Sometimes we know exactly what the consequences of a policy will be, and sometimes we don’t. In this episode, we’ll explore a surprising consequence related to stepped-up enforcement of immigration policy in one county in North Carolina: Mecklenburg County. Over the past 20 years, many counties in the US have made an agreement with Immigration […]
Social policy
Ep. 120 The Failed Politics of Consumer Financial Protection
As Elizabeth Warren memorably wrote, “It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance an existing home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting the family out on the street.” That quotation is […]
Ep. 117 South Africa After the Rainbow
When Professor Anne-Maria Makhulu returned to South Africa to start her research in the late 1990s, the South African Truth & Reconciliation Commission was just beginning to start its work. She says that while the newly established transparency was important for understanding the workings of the government during apartheid, the commission’s function was largely symbolic. […]
Ep. 111 Philanthropy Series: Helping People With Means to Give
Thomas J. Tierney is an expert in smart philanthropy and co-founder of the Bridgespan Group which provides management consulting to nonprofits and philanthropists. He is the co-author of Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results, which is intended for philanthropists and nonprofits with the resources to do big things to make big changes in the world. […]
Ep. 110 Philanthropy Series: Share Our Strength’s Billy Shore
Billy Shore is a founder of the organization Share Our Strength, the umbrella organization of No Kid Hungry. Over the past 35 years, the organization has made huge strides in ending childhood hunger in the United States. How have they done it? Listen: Guest Host: Alex S. Jones – Pulitzer Prize-winning former New York Times […]
Ep. 107: Getting Cash Payments to Millions of Americans? Easier Said than Done
On the week of March 21st, 2020, over 3.3 million Americans claimed unemployment, nearly 5 times the highest weekly number from the entire 2008 recession. Remarkable until you realize that the following week that number of people filing for unemployment doubled. And the numbers continue to rise. Discussions about providing direct cash payments to Americans […]