Kathleen Geier

I see the New York Times has published yet another article about very privileged people whining about the ACA. In this case, said article features a couple making $100,000 a year who, under the ACA, will be paying $1,000 a month for health care covering themselves and their two sons. Take it away, Dean Baker: […]

The Entertainment Weekly website is reporting that, to the surprise of absolutely no one, Phil Robertson, the Duck Dynasty patriarch who recently stirred controversy by making racist and homophobic remarks, will remain on the air in episodes to be broadcast in January: Regardless of the current controversy and behind-the-scenes tension, A&E has every intention of […]

As regular readers know, we are continuing our annual, end-of-year fundraiser. Here is today’s reason to contribute: we’re so good that we make our journalistic competitors jealous — literally. This year, Bloomberg Businessweek is inaugurating a new tradition of recognizing journalistic work that is of such quality that induces, in its staff members, a struggle […]

The New York Times’ Timothy Egan has a good op-ed about a pernicious idea that’s recently made a roaring return into the national discourse: the distinction between the “deserving” vs. the “undeserving” poor. Writing about what he refers to as “two of the most meanspirited actions left on the table by the least-productive Congress in […]

“Heartwarming” and “family-friendly” are two concepts that don’t generally appear in the same sentence — or even in the same mental/cultural universe — as the Sex Pistols. Readers, I am about to tell you a story that will change all that. Cast your mind back to December 1977, At that time, the Sex Pistols were […]

We lost two great acting talents today. Peter O’Toole, who was 81, and Joan Fontaine, who was 96. I always feel melancholy at the passing of figures like these two. It’s a reminder that the film culture they were a part of, and that I am such a huge fan of, is receding ever further […]

As regular readers know, we’re currently running our annual online fundraiser. We only do this once a year, so if you wish to contribute, now’s the time. There are many excellent reasons to contribute to the Washington Monthly, some of which I mentioned in my previous post on this subject. We’re a not-for-profit organization and […]

In my post yesterday about economic inequality, I emphasized the political economy aspects of inequality — how extreme economic inequality creates a dysfunctional democracy that caters to the interests of wealthy elites but neglects the concerns of ordinary people. I mentioned, for example, Larry Bartels’ research, which found that senators are far more responsive to […]

While reading this odd and meandering New York Times op-ed this morning, I stumbled upon a link to a fascinating study from last year on the impact of unemployment on non-monetary well-being. It was conducted by Stanford sociologist Cristobal Young, who discovered that unemployment has an even more catastrophic effect on personal happiness that we […]

A few days ago, Beyonce, without previous warning, dropped a brand new album called Beyonce. I haven’t heard the whole thing yet, but word is that it is strongly feminist-themed. “Flawless,” a song from the album that’s in the video below, does not disappoint on the feminist tip. It has some of the most forthright […]