“The state of South Carolina perpetuates what’s called the ‘Corridor of Shame,’ a string of rural school districts where students receive inferior educational opportunities,” writes Ehime Ohue. “As a rising sophomore at Duke University, I now see what the phrase means. I was educated in one of those districts from Head Start to 12th grade. I know firsthand the issues these students face.”
Read More in The Washington PostCategory: Politics-Public Policy
Belief Superiority and Political Discord
“To all voters and elected officials, I have a question: In all of the instances in which you disagree with people on the other side of the political spectrum, is it really plausible that your position is always the correct one? And, if so, how did you become endowed with such knowledge, judgment, and wisdom that your views on the issues are always right?” writes Mark Leary, a professor of psychology and neuroscience.
Read More in Psychology Today
An FDA Drug Voucher Program Needs A Reboot
Professors David Ridley (Fuqua School) and Jeffrey Moe (Global Health) write about Congress updating the laws governing prescription drugs this summer, including changes to a program designed to spur drug development for neglected diseases like dengue, Ebola, Zika and river blindness. “Unfortunately,” they write, “the fix as written to the FDA Reauthorization Act does too little to help the millions of people at risk for these diseases.”
Read More in The Hill
American Exceptionalism and The Making of a Non-Patriot
“It’s not as though other countries are better than ours. Every nation bears the healed scars and the still-open wounds of its history,” writes philosophy professor Alex Rosenberg. He adds that “American exceptionalism is at best an innocent mistake that uninformed patriotism makes difficult to surrender. Once the process of disillusionment is completed, so is the making of the non-patriot.”
Read More in The New York Times
Why The State Department’s Human Trafficking Report Matters
“The State Department has released its annual Trafficking in Persons report on human trafficking. The big headline was that China was downgraded to Tier 3, the lowest ranking, suggesting that the Trump administration had decided to rebuke China by grouping it with the likes of Syria, Iran and North Korea,” writes Judith Kelley, public policy and political science professor and a senior associate dean at the Sanford School of Public Policy.
Read More in The Washington Post
What is the Far-Right’s Endgame?
Historian Nancy MacLean, author of an intellectual biography of James McGill Buchanan, explains how this little-known libertarian’s work is influencing modern-day politics. “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America” examines Buchanan’s vision that MacLean says has become a playbook for a network of people looking to override democracy in order to shift more money to the wealthiest few.
Read More in Slate
Debunking Republicans’ Main Argument For Obamacare Repeal
“Honestly, the marketplaces are in OK shape,” says David Anderson, a research associate at the Margolis Center for Health Policy who studies the individual market. “The amount of competition isn’t where some people would like it to be, but this isn’t collapse.”
Read More in Vox
Obamacare Gave Me Peace of Mind the AHCA Would Take Away
“I know what it’s like to be unable to see a doctor for even serious injuries. I know what it’s like to constantly hope that you are not sick or injured because the costs would simply be too high. Those are stresses the American Health Care Act will force on millions of Americans – stresses that no American deserves,” writes Ashley Arnold, a master’s student in public policy.
Read More in The News & Observer
HONEST Act Needs Honest Engagement of Scientific Community
“The bill as written could have far-reaching consequences that would ultimately hamper or undermine the scientific process generally and EPA’s work specifically,” writes statistician Jerry Reiter and a colleague. “The goals of transparency in government and data accessibility must be balanced with the necessity to protect individuals’ and businesses’ privacy.”
Read More in The Hill
Trump’s Faith In Military Does Not a Strategy Make
After five months in office, President Trump has still not articulated a strategy for the conflicts. That’s a greater cause for concern than how he chooses to delegate to a military for which he remains ultimately responsible, says political scientist Peter Feaver. “They haven’t figured out what their strategy is going to be, so there’s a cart-before-the-horse aspect,” says Feaver.
Read More in TIME
Is North Carolina the Future of American Politics?
What really distinguishes North Carolina is that it is a quintessentially purple state, with voters almost evenly split between Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliateds. “That’s what contributes to the meanness and paralysis of North Carolina politics,” says public policy professor Mac McCorkle, a former Democratic political consultant. “… We’re so closely pitted, everything’s a battle.”
U.S. Climate Policy in the Trump Administration
In a newly released policy brief, law professor Jonathan Wiener, Kenan Institute for Ethics’ Rethinking Regulation co-director, provides context on the complex web of climate change policy, written for the Climate Economics Chair in Paris. Wiener’s essay covers a range of topics related to U.S. climate policies in the wake of President Trump’s decision to withdraw the country from the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Read More at Kenan Institute
