Voodoo Economics, Police Violence, Student Debt, and More

1. Looking Ahead to 2017

In her year-end blog post, Roosevelt President and CEO Felicia Wong reflects on the work that the Roosevelt Institute has done this year and how it has laid the foundation for many important fights in the year ahead, from taming corporate power to rewriting the racial rules and empowering a new generation of leaders.

2. The Return of Voodoo Economics

Roosevelt Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz argues that Donald Trump’s economic promises are based on the “big lie” that big tax cuts and higher infrastructure and defense spending can coexist with lower deficits – and it’s going to cost American workers.

3. Police Violence in the Trump Era

Roosevelt Fellow Dorian Warren writes in Ebony that the Trump presidency, with its promises of a harsh “law and order” approach, brings with it an increased threat of police violence against black and Latino Americans, and the only solution may be local movement-building and activism.

4. The Student Debt Crisis Is Real

In the Boston Review, Roosevelt Fellow and Senior Economist Marshall Steinbaum makes the case that the cost of acquiring a college degree has become a toll that Americans must pay to enter the workforce, and that the best response is to expand free public college and eliminate the gatekeepers to higher ed.

5. Remembering FDR’s Call for Unity

Reflecting on Barack Obama’s post-election call for America’s political leaders to demonstrate their shared commitment to democratic norms, Roosevelt Senior Fellow David Woolner recalls FDR’s own message about the importance of national unity and what it means in the face of electoral interference by the FBI and Russia.

What We’re Reading:

In The New York Times, Stanley and Anna Greenberg look at why the Democratic Party eroded under Barack Obama and argue that his messaging often failed to connect his administration’s efforts to boost the economy with voters’ own lived experiences.

The D.C. Council passed one of the country’s most generous paid family leave policies this week, offering eight weeks of paid leave to new parents and six to those caring for sick family members. Read Roosevelter Adam Graubart’s analysis of the policy here.