“I think (the racial distribution of wealth and reparations) are very much connected,” says public policy professor William “Sandy” Darity. “I think that the growing interest on my part in reparations is actually what propelled me to pay closer and closer attention to racial wealth inequality. I certainly think that one of the objectives of a sound reparations program should be closing the racial wealth gap. In fact, I think that’s an important objective.”
Read More on The Next System Project
Cuts To EPA, NIH Budgets Would Hurt Local Economy
President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget includes cuts to two federal agencies that could make a noticeable dent in the Triangle economy if it wins congressional approval. Dr. Nancy C. Andrews, dean of the School of Medicine, says in a statement she hopes Congress rejects any reduction of NIH funding and funding for other programs critical to people’s health and well-being. “Everywhere you turn, there is clear evidence of the impact of science and biomedical research on human lives,” she says.
Read More in The News & Observer
Preventing Peacekeeper Abuse Through Equal Opportunity Peacekeeping
” … If the UN is serious about change, it should consider adopting an equal opportunity peacekeeping model, a model that focuses on larger gender inequalities in missions as a way to ensure that the overall quality of peacekeeping missions improve,” writes political scientist Kyle Beardsley. “Only then might the reduction of sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping missions be possible.”
Read More on Council on Foreign Relations Blog
A Step Toward Better National Security Coordination
“I am m encouraged by President Donald Trump’s decision to name Dina Powell as assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for strategy,” writes political scientist Peter Feaver, a former national security adviser to President George W. Bush. “If she lives up to her potential, I think she will do just that and, along the way, help the administration forge a more effective process befitting the president’s style and the challenges our country faces.”
Read More at Foreign Policy
Trump’s Budget A Blueprint, Not A Budget
The White House has released what it calls a “Budget Blueprint” for fiscal year 2018. It would be wrong to construe this document as a budget, says Douglas Brook, a visiting professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy who has served in four presidentially appointed positions. “The blueprint contains no economic assumption, nothing about tax revenues, and no projections for mandatory spending programs like Social Security and Medicare. These are promised in a fuller budget document expected in May. If Congress were to try to act on this blueprint, it would be doing so with huge information gaps.”
Read More on Duke Today
A Matter of Life and Death
“During the campaign, Donald Trump promised to repeal and replace Obamacare with something “terrific,” something that would cover “everybody.” This new proposal is opposite. In the service of cutting taxes for a few, it will shorten lives for many. America must reject it,” writes Mark Paul, postdoctoral associate at the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, and a colleague.
Read More on Inside Sources
Military Brass Like What They Hear From White House, But …
Military commanders have welcomed President Trump’s moves to delegate decisions to commanders, but unfilled senior civilian positions and turmoil in the White House have led some officers to ask whether the latitude is a sign of trust or a product of chaos at the highest levels of government. The military has been spared some of that tumult. “The Pentagon is a comparative oasis,” says political scientist Peter Feaver, a former Bush administration official.
Read More in The Washington Post
What WikiLeaks Reveals About Human Trafficking
Across the globe more than 20 million people are victimized by human trafficking, the modern form of slavery. Public policy professor Judith Kelley has been digging in to the WikiLeaks documents to see whether ranking countries on how well they are tackling human trafficking issues is having an impact on their efforts.
CFOs To Trump: Stop Tweeting, Lose Border Tax
Chief financial officers in the United States are concerned about how President Donald Trump’s off-the-cuff Twitter posts and public comments affect business, a new Fuqua School survey finds. Results also show that CFOs are feeling the most confident about economic growth than they’ve been in more than a dozen years, and they strongly support several of the president’s initiatives. “(CFOs) don’t like the fluctuations and uncertainty that result from how President Trump communicates to the public, but they say many of his ideas will be good for business, even some of the more controversial ones,” says finance professor John Graham, director of the survey.
Read More at Fuqua School of Business
What’s Next For The Prison At Guantánamo?
The Trump administration is contemplating plans to expand detention at the site, and possibly extend the scope of military justice to terrorist suspects in the United States. Whether courts might uphold such a plan is another question. “The correct answer to that is, no, because the Constitution’s Treason Clause makes clear that citizens who act as an enemy are to be treated under criminal law,” says professor Madeline Morris, a former State Department adviser on international and counterterrorism law who now directs the Guantanamo Defense Clinic at Duke Law School.
Read More in The Christian Science Monitor
Cooper Aims To Steer NC On A New Course In State Of The State Address
Cooper can use the platform to advance his message that the state can reclaim its progressive sheen after four years of Republican control, says public policy professor Pope “Mac” McCorkle, who worked for former Democratic governors in North Carolina. “When (Gov.) Easley did it in 2001, it was to raise the red flag about our fiscal situation, given the dot-com bust recession.” (Gov.) McCrory in 2013 talked about how much things will change. “With Roy, I think, there is a new governor in town and he’s setting the agenda for what North Carolina can and should do.”
Read More in The News & Observer
What Happens When You Fight A ‘Deep State’ That Doesn’t Exist
The Trump administration, in its fight against the “deep state,” could risk exacerbating the very problems it has pinned on shadowy bureaucratic forces: leaking, internal conflict and the politicization of institutions like intelligence agencies. Political scientist Timur Kuran says Turkey’s leadership has employed a similar narrative. “Team Erdogan used the ‘deep state’ narrative to destroy political institutions and restructure the bureaucracy. Happening now in USA,” he tweeted.
Read More in The New York Times
