Social Policy
Oct 3, 2011
People on the right tend to be enthusiastic about yoking men and women in marriage and about locking bad guys up in prison. To what extent, however, does the latter practice undermine the former?
Research verifies common sense by showing that married men are less likely than single men to break the law. Getting married is thus a good way for a man to help himself avoid getting locked up. But what about single men who have already been charged with committing crimes? They are less attractive marriage partners, not just because they may be incarcerated, but because rap sheets are not conducive to good-paying, family-supporting jobs. By not marrying, they lose a major source of support in straightening out their lives. How can they escape this trap?
Jul 18, 2011
A reasonable reading of the following 34 brief essays in American Experiment’s newest symposium—What Governmental Services and Benefits Are You Personally Willing to Give Up?—suggests that more Americans than generally assumed may be seriously willing to sacrifice when it comes to major entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare. In the interest of balancing the nation’s skewed books, the columns similarly suggest that more people than routinely thought may be willing to forgo various exemptions and other tax breaks, including near-sacred deductions on home mortgage payments.
Jul 15, 2011
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules are supposedly intended to ensure the safety and efficacy of new drugs and medical devices. It is FDA’s technology gatekeeper role—its power to approve or reject medical innovations in a one-size-fits-all fashion—that I would sacrifice willingly.
I seek the freedom to explore the medical frontier, to have access to experimental medicines and medical devices that the FDA has not approved, and to go out (as I’ll explain) as a hero.
Jul 14, 2011
A reduction in government spending does not necessarily imply a reduction in services. Contracting with private sector providers has reduced government expenditures for some services, and increased user fees transfer a portion of the cost of services from the tax ledger to those who use the services. Before reducing or eliminating valued government services, we should make sure they are being produced and financed in the most efficient manner possible.
But let’s suppose that all those efficiency-enhancing steps have been taken. Now what would I give up? Any meaningful answer must confront the big-ticket items: tax expenditures, defense spending, and entitlements.
Jul 13, 2011
It is always a bit of a challenge for me to write for Center of the American Experiment, as my basic political positions are considerably to its left. However, if we are to solve Minnesota’s problems, we probably need ideas from all parts of the political spectrum.
Jul 12, 2011
How would I personally sacrifice to cut the federal budget down to size?
First, I will take no pension for my years in Congress (and I have already refused to do so). I am also willing to forgo my Social Security benefits as long as Congress, at the least, raises the retirement age to 70 and caps or limits future cost-of-living adjustments.
Jul 11, 2011
I am one of those lucky people who receive government services that I could get along without. However, I expect to surrender my benefits only as a part of a grand scheme to reduce deficits and the size of government and to stabilize and eventually reduce the federal debt ratio. Such a grand scheme should consider the following components.
May 24, 2011
While all sides have less-than-ecumenical clergy (I seem to recall the president's former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright), as someone who leads a conservative organization, my responsibility for speaking out when supposed conservatives say vile things is greater than when others do so.
May 21, 2011
In recent weeks, the issue of who gets to define marriage -- Minnesota citizens or a handful of judges or legislators -- has been on the front burner.
The debate has generated lots of heat but not much light. Now that the Legislature has endeavored to let the people vote on a constitutional amendment defining marriage, I suggest a few ground rules to ensure a fair and open exchange of views.
Apr 11, 2011
This Roundtable points the way to making divorce—when it is, in fact, unavoidable—less damaging to all concerned starting with children. What it also does, even more importantly, is point to early Minnesota-based research and its potential for saving some portion of marriages in ways that most therapists, lawyers, judges and others in the field have never considered, or to be blunt about it, have never cared to consider.
