Cheyenne, Wyoming Correspondent — The word arrived in March and meant one thing: you don't get to stay home. It came with no wage, no benefit, and no protection. It was a permission slip pointed the wrong direction. I keep books for a freight and energy firm and our drivers never stopped. Nobody sent them … Continue reading Has the year changed what Americans count as essential work, and will the change survive the recovery?
Government
Should public-health officers answer directly to elected officials, or be insulated from them?
Dayton, Ohio Correspondent — Ohio is the case study and I'd rather talk about it than about the principle. Our state health director resigned in June. There had been protests at her house, armed ones, and a run of legislative bills aimed at stripping the authority of her office. She was the most visible public … Continue reading Should public-health officers answer directly to elected officials, or be insulated from them?
Should public-health officers answer directly to elected officials, or be insulated from them?
Bismarck, North Dakota Correspondent — I'd start with what actually happened rather than with the principle, because the principle sounds fine in either direction. Health officers across the country have resigned, retired, or been removed since April — the count is somewhere near fifty by the reporting I've seen. Some of them left after threats … Continue reading Should public-health officers answer directly to elected officials, or be insulated from them?
Do the Abrams-Kemp aftermath in Georgia and the restrictive abortion laws passed in Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri signal that state legislatures are now the main arena of American political conflict?
Gastonia, North Carolina Correspondent On the morning of September 11 the North Carolina House took a vote to override the governor's budget veto while most of the Democratic members were at a memorial service, having been told, by their account, that no votes would be held that morning, and the override passed fifty-five to nine … Continue reading Do the Abrams-Kemp aftermath in Georgia and the restrictive abortion laws passed in Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri signal that state legislatures are now the main arena of American political conflict?
What does the year-end government shutdown over border-wall funding suggest about the state of budget negotiations and immigration politics in Washington?
Las Vegas, Nevada Correspondent I read budget hearings for pleasure, which is a confession, and I want to begin with the thing that nobody covering this shutdown has bothered to say, which is that 2018 was the best year for the federal appropriations process in a decade. Five of the twelve spending bills, including the … Continue reading What does the year-end government shutdown over border-wall funding suggest about the state of budget negotiations and immigration politics in Washington?
Is the growing migrant caravan from Central America primarily a humanitarian, security, or political issue, and what policy responses does it demand?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent The question gives me three boxes to choose from, and I taught long enough to distrust any question that comes with its own boxes, so let me say at the outset that the caravan is all three and that the order in which a person ranks them tells you more about … Continue reading Is the growing migrant caravan from Central America primarily a humanitarian, security, or political issue, and what policy responses does it demand?
Is the United Kingdom on a sustainable path toward an orderly Brexit, or is the process heading toward deeper political and economic disruption?
Sydney, Australia Correspondent Australians have a particular stake in this question, and not the sentimental one. Britain is the country that left us behind once already, in 1973, when it joined the Common Market and gave up Commonwealth preference, and the Australian economy spent a decade reorienting toward Japan and then China as a result. … Continue reading Is the United Kingdom on a sustainable path toward an orderly Brexit, or is the process heading toward deeper political and economic disruption?
What are the implications of the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia?
Cheyenne, Wyoming Correspondent F.E. Warren Air Force Base is on the west edge of this city, and under the prairie around it, in three states, are a hundred and fifty Minuteman missiles that the airmen stationed here drive out to tend in all weather. Those are intercontinental missiles; the treaty the President says he is … Continue reading What are the implications of the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia?
How should the United States and its allies respond to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the evidence pointing to Saudi leadership?
Long Island, New York Correspondent I spent ten years watching prosecutors build cases, and the thing I learned about a suspect who changes his story is that the changes tell you more than any single version does. A man who says he was never there, then says he was there but left, then says there … Continue reading How should the United States and its allies respond to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the evidence pointing to Saudi leadership?
Considering the growing power and influence of technology companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, are we at risk of becoming a Big Brother society where our every move is observed, and every detail of our private lives is accessible to those who wish to manipulate or exploit us in some way?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent-I don’t think we’re at risk of becoming a Big Brother society, I think we’re already there. Big Data has infiltrated every part of our lives, and the ability of hackers to take over smart devices in our homes, listen in our baby monitors and even turn on the cameras in our computers … Continue reading Considering the growing power and influence of technology companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, are we at risk of becoming a Big Brother society where our every move is observed, and every detail of our private lives is accessible to those who wish to manipulate or exploit us in some way?
