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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Fixing The U.S. Congress By Embracing Earmarks, John Hudak
Fixing The U.S. Congress By Embracing Earmarks, John Hudak
Brookings Scholar Lecture Series
Too often, earmarks, pork barrel politics, and other types of federal spending are seen as a problem in American politics. Nothing could be further from the truth. Congress’ abandonment of earmarks, the deconstruction of the appropriations process, and the breakdown in regular order in the House and Senate has coincided with a period of intense gridlock. For decades, pork greased the wheels of the legislative process, ensuring legislators could fund local needs in exchange for support on key legislation. Returning to the politics of pork offers a possible pathway to fixing a broken legislative process and meeting mounting public needs …
Grit And Dreams: Character Strengths, Social Mobility, And The American Dream, Richard Reeves
Grit And Dreams: Character Strengths, Social Mobility, And The American Dream, Richard Reeves
Brookings Scholar Lecture Series
The issue of social mobility is at the forefront of current political debate. President Obama has described it as ‘the defining challenge of our times.’ Paul Ryan says that the ‘engines of upward mobility have stalled.’ Most approaches to restoring the American dream focus on institutions: schools, companies, and colleges. There is growing evidence that individual character strengths -- especially grit (the capacity to stick with a task or a journey), and prudence (valuing future outcomes) - matter just as much as more tangible factors. Blending history, philosophy, and economics, in this public lecture I will argue that restoring the …
Overcoming Legislative Gridlock In The U.S. Congress: How Procedural Rules Affect Legislative Obstructionism, Molly Jackman
Overcoming Legislative Gridlock In The U.S. Congress: How Procedural Rules Affect Legislative Obstructionism, Molly Jackman
Brookings Scholar Lecture Series
More than 90 percent of bills introduced in the U.S. House never make it to a floor vote, and far fewer are enacted into law. Since legislative gridlock is much more common than legislative action, in order to understand policy outcomes, it is critical to know why bills are obstructed. Gridlock occurs when a legislator (or group of legislators) wants to block a bill, and has the procedural right to do so. Using new data on the procedural rules in the U.S. states, this presentation will identify the chambers in which legislators can block bills from the legislative agenda. Then, …