In 2017, ExxonMobil announced an intriguing energy innovation: In partnership with biotech company Synthetic Genomics, it had used CRISPR gene-editing technology to produce a strain of algae that ExxonMobil claimed could pave the way toward a sustainable future and “reduce the risk of climate change.” Ever since then, the company has used numerous social media … Read more
Since 2001, the United States has led three military inventions with the explicit goal of toppling foreign governments. In October 2001, less than one month after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban government, which was sheltering and refusing to extradite leaders of Al-Qaeda. In March 2003, the … Read more
If you ever find yourself in D.C. and want to see something other than the Washington Monument, take a break from D.C.’s swampy summer mornings and its muggy tourism to sit in on a session of drug court. “Smart on crime is tough on crime,” read posters scattered around Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice … Read more
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) is perhaps the defining bipartisan moment of the Clinton Administration. President Clinton promised it would “end welfare as we know it,” and he touted its success ten years later, declaring that it created “a new beginning for millions of Americans.” Not since FDR’s New … Read more
Hidden beneath the public face of the government—the President, Congress, and the Courts—extends the vast iceberg of federal government. Regulatory agencies, bureaucracies and other organizations like the FBI provide millions of jobs and spend billions of dollars, impacting everything from agriculture to commerce to recreation. Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has described the current state … Read more
In May of last year, Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) introduced a bill called the “War is Making You Poor Act.” The bill proposed to slash the $159 billion of “supplementary spending” in the defense budget that pays for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, mandating that the Pentagon instead pay for the wars out of … Read more
This year, Americans watched as the national debt rose to $14.7 trillion, nearly matching the GDP. A tumultuous Congress passed the Budget Control Act of 2011 to raise the debt ceiling on the condition that the federal government decreases future spending. Despite the last-minute compromise, Standard & Poor’s downgraded the US credit ranking from an … Read more
Few would disagree that American troops show incredible bravery at war. From World War II to the more recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, there is no dearth of harrowing accounts from the front lines. But what of those same troops when they return home? The stories often end when their military tour is complete, … Read more
First called the “third rail” of American politics by Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil in 1981, Social Security remains one of the most divisive programs in our budget. Add the fact that it is the single largest expenditure by the federal government, and its sheer size prevents Washington from reaching reform or compromise year … Read more
Over the past two years, the Bank Bailout saved the American financial system from collapse while turning a profit of $25 billion—enough to fund the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for 20 years. Yet Americans across the political spectrum despised the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the $700 billion bailout that seemingly epitomized Wall Street’s leverage … Read more