The Real State of the Union

by Halstead, Ted

• ISBN13: 9780465050529
• ISBN10: 0465050522
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-02
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

Resulting from a collaboration between The Atlantic Monthly magazine and the New America Foundation, The Real State of the Union features 18 original essays on the most important facets of our national well-being. Written by many of our nation's most insightful observers, the essays provide an objective and penetrating analysis of the most critical challenges facing America as well as innovative solutions to many of them.The State of the Union Address is among the nation's oldest rituals, but one that has deviated from its original purpose: Rather than a candid assessment of the country or a meaningful self-evaluation by the current administration, it has become a political spectacle marked by self-congratulation and spin. The Real State of the Union seeks to turn an empty exercise into a more meaningful national dialogue about the social, political, and economic health of our country. Rejecting the political correctness of both parties, this volume tells the American public what it needs to know about the real problems that plague the country and why the political solutions that are offered too often fail to address the real nature of those problems.

Author Biography

Ted Halstead is President of the New America Foundation and is the author (with Michael Lind) of the Radical Center: The Future of American Politics. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Ted Halstead
INTRODUCTION
1 The State of the Union Moment	3	(4)
James Fallows
2 The American Paradox	7	(8)
Ted Halstead
BROADENING THE MIDDLE CLASS
3 Are We Still a Middle-Class Nation?	15	(12)
Michael Lind
4 One-Dimensional Growth	27	(7)
David Friedman
5 Spendthrift Nation	34	(9)
Michael Calabrese and Maya MacGuineas
6 America's "Suez Moment"	43	(8)
Sherle R. Schwenninger
RETHINKING TAXES AND GOVERNANCE
7 Radical Tax Reform	51	(12)
Maya MacGuineas
8 Up in the Air	63	(8)
Michael Calabrese and J.H. Snider
9 Taking Stock	71	(7)
Jonathan Rauch
10 The Fuel Subsidy We Need	78	(7)
Ricardo Rayon
HELPING AMERICAN FAMILIES
11 The Insecure Family	85	(7)
Jacob S. Hacker
12 The Parent Trap	92	(5)
Karen Kornbluh
13 The $6,000 Solution	97	(5)
Ray Boshara
14 The Black Gender Gap	102	(9)
Katherine Boo
REINVENTING EDUCATION
15 A Grand Compromise	111	(5)
James P. Pinkerton
16 A New Deal for Teachers	116	(7)
Matthew Miller
17 The Tuition Crunch	123	(6)
Jennifer Washburn
A NEW HEALTH CARE PARADIGM
18 The Overtreated American	129	(10)
Shannon Brownlee
19 Insurance Required	139	(6)
Laurie Rubiner
20 Aging Productively	145	(10)
Phillip J. Longman
AMERICA'S CHANGING DEMOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE
21 The New Continental Divide	155	(7)
Michael Lind
22 Mongrel America	162	(5)
Gregory Rodriguez
23 Alienated Muslims	167	(8)
Geneive Abdo
TESTING OUR CIVIC HEALTH
24 The Angry American	175	(10)
Paul Starobin
25 Suspicious Minds	185	(6)
Jedediah Purdy
26 Overflowing Jails	191	(8)
Margaret Talbot
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
27 Beyond Dominance	199	(18)
Sherle R. Schwenninger
28 Opportunity Missed	217	(12)
Michael Lind
29 The Population Implosion	229	(13)
Phillip J. Longman
30 Democracy in the Islamic World	242	(8)
Noah Feldman
31 Nation-Building 101	250	(13)
Francis Fukuyama
CONCLUSION
32 Dysfunctional Duopoly	263	(12)
Ted Halstead
Contributors	275	(4)
Acknowledgments	279	(2)
Index	281