A Charade of a Shutdown

Closing the Government Was Impossible. Let’s Stop Pretending Otherwise.

On a flight out to California earlier this month, the two men seated next to me shared a chuckle about the government “shutdown,” then in its second week.

“It’s like the tree going down in the proverbial forest,” said Mr. Middle Seat. “If you weren’t told about it, you’d never notice.”

“Exactly,” nodded Mr. Window. “Just goes to show we’re better off without the whole darned thing,” he said.

Better off without what, Mr. Window? The government? Or this charade of a shutdown?

Shame on me for putting on my headphones to drown out …

Parsimony, Be Gone

Political Economist Mark Blyth Says Austerity Is Not Our Friend

Austerity never works. This was the argument of Brown University political economist Mark Blyth, author of Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea, as he offered his perspective on economic …

How To Stop Being Powerless

When Everyone Holds Sway, Nothing Gets Done. It's Time to Find Ways To Give Some People More Clout.

How can government give the ordinary citizen a voice and still get anything done?

In the 18th century, we began a long march of democratic empowerment. We struggled to free ourselves …

Don’t Feel Sorry for the Powerful—Yet

The End of Power

We frequently bemoan our incompetent leaders, but what if their shortcomings aren’t (all) their fault? When he became Venezuela’s minister of trade and industry, Moisés Naím found out firsthand that the …

Dressing Down Wall Street

The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It

If you went back in time to 2007 or 2008, you would probably shock the public by explaining that the big banks, in 2013, look much as they did before …