Academic Perspective

Americans have become acutely aware of the cost of attending college in the past few years. Tuition had been rising faster than household income even before the recession. Post-recession, income is harder to come by, savings have dwindled, and university endowments, the pool of donations that often fund professorships and scholarships, have shrunk. In a [...]

The New York Times broke a big story last month when it published its findings from a survey of Tea Party supporters. The “attitudes of those in the movement have been known largely anecdotally,” wrote Zerninke and Thee-Brenan, the authors of the exposé. The media depiction of the Tea Party hasn’t been particularly favorable, partially [...]

“To make [one] covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain,” wrote Mark Twain in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, an American classic. The Bush administration’s approach to marijuana makes one thing clear: it did not heed Sawyer’s advice. Drugs are often a taboo subject. Very few are willing to [...]

The recent heavy snowfall in the Washington D.C. area has given rise to some alarmingly naive comments from conservative pundits and Republican senators. America has come to expect the kind of shaky logic being used from Limbaugh, Hannity, and the rest of the conservative media cohort, but it is frankly distressing to hear Senators Jim [...]

With a new president, Barack Obama, Congress set out to tackle the president’s two biggest goals: to repair the economy and pass healthcare reform. A year later, new healthcare bills have been passed and the economy is on its way to recovery. But all these changes happened with no shortage of fanfare. 2009 was marked by raucous healthcare debate, media controversies, and economic turmoil. [...]

2009 was not exactly the most memorable year. If anything, it’s notable for being one of the gloomiest years of late. Bank accounts are drying up, foreclosures are through the roof, and unemployment is the highest its been in nearly three decades. In all parts of the world, there aren’t many who can look back [...]

Since it became clear that the U.S. was in the midst of an economic recession in 2008, the federal government has invested trillions to promote economic stability and, eventually, growth. These investments can be classified into two primary categories: bank bailouts and broader economic stimulus. [...]

The Nazi party didn’t die with Hitler. Neo-Nazism is still present around the world, but especially in Germany. Many Germans are disgusted by the far-right group while others still adhere to the group’s rhetoric. Despite the country’s calculated efforts to stamp out its extremist past, the neo-Nazi movement remains alive and well in Germany, forging [...]

Reconsidering Socialism as a Solution, not a System “All socialist utopias come to grief with roast beef and apple pie”  - German sociologist Werner Sombart, 1905 Americans like getting what they want, when they want it. They like their roast beef and apple pie. They don’t like socialism. Why not? Because when we have food on the table as a result [...]

After pledging his honesty to the American people by being forthright about tax hikes in the 1984 presidential race, Walter Mondale went on to receive the lowest number of electoral votes in the history of the Democratic Party. A rare attempt at honest politics failed miserably. But despite the evidence which demonstrates that honest politicians never prevail, voters continue to expect truthfulness and are aghast when two years down the road few of the politician’s original promises have been fulfilled. [...]