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Campaign Finance and the Lessons of 1776

Mark Peterson, professor of history | April 23, 2014

$1776. That’s the amount that Alabama businessman Shaun McCutcheon, the plaintiff in the campaign finance case recently decided by the Supreme Court, wanted to donate to every single political candidate he supported in the 2012 elections, but he was thwarted by then current limits on donations. The court decided in McCutcheon’s favor and the limits … Continue reading »

Today’s jobs report and the Supreme Court’s McCutcheon debacle

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | April 4, 2014

What does the Supreme Court’s McCutcheon decision this week have to do with today’s jobs report, showing 192,000 new jobs for March? Connect the dots. More than five years after Wall Street’s near meltdown the number of full-time workers is still 4 million less than it was in December 2007, yet the working-age population of the … Continue reading »

The Republicans of the Supreme Court

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | July 2, 2013

In order to fully understand what the five Republican appointees on the Supreme Court have been up to when they make decisions that affect our democracy, as they did last week on voting rights, you need to understand what the Republican Party has been up to. The modern GOP is based on an unlikely coalition … Continue reading »

The sad spectacle of Obama’s super PAC

Robert Reich, professor of public policy | February 8, 2012

It has been said there is no high ground in American politics since any politician who claims it is likely to be gunned down by those firing from the trenches. That’s how the Obama team justifies its decision to endorse a super PAC that can raise and spend unlimited sums for his campaign. Baloney. Good … Continue reading »