Tag / Michael
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Bridging The Boundary Of History
One year can pass by quickly. Five years can as well. Ten years seems a pretty substantial period of time, but still stays in recent memory. Multiply this period of time by seven and we get 70 years—the span of time between now and the Holocaust, an event that almost feels hardened into a relic…
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No, Donald Trump is Not a Constitutional Crisis
“Constitutional crisis” is quite possibly one of the most overused (and misused) phrases in political commentary. Recently, pundits predicting the end of the world as we know it have, for a broad assortment of reasons, taken to calling Donald Trump’s victory a constitutional crisis. These reasons include the apparent unconstitutionality of some of his policy…
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Read My Lips: One New Tax
“Tax” is a dirty word in politics. Tax increases are always unpopular with voters; no one likes to give up more of their salary to the government. Politicians are aware of this, and frequently include anti-tax rhetoric in their campaigns. George H.W. Bush’s famous campaign promise “Read my lips: no new taxes” exemplifies the power…
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The Case for the National Popular Vote
When I cast my ballot by mail later this year, it is extremely unlikely that it will influence the results of the election. I live in Illinois, a Democratic stronghold. No matter which candidate I vote for, Hillary Clinton will almost certainly win the state’s 20 electoral college votes. Based on current polling, FiveThirtyEight predicts…
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Venezuela: The anatomy of a failing state
Venezuela is spiraling out of control. Inflation is above 700 percent, and only rising. There are drastic shortages of basic consumer goods. Venezuelans wait in lines several blocks long just to enter grocery stores, only to find empty shelves. Even when certain products are available, the sky-high inflation rate is eating away at Venezuelans’ ability…
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Economic Policy: Putting “Magic” in the Campaign
The Oct. 9 debate between the economic advisers to Trump and Clinton may have lacked allegations of sexual harassment, threats of jailing the opposing party’s nominee, and a television audience numbering in the tens of millions, but it did contain allegations of “magic” and plenty of wild hand gesticulations. Early in the afternoon on Oct.…
