Nearly 50 years after the demise of Jim Crow laws, administration of justice in the United States is still far from color-blind. In some places, however, color matters more than others. In Texas, African Americans continue to be sentenced to death because of their race. The application of capital punishment in this manner makes a mockery of fundamental principles in the American criminal justice system: fairness and equality before the law.Duane Buck is the most recent recipient of unequal treatment at the hands of the Texas criminal justice system. In a 6-3 decision handed down on November 20, 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal...
The 1996 Welfare Reform Law replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF implemented strict work requirements for welfare recipients, and since then, welfare caseloads have decreased by more than 50%. But are smaller caseloads an indicator of success? That depends. If the goal was to simply kick people off public assistance, then welfare reform has been successful. But if the goal is to help recipients and ensure their future success so that they don’t return to welfare, then no – welfare reform has been far from successful.From 1996 to 2000, the percentage...
There is often a time around mid-February where I find myself thinking two rather distinct thoughts. The first is generally selfish: “I sure do wish that there was someone special in my life that I could share Valentine’s Day with.” The second is entirely selfless: “I sure do wish that there was significantly less income inequality in America.”It may seem that these two thoughts are wholly disjointed, but that’s not entirely true. What if there was some way to guarantee both companionship for self, and greater equity for all? Such an outcome may be within sight. But who cares if more educated women are marrying...
Don’t go to policy school. It is a hopelessly academic silo of idealism – brick-and-mortar manifestations of the outdated notion that “bigger government was better government.” People Who Actually Matter summarily ignore policy professors. And don’t even start on the students, who think themselves too good for local government, preferring to spend their days whining about social injustice and debating what it means to be a citizen of the world. At least, don’t go if you subscribe to the above view, recently presented in the Washington Post’s Outlook section by James Piereson of the Manhattan Institute’s Center for the American...
This generation — known as the Millennials — is incredibly different than previous generations. As its spending and voting powers grow, this generation will demand a very different world. We need young people at the table to save our institutions.Initiatives meant to bring the youth voice into local government and private industry often center on two motives Some suggest engagement is necessary to provide youth with leadership experience for when they take their turn at the helm, while others propose that youth leadership will help organizations engage young customers and constituents in the present. Yet these rationales underestimates the impact...
As defined in the 2010 Western, True Grit implies individual tenacity and passion, a tireless ability to dust yourself off and pull yourself up by the bootstraps. A related idea has emerged in contemporary conversations about public school achievement. Agritty student makes no excuses and meets any and all academic issues: head on.There is no doubt these are praiseworthy character traits, but there are problems with viewing grit as an essential component of student success. The focus on grit overlooks inter-subjective factors, which shape the public education experience.University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth has convincingly argued that grit is a desirable trait...
by Elizabeth Brightwell, Ashley Badesch, and Kyle SchnoebelenMany glorify the life of collegiate student-athletes. The gear, the travel, the coaching, the trainers and all of the other resources available to student-athletes contribute to this perception. These benefits, however, come at a cost largely ignored by the viewing public. Student-athletes wake up before the sun and, all day, shuttle between the athletic fields and the classroom. Bruised and exhausted, they ignore bodily demands and stay up late to avoid falling behind in the classroom. The demands on athletes, especially in revenue sports, are extremely high. Throughout their collegiate career, student-athletes lose...
While many disagree on the answer to Russia’s aggressive occupation of Ukraine’s Crimean territory, many in the West seem to agree on why it happened in the first place. WSJ’s Bret Stephens argues that Putin acted out of a lack of fear of retribution: “[t]he West could win a sanctions war with Russia, but it would take an iron political stomach. Mr. Putin knows Mr. Obama. He knows that the U.S. president has the digestive fortitude of a tourist in Tijuana.”It’s a harsh statement, but it has proven a true enough explanation for Putin’s demeanor so far. Nothing the US and NATO-centered Europe...
Cleaning my apartment the other day, I came across a mug buried under the couch. The mug is emblazoned with the logo—and heady if not pretentious motto—of my employer from the summer of 2012: “Bridging the gap between thought and action.” I ended summer 2012 one mug up because I completed a full-time internship at a prestigious Washington D.C. think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This year’s University of Pennsylvania rankings place the organization at as the fourth most influential of its kind in the world, and the intern selection process was correspondingly competitive. I worked hard and...
The Virginia General Assembly is currently in the heat of the Medicaid expansion debate. While the Republican-controlled House of Delegates and Senate both rejected Medicaid expansion, Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe made the issue a central campaign pledge. With the debate only heating up, The Third Rail thought this would be the right time for some thoughtful analysis to break through the partisan rhetoric.Check out Benjamin Paul’s column supporting expansion, which offers some background information, and Carter Blackwell’s case against the reforms.We encourage your insightful comments and hope these articles provide a fruitful forum for debate. If you have any questions or would like to...
Virginia should expand its Medicaid program without delay. Expanding coverage to as many as 400,000 uninsured, low-income Virginians will save lives. It is also a great deal for Virginia taxpayers and for the state economy.First, a brief review: The United States established Medicaid in 1965 as a joint federal and state public insurance program for low-income Americans. Once considered an afterthought to Medicare, the federally financed insurance program for the elderly and long-term disabled, Medicaid is now the largest health care insurer in the country – covering over 62 million Americans – and a key foundation of this country’s safety net.Despite these...
Medicaid expansion would cost Virginia $137.5 million dollars over the 2014-2022 period, with yearly costs rising as time progresses. Expansion would increase costs to Virginia and reduce incentives for private investment in health insurance. Refusal to expand the Medicaid program is in the best interest of the Commonwealth and provides the state with the most economic stability in the long run.More than one million Virginia residents currently receive Medicaid and our state legislature is responsible for 50 percent of the funding. The Commonwealth spends over three billion dollars per year on Medicaid, comprising 21 percent of our state’s annual budget. Expansion aside, Medicaid costs are...
There’s an age-old saying: “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” That sentiment was translated into policy in February of last year when the Virginia legislature created the Opportunity Educational Institution and Board (OEI and OEI Board). The bill gave the OEI authority to regulate low-performing schools that had either been denied accreditation from the state or had received a “warning” status for three consecutive years starting on July 1. The bill would have impacted only six schools, but set a precedent for more state power in education. It was ruled unconstitutional earlier this summer.From its introduction to the General...
When President Sullivan announced changes to the AccessUVA financial aid program approved by the Board of Visitors last August, reactions ranged from acceptance of the changes as inevitable and cries for immediate reversion to the original policy. Essentially, AccessUVA was doing too good a job – by implementing an all-grant aid package, the University saw large increases in low-income applications and enrollments. Coupled with a downturn in the economy which saw many individuals’ income statuses change, the program was viewed as unsustainable, and UVA adapted the landmark program to include loans.Restore AccessUVA, a student group formed in protest to the changes, worked throughout the year...
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced the Commonwealth received a federal Gear-Up grant to improve low-income student college preparedness earlier this week. But the University’s decision to cut AccessUVA funding and the Commonwealth’s deep budget cuts are sending mixed messages about the Virginia’s commitment to low-income student college going.The Federal government recognized the importance that college preparedness plays in increasing college access to low-income students by introducing Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs grants. GEAR UP states receive a six or seven year matching grant to increase the state’s capacity for early intervention and college preparedness programing for low-income students. State...
Following Secretary of State John Kerry’s hearing on December 9, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee authorized the administration to use military force against the Islamic State. The move comes as a shock to no one and represented a symbolic check on executive war powers before the Republican-dominated legislative session began in January. The bill expired and the 114th Congress must now reconsider the issue.Congress last passed an Authorization for Use of Military Force following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and military intervention in Afghanistan. The proposed new AUMF for the Islamic State puts a considerable constraint on President Obama’s abilities as Commander-in-Chief....
The Virginia Policy Review hosted the National Journal Conference from Friday to Sunday. Nine schools, ranging from Pepperdine and Cornell to several schools from the Washington, DC area, attended the event at the Batten School in Charlottesville, VA.Collaboration and Sharing Best PracticesMany attendees said they came to the conference to learn from peers and colleagues about how to improve their journals. Senior Editor of The Pulse Kara McLean, from the Chicago Policy Review, said other journals offered useful insights.“I really wanted to meet the different personalities that are part of a journal,” McLean said.The Chicago Policy Review uses a different model from most other journals, which revolves around...
The nation’s budget has taken center stage on Capitol Hill, but one issue area that is gaining momentum outside the spotlight is education. The Federal Government’s two large pieces of education legislation – the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the Higher Education Act (HEA) – are both up for reauthorization and Congress has been busy crafting new, reformed legislation. While the reauthorization of both pieces of legislation is long overdue, Congress finally has the impetus it needs to potentially reshape the federal role in education.There is no better time for a revamped and refocused approach to higher education....
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly called Obamacare, continues to be the most controversial policy intervention in recent history. The public remains evenly split on the law, and its detractors continue to obstruct its implementation at every turn. Yet, we’ve overlooked one central achievement of the law. Obamacare has led to a dramatic reduction in preventable adverse events (PAEs). This revolution has saved tens of thousands of lives and billions in unnecessary health care costs. A preventable adverse event is any medical condition or complication acquired in a hospital that better care could have prevented. Examples of PAEs include...
When it comes to funding, Planned Parenthood may have won the recent battle in Congress, but the war is far from over. The agency has been under fire since a pro-life activist group released videos of employees negotiating fetal tissue sales in July. In August and September, Congress gave the nation a scare as Republicans threatened to shutdown the government and refused to vote for any budget that continued Planned Parenthood’s funding. Republicans conceded before the deadline, and federal funding to Planned Parenthood continued. Planned Parenthood receives federal funding from both Medicaid, allocated from the states, and Title X, a federal...