Op-Ed
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Direct Democracy Now
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In the internet age, middlemen of all stripes have found themselves out of a job. But there is one type of middleman that seems immune from disruption: the legislator. Each election cycle, these grifters regale us with fantastical promises. Then, their campaigns victorious, they take their seats and suddenly the…
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It’s Time for a New Constitution
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On Thursday September 17, the United States celebrated Constitution Day—a holiday celebrating the signing of the Constitution in 1787. In the intervening 233 years, the document has undergone 27 revisions that have aimed at making the United States and its institutions more inclusive, responsive, and democratic. Yet for the entirety…
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How to Tax the Rich
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President-elect Joe Biden is forming a transition team to assume office in January, but the outcome of some Senate elections are still outstanding. While the exact congressional makeup is unclear, more is known about the Biden-Harris transition team, which now includes noted Harris faculty and tax economist, Professor Damon Jones.…
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Universal Basic Income: A Bad Idea that Makes Sense Right Now
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The idea for a Universal Basic Income gained a lot of press during the Democratic primary debates when Andrew Yang pitched a “Freedom Dividend” plan to give every American $1,000 a month. Since the world didn’t end after most Americans received $1,200 as a part of the first COVID-19 stimulus…
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Law Enforcement, White Supremacy, and the Far-Right
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Jimmy Miotto examines how currently proposed police reforms would be in vain without a reckoning of law enforcement’s past and present status as a haven for white supremacists. It goes without saying that when the history of America in 2020 is written, COVID-19 and the 220,000 lives it has claimed…
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Minimum Wage in a Pandemic, in 4 Graphs
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As the economy free falls into a sharp recession [1], many low-income workers have been deemed “essential” during the pandemic [2], which effectively obligates work—notably without any additional federally mandated hazard pay [3]. This basic contrast, along with conversations regarding the presumed distortions of unemployment benefits [4], has dominated much…
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University of Chicago’s Interdisciplinary Conference on Violence
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Violence may be a complex, wicked problem. Solutions to it are not necessarily true or false, just good or bad. It is a symptom and cause of other wicked problems like poverty, unemployment, education and social inequality—the topics worthy of “policies.” To solve wicked problems, policymakers and practitioners are increasingly…
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Tech: The Goal, or Just Another Path to Growth?
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In 2012, the average resident of San Francisco supported about $76,000 in gross domestic —about $19,000 more than the average in Chicago. That gap has widened to more than $29,000 today. San Francisco’s economy is growing nearly three times faster on a per capita basis than Chicago’s. Meanwhile, San Jose…