for the National Security Council. See related Politico article. The Atlantic: Michael Anton warned last year that 2016 was the Flight 93 election: “Charge the cockpit or you die.” Americans charged. Donald Trump became president of the United States. And Anton, the author of that now-notorious essay, is …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems In Richmond, High Number Of Homicides Go Unsolved (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate David Carter talks homicide investigation practices in Richmond, Virginia. Few Democratic Voters Back Syria Bombings. So Why Do So Many Democrats In Congress? (link is external) IPPSR Director Matt Grossmann discusses foreign …
Here is “John Roberts, Silent During The Garland Process, Suddenly Worries About Partisanship.” An excerpt: When Mitch McConnell decided that black presidents only get to be president for seven years and refused to hold a hearing on Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court, there was only one man in the country who could have …
The Urban Institute, a non-partisan research institute and think-tank out of Washington D.C. recently released a report titled “The Future of the Great Lakes Region”. The report is timely, with intense interest in the postindustrial Midwest from both an electoral and policy perspective, and it contains findings that should be of great interest to policy …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems Border Tax Could Add $2,500 To Price Of Car Or Truck (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Charles Ballard comments on potential consequences of a border tax. Political Corruption Knows No Party, History Shows (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Eric Freedman discusses historical political corruption. Michigan …
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “It’s all right to tell a man to lift himself by his own bootstraps, but it is cruel jest to say to a bootless man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps.” This quote has renewed meaning today as we continue to get briefs about the …
In addition to sales tax, products like alcohol, tobacco, and motor fuel can be taxed by state governments as an additional source of revenue. Alcohol is typically divided into subcategories for the purpose of taxation: spirits, wine, and alcohol. This blog post will attempt to understand if ideology has any impact on taxes of these …
Chomsky on the current media / left obsession with anti-Russia conspiracy theories. I guess he and Trump are both Putin puppets… Oops, except Trump just attacked Assad and risked killing Russian soldiers. So that just leaves Chomsky. NOAM CHOMSKY: It’s a pretty remarkable fact that—first of all, it is a joke. Half the world is …
I hope this scandal will focus additional attention on massive bulk collection and preservation of private communications of US citizens by NSA. Media discussion continues to focus on “unmasking” = dissemination of identities of US individuals. However, I have yet to see discussion of whether someone like Rice could order specific database searches (e.g., by …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems 6 Ways Trump’s Budget Cuts Hurt All Americans (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Charles Ballard comments on the new presidential administration’s budget release. Analysis: A-F Grades For Schools A Tough Sell In Legislature (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Josh Cowen discusses the possibility of giving …
Every year the president’s proposed budget is pronounced D.O.A. in Congress even before it leaves the White House. It still garners attention for what it may say about the administration’s policy priorities. About two weeks ago, the Trump Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued its first “skinny budget,” a sort of broad-brush preview, which …
We now have less than 30 days to finish up our federal tax forms and get them to the IRS and state capitols. As I noted recently in this blog, “taxes are dues for living in a civilized society”. So why do we all seek every advantage to reduce those taxes? We want deductions for …
I’ve made this separate entry from the update to my earlier discussion FISA, EO 12333, Bulk Collection, and All That. I believe the Nunes revelations from yesterday support my contention that the Trump team intercepts are largely “incidental” collections under 12333, and the existence of many (leaked) intel reports featuring these intercepts is likely a …
Despite increased polarization among the American people (link is external) and the US Congress (link is external) during the Obama administration, the Legislatures in Midwestern swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan featured relatively stable levels of polarization within the chambers of both the House and the Senate. These measures focus on the average polarization …
Here is a link to a short clip created by a user on C-SPAN from Judge Gorsuch’s testimony. Judge Gorsuch mentions his decisions in cases involving the Ute Tribe and the Osage Tribe. Thanks to John Dossett. Tweet
Some basic questions for the experts: 1. To what extent does EO12333 allow surveillance of US individuals without FISA warrant? 2. To what extent are US voice conversations recorded via bulk collection (and preserved for, e.g., 5 or more years)? The email answer is clear … But now automated voice recognition and transcription make storage …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems An Import Tax Could Raise Car Prices By Thousands (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Charles Ballard discusses potential effects of an import tax. Jack Lessenberry: Detroit’s Comeback May Be A Bit Overstated (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Laura Reese’s research on Detroit’s comeback is discussed …
As anyone watching the corporate education reform movement can attest to, Big Data and metrics have become the coin of the realm to the reform community. Let any conversation between reformers and defenders of public education go on long enough and the reformer will eventually blurt out the magic words: “But…accountability!” This worldview seems …
Mike Huckabee invoked Andrew Jackson in encouraging the President to not comply with federal court orders striking the Muslim travel ban, saying “Hoping @POTUS tells Hawaii judge what Andrew Jackson told overreaching court-“I’ll ignore it and let the court enforce their order.”, invoking the aftermath of Worcester v. Georgia, in which the Supreme Court held …
As winter draws to a close, officially anyway, a lot of education policy is happening in the nation’s capital. Within the last week, all three federal branches got into the act: the Senate prepared to join the House in voting to “disapprove” key Obama Administration regulations under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA); the Trump …
Article here. This is primarily in response to the most recent action of the Paw Paw School Board to retain their racist mascot (after a particularly contentious Board meeting). Article here. This is also after the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (under the leadership of Matt Wesaw) attempted to file a complaint with the U.S. …
Our weekly roundup of policy-relevant reads and IPPSR-connected research. Problems MSU Education Professor Calls For Action To Help Detroit Schools (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate David Arsen creates video brief outlining how best to help Detroit schools. Schools Probably Won’t Be Impacted If Lansing Becomes Sanctuary City, Expert Says (link is external) IPPSR Affiliate Kristi …
There is reason to be excited in the world of early childhood education. This blog has previously explored topics highlighting the importance and strong support for investing in early childhood education. Soon, the New Mexico Legislature will be voting on a constitutional amendment that would create a new funding source to support the state’s early …
Each year around early February, after months of exhaustive work and late nights at the office, the State Budget Office releases the Governor’s Executive Budget Recommendation, formally kicking off Michigan’s annual budget process. And though it may seem that excitement surrounding the release of an appropriations document might be reserved to the number-crunching cubicle-dwelling bureaucrats …
While it seems obvious to me, evidently it isn’t to many Americans. Donald Trump and other fear mongers among us are constantly trying to make us afraid of – immigrants, minorities, Muslims, LGBT, terrorists, criminals, axis of evil….ad nauseum. If they can sell the fear, we’re more likely to succumb to their proposed remedy – …
Donald Trump, in a moment of rich irony, appears to have been caught just a bit off guard with just how complex the American health care system really was last week. “Now, I have to tell you, it’s an unbelievably complex subject,” he added. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated.” Notwithstanding the …
LTBB Chair Gina Gasco-Bentley: “Tribe seeks to protect own, not control others” Lance Boldrey: “Tribe seeks to reshape governance of region” More details on Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians v. Snyder (W.D. Mich.) here. Tweet
In the chaos of the early weeks of the Trump administration, the president managed to highlight his support for the natural resources extraction industry by strongly encouraging the imminent approval of the Dakota Access pipeline and the Keystone XL pipeline, circumventing additional environmental review. The U.S. Department of the Army quickly issued a notice of intent to grant an easement …
Here. Tweet
Most years, an election for chair of the Michigan Democratic Party’s (MDP) Progressive Caucus would draw little interest. This year, however, the election was a flashpoint for growing fissures within the Democratic Party over its ties to business and a desire by some for increased focus on economic inequality. Bernie Sanders’ victory in Michigan became …
Iowa State Senator Mark Chelgren (R) has proposed legislation that would require “partisan balance” of the faculty employed at state universities. An excerpt of the proposed Senate File 288 explains that a “person shall not be hired as a professor or instructor member of the faculty at such an institution if the person’s political party …