Commentary
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The EU’s Democracy Challenge – and Opportunity
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In December 2022, Belgian authorities arrested Eva Kaili, a vice president of the European Parliament, amidst allegations that she accepted bribes from Qatar. This corruption scandal followed similar concerns in the European Union (EU) over the influence of Russian energy lobbyists during debates regarding sanctions against Russia. While much of…
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Doing The Work: Robin Rue Simmons on Implementing the Nation’s First Government-Funded Reparations Program
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Robin Rue Simmons is the Founder and Executive Director of First Repair, a nonprofit organization that provides expertise, technical assistance, and advocacy for local reparations nationwide. As the 5th Ward Alderwoman in Evanston, Illinois from 2017-2021, Ms. Rue Simmons choreographed the establishment of the United States’ first municipally-funded reparations legislation.…
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The Hidden Cost of Teletherapy
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Teletherapy became increasingly popular during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, an estimated 21% of U.S. adults used a teletherapy service, while mental health startups collectively raised $5.5 billion in funding. Websites such as BetterHelp, Cerebral, Ginger, ReGain, and TalkSpace, among others, connect users with therapists for virtual counseling sessions. Although…
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The True Cost of Free Parking: A Conversation with Henry Grabar
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Henry Grabar is the author of Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World. His book examines how parking shapes Americans’ lives through day-to-day interactions such as violence over a parking spot to its role in affordable housing development. Paved Paradise questions whether parking is the most efficient use of space…
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Death to “Buy, Borrow, Die”
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Every year millions of Americans begrudgingly file their taxes. Each household must spend countless hours deciding which deductions to take, bemoaning the complexity, and eventually sending off the precious dollars they must pay to fund our roads, bridges, firefighters, and military. At the end of the day, taxes serve as…
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Crafting Beer Policy: An Interview with Bart Watson, Chief Economist for the Brewers Association (Part 2)
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In part one of the Chicago Policy Review’s interview with Bart Watson, Chief Economist for the Brewers Association, the Chicago Policy Review’s Will Macheel discussed the role of a beer economist and the history of beer regulation in the United States. While some issues have been a focus of craft…
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Crafting Beer Policy: An Interview with Bart Watson, Chief Economist for the Brewers Association (Part 1)
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What’s in a beer? Is it simply a fermentation of hops, yeast, grains, and water? In many instances, yes. You would also be wise to highlight some beers that include other ingredients, such as juniper in a Finnish sahti or a version of the popular IPA style made with spruce…
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Analyzing Great Recession-Era Unemployment Benefits in Five Steps
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From COVID-19 stimulus checks known virally as “stimmy” to expanded unemployment benefits, most Americans know that the government steps in with emergency programs to cushion the blow during economic crises. However, many of these programs involve frequently changing guidelines and a lack of data transparency, obscuring how they function in…
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Are Segregation and Hate Crimes No Longer (Pressing) Problems?
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“Someone help this ch***!” These were the last words Michelle heard as the middle-aged man, who had just struck her across the cheek, began to walk away. What had once just been another frightening story on the news of an Asian woman’s account of harassment in New York City was…
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The Hidden Dilemmas of Vote-by-Mail
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Vote-by-mail (VBM) has garnered national attention since 2020 as a system to increase voter turnout by allowing citizens to exercise their voice safely and conveniently, especially given the new wave of voter suppression efforts. What many proponents have failed to realize, however, is how VBM can, and often does, disproportionately…
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A Solution in Search of a Problem: Cryptocurrency and Institutional Trust
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Imagine a cutting-edge new platform for economic development. It has value because everyone says it does. That value tends to fluctuate wildly. Accessing an account requires remembering a random string of letters and numbers. Some services allow users to use a traditional password, but if someone cracks that password or…