Spotlight

Graph of the Day: Political Dysfunction

Congress hasn't always been so polarized and dysfunctional. Filibusters were rare until the 1960s, when they became a commonly-used tactic for delaying civil rights legislation. Today, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, “60 votes are required for just about everything.” Without a compromise of some kind, economists warn, the economy could easily head back into recession.  Learn more in Benjamin Landy's Graph of the Day.

The Ryan Budget Versus the Budget for All

As numeric embodiments of national priorities, budget proposals strip away political rhetoric to reflect underlying policy priorities. Learn more in this Century Foundation and Economic Policy Institute report on the Ryan Budget by Andrew Fieldhouse, Rebecca Thiess, and Ethan Pollack. Download the PDF.

Photo: SpeakerBoehner Creative Commons

Progressive Response to Tax Reform

Moving tax reform through Congress will not be easy. Republicans are sure to resist anything that even resembles a tax increase. Guest blogger David Mitchell discusses the conservative talking points we can expect to hear—and what the best progressive responses could be in this Blog of the Century post. See Part 1 and Part 2.

Photo: VistaVision

Socioeconomic Diversity & Early Learning

The Future of School Integration: Socioeconomic Diversity as an Education Reform Strategy, edited by senior fellow Richard D. Kahlenberg  seeks to answer questions about how socioeconomic integration plans are faring and to provide guidance for  sustainability. Socioeconomic Diversity and Early Learning: The Missing Link in Policy for High-Quality Preschools by Teacher College's Jeanne L. Reid is now available for download. 

The Race for Egypt

TCF fellow Thanassis Cambanis looks at the historic election and the debate performance of the leading Egyptian presidential candidates Amr Moussa, Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, and Mohamed Morsi in his  piece in The Atlantic, "Race for Egypt: Inside the Three-Way Fight for the Presidency."

Photo: Al Jazeera

Labor Organizing As a Civil Right

Senior Fellow Richard Kahlenberg and Moshe Z. Marvit take on the issue of labor organizing in new book, Why Labor Organizing Should Be a Civil Right. Read the Introduction and hear the story behind the book's cover photo of sanitation workers striking in 1968. Read Kahlenberg's interview in American Prospect and Civil Right activists Norman Hill and Velma Murphy Hill's review of the book. View video of  the related event. An NYC event will be held on June 4.

Underemployment Isn’t a ‘Myth’ for Grads

Graduating in today's labor market with little to no work experience or wage history isn’t an enviable position. Andrew Fieldhouse discusses a recent EPI report The Class of 2012: Labor market for young graduates remains grim and is shocked by a recent Forbes.com post Get Over It: The Truth About College Grad ‘Underemployment. Read more in Blog of the Century.

Photo: Creative Commons

Egypt's Presidential Election

More than a year after the Egyptian revolution, the country's presidential elections are about to begin. The Century Foundation fellows and Middle East experts, Thanassis Cambanis and Michael Wahid Hanna discuss their predictions and thoughts in this Q & A video.