Democracy in America?

Democracy in America?
Author: Benjamin I. Page
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2020-04-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 022672994X

“Important and riveting . . . The solution isn’t to redistribute wealth from the have-mores to the have-lesses. It’s to redistribute political power to everyone.” —Robert B. Reich America faces daunting problems—stagnant wages, high health care costs, neglected schools, deteriorating public services. How did we get here? Through decades of dysfunctional government. In Democracy in America? veteran political observers Benjamin I. Page and Martin Gilens marshal an unprecedented array of evidence to show that while other countries have responded to a rapidly changing economy by helping people who’ve been left behind, the United States has failed to do so. Instead, we have actually exacerbated inequality, enriching corporations and the wealthy while leaving ordinary citizens to fend for themselves. What’s the solution? More democracy. More opportunities for citizens to shape what their government does. To repair our democracy, Page and Gilens argue, we must change the way we choose candidates and conduct our elections, reform our governing institutions, and curb the power of money in politics. By doing so, we can reduce polarization and gridlock, address pressing challenges, and enact policies that truly reflect the interests of average Americans. Updated with new information, this book lays out a set of proposals that would boost citizen participation, curb the power of money, and democratize the House and Senate. “Brilliant, indispensable, and highly accessible.” —New York Journal of Books

United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions

United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions
Author: Us Congress
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2021-01-19
Genre:
ISBN:

The Plum Book is published by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and House Committee on Oversight and Reform alternately after each Presidential election. The Plum Book is used to identify Presidential appointed and other positions within the Federal Government. The publication lists over 9,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment. The duties of many such positions may involve advocacy of Administration policies and programs and the incumbents usually have a close and confidential working relationship with the agency head or other key officials. The Plum Book was first published in 1952 during the Eisenhower administration. When President Eisenhower took office, the Republican Party requested a list of government positions that President Eisenhower could fill. The next edition of the Plum Book appeared in 1960 and has since been published every four years, just after the Presidential election.

Men Without Work

Men Without Work
Author: Nicholas Eberstadt
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
Total Pages: 217
Release: 2016-09-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1599474700

By one reading, things look pretty good for Americans today: the country is richer than ever before and the unemployment rate is down by half since the Great Recession—lower today, in fact, than for most of the postwar era. But a closer look shows that something is going seriously wrong. This is the collapse of work—most especially among America’s men. Nicholas Eberstadt, a political economist who holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, shows that while “unemployment” has gone down, America’s work rate is also lower today than a generation ago—and that the work rate for US men has been spiraling downward for half a century. Astonishingly, the work rate for American males aged twenty-five to fifty-four—or “men of prime working age”—was actually slightly lower in 2015 than it had been in 1940: before the War, and at the tail end of the Great Depression. Today, nearly one in six prime working age men has no paid work at all—and nearly one in eight is out of the labor force entirely, neither working nor even looking for work. This new normal of “men without work,” argues Eberstadt, is “America’s invisible crisis.” So who are these men? How did they get there? What are they doing with their time? And what are the implications of this exit from work for American society? Nicholas Eberstadt lays out the issue and Jared Bernstein from the left and Henry Olsen from the right offer their responses to this national crisis. For more information, please visit http://menwithoutwork.com.

Major Decisions

Major Decisions
Author: Laurie Grobman
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2020-03-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0812251989

A practical how-to guide for students and a powerful reminder of the value of a humanities education In recent decades, the humanities have struggled to justify themselves in the American university. The costs of attending a four-year college have exploded, resulting in intense pressure on students to major in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), business, and other pre-professional or "practical" majors that supposedly transmit more marketable skills than can be acquired from the humanities. But, as Laurie Grobman and E. Michele Ramsey argue, this vision of humanities majors idly pondering the meaning of life for four years is inaccurate. Major Decisions demonstrates how choosing a major in the humanities is a worthwhile investment in a global economy that is shifting in the direction of college graduates who think broadly, critically, and ethically. Indeed, the core skills and knowledge imparted by an education in the humanities—including facility with written and verbal communication, collaboration, problem-solving, technological literacy, ethics, leadership, and an understanding of the human impacts of globalization—are immensely useful to employers across a variety of sectors. Major Decisions serves as a deeply informative guide to students and parents—and provides a powerful reminder to employers and university administrators of the true value of an education in the humanities.

The American Legal Profession

The American Legal Profession
Author: Christopher P. Banks
Publisher: CQ Press
Total Pages: 111
Release: 2017-06-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1506333109

While emphasizing that lawyers fulfill a vital but often misunderstood public function in society, The American Legal Profession: The Myths and Realities of Practicing Law by Christopher P. Banks dispels some of the common misconceptions about the legal profession to show that the reality of being a lawyer is much different from what many students believe it to be. Many students know little about what law school is like or how it differs from undergraduate study, and this book corrects common myths about graduating law school and life after passing the bar. This brief primer is a nuts-and-bolts analysis of what it is really like to go into the legal profession, from start to finish, giving students considering a career in law a realistic overview of their potential legal careers.

Today's Economic Issues

Today's Economic Issues
Author: Nancy S. Lind
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2016-08-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

What are the real differences between the Democrats and the Republicans on major economic issues that influence the character and vitality of the American economy? This volume answers this question in a thorough, nonpartisan, and evenhanded fashion. Both the Democratic and Republican parties proclaim that they have the best interests of the nation and its people at heart. Both are also adamant that they have the best proposals and positions on economic policies, including taxation, spending priorities, wages, business regulation, and other influences on economic growth and household finances. This volume carefully examines the two parties' respective policies, providing a detailed yet readable and understandable look at how the parties agree, disagree, and find compromise on the broad range of problems and issues facing American society in the 21st century. Each entry includes an infographic that offers bulleted "at-a-glance" summaries of the two parties' positions on each issue today, an "Issue Overview" providing basic definitions and background for understanding the debate on each issue, and a main entry that explains prevailing party sentiments, the diversity of opinion within each party, and the shifts in party position on that issue over time. Selected entries also feature informative sidebars that supply additional content, such as primary documents that showcase the viewpoints of key political figures and institutions or biographical profiles of individuals who have helped shape their party's policies on the issue in question.

An Introduction to American Policing

An Introduction to American Policing
Author: Dennis J. Stevens
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2017-05-08
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1284146715

An Introduction to American Policing, Second Edition connects the US criminal justice system, criminology, and law enforcement knowledge to the progress of the police community. It is the perfect resource for a Police Science course.

American Government

American Government
Author: Scott F. Abernathy
Publisher: CQ Press
Total Pages: 577
Release: 2018-11-14
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1544327641

In the Second Edition of American Government, Essentials Edition, author Scott F. Abernathy tunes in to the voices of all Americans, showing how our diverse ideas shape the way we participate and behave, the laws we live by, and the challenges we face. From the Constitutional Convention to Ferguson, Missouri, each chapter features rich, personal narratives that illustrate how the American political system is the product of strategies, calculations, and miscalculations of countless individuals. It focuses on real people, the actions they take, the struggles they face, and how their choices influence outcomes. The key concepts are memorable because they are tied to real politics, where students see political action and political choices shaping how institutions advance or impede the fulfillment of fundamental ideas. Participation is at the heart of this groundbreaking new text, with ample background on how and why to participate. Not only will all students see themselves reflected in the pages, but they will come to understand that they, too, are strategic players in American politics, with voices that matter. American Government, Essentials Edition, is identical to the full version of the text, minus the three policy chapters. Also available as a digital option (courseware). Contact your rep to learn more about American Government, Second Essentials Edition - Vantage Digital Option.

The Green New Deal and the Future of Work

The Green New Deal and the Future of Work
Author: Craig Calhoun
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2022-08-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0231556063

Catastrophic climate change overshadows the present and the future. Wrenching economic transformations have devastated workers and hollowed out communities. However, those fighting for jobs and those fighting for the planet have often been at odds. Does the world face two separate crises, environmental and economic? The promise of the Green New Deal is to tackle the threat of climate change through the empowerment of working people and the strengthening of democracy. In this view, the crisis of nature and the crisis of work must be addressed together—or they will not be addressed at all. This book brings together leading experts to explore the possibilities of the Green New Deal, emphasizing the future of work. Together, they examine transformations that are already underway and put forth bold new proposals that can provide jobs while reducing carbon consumption—building a world that is sustainable both economically and ecologically. Contributors also debate urgent questions: What is the value of a federal jobs program, or even a jobs guarantee? How do we alleviate the miseries and precarity of work? In key economic sectors, including energy, transportation, housing, agriculture, and care work, what kind of work is needed today? How does the New Deal provide guidance in addressing these questions, and how can a Green New Deal revive democracy? Above all, this book shows, the Green New Deal offers hope for a better tomorrow—but only if it accounts for work’s past transformations and shapes its future.