The old conventional wisdom was clear: if we want economic growth, we must live with high levels of inequality. New research, however, is showing that too much inequality means slower growth. The economy of 2014 is vivid proof.
What, practically, can we do about all this? The Nov/Dec issue of the Washington Monthly takes that challenge head on, with a cover package arguing that smart public investments in every stage of life can pay dividends for everyone-better health, better education, greater dignity, and more wealth. With concrete suggestions that can be enacted now, and that can make us all, not just the rich, better off, the latest Washington Monthly aims to set the 2016 campaign–which, let’s face it, starts Wednesday–on the right track.
Read the issue here.
November/December Table of Contents
Tilting at Windmills
Baseball Hall of Famer Henry Waxman – The Dan Snyder Chair in Native American Studies – The Biggest Unknown About Hillary ’16. By Joshua Green
Ten Miles Square
Happy Birthday, Methadone!
Maintenance therapy proved its value half a century ago. We need it today to combat a rise in opiod use. But many courts and prisons cling to a Regan-era “Just Say no” mind-set. By Sally Satel
Cover Package: American Life: An Investor’s Guide
Introduction: Why more equality means more prosperity
By Heather Boushey
Unequal at the Start
Early Childhood Programs pay dividends for life. By Ann O’Leary
The New Segregation
It’s class, not race. And we know how to sove it. By Carl Chancellor and Richard Khalenberg
Sidebar: Inequality slowly destroys a once-great black high school
By Carl Chancellor
The Diploma Deficit
The problem is not college debt, it’s low graduation rates. Fix that, and you fix the economy. By Rachel Fishman
Crunch Time
Modest workplace reforms will strengthen families and the economy. By Judith Warner
Petrified Paychecks
Seven ways to raise wages. By Alan S. Blinder
Frenzied Financialization
Shrinking the financial sector will make us all richer. By Mike Konczal
Discounted Seniors
Future waves of retirees need help saving now. If they get it, they’ll be a boon, not a burden. By Christian E. Weller and John Halpin
Conclusion
Slow growth and inequity are political choices. We can choose otherwise. By Joseph E. Stiglitz
On Political Books
The American Way of Dying
How our refusal to face up to the realities of aging and mortality causes needless suffering. By Phillip Longman
Can We Please Put Some Bankers in Jail Now?
With Eric Holder leaving the Justice Department, Washington has a chance to get serious about prosecuting financial crimes. But what exactly has been the holdup? By Bailey Miller
Let’s Pay for the Government We Get
Why, someday soon, middle-class taxes will have to go up. By Bill White
Enjoy the issue!
