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In their seminal 1980 study on the question, using data from 1972, political scientists Raymond Wolfinger and Steven Rosenstone argued that “voters are virtually a carbon copy of the citizen population.” In 1999, Wolfinger and his colleague Benjamin Highton again came to the same conclusion: “Outcomes would not change if everyone voted.” Their argument rested upon the fact that polling data did not show large differences in opinions on most issues between those who voted and those who
Today, President Obama announced a proposal to make two years of community college tuition-free. It’s a big deal. But it would be just as powerful a signal if we promised students a debt-free system of public higher education, one that could be financed entirely through part-time or summer work and modest savings.
Regulatory policies are expected to play a significant part in the agenda of the new Congress. Congressional leaders have indicated in particular that they will be holding hearings on EPA regulations that would affect the operation of coal fired power plants, and on aspects of the Affordable Care Act and the Dodd-Frank financial reforms.
Like all of us at Demos, I read the news of the murder of two NYPD officers and the attempted murder of a Baltimore woman with a feeling of horror. In a society so riddled with violence, access to guns and mental illness collide all too often in America, and in fact, every day a woman is attacked by a partner or estranged partner. When violence like this is prevented and assailants are apprehended, police officers get to be the heroes—but this weekend, two officers became victims.