This summer, a powerful, organic, and populist movement emerged to combat the systemic political corruption that has plagued India for decades. The front of the movement, Anna Hazare, spearheaded an effort to pressure the Indian Parliament to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill. This proposal would establish an intermediary organization between the people and the government … Read more
Twelve percent. That’s the portion of the country that approve of the job Congress is doing, according to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll. Lack of faith in its competence has led politicians, pundits, and ordinary citizens alike to claim that Congress is “broken.” Incumbents in Congress face increasingly difficult re-election bids and the … Read more
The top one percent of Americans now control 24 percent of national income, yet recent statistics from the Census Bureau suggest that more American are living in poverty than ever before. The economic disparity in the United States is the greatest it has been since 1928, and, if current trends continue, the gap between rich … Read more
As government spending across western democracies has increased to combat a three-year-old financial crisis, government debt has become the target of new fiscal scrutiny. Developed nations had enjoyed access to fairly inexpensive credit and were able to cover expenses that exceeded revenues. The European Union debt crisis, austerity measures, and the debt debate in the … Read more
Europe has been shaken by a social and political crisis. A collection of nations striving to create a community has been forced to reevaluate their relationships with each other. Today, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain all faced economic insolvency. Despite the establishment of a large bailout fund to heal the Euro crisis, the economic … Read more
Political characterizations are always relative. It is often said that if David Cameron, or another conservative European leader, were plucked off Downing Street and dropped on Pennsylvania Avenue, he would undoubtedly find his Conservative Party positions on healthcare, postsecondary education, and fiscal stimulus somewhere in line with the leftmost wing of the American Democrats. But … Read more