Winter 2016, No. 39

We are proud to present “16 for ’16,” the centerpiece package from our Winter 2016 issue. The coming year is sure to be a momentous one (not least because it’ll be Democracy’s tenth year!), and we thought there would be no better way to kick off 2016 than with this symposium.

The 16 ideas we present here aim to tackle a range of real-world problems, from mass incarceration to our disorganized security bureaucracy to the looming budget crisis for veterans’ care to climate change. Anne-Marie Slaughter, Austan Goolsbee & Newton Minow, Linda J. Bilmes, Aneesh Chopra, and Juliette Kayyem are just some of the writers we feature in our stellar lineup.

But there’s more: Theda Skocpol and Alexander Hertel-Fernandez take a look why it is that the right has been so successful in dominating statehouses. Joshua Kurlantzick assesses the Obama Administration’s Asia pivot—and finds much to criticize. Bob Kocher & Pat Basu introduce us to the world of telemedicine and explain what policies we need to make it work for everyone.

In the books section, Jedediah Purdy reflects on the libertarian critique of eminent domain; James Ledbetter reviews a new book on FDR, Keynes, and the makings of modern monetary policy; Helaine Olen shines a light on the problems of the unbanked; and Ryan Grim tackles the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Finally, David Madland responds to Bruce Bartlett’s review of his book on the middle class.

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Symposium

16 for ’16

With electoral thoughts dancing in our heads, we asked contributors to give us one idea—targeted, straightforward—for the next administration to pursue.

Austan Goolsbee & Newton Minow on a new Morrill Act • Anne-Marie Slaughter on reforming our national security bureaucracy • Juliette Kayyem on rethinking disaster relief • Marc Mauer on a 20-year maximum for prison sentences • and much more

By The Editors

2 MIN READ

A New Morrill Act

By Austan Goolsbee Newton Minow

5 MIN READ

A Lead Agency for Every Security Initiative

By Anne-Marie Slaughter

4 MIN READ

A Trust Fund for Veterans

By Linda J. Bilmes

5 MIN READ

Savings in Exchange for National Service

By Alan Khazei

5 MIN READ

Transparency in Tuitions

By Neera Tanden Ben Miller

5 MIN READ

Smarter Disaster Management

By Juliette Kayyem

5 MIN READ

A 20-Year Maximum for Prison Sentences

By Marc Mauer

6 MIN READ

Less Work, More Leisure

By Dean Baker

4 MIN READ

A Global Low-Carbon Challenge

By Carlos Pascual Jason Bordoff

4 MIN READ

A Better Way to Fly

By Dr. Bruce J. Holmes

5 MIN READ

More At-Large Districts

By Anne Kim

4 MIN READ

Revive Congressional Authority over Courts

By Aziz Huq

5 MIN READ

Tax Short-Termism, Fund Long-Termism

By Heather C. McGhee Wallace Turbeville

4 MIN READ

End Delaware’s Corporate Dominance

By Kent Greenfield

4 MIN READ

Solve Unemployment with Open Data

By Aneesh Chopra

5 MIN READ

Protect Intelligence Whistleblowers

By Mieke Eoyang

4 MIN READ

Features

Pivotal Moment

The Obama Administration’s “pivot” to Asia was supposed to be a transformative shift. Why has it led to such underwhelming results?

By Joshua Kurlantzick

27 MIN READ

HIPAA 2.0: Doctors in the Digital Age

Digital innovation can revolutionize health care—but we need the policies that will allow it to do so. The latest in our series "Our Digital Future."

By Bob Kocher, MD Pat Basu, MD

18 MIN READ

How the Right Trounced Liberals in the States

Conservatives have mastered the art of cross-state policy advocacy, while liberal efforts have fizzled. Here's what has to change.

By Theda Skocpol Alexander Hertel-Fernandez

28 MIN READ

Book Reviews

Open for Business

You think the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a business group? It used to be. But today it’s just a tawdry hired gun.

By Ryan Grim

16 MIN READ

Money Men

How Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Maynard Keynes ushered in modern monetary policy.

By James Ledbetter

14 MIN READ

This Land Is Our Land

The eminent-domain issue cuts across ideological lines. Even as progressives wrestle with it, libertarians have offered a less than convincing critique.

By Jedediah Purdy

15 MIN READ

Debit Scarred

The poor face myriad obstacles in handling their limited finances. Can reviving the postal bank be the solution?

By Helaine Olen

10 MIN READ

Responses

How to Rebuild the Middle Class

Bruce Bartlett argues that redistribution is the key to fighting inequality. It’s part of the solution—but only a part. A response to Bartlett.

By David Madland

10 MIN READ

Recounting

A Health Policy with Teeth

When we talk about health care, we almost never talk about teeth. But the state of your dental health can be a life-defining issue.

By Jack Meserve

10 MIN READ

Editor's Note

Editor's Note

Michael Tomasky introduces Issue #39

By Michael Tomasky

1 MIN READ

Letters

Letters to the Editor

By Democracy Readers

2 MIN READ

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