Curtis Bowman

Bradford Plumer on How the Rich Control Politics in the United States

Bradford Plumer of The New Republic explains how rich people control politics in the United States.

Plumer draws on the work of various researchers. Here's a striking example of their findings, as summarized by Plumer:

In politics, this all matters a great deal. Larry Bartels of Princeton has recently studied the voting record of the Senate between 1989 and 1994--a time, note, when Democrats controlled Congress. He found that senators were very responsive to the preferences of the upper third of the income spectrum, somewhat less attentive to the middle third, and completely dismissive of the policy preferences of the poorest third. In one striking example, Bartels discovered that senators were likely to vote for a minimum wage increase only when their wealthier constituents favored it--the views of those directly affected by the hike had "no discernible impact."

The Bartels study is available as a PDF (928 KB).

The rest of Plumer's article is equally interesting.

Andrew Bacevich on an All-Volunteer Military

According to Andrew Bacevich, the war in Iraq demonstrates the failure of an all-volunteer military.

I recommend that you read Bacevich's book The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War.

Philip E. Auerswald on Oil Alarmism

Philip E. Auerswald recommends an end to oil alarmism.

Economic Impact of U.S. Wine Industry Valued at $162 Billion

Michael Doyle reports that a new survey indicates that the U.S. wine industry is now responsible for $162 billion of annual economic activity.

At the bottom of the article, you'll see what purports to be a link to the full study. As of this writing, however, the link isn't correct. But if you clink on this link, you can download the PDF (1.8MB) from the website of The Wine Institute.

Lawrence Mishel and Jared Bernstein on the Latest Figures on Income Inequaltiy

Lawrence Mishel and Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute look at the latest data on income inequality in the U.S.

Roger Stern Argues that Iran is Running Short of Oil

Roger Stern argues in the International Herald Tribune that Iran is running short of oil. Oil, that is, not oil reserves. Failure to maintain a proper level of investment, according to Stern, is undermining Iran's oil industry.

The implication for U.S. foreign policy is that Iran might actually be developing nuclear power in order to generate energy, contrary to what many have argued, thinking that an oil-rich country wouldn't build a nuclear reactor for any reason but to develop nuclear weapons. So maybe Iran really needs nuclear-generated energy. But, of course, that possibility doesn't preclude the further possibility that Iran genuinely intends to build nuclear weapons.

Stern's column is based on a lengthier article that you can download here for free.