Defining Moderation

On Taxation, Redistribution, and the “General Welfare”

In my last post I leaned heavily on “promot[ing] the general welfare” as justification for action by our government. This phrase is necessarily vague and calls for some clarification as to what I perceive as it’s boundaries. Jacob has offered what I would characterize as a conservative/libertarian reading. In his view, “the general welfare” implies…

The Foundations of My Constitutional Beliefs

Jacob asked me to explain why I think it’s acceptable for the federal government to get involved in health care, education, etc. In many ways, this gets to the central purpose of the whole blog, but I think it’s worth trying to give a more succinct answer to the specific issues he raised. So here is a…

On Compromise and Obstruction

First, my apologies for the recent silence. Who knew a new baby would take so much time away from blogging!? (Ok, yes, we all knew.) In response to my last post, Jacob raised some excellent questions. As I mentioned on the Facebook page, I think they are worth everyone’s consideration. I’ll respond to Jacob’s simpler points…

What’s Actually Wrong with the Republican Party

This piece by Jonathan Bernstein alerted me to this Washington Post op-ed by Tom Mann and Norm Ornstein. Mann and Ornstein suggest that the problem with the Republicans is that they’ve gone too far to the right and are subsequently unwilling/unable to compromise in beneficial ways. The result is more detrimental government gridlock. I think Bernstein…

Structuring National Health Care in America

I’ll be honest in admitting that a part of me, from time to time, thinks that we should just adopt a single-payer, nationalized health care system like that of the UK. There are some wonderful arguments for equality and gains to be made through standardization. Believing that we’re ready to move basic health care from…

Extending the Promise of America to More Americans

In September of 2009, on the eve of a speech that President Obama gave before a joint session of Congress, I wrote my own version of what I hoped he’d argue. It still captures much of what I consider the best arguments for a federal health care system, based upon the logic of the Declaration…

National Health Care

This is a tricky series of posts to write because of our current partisan atmosphere. The fight over and passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010 (“Obamacare”) has severely divided the nation. In fact, it has transformed health care into perhaps the best example of the distorting effect of partisanship in…

Why I Still Revere an Imperfect Constitution

Recognizing that the U.S. Constitution is imperfect and rejecting Constitutional originalism are not reasons to throw the document out. Let me explain some of the reasons that I think the Constitution does need to be defended as the foundation of our government and how I think we can do so.   1. Its survival. The United States has…

Ignore the Rankings

Embracing the teaching-centered faculty model I explained in my last post would require a major shift in perspective for many colleges and universities. One of the things that would have to change is the constant eye toward national rankings. This has become, for private colleges and universities and too many state schools, the post-secondary equivalent…

Prioritize Teaching in Faculty Structure

As promised, here are a few of the ideas which I think should be adopted to raise the level of teaching while cutting costs:   Eliminate Tenure I used to be a firm advocate for tenure, arguing that it was a perfectly reasonable compensation structure in an environment that privileged free expression. Dean Dad has long…