Jim Jaffe

The annual report of the Social Security trustees predicting when the funds they monitor (retirement, Medicare and disability) will be depleted has become a meaningless rite of spring that provides more heat than light. The news is always viewed as bad and ignored, a response that's helpful only to those...

This year's election may be the last one where it is possible to win the American presidency while receiving fewer votes than your opponent. A proposal to have states apportion their electoral votes to reflect the popular vote - known as the National Public Vote Interstate Compact --...

Analysts who fret about the health of America's democracy and fear that the voters are being marginalized by insiders, the rich and the media exercising outsized power must be breathing an enormous sigh of relief as they watch the Republicans select their presidential candidate.

Any doubts that the...

It would be hard to find a Washington political insider with greater power and fewer enemies than Jack Lew, who's moving over from the OMB directorship, which he's occupied twice, to become the White House chief of staff.

Not only does the appointment confirm that nice guys often finish near...

The last two Washington insiders elected president were Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, each of whom did his part to fuel the distrust of government that's now a chronic campaign theme. So it is hardly surprising that Newt Gingrich portrays himself as a Washington outsider. He may be undisciplined at...

Presidential campaigns are less about substance than a test of how candidates will react to new and unexpected situations. I think that's a good thing because it is nearly impossible to predict the problems that will confront a new president, but likely that they'll be issues that weren't discussed in...

Criticism of American colleges never goes out of style. Costs are high. The institutions are reluctant to extend the spirit of open inquiry they espouse to their own operations. And there's ongoing dissatisfaction with the job they do, which isn't particularly surprising inasmuch as there's little agreement on precisely what...

Herding cats is easier.

That's the sole lesson to date from our debt ceiling cliffhanger. The center is less than solid.

Some analysts have wrongly concluded that we have a leadership crisis. If President Obama or Speaker of the House John Boehner, their argument goes, would only threaten to either...

It is easy to criticize the economic perspective of the Tea Party bunch in the House of Representatives (it sometimes seems that they aim to destroy the economy in order to save it), but even those of us who disagree must admit that they've created a bit of a boom...

There's a popular story circulating suggesting that America suffers from a shortage of medical care and the doctors who provide it.

The narrative basically goes like this. Many people fail to get care they'd benefit from because of inadequate insurance and a shortage of physicians that is...

Were I to attempt to influence Texas Gov. Rick Perry's decision on joining the 2012 presidential race by writing him a check for a million dollars, I'd probably get a lot of critical media attention and risk prosecution for violating campaign finance laws.

Were I to write...

For the past two years, I've been trying to ignore criticism suggesting that President Obama did an inadequate sell-job on health reform and should have spoken to the American people more directly and candidly about what he was up to. Until now I've contested these comments, responding that the very...

Sometime in the next few months we'll get a clear signal about whether the austerity bunch in Congress is serious about constraining Medicare costs. My guess is that they'll flinch and increase payments by tens of billions of dollars to delay scheduled reimbursement reductions. Congress has already done this repeatedly.

Those who are suing to overturn the mandatory health insurance requirements in the comprehensive reform bill apparently believe a success, perhaps built on their victory in Virginia this week, will be both a major embarrassment for the President and lead to the disintegration of the entire scheme.

They may...

Among the biggest winners in this week's elections were members of the only group that also got a lift from the 2008 election -- America's lobbyists.

They make money when clients sense the political environment is changing. Whether it is becoming increasingly friendly or hostile - which isn't entirely...

The most interesting step in John Boehner's quest to become Speaker of the House may well be the last one -- when newly-elected House Republicans set the price for supporting him. Today's political dynamic suggests these are not going to be regular order types who go along to get along.

Journalism providing more light than heat is less common than we'd like and positive stories are downright rare. That's why it's worth taking a look at a Washington Post profile of my onetime boss Janice Mays that meets both of these criteria.

I've long countered the seeming majority...

Aficionados of Washington political corruption should enjoy Alex Gibney's new film, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, the latest chapter in the unending saga of those who come to Washington intent on doing good, soon focus instead on doing well and ultimately end up doing time. The...

The Middle East is a minefield capable of instantly exploding any expectations, so I come away from a short visit to Israel slightly more knowledgeable but still wary of my inevitably superficial conclusions.

Everyone on every side was candid, helpful and friendly and welcoming as they enthusiastically explained...

Are health insurers interested in building a better mousetrap? If they came up with one, would consumers beat a path to their door?

These questions are provoked by a recent Massachusetts study concluding that health insurance costs are rising because insurers are being forced to pay...