- Science Talk: Nobel Laureate Harold Varmus
December 13, 2006
Scientific American
In this episode, Nobel Prize winner Harold Varmus talks about the challenges facing the U.S. in science and technology competitiveness and some possible plans of action, related to the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project.
- Scientific Remedies
December 6, 2006
Inside Higher Ed
"Science and technology underpin the modern American economy, but as a steady drumbeat of recent reports have suggested, experts fear that the current trajectory for the U.S. scientific enterprise could eventually undermine the country's competitive stance. Attempting to find solutions, the Brookings Institution brought together a handful of scholars Tuesday to suggest and discuss federal strategies to head off the problem."
- Scientific Remedies
December 6, 2006
Inside Higher Ed
"Science and technology underpin the modern American economy, but as a steady drumbeat of recent reports have suggested, experts fear that the current trajectory for the U.S. scientific enterprise could eventually undermine the country's competitive stance. Attempting to find solutions, the Brookings Institution brought together a handful of scholars Tuesday to suggest and discuss federal strategies to head off the problem."
- Cool-headed, Warm-hearted Economics
December 3, 2006
The Boston Globe
Op-ed by Peter Orszag, Director of The Hamilton Project
"The great British economist Alfred Marshall once spoke of the need for "cool heads but warm hearts" in economic policy. In the face of growing economic insecurity, the Democratic-led Congress taking office in January would do well to heed that approach."
- Democrats Target Wealth Gap And Hope Not to Hit Economy
November 21, 2006
Wall Street Journal (subscription)
"By almost every measure, the gap between winners and losers in the American economy has widened over the past 20 years. In this month's election, anxiety about that gap was not far behind voter anger over Iraq and congressional corruption in driving Democrats to victory."
- Return to Rubinomics?
November 13, 2006
Washington Post
"Nearly all the Hamilton proposals have three things in common. They would reduce the inequality that Democrats emphasized on the campaign trail. They would not bust the budget. And they would promote economic growth."
- The Baffling Economy: An Interview with Robert Rubin and Peter Orszag
October 31, 2006
The New Republic
"The performance of the U.S. economy over the last five years is baffling. Productivity is high and unemployment is low, but the median income is nonetheless stagnant. Some of the most energetic thinking about how to deal with this confounding situation is going on among economic policy-makers associated with the Clinton administration. In the course of reporting my article, I interviewed Robert Rubin, President Clinton's Treasury Secretary, and Peter Orszag, deputy director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution."
- Freakoutonomics
October 31, 2006
The New Republic
"Although the post-1973 decline in productivity growth was long considered the primary economic problem facing the nation, lurking in the background was a more or less concurrent trend of widening inequality."
- Dolling up the dole
September 21, 2006
The Economist
"Jeffrey Kling, an economist at the Brookings Institution, argues that the unemployment-benefit system ought to distinguish those who are temporarily out of a job but may find similar, or higher-paid work, and those who face permanently lower income."
- How to Build a Better Safety Net
September 18, 2006
The Christian Science Monitor
"Economist Peter Orszag would like to bridge this policy gap between conservatives and liberals. He's director of the Hamilton Project, an initiative [at] the Brookings Institution in Washington, aimed at rebuilding the safety net in a way that doesn't harm free-market incentives that stimulate output and efficiency."
- Overhauls Proposed in Benefits for Jobless
September 14, 2006
New York Times
"The nation's unemployment insurance system, which has hardly changed since its inception in 1935, should be revamped to aid more workers displaced by a transforming economy, economists said this week as they released overhaul proposals."
- Getting Real on Global Trade
August 1, 2006
BusinessWeek-USA
"Congress, the Bush Administration, and others in the policymaking elite would do well to read a brief report from the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution called Growth, Opportunity, and Prosperity in a Globalizing Economy."
- Making globalisation less scary with cushions and ladders
July 27, 2006
The Economist [Subscription required]
"The next day, in Washington, DC, another group of centrist Democrats called the Hamilton Project offered a complementary set of proposals. One gem: a young wonk named Austan Goolsbee suggested that 40% of American taxpayers should be exempted from filling in their own tax returns because the Internal Revenue Service already knows what they earn, having demanded records from their employers and banks."
- Ex-Treasury chiefs voice global concerns
July 25, 2006
USA Today
"These aren't easy days for ardent globalizers. In Geneva, world trade talks lie in ruins. Across Latin America, governments have rejected the financial liberalizing policies promoted by the United States for the past two decades. And here at home, political tensions over foreign investment and China's trade practices simmer ominously. Against that sobering backdrop, the leading architects of the Clinton administration's globalization stance, including two former Treasury secretaries, gathered Tuesday to discuss ways to strengthen...support for free trade by doing more for those suffering its effects."
- Rubin, Summers balk at time-out call on free trade
July 25, 2006
Reuters
"Former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Larry Summers on Tuesday urged new ways to shield Americans from the ill effects of globalization but balked at growing calls for the United States to back away from free trade."
- Summers and Rubin to highlight lagging US wages
July 24, 2006
MSNBC
"Larry Summers, the last Treasury secretary of the Clinton administration, will on Tuesday join Robert Rubin, his immediate predecessor, in a high-profile drive to highlight stagnation in wage growth for the majority of workers in the US economy."
- A Conversation With Robert Rubin
July 14, 2006
The Nation [Interview Transcript]
"William Grieder: The most striking thing to me as someone who's covered this debate for many years is your very direct and frank declaration of the problem of the inequalities that are accumulating and the political portents. I want to ask why you're saying this now because, in general, the establishment has always more less [sic] denied these linkages with globalization."
- Born-Again Rubinomics
July 13, 2006
The Nation
"When Robert Rubin speaks his mind, his thoughts on economic policy are the gold standard for the Democratic Party . . . . So it's a big deal when Robert Rubin changes the subject and begins to talk about income inequality as 'a deeply troubling fact of American economic life.'"
- Calling Off Class Warfare
May 22, 2006
Boston Globe
"Big bucks make big headlines, but the more important story is what is happening at the lower end of the income gap. . . . Only if the masses of workers have a reasonable expectation of improving themselves will the national economy strengthen reliably, say Rubin and his colleagues [at The Hamilton Project]."
- Don't Worry, Be Happy
May 11, 2006
New York Times
"Look around at all the green shoots of political renewal. . . . Robert Rubin and others have begun the Hamilton Project, which is churning out policy ideas that defy easy categorization and serve as a blueprint for an innovative, moderate administration."
- Use Summer Vacation to Close Harry Potter Divide
May 5, 2006
Bloomberg
"One of our nation's most shameful and well-known facts of life is the educational divide between children of the fortunate and children of the poor. A bit more surprising, however, may be the role that every kid's favorite time of year -- summer vacation -- plays in exacerbating this skill gap."
- Blue Collar US Sees a Precarious Future
May 3, 2006
Financial Times
"America is immersed in a deep and troubling paradox. . . . Since 1998, America's economy has expanded by more than 25 per cent. But the median wage - the middle fifth of Americans in employment - has declined by 3.8 per cent. . . . Stagnating wages have been accompanied by soaring inequality."
- Supporting Big Ideas
May 1, 2006
The Examiner
"There's a new economic policy project recently launched that thinks differently. . . . Meet the Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution: possibly the least bomb-throwing-and most promising-Big Idea project in the works in Washington."
- Waiting for Snow to Fall
April 30, 2006
Los Angeles Times
"[Secretary Snow] then boldly challenged his critics. "For those who criticize the economic policies of President Bush, I simply ask two things: Which of the facts about the current economic picture of growth and job creation do you dispute? And where is your plan for the future?" From perusing the Hamilton Project's website, the answer to those questions is abundantly clear."
- Opening Classroom Doors
April 30, 2006
The New York Times
"Suppose Colin Powell tires of giving $100,000-a-pop speeches and wants to teach high school social studies. Suppose Meryl Streep has a hankering to teach drama. Alas, they would be "unqualified" for a public school."
- Rewarding Good Teachers and Getting Rid of Bad Ones
April 25, 2006
Lacrosse Tribune
"Does student achievement depend on teacher quality? And, if it does, is there any reason to allow bad teachers to continue to teach?"
- Why a strong economy is no GOP asset
April 21, 2006
The Christian Science Monitor
"Secretary Rubin, in his newly launched initiative called the Hamilton Project, has centered concerns on growing income inequality in the US."
- Happy days are here again- or are they?
April 20, 2006
The Economist
"More eye-catching ideas can be found among the party's independent advisers. The Hamilton Project, for example, has a new idea for schools."
- Hamiltonian Democrats
April 19, 2006
Washington Post
"Much of what Rubin and his co-authors have to say in their statement is on the money. . . . [But] much of their statement amounts to whistling by the globalization graveyard."
- Alexander Hamilton Is Man of the Hour At Treasury Again
April 14, 2006
Wall Street Journal, page A1
"One of the things that I liked about the Hamilton Project choosing the name was that it was so provocative and iconoclastic," says Mr. Chernow. "I don't like the idea of founders becoming captives of a particular party or point of view. "
- Should Uncle Sam match your savings?
April 14, 2006
St. Louis Post Dispatch
"A couple of Brookings Institution economists think they know what it will take to lift the nation's dismal savings rate: a government match."
- Stop. No. STOP. Read this Report.
April 14, 2006
The Quick and the Ed
"This report [PDF] should be (and I promise this phrase will be used with extreme judiciousness here at the Quick and the Ed) required reading for anyone interested in improving the quality of teachers in American classrooms."
- Letting the IRS Do Your Taxes for You
April 13, 2006
Wall Street Journal
"Imagine that filing your tax return was as simple as receiving a completed form from the Internal Revenue Service, signing it, then waiting for a refund or writing a check."
- Skills tests for teachers miss mark, studies find
April 9, 2006
USA Today
"The new studies echo one released last week by the Brookings Institution that recommended requiring fewer credentials for new teachers but increasing requirements for teachers to keep their jobs and earn higher salaries."
- Why Tell the I.R.S. What It Already Knows?
April 7, 2006
New York Times
"Indeed, for many Americans, literally every line they fill out on their tax return is information the I.R.S. already has."
- Would Hamilton Be a Democrat?
April 6, 2006
Wall Street Journal
"An overarching strategy paper calls for government policies that will benefit the population broadly rather than favor the rich, promote economic security and invest where the markets don't — in education, infrastructure and public works."
- EDITORIAL: Teacher certification worthless?
April 6, 2006
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"The 2001 federal "No Child Left Behind" law includes a requirement that more public school teachers be certified in "core academic subjects" such as math and English. But a new study by the Brookings Institution — hardly a right-wing outfit — indicates it's hardly worth the bother."
- Tackling America's growing inequality
April 6, 2006
Financial Times Editorial page
"[W]e welcome the launch yesterday by the Brookings Institution of a new platform - the Hamilton Project, named after America's first Treasury Secretary - to address America's looming economic challenges."
- It's the Teachers, Stupid
April 6, 2006
The Wall Street Journal, page A2
"These proposals . . . could change what's become a sterile debate over how best to remedy one of America's biggest weaknesses: its public schools."
- Rubin, Clinton Aides Form Research Group
April 5, 2006
Associated Press
"Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and other policymakers in the Clinton administration are forming a research group to tackle some of the country's long-run economic problems."