Public Policy

America's Vacation Deficit Disorder

William D. Chalmers | Posted 05.29.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Depression, Travel, Vacations, Anexity, Antidepressants, American Exceptionalism, Sleep Disorders, Travel Blogs, Travel News
William D. Chalmers

We need an intervention to help us break the destructive treadmill-like cycle we are in of denial and continued harmful behavior. We need a vacation!

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On Becoming an Innovation Community

John M. Eger | Posted 05.21.2012

Read More: Regionalism, Public Policy, Broadband, Cooperation, Cities, Creative Community, Arts, Arts News
John M. Eger

It seems every city is talking about becoming an innovation city, an innovation region, an innovation community. But you can't have innovation without creativity.

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Public Policy and Obesity

Lora Rosenblum | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Soda Tax, Obesity, Junk Food, Legislation, Soda, Public Policy, Obamacare, Mandated Health Care, Public Health, Thesis Project, Thesis-Project, College News
Lora Rosenblum

What was it that calorie labeling had that the soda tax did not -- or vice versa -- and more generally, what does this say about the current opportunity for obesity related legislation?

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Prescription Drug Addiction: A Medical Condition, Not a Moral Failure

Paul Heroux | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Prescription Drug Addiction, Mental Illness, Suicides, Public Policy, Politics, Drug Addiction, Dopamine, Attleboro, Mental Health, Crime, Massachusetts Crime, Drugs, Drug Abuse, Prescription Drug Abuse, Crime News
Paul Heroux

Prescription drug addiction affects men and women, young and old, employed and unemployed, and those suffering from mental illness and those who don't. In short, no group is immune.

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Mass Incarceration as a Public Policy

Michael Santos | Posted 04.24.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Federal Prison, Mass Incarceration, Professor Jonathan Simon, Recidivism, Prison, James Q Wilson, Crime News
Michael Santos

The objective of building a massive prison system didn't include mechanisms that would encourage prisoners to work toward earning freedom, to redeem themselves, or to prepare for a return to society as law-abiding citizens.

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It's No Longer Okay for Scientists Not to Run for Office

Michael Ham | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Science, Politics, Obama Science Policy, Science Politicians, Science Conservatives, Science Education, Politics News
Michael Ham

For American scientists who care deeply about the future of our great nation, it is time to take a stand and bring science back to the forefront of public debate and defend what is true.

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The Supreme Court Applies Immunity to Prevent Suits

Brad Reid | Posted 04.11.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, Public Policy, Absolute Immunity, Halliburton, Sovereign Immunity, Grand Jury, Politics News
Brad Reid

Federal law preempted state law tort claims of negligence and fraud against the Army contractors that the heirs had sued. Consequently, the public policy question to consider is how broadly to extend immunity from suits?

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'Disturbing' Warning Physicists Have For U.S. Science

Posted 04.06.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Video, Global, Crowdfunding, Physics, Science Funding, Science, Crisis, U.S., Science in America, Warning, STEM Education, Science Infrastructure, Science Policy, American Physics Society, Science News

By: Clara Moskowitz, LiveScience Senior Writer Published: 04/06/2012 09:56 AM EDT on LiveScience ATLANTA — The United States is at risk of ced...

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Belief Alone Is No Basis for Public Policy

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 05.07.2012

Read More: Moral Values, Public Policy, Religion, Word of God, Freedom to Marry, Anti-Gay, Rick Santorum, Women's Health, LGBT Rights, Non-Discrimination, Founding Fathers, Contraception, Blunt Amendment, Belief, Religious Right, Evangelicals, Birth Control, Conservatives, Evangelical Voters, Politics News
Nathaniel Frank

Conservatives have spent generations accusing liberals of moral relativism and "anything goes" indulgence in their feelings or whims. But is a belief any less arbitrary of a foundation for the giving or taking away of people's rights?

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The Urgency of Metropolitan Broadband Strategies

John M. Eger | Posted 03.02.2012

Read More: Government, Regionalism, Public Policy, Internet, Broadband, Global Economy, Urban Planning, Public Services, Technology News
John M. Eger

In the new global economy, metropolitan regions are the new centers of commerce. Now more than ever, cities and counties within regions must work to...

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Should Public Policy Conform to "God's Law"?

Dana Radcliffe | Posted 04.25.2012

Read More: Abortion, Political News, Public Policy, Martin Luther King, Rick Santorum, Religious Freedom, Morality, Thomas Jefferson, Same-Sex Marriage, Politics News
Dana Radcliffe

Since we are a religiously diverse country where freedom of religion is a fundamental right, it is clearly inadequate for the leader to respond that such practices can properly be banned because they violate God's law (as he interprets it).

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Academia at a Crossroads -- Can Our Great Universities Lead in a Time of Need

Buck Goldstein | Posted 04.22.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Politics, Education, Engines of Innovation, University of North Carolina, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, David Rohde, Universities, College News
Buck Goldstein

Universities are easy targets for cash strapped state legislatures anxious to spread the pain to college professors who can easily be characterized as overpaid, and institutions that can clearly operate more efficiently.

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The "Holeist" of Holes in the Safety Net

Jodie Levin-Epstein | Posted 04.04.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Safety Net, 2012 Election, Poverty, U.S. Poverty, Mitt Romney, Mitt Romney 2012, Mitt-Romney-Safety-Net, Tanf, Mitt Romney Poor People, u.s. Poverty Stats, Politics News
Jodie Levin-Epstein

The responsibility of government is at the heart of the 2012 presidential campaign. A challenge for the candidates should be to come up with a list of holes and which they think are the "holeist."

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Don't Blame Liberal Arts Majors for High Unemployment

Mark Yzaguirre | Posted 04.01.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Higher Education, College, Cost of Higher Education, U.S. Higher Education, American Higher Education, College News
Mark Yzaguirre

While college students should take hiring practicalities into consideration in picking their majors, the idea that unemployment among recent college graduates is primarily a function of their choice of major is simply not true and the idea that over-education leads to unemployment isn't supported by the facts.

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Cleaning Up Elections? It's Simpler Than You Think.

Roger Wolfson | Posted 03.25.2012

Read More: Elections 2012, Public Policy, Politics, Roger-Wolfson, Constitutional Amendment, Citizens United, Public Financing, John Kerry, Clean Elections, Paul Wellstone, Politics News
Roger Wolfson

Simply overturning Citizens United won't provide us with a campaign system that provides fair results. We were doing poorly before Citizens United, too. We need a far more aggressive change than just overturning that one ruling.

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2012's Not-Quite Hopeless U.S. Climate Policy

Steven Cohen | Posted 03.10.2012

Read More: Renewable Energy, Public Policy, Climate Policy, Energy Efficiency, Earth Institute, Global Warming, Clean Economy, Green News
Steven Cohen

While I do not hold out much hope for a new U.S. climate bill this year, there are plenty of other actions now underway. Young people understand the challenges of global sustainability and I am convinced that the situation is far from hopeless.

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Corporate Education Reform and ALEC's Definition of Acceptable Risk

Shaun Johnson | Posted 02.14.2012

Read More: Public Schools, Public Policy, Education, Education Policy, Alec, Standardized Testing, School Choice, Education Reform, Education News
Shaun Johnson

Think Progress recently reported on a comment from a top-executive with the American Legislative Exchange Council that some children eating rat poison is "an acceptable risk."

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Understanding the Failure of the UN's Climate Talks

Steven Cohen | Posted 02.11.2012

Read More: Public Policy, Climate Change, Environmental Policy, Global Climate Policy, United Nations, Global Warming, Green News
Steven Cohen

The U.N climate talks have failed because the issue has become too important for the world's more powerful nations to assign negotiations to the U.N.'s deliberative bodies.

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The Future of Business Is the Arts

John M. Eger | Posted 01.15.2012

Read More: Creativity, Public Policy, Philanthropy, Innovation, Art, Business, Arts and Business, Business News
John M. Eger

Does all creativity come from the arts? Of course not, but the chances of nurturing creativity through arts based training is a no brainier.

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New Supplemental Poverty Measure Doesn't Change Reality

Elizabeth Lower-Basch | Posted 01.08.2012

Read More: Government, Census, Public Policy, Social Safety Net, Poverty, Politics News
Elizabeth Lower-Basch

However we measure it, poverty is unacceptably high and hardship is unacceptably widespread, and no focus on technical issues can obscure that fact.

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Bicycling as a True Solution to Climate Change in Chicago

Renee Patten | Posted 12.20.2011

Read More: Public Policy, Bicycling, Climate Change, Transportation, Chicago, Green Travel, Chicago Biking, Green Policy, Clean Economy, Chicago News
Renee Patten

Bicycling under the 'transportation' action strategy provides an avenue for real solutions to climate change and Chicago is well poised to harness the energy of the cycling movement in the transition to an environmentally friendly economy.

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Fundamental Change Is Never Voluntary

Buck Goldstein | Posted 12.13.2011

Read More: Financial Crisis, Politics, Public Policy, Education, Innovation, Higher Education, Entrepreneurship, College News
Buck Goldstein

Adapting to the new realities where resources are constrained and public expectations are at an all time high is no longer optional even for the wealthiest universities.

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Nurturing Arts Districts for the New Economy

John M. Eger | Posted 11.13.2011

Read More: Creativity, Public Policy, Education, Art, Land Use, Design, Innovation, Real Estate, Cities, Arts News
John M. Eger

The economy is in the toilet and it is hard, some would say impossible, to talk about the future. "Arts districts"? You have got to be kidding.

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Food Industry Would Prefer to Regulate Itself

Kristin Wartman | Posted 10.01.2011

Read More: Let's Move, Public Policy, Nutrition, Dietary Guidelines, Food Industry, Food News
Kristin Wartman

Food corporations enjoy carte blanche on what they can say about their foods, how and to whom they advertise, and even (to a large degree) the ingredients they choose to put in their foods.

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Obama Administration Keeps Eyes on the Prize

Angela Glover Blackwell | Posted 09.06.2011

Read More: Public Policy, Opportunity Ceiling, Promise Neighborhoods, Equity, Underserved Communities, Education Policy, Federal Government, Grants, Politics News
Angela Glover Blackwell

What a wonderful investment in America! President Obama and his administration have seen the challenges facing young people in our country today who ...

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