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States, the Feds, and Revenue Transfers

All states but one receive more in federal money than they pay out in taxes.

Class Sorting in American Politics

Most high-income Congressional Districts are Democratic and low-income Districts are Republican.

The Limits of Academic Freedom

UPenn law professor Amy Wax as a test case.

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The Middle Ain’t Woke

The average American is neither progressive nor all that interested in politics.

$4 Trillion for Dignity?

The Democrats are apparently selling their omnibus spending package the wrong way.

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America Getting Less White

The long demographic trend continues.

Bernie Sanders’ Soviet Sister City

There’s nothing to see here, folks.

The Hidden Left-Liberal Divide

One side is arguing over rules while the other is focused on consequences.

Politics on Twitter vs IRL

The 2020 debate on Twitter does not represent ordinary Americans. Does that matter?

New Reading Environment?

Social media has altered the way writers and readers interact in odd ways.

Is Nuance Still Possible in American Politics?

Damon Linker writes, “Millions of people disagree with your political views. That doesn’t make them moral monsters.”

New National Poll Finds No Evidence That Attacks From Rubio & Cruz Have Hurt Trump

A new national poll suggests that the newly aggressive tone from Senators Rubio and Cruz has done nothing to stop Donald Trump’s momentum.

Of Course the Pope is Political

When did “politics” become a dirty word?

Decline of American Social Institutions

The unequal distribution of social capital may be more important than the unequal distribution of income.

A New Gilded Age?

Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century is making quite a splash.

Fixing Income Equality is Easy (Unless You Actually Want to Fix It)

It’s simple: We just have to define the problem and then solve it.

The End of Work?

What if the jobless recovery is but the beginning of a trend?

The New Normal Ain’t Normal

A generation of kids with massive student loans and no prospects is bad news for the status quo.

Meritocracy Paradox

The main who coined the word “meritocracy” meant it as a pejorative term.

OTB Caption Contest Winners

The Happy HoHoHolidays Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over.

Why Class Warfare Succeeds

The “makers vs takers,” “the 99 percent vs. the 1 percent,” and “53 percent vs. 47 percent” memes are getting tiresome.

“Shocking” Obama Video Turns Out To Be Not So Shocking

A five year old “shocking” video of President Obama speaking to a group of African-American ministers proves to be not very shocking at all.

Shocking Audio From 1998 Reveals Barack Obama Is A Democrat

Republicans think they found the smoking gun of the 2012 election. They’re kidding themselves.

US Tax Rates by Quintile

The Bush tax cuts were much more progressive than you probably think.

The Most Overlooked, And Important, Part Of The ObamaCare Decision

One part of the Supreme Court’s PPACA ruling has not received a lot of attention, but it has the potential to have a lot of impact in the future.

Can Domestic Policy Affect Income Distribution?

“Can Domestic Policy Affect Income Distribution?” Why, yes, yes it can.

More Maker/Taker Musings

The NYT has an interesting piece on the ongoing limted v. big governemnt debate.

Two Brief Observations about OWS Critiques

Well, maybe not so brief…

Taxing The Rich Won’t Alleviate Income Inequality

Increasing taxes on the rich may be a fiscal policy worth talking about, but it won’t make the poor richer.

Occupy Wall Street Outside The Mainstream?

Does “Occupy Wall Street” really represent the people they claim to be speaking for?

Can Occupy Wall Street Win?

The Occupy Wall Street movement faces obstacles its Tea Party counterpart didn’t.

Economic Crisis: What Could Government Have Done Better?

With the advantage of hindsight, it’s clear that more creative strategies were needed. But they probably couldn’t have been passed.

Mitt Romney Is Right: Corporations Are [Made Up Of] People

Although he didn’t get the words quite right yesterday, Mitt Romney was exactly right about corporations.

English Riots

Some thoughts on the riots (especially some US partisan responses to it).

Redistribution: Where You Stand is Where You Sit

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.

Redistribution from the Feds? Not Really.

There really isn’t a lot of redistribution happening in the United States.

Why Are Libertarians So Danged Libertarian?

Wondering why CATO doesn’t rail against big business is like demanding to know why NARAL doesn’t spend more time advocating for the plight of stray cats or why PETA doesn’t seem to care about the homeless.

Caption Contest Winners

The Festivus For The Rest Of Us Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over.

POL 101: To Govern is to Redistribute

Is it possible to govern and not engage in some amount of redistribution?

Caption Contest Winners

The Bags Fly Free Edition OTB Caption ContestTM is now over.

Fixing the Copyright System

The American copyright system is broken. Cory Doctorow offers some useful suggestions for fixing it.

The Senate’s Most Conservative Member: Eliminating Earmarks Won’t Save One Dime

Okahoma’s James Inhofe has a message for the Tea Party movement — don’t be fooled by the “War On Earmarks.”

Earmark Reform: Who Decides How Tax Money is Spent?

Unless eliminating earmarks coincides with a radical reconception of how our government operates, it may be a step in the wrong direction.

Judeo-Christian Principles and “Socialism”

If you believe that the United States is built on Judeo-Christian principles, why would you oppose the redistribution of wealth?

Realignment Elections

While Matt Yglesias is right that talk about “Realignment” after a single election is ridiculous, there have indeed been realigning elections in U.S. history.

Is The Right Losing Its Mind ?

American Conservatism has changed significantly since the days of William F. Buckley Jr. One former National Review editor says that it’s changed for the worse.

Stimulus Funds Spent On Stimulus Road Signs

You’ve probably seen a lot of these signs popping up lately.