Jacob Hacker

The Emerging Health Care Debate…This will be my last post on the “Great Risk Shift,” and I want to thank Kevin and all of you for having me. In a sign, I believe, of a major emerging debate, USA Today and ABC News have teamed up to run an entire week of stories on the […]

Democrats need a clearer and more forward-looking economic vision, and I argue that they should embrace a vision that combines a commitment to economic security with a faith in economic opportunity. This vision?which I call an ?insurance and opportunity society??is starkly opposed to the ideal of an ?ownership society? outlined by conservative critics of the […]

I’m going to be writing about what can be done to counter the growing economic insecurity of American families later today. But I just discovered an idea I hadn’t thought of — on p. 18 of today’s Times. Just Asking to Be Caught, Thief Solves Joblessness THE ASSOCIATED PRESS October 13, 2006 COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. […]

Al asks a good question in the comments (well, he presents it as a statement of fact, but I will take it as a question): Is increased risk just the flipside of the increased returns of our economy? Don’t we have to take risks to achieve rewards, and won’t providing security prevent that? Al’s not […]

As a downpayment on the positive agenda I promised in my last post, I wanted to note that I laid out one proposal — universal health care through a new approach that builds on the best elements of our current system — yesterday in Slate. (I take no responsibility for the graphic, or the smarmy […]

Anyone who’s watched the GOP meltdown cannot fail to be impressed by the lack of underlying public sympathy for the party that’s successfully held Congress for the past twelve years. That’s no surprise: Republicans have governed substantially to the right of the center of public opinion. Instead of appealing to the moderate middle — which, […]

WHAT IS “THE GREAT RISK SHIFT”?….I can see that my last post stirred up as much dissent as assent, and I think I understand why. Criticizing the Democrats is frequently a set-up for mealy-mouthed centrism. But that?s not what I?m advocating. Instead, I want the Democrats to return their roots, so to speak?reclaiming their voice […]

Let me begin by thanking Kevin for having me back. I?m looking forward to another great week. I want to start by linking the subject of my last guest appearance (with my coauthor and friend Paul Pierson) to this one. In Off Center, Paul and I explained how the Republicans had managed to push through […]