Government Archives

News in Brief

Budget Hawks, Enviro Doves Offer Budget Cuts

As the U.S. Congress prepares to weigh a new round of massive budget cuts mandated by this summer's deal on the deficit, some odd bedfellows offer a suite of suggestions for saving green by being green.

Emily Badger

Economics

Welfare Rates Almost Unchanged During Recession

Welfare reform, 15 years old this week, was designed to get the structurally poor into jobs. What happens when there are lots more poor and lots fewer jobs?

Emily Badger

Education

The Real Cheating Scandal of Standardized Tests

Opinion: The widening circle of cheating scandals on standardized tests should fuel the movement to reduce the stakes these exams have on public education in the U.S.

Kimberly West-Faulcon

News in Brief

Obama’s Social Innovation Group Tabs Five Programs

Program to bring an entrepreneurial approach to social problems doles out some more money from its small kitty.

Emily Badger

Economics

Saving Gas Via Underpowered Death Traps

Research confirms that increasing fuel economy standards does cost lives on the road. But economist Mark Jacobsen explains how that doesn’t have to be the case.

Emily Badger

Would Debt-Ceiling Circus Occur With Women in Charge?

Academics and advocates are asking if there were lots more women in the U.S. government whether the debt-ceiling debacle would have been allowed to develop.

Emily Badger

News in Brief

How to Reform Lobbying: Transparency

Opinion: Let’s make lobbyists — and anyone else wanting to influence the U.S. government — post their intentions on a public website.

Lee Drutman

News in Brief

China’s High-Speed Crash Leads to Legitimacy Crisis

China has had its share of high-profile failures (and successes) of late, but a recent high-speed rail crash has shaken the people's confidence more than past mishaps.

Megan Shank and Jeffrey Wasserstrom

Social Justice

Vets With PTSD Awarded Higher Disability Benefits

A group of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD in a class-action lawsuit settled with the U.S. government to increase their disability benefits.

Dan Watson