Fall 2012, No. 26

In this issue, we turn our attention to that part of America that has suffered the most—the bottom 40 percent. We have assembled the brightest thinkers in the asset-building field to envision a new economic agenda for low- and middle-income households. Our symposium breaks new ground in looking beyond traditional anti-poverty programs and foregrounding the importance of savings and assets.

Next: Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, two of Washington’s most esteemed thinkers, take a look ahead to the election—and beyond. William Galston, one of our editorial committee members, has an important essay on establishing a system for long-term care of the elderly. And Kent Greenfield, law professor at Boston College, offers a bold new way for progressives to challenge the baleful influence of Citizens United.

Finally: Ron Brownstein on LBJ and Obama. Michelle Goldberg on the rise of women. David M. Kennedy on Michael Sandel. Joshua Kurlantzick on Aung San Suu Kyi. Ben Adler on how our cities (and suburbs) are changing. And Sharon Lerner on why French mothers have it better.

Back Issues Archive

Symposium

The Forgotten 40 Percent

Four years ago this month, the economy caved in. The collapse of Lehman Brothers set off a cascade that would paralyze the banking industry and plunge our economy into a deep recession. But even before Lehmans collapse, the fundamentals of...

By The Editors

1 MIN READ

Asset Building: Now More Than Ever

By Andrea Levere

8 MIN READ

Ownership and Debt: Minding the Balance Sheet

By Ray Boshara

13 MIN READ

Wealth Stripping: Why It Costs So Much to Be Poor

By James H. Carr

10 MIN READ

Manufactured Housing: The Homeowners No One Thinks Of

By Paul Bradley and George McCarthy

8 MIN READ

Savings: The Poor Can Save, Too

By Bob Friedman Ying Shi Sarah Rosen Wartell

10 MIN READ

Tax Policy: Spreading the Benefits More Widely

By Bob Annibale Wade Henderson

7 MIN READ

Features

The Election and the Future

Politicians won't change until they're forced to. Only a more demanding electorate and more responsible elites can compel them.

By Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein

13 MIN READ

The Long Term Is Now

As the population ages, the costs financial and social of long-term care will rise rapidly. And our current model of funding it will not work.

By William Galston

25 MIN READ

The Stakeholder Strategy

Changing corporations, not the Constitution, is the key to a fairer post-Citizens United world.

By Kent Greenfield

26 MIN READ

Book Reviews

The President as Pugilist

Robert Caro’s latest volume depicts Lyndon Johnson on the attack—and shows why his methods aren’t replicable today.

By Ronald Brownstein

16 MIN READ

Why (Some) Men Still Have It All

Working-class men may be doomed, but the ones who run the world are doing just fine.

By Michelle Goldberg

17 MIN READ

Suburb Slickers

Demographic churn is changing the nature and definition of cities and suburbs. We need policies that keep up with those changes.

By Ben Adler

13 MIN READ

The One They Were Looking For

The first serious biography of Aung San Suu Kyi arrives at perhaps the most serious point of her public life.

By Joshua Kurlantzick

15 MIN READ

The Root of All...

Michael Sandel’s salvos against the conventional wisdom of what markets should—and should not—do.

By David M. Kennedy

13 MIN READ

Responses

The Mother's Load

Forget culture—French mothers are more relaxed because government policies actually support them. A response to Sarah Blustain.

By Sharon Lerner